Conservative Atheists

[Rival]

Exist.

They do.

When I was an Atheist, my views were almost no different to to how they are now. As an Atheist, I opposed gay marriage, abortion, alcohol, promiscuous sex et al. I'm tired of folks thinking that Atheist = liberal and Christian = conservative. There are political views of all types on both sides of the theist-atheist spectrum.

I don't understand where this "liberal Atheist" idea has come from. Believe it or not, there are Atheists who are just as conservative as me. Why does this bother some people? Why don't they think they exist?

 

[Mackerni]

I'm an atheist, well, technically, I believe God/s will exist in the distinct future. I was a pretty staunch Republican that eventually got tired of it and became a Libertarian. I still hold a lot of conservative views ... I'm much of a paleoconservative like Ron and Rand Paul. My religious views have not changed, I just have better ways of expressing them.

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

It's probably because, historically, atheism has been associated with anti-traditional, iconoclastic movements and it still is, for the most part.

 

[Iti oj]

Exist.

They do.

When I was an Atheist, my views were almost no different to to how they are now. As an Atheist, I opposed gay marriage, abortion, alcohol, promiscuous sex et al. I'm tired of folks thinking that Atheist = liberal and Christian = conservative. There are political views of all types on both sides of the theist-atheist spectrum.

I don't understand where this "liberal Atheist" idea has come from. Believe it or not, there are Atheists who are just as conservative as me. Why does this bother some people? Why don't they think they exist?

I can not fathom a justification for being against gay marriage with out theism/religion. I imagine others think the same thing.

 

[Rival]

I'm an atheist, well, technically, I believe God/s will exist in the distinct future. I was a pretty staunch Republican that eventually got tired of it and became a Libertarian. I still hold a lot of conservative views ... I'm much of a paleoconservative like Ron and Rand Paul. My religious views have not changed, I just have better ways of expressing them.

Can you reword that for me in British? I've no idea what a Republican, paleoconservative, or who Ron and Rand Paul is

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

Can you reword that for me in British? I've no idea what a Republican, paleoconservative, or who Ron and Rand Paul is

Basically, they hate the government, hate pretty much all regulations and taxes, think that if you're poor that it's your fault and think that unregulated capitalism is a wonderful idea. Basically, it's social Darwinism + money worship. Oh, and the paleocons (and Ron Paul) tend to hate brown and black people and gays, as well as believe that we should never involve ourselves in another nation's affairs, even to prevent things like genocide.

There you go.

 

[Rival]

Basically, they hate the government, hate pretty much all regulations and taxes, think that if you're poor that it's your fault and think that unregulated capitalism is a wonderful idea. Basically, it's social Darwinism + money worship. Oh, and the paleocons (and Ron Paul) tend to hate brown and black people and gays.

There you go.

In other words, not the sort of Conservatism I am talking about lol.

Don't know why Americans like to confuse economic theory with political theory

I mean the moral/traditional kind. Not the unhinged capitalism disaster socialism is the devil kind.

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

In other words, not the sort of Conservatism I am talking about lol.

I mean the moral/traditional kind. Not the unhinged capitalism disaster socialism is the devil kind.

Hahaha. I gather that.

 

[RealityCheck]

Initially as an atheist, I embrace bleeding heart liberalism. However, as time progresses, I find myself moving towards a more conservative mindset. I guess I've become disgusted by over the top political correctness associated with being a liberal.

 

[Tiberius]

When you say "conservative", do you mean things like opposing gay marriage and that? Because that's the sort of thing I associate with conservatism. Perhaps you could outline the ways in which you are conservative.

 

[HonestJoe]

I don't understand where this "liberal Atheist" idea has come from. Believe it or not, there are Atheists who are just as conservative as me. Why does this bother some people? Why don't they think they exist?

I’m not sure that the concept bothers people as such. I suspect the idea stems from the habit of people to lump everyone who disagrees with them on any on subject into a single lump so a religious conservative won’t necessarily differentiate between people disagreeing with their religious beliefs and people disagreeing with their political beliefs. Of course actual liberal atheists can be guilty of the same error, presuming all conservatives are Christians.

 

[Rival]

When you say "conservative", do you mean things like opposing gay marriage and that? Because that's the sort of thing I associate with conservatism. Perhaps you could outline the ways in which you are conservative.

Moral conservatism, such as opposition to gay marriage, pro-life, anti-drugs etc.

 

[Rick O'Shez]

Most of the atheists I know are quite liberal in their attitudes.

 

[HonestJoe]

Most of the atheists I know are quite liberal in their attitudes.

Quite possibly, but “atheists you know” is a tiny and somewhat selected subset of “all atheists”.

 

[Draka]

I can not fathom a justification for being against gay marriage with out theism/religion. I imagine others think the same thing.

This. Pretty much. Without religion I simply can't come up with any reason, especially logical, to oppose gay marriage. Most "traditional" stances seem to have their basis in certain religious teachings. Take those away and there appears to be a lack of reasonable arguments (not that the religious arguments are reasonable to begin with) to advocate for many "traditional" stances. So for someone who admits to not having religious beliefs at all it seems utterly incomprehensible that they would have any valid reasons for said stances.

 

[Revoltingest]

Basically, they hate the government, hate pretty much all regulations and taxes, think that if you're poor that it's your fault and think that unregulated capitalism is a wonderful idea. Basically, it's social Darwinism + money worship. Oh, and the paleocons (and Ron Paul) tend to hate brown and black people and gays, as well as believe that we should never involve ourselves in another nation's affairs, even to prevent things like genocide.

That's an inaccurately extreme description of them.
Polarization can do that to people.
We see people on the other side of a dividing line, & we see them as being very far away.
But we're actually much close than imagined.
They don't hate government, regulation & taxes.....they just hate too much government, regulation & taxes.

We should at least be fair & objective about those we oppose.

 

[Rick O'Shez]

Quite possibly, but “atheists you know” is a tiny and somewhat selected subset of “all atheists”.

I do get about a bit though.

 

[columbus]

Moral conservatism, such as opposition to gay marriage, pro-life, anti-drugs etc.

Clearly, we do mean different things by the words. I am a USA citizen.
I think the government should not be telling competent adults who they can marry, and only keep track of who has. Here in the USA that makes me so conservative that I appear liberal.
As a non theist, I don't understand how similarly inclined people can support elective abortion. I can understand that religious people believe in afterlife and cosmic justice and such. So I understand why they are OK with it. But if aborting a human being means that they lose the only life they will ever have, I don't see how people can be so cavalier about it. I don't see how this makes me conservative, I see it as progressive.
Tom

 

[Noa]

This entire conversation cannot be had unless you define conservatism. European conservatism is an entirely different thing than American conservatism. Actually, our entire political spectrum is different than the European ones.

 

[Tiberius]

Moral conservatism, such as opposition to gay marriage, pro-life, anti-drugs etc.

I'm curious. My experience has been that most opposition to these things is religious in nature. What non-religious arguments do you propose for banning gay marriage, banning abortion and banning drug use (although this last one is more understandable than the others - much drug use does cause readily apparent harm to people and society.)