Atheists comprise a growing portion of American society, and yet they remain woefully under-represented in political office. 

HBO "Real Time" host Bill Maher addressed the issue in a recent exclusive interview with ATTN:. 

In spite of the fact that 23 percent of the country identifies as "religiously unaffiliated," according to according to a June, 2016 Pew Research Center report, negative attitudes toward atheism have limited the group's social and political representation, Maher said. But he expects that to change.

"I mean, in the [Pew] survey, when they bring it down by sect, of course Christians taken as a whole are about 70 percent of the country," Maher said. "But Evangelicals are the highest — 25 percent — and right behind that is us: The nones, atheists, agnostics, people who just don't want to get up on Sunday, and write 'none' on the survey."

Pew Research Center - pewforum.org

"Twenty-three percent — that's a huge minority," he said.

As it stands, only one member of Congress, Arizona Rep. Kyrsten Sinema (D) openly identifies as religiously unaffiliated. The remaining 534 members claim a religious affiliation, and that's likely because surveys show Americans would be less likely to vote for an atheist candidate. Half of the country said they'd think twice before voting for an atheist president, according to a Pew study from January of 2016. 

Watch the full interview with Maher below.

Disclosure: Bill Maher is an investor in ATTN:.