I’ve been thinking more about the post I wrote recently about being a conservative and an atheist and how many atheists just don’t believe we can exist, or if we do, we need to be educated on the finer points of culture, politics, and society to become an effective atheist.
I don’t know what the goal is, other than to ensure that all atheists think alike. I don’t think we do, even those that are on the other side (I’ve seen that terminology used quite a bit when referring to conservatives) of any political or social divide. What we do have in common is atheism, and every conservative I know is interested in retaining the wall of separation between church and state.
Even liberals (or progressives, I’m not sure what appellation to use anymore) don’t always agree on every aspect of the social or political landscape, yet they feel compelled to educate we lesser plebeians on morality and ethics. I called it in the other post condescending, but what it really is, is arrogance.
For example, the nomination, and confirmation, of Judge Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court will not be the earth-shattering event that many liberal/progressive atheists and atheist organizations would like any of u to believe. The wall of separation will not suddenly fall, we will not see school prayer the following week, Roe v. Wade will not automatically become null and void. But to listen to some, it is the end of the world, like when the Supreme Court affirmed same sex marriage: my Christian friends thought that was the end of our society. We’re still here.
As an atheist, therefore a skeptic (they are not always synonymous ), I am not so jaded by the daily fear mongering that we all see online. What we are viewing is an emotional response, not something reasoned based on any factual data gathered. But then, to be perfectly honest, most conservatives atheists I know view the other side (there’s those words again) as being driven entirely by feeling and not reason.
I’m not in the least bit angry, but I am tired of being bombarded, almost daily, with the nonsense I see from some that are the so-called smart people of atheism. Their opinion on any topic is no more valid than mine. Instead of just believing what we are told we should believe, or think (sound familiar to anyone?) maybe we should start thinking for ourselves and reject those who have an agenda that is harmful.
Conservative Skeptic 
This is what has always bugged the crap out of me; that atheists pride themselves on the fact that they DO think for themselves. Many reasoned their way out of belief after researching and educating themselves, intensely considering all aspects of deity belief, leaving superstition and family traditions behind and standing alone with the truth they discovered…that there are no gods, no heaven, no hell and no devil and that a moral compass does not require religion and deity belief.
But…for those who still feel compelled to accept the Constitution and Bill of Rights to be a necessary document of law for human civilizations governed by the citizens themselves to maintain a nation free from dictatorship or monarchy and hold more with Conservatism than Progressivism, Jeeze Louise, how could they be so stupid to stop thinking for themselves?
What Progressive atheists discover is all correct individual reasoning and what Conservative atheists discover is all incorrect individual reasoning.
We may as well forget it. In this age of outrage, there is nothing that we could write or say that would allow us to belong. It is all totally their way or we are blithering idiots in a slobbering love affair with Donald Trump, who has completely bamboozled us.
Want some restrictions on abortion? You want women to die in back alleys! Not so sure that gay marriage should have been forced upon the nation? You want gays to be stoned! Question the notion that all men are potential rapists? You and your daughter should be raped and left for dead along the highway! Think there is no such thing as White Privilege? You need reeducation and jail if you don’t come around, but certainly you must be fired and your career destroyed! Accept climate change, but don’t think humans had much to do with it or can alter its course? Science denier, you should die!
Why can’t intelligent and thoughtful people engage in dialogue in a civil manner, maybe change minds, but if not each may retain their own reasoned beliefs? Why must we all think the same? Who decides what we must all think? And…for gawd’s sake, why do Progressives think this to be a good and positive thing for the nation?
Vomit inducing… Where in the hell are we heading?
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A poll I recently saw showed that 44% of milleneals did not believe in free speech, which could also be interpreted as freedom of thought. Scary. With atheists, as I have learned, it’s not politically correct to question progressive doctrine. Not all, but many actually believe, and have openly said, you are not an atheist unless your politics/social opinions are like mine. This is why there will never, IMO, ever be a “commiunity” of atheists because we’re all, to an extent individuals with different life experience and hold opinions that may not conform to what is expected by some.
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Well…there is a community of atheists that have deemed their viewpoint is the correct atheist viewpoint. They are vocal and radical and for most people aware of atheism, they represent atheists. We do not count as intelligent nonbelievers to them and believers often question our atheism, because we are not like the atheists they “believe” in. Believers tend to decide for us that we are still searching and that God has a plan for us and is waiting for us to turn to his love.
After all, if we are decent people, then we must not really be an atheist.
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The mistake you make is in thinking of most of the Godless on Left as being “atheists.” A better label would be “Anti-Christian.” They’re far more concerned with destroying Christianity and Christian than in whether or not God exists.
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I think you make a good point, Jonolan. We have certainly witnessed the love affair that Progressives have with Islam. But, I think that we are discussing the actual atheists and atheist groups we have encountered over the years; those who despise all superstition and religions, and often, all traditional moral principles.
The norm seems to be that if one is an atheist, it is a good bet that one is Progressive.
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