Why are most atheists liberal?

Question

I see no reason why Conservatives could not be athiests as well. Just as ironic some on the left are very religious, Jimmy Carter, Ralph Nader and Martin Sheen. I am not trying to make a judgement but I find this very interesting.

deadcatbounce3 I would have to define liberal as who is in the political sense both on the left on social issues and on the left on economics.

Johnny B I know its not directly related to politics but I think its an interesting collarly

Moinca I am a Libertarian not a conservative.

Answer 1

A couple of points.

First, since there is a strong connection between right wing politics and religious movements, you'd expect lots of the fervently religious to be influenced more by the more familiar arguments of the Right.

Second, you could be imagining this because you yourself are conservative, and thus many people who are really moderate appear to you to be 'liberal.'

Third, a lot of the Right (thankfully, not all of it) is full of very harsh religious rhetoric, and that is a big turn off ot nonreligious people. I consider myself somewhat centrist, with a slight lean to the right on economic issues, but I still dislike Republicans for their religious pandering.

Answer 2

It stems from there ideology.. think about what the Liberals propose.

Pro Abortion
Pro Gay
Pro legal Drug use
Pro sexual promiscuity ( ie porn ...etc)
Pro control over peoples lives (they think they know better)
Gaiaism ( pro green, mother earth types )

There ideology is in direct conflict with religion and it's teaching. They call God a "psychological need" for people who choose to believe, however I would say they have just as much of a need to deny him. If there was a God then they couldn't support anything they believe in because they would be in the wrong. They would be morally held accountable for there actions.

Plus... there goal tends to be to achieve total control over society because they truly believe they know best for everyone. They can't be in total control if there exists a omnipotent being.

I do believe there are some people who consider themselves liberal who are also religious.. unfortunately there is a vast difference between two liberals in this day and age and this generalization should only include those on a particular end of the liberal spectrum.

Some liberals will say it's because they have a "higher education", and bring science into the mix. I find very few liberals in my physics classes... most ( not all) are liberal arts majors and not science majors. This can clearly be seen by there consistent attempt at using science to debunk religion. This.. coming from someone who actually knows what there talking about is not possible. Science requires evidence, and there is none for, or against the existence of a God. There are corelations to support both, but correlations are not causations and thus not evidence. In short the bible explains the "who", and science explains the how... they can co-exist just fine.

*Edit*
Hey Beatchanter,

I.Q. has nothing to do with whether or not people base decisions they make off the past, and being conservative doesn't mean you are against the future.... In fact, thats the most ridiculous statement I have ever heard. Oh, and to support the omega point theory, it means you have to support the "big crunch" theory which means that some day the universe will collapse back onto itself, and that will depend on whether there is enough mass in the universe to keep it together. At the moment there isn't enough mass that has been seen or inferred, so the answer of today would be that the universe will probably never collapse back on itself and not many serious physicist believe it... In addition there is no real theory to explain how an oscillating universe can happen and is primarily a philisophical argument based off meta physics. Of course being a dumb conservative with a I.Q. below 100 (according to you) I shouldn't know that.

As you can see.. Beatchanter has a classic liberal thought process. Notice the "we are more intelligent" bit followed by a complete and utter missunderstanding of science.

Answer 3

I am an Atheist and tend to be fiscally conservative.

When I was religious, I was fully conservative, and couldn't understand how anyone could consider themselves reasonable and be liberal.

After shedding religious belief, which isn't reasonable, I realized that allot of my conservative beliefs came from my religious inclinations.

For instance, I used to think that Gay relationships and marriage was wrong and couldn't understand why heterosexual people would defend it. I did this because my God told me to believe this way in the bible, and I was sure he existed and was real. So I became prejudiced by my Loving God. After realizing my religion was myth, I realized that many of my closely held conservative beliefs were really just extensions of my religious belief and began to examine each for a reasonable position.

I am now socially liberal, because it is the more reasonable position, but fiscally conservative because it is the more reasonable position. Libertarianism makes the most sense in a truly free society.

Answer 4

Let's say we start with the average human having an IQ of around 100. Now, those who are a little bit below the curve are conservative, because they're trying to conserve the past, because they're not ready for the future. (Not necessarily "politically" conservative) Your average liberal is a little (very little) above the average intelligence. Now, a liberal's Christianity will look different than a Conservative's Christianity. For Instance, only a Liberal, lie Pierre Chardin, could come up with the Omega Point Theory. (forward looking) At the same time, only a Conservative could come up with ideas like the Rapture. (A specific reading of a specific book of the bible) Traditionally, both have their place in religion, but lately only Conservatives think their Christianity is real, while Liberal Chrstians are somehow less because they see the sky, rather than trying to number and label the starts. (holistic vs. specific) As a final consequence of feeling unwanted, many liberals find their way to atheism. If God is really as specific and "small picture" as many Conservatives would have him, he can't possible be a God worthy of worship. (in the Liberal's mind)

Answer 5

The Republican party is in the hands of neocons and the Religious Right. I'm a small-government, civil liberties kinda guy, the sort that got elbowed out of the party over the last generation. So I've noticed that at least a few other atheists are not liberal but libertarian.

Answer 6

I think many many economic, as opposed to social, conservatives, are atheists...people like William Buckley and Andrew Sullivan, etc. But social conservatives like James Dobson and his ilk are a significant part of the Republican base, and one that the economic conservatives don't want to rile up by being too 'out' about their religious skepticism.

Answer 7

I tend to describe myself as Libertarian. I find that at the moment, the democrats are the party that will leave me alone and let me decide what my morals are for myself while the so-called conservatives want to write laws to force me to their morality.

Since when did the conservative party adopt such a liberal interpretation as to the role of governement?

the funny thing is that Barry Goldwater warned the Republican Party about this almost 40 years ago!

Answer 8

Why is it ironic religious would be on the left, since Jesus as depicted was an early Marxist?

I know many conservative atheists, but they fall mostly into the libertarian-right, not neocons.

Some are classic conservatives.

Each atheist is different.

Answer 9

I think the question would be better phrased, "why are most liberals atheists"? The answer would be, because a basic tenet of liberalism is discarding the past and looking to the future, a mythical future of peace and harmony among all nations towards which they are trying to "progress". Since religion has existed for as long as civilization itself, it obviously, in liberals' minds, belongs to the past, and is therefore the cause of many of our current troubles, and is therefore to be discarded.

I know of a few well-known conservatives who are atheists, among whom are Heather McDonald, Dennis Miller and David Horowitz.

Answer 10

I'm not sure. Perhaps it's because liberals tend to be more open-minded and progressive, and so are atheists?

Why are most homeschoolers conservative? It makes it very hard on a liberal atheist homeschooler trying to meet other homeschoolers, trust me lol

For that matter, why are most members of the National Rifle Association conservative? Why are most people in the military conservative? Why are most environmentalists liberal?

And on and on...