Fox priest: 'Hard to trust' an atheist president because they don't fear eternal damnation

Catholic priest and Fox News contributor Father Jonathan Morris argued over the weekend that atheists were not suitable candidates for president because it was "hard to trust" someone who did not believe that God would punish them.

"One thing is very certain, you can't fake religion," Morris said of the Republican presidential candidates on Sunday's edition of Fox & Friends. "Politicians sometimes fall into that, I think. What matters most to us Americans -- those who will be voting -- is what these guys said before they were running for president, the way in which they lived before they started running for president."

"I think they need to be very clear about the values they believe in, not making stuff up in order to get votes," he continued. "And then people will say, 'Even if I disagree with some of his beliefs, I like the fact that I can trust him to be who he says he is.'"

According to Morris, anything that did not "inform" a public official's life was not faith "because faith is a set of beliefs."

"It's a belief in God, it's a belief that there are eternal consequences for your actions," he explained. "And I think that a leader that doesn't have that -- a set of core beliefs that help him to make justice an important part of his life and his decisions because he knows that there are eternal consequences, well, it's somebody that it's hard to trust."

Fox News host Peter Johnson Jr. wondered if voters should "judge" people based on their faith.

"For example, if someone running for president is an atheist," he said. "Are they qualified to be the president."

"You know, I would say faith is not the most important thing, but wisdom," Morris opined. "But yes, it certainly makes a difference who that person is."

"That's for sure," co-host Tucker Carlson agreed.

Watch the video below from Fox News.