My question, I have to admit, comes from a particular definition of “conservative.” While conservative can mean many things, as “liberal” can mean many things, I’m operating with what I perceive to be a collective cultural definition of the term. By that I mean, when I think of “Conservative,” I’m thinking of an American political label adopted by people like Ronald Reagan, Sarah Palin, Mike Huckabee, and, more unkindly, Rush Limbaugh and Bill O’Reilly.
And, as I will explain more in a moment, I’m thinking more about social conservatism than fiscal conservatism.
Many hostile conservative pundits and politicians blame the “godless” liberal left for what they perceive to be society’s steady moral decline. They do this so much, one would wonder if they believe that “godless” and “liberal” are one in the same.
And, if these conservatives are calling liberals “godless,” it would suggest that they themselves are “god-full.” Which makes me wonder, ”Is there such thing as a conservative atheist?”
Now of course, I know there could be. The definition of “conservative” varies person to person, subject to subject. For example, one can easily be fiscally conservative and godless. Backing a particular economic philosophy doesn’t necessarily require religion. And for the most part, politicians don’t invoke God to defend their fiscal arguments.
I would guess that one could be socially conservative and godless as well, though this part gets a bit trickier for me. Conservative politicians (and ordinary citizens who call themselves conservatives) almost always back their social policy with religious beliefs. Banning gay marriage, promoting abstinence until marriage, and promoting “family values” (a term loaded with religious significance for most who invoke it) are just a few examples.
Of course, social conservatives usually defend the death penalty too, so who knows where that comes from.
I’m sure someone could argue each of these traditionally socially conservative tenants in a “godless” fashion, but the leaders and promoters of conservatism never really stick to it.
Sure, they may start out without a religious argument…”Teaching abstinence only is the best way to keep kids from having babies and getting STDs”…but when confronted with a bit more fact (studies show this style of “sex-ed” cuts down on neither of those things and can, in some cases, increase them), they ultimately appeal, either overtly or in a thinly veiled way, to the traditional religious belief that premarital sex is a sin.
Do conservatives appeal to religion because they believe conservatism is a political response to the belief in God? Is the heart of social conservatism truly Christian faith? Can you have conservatism without God?
And, if you can and conservative atheists do exist, are they embraced by the conservative collective or shunned as imposters?
I’d love to hear any further insight, especially if you are a conservative atheist. What’s your experience?
I’m not a conservative atheist myself, but I have come across them. While admittedly unusual, they’re not as rare as people think (the same goes for gay conservatives – they exist, there just aren’t too many of them). They tend to be unpopular among the general atheist population, usually (and ironically) for no reason other than the fact that they disagree with common atheist political opinions. As a committed atheist myself, seeing that unpopularity play out was a pretty disheartening experience.
Hm, I didn’t even think about them being unpopular with other atheists. So, these conservative atheists kind of get it from both ends? Thanks for your insight.
I would consider myself a moderate atheist – leaning towards conservative on economics and defense, abortion but more in line with liberals with regard to social issues. For example, I see marriage as a contract and don’t see good reason to limit that to heterosexual (or even “monogamous”) relationships. I wouldn’t mind seeing the word “marriage” drop out of use entirely legally. Any legally recognized “union” would be simply that a “legal union”. Folks could still get “married”, but it would be a spiritual/ceremonial thing.
I wouldn’t say that most atheists (generally liberal) have been unfriendly towards me, but I do feel a little out of place around them.
Raving Atheist, Andrew, Christopher and Becky:
Thank you for your responses and insight. I feel like I’m getting a better handle on what being a “conservative atheist” (or some variation thereof) is like.
I do wonder, even moreso now, what a conservative atheist thinks about voting for Republican congressmen, governors, representatives, presidents, etc., who (though Democrats obviously do this too, though I think to a lesser degree) so intimately link their political platforms with a belief in God, with promoting Judeo-Christian values and with objecting to policies that they believe to be “anti-Christian”? What did conservative atheists think about the whole “Obama is a Muslim” thing, an attack which, to me, seemed to suggest that certain members of the Republican party think it’s not okay (either personally or for political reasons) for a leader to be anything but Christian? (Again, this bleeds into the Democratic party too, I just don’t think they make as big of a deal about it.)
My guess would be that it’s just something you take with a grain of salt? That, if you agree with a majority of their politics, you can more or less ignore their religious zeal? Or is it something that really bothers you? Of course we’re never going to completely agree with the people we vote for (at least I never have), so this seems reasonable. But I would be interested to hear more on that specific aspect of your civic life.
Before I converted to Christianity, I ran militantly atheist blog for five years. Many of my atheist readers were outraged and jumped ship when I announced that I was pro-life in my second year of blogging. The believers, although obviously not comfortable with my unceasing attacks on religion, did not generally express the same level of hostility.
I am a conservative atheist. I am fiscally conservative, and socially moderate. Conservatism can exist just fine without god. I did re-examine my political stances after I became an atheist a few years ago. And while I did change on some issues (same-sex marriage, euthanasia), on most issues I stayed the same. And that included a pro-life position on abortion.
My name is Chris and I am an Open Agnostic, Weak Atheist, Conservative, Veteran, Vegetarian, and a Physics Graduate Student.
I consider myself an Open Agnostic and a Weak Atheist, as well as, conservative. In short I am a conservative atheist. I love listening to Rush Limbaugh and the rest, as well, I love reading books by Christopher Hitchens and Richard Dawkins. I do not believe in gods, but I am open to a proof that would demonstrate the existence or non-existence of a god. Likewise, I am open to a proof that such a proof as above could be made or a proof that such a proof could not be made.
Also, I am conservative both fiscally and socially. Weird, huh. Yes, it is a lonely position, yet I am starting to find more likeminded people as myself. Matt Wallace’s The Compleat Heretic (that’s the spelling) is a good website for starters. My particular version of conservatism is a strong one. I am a limited government, strong defense, pro-capitalist, free market, 2nd amendment, etc. conservative. Also, I am pro-life, save it be that the mother will die. I am pro-life despite incest or rape. The mind and physical health of the mother will be better off shall she carry the baby through pregnancy and give the baby up for adoption, plus, this is good for the baby as well. Moreover, I have nothing against gay marriage other that the state should not be allowed to intervene in the beliefs and traditions of a church given that “believers” do not believe in gay marriage. We have civil unions for this stuff. Yes, there is the issue of pensions and such, but I would say that heterosexual couples should lose these pension arrangements as again there should be a separation of church and state. What else is left? Lastly, I am a veteran, and a vegetarian. So I put my money where my mouth is. I have served my country and I believe in respect for all life. If it came down to the survival of the human species, yes, I would be accepting of using animals with homologous traits to cure our ailment. Having said that, we are not in such a condition, we do not need to eat meat to survive, we can survive without eating meat and without the necessity of supplements, and therefore it is unnecessary to needlessly take animal lives. There is research being conducted where I am sure we must use animals for testing prior to the cures being tested on humans. So in this sense, I am definitely human and human centric. However, you get the idea, if it is not necessary to do such a thing, leave the animals to their own habitats. Yes, if a cougar encroaches on an human neighborhood and lives are in danger, appropriate actions should be taken. Okay, I’ll stop here as I may or may not have convinced you, the reader, yet.
I came across this blog entry on a search for “Compleat Heretic” and thought I’d at least create a hyperlink to my personal site, Matt Wallace’s The Compleat Heretic, given Christopher’s mentioning of it. I may return to add to the discussion later…
Absolutely, there is such a thing! I consider both to be the product of psychological & intellectual development. I was brought up Christian and was pretty liberal as a youngster. College education, reading, and living overseas for three years brought me to the realization that religion is man-made. Experience in the work force & life experience in general taught me that, while often well-intentioned, bureaucratic, top-down, large-scale, complex, multi-level undertakings do not work. Limited government, personal responsibility, free markets and individual freedoms are where it’s at. As Austin Powers said to Dr. Evil towards the end of one of the films (about the 90′s) – “You’ve got it all wrong, baby! Now we’ve got freedom and responsibility. It’s a very groovy thing!” – or something like that. My position is that the liberal atheists are only partially liberated from Big Brother. Yeah – you figured out religion is bunk but are still delusional about the need for an all-powerful and all-controlling state. Oh, behave!
I forgot to talk about conflict with the majority of the right who are Bible thumpers. In short, I would say that as a conservative atheist, you do have to strike a faustian bargain with these wacky willies. I have no reservations in joining them on the political spectrum, nor in letting them know where I stand metaphysically. I am a fiscal conservative but also quite conservative socially. Part of my social conservatism is due to age (mid 40′s), and part in that I share conservative Christians’ disgust with the decline of social mores today. But the way I see it, my conservative values are mine. In other words, their source is my own reasoning, rational thinking, and what I believe is necessary for a proper, civil society. I oppose abortion because it devalues human life & I consider it murder. I am against, pre-marital sex, having babies out of wedlock (and expecting taxpayers to bail you out) & drug usage. I am strong on family values – not because of something in the Bible or under the threat of getting a one-way ticket to Hell. But because this is what I have reasoned to be the best path. I am strongly against any discrimination against gays & believe they should be allowed to form domestic partnerships. But I oppose gay marriage because marriage is an important institution – a bedrock of Western & all civilization. We need more strong, stable marriages – this is in the best interest of the children.