I’m sometimes asked how I can be a conservative atheist in a world where most atheists are liveral or progressive. It’s easy: All I did was come to the conclusion that it was improbable any gods exist at all. nothing else changed with me. As a conservative, I’ve been pro choice forever, even though personally, I am against abortion (I think the government should not be involved in personal decisions like this), the sme with same sex marriage. Remember when the world was going to come to an end when SCOTUS came down on the side of sme sex marriage? It’s 2020 (5 years later) and we’re still here. I supported this for the same reason I supported a woman’s right to choose. That’s actually a conservative stance: government should not be interfering in our personal choices as long as those choices do not cause harm to ourselves or to others.

Of course, there’ll be people that call this a slippery slope. What about polygamy? Well, I can see where there is damage done, unless the family is extremely wealthy. Every story I’ve ever read or news story I’ve seen on television have some version of the family on public assistance just to survive. To me, that’s causing ham not only to their own family members, but others as well. So being an atheist, at least for me, doesn’t have anything to do with what I have come to know and believe about social issues. What you see know, has pretty much always been me. Yes, I’ve changed my mind on some issues, like the death penalty (against), but that wasn’t recent and being an atheist didn’t cause me to reevaluate my position.

Yet it is interesting to me how many I know who have modified their beliefs simply by being an atheist. It is almost as if somehow they believe that conservative values are inconsistent with atheism. Why is that? What do any social issues have to do with atheism? Well, none. Remember, atheism is simply a non-belief in gods of any kid. That’s it. Being an atheist doesn’t make you a climate or LGBTQ activist. It has nothing to do with Black Lives Matter. Those are issues people have adopted separately. So why are so many atheists to the left of center? Because they think they should be. Atheism has become synonymous with liveral/progressivism when in fact, as I just said, it has nothing to do with anything liberal or conservative.

It’s kind of humorous to me that people I knew for years having been at least somewhat conservative, when they became atheists, suddenly (and yes, suddenly is the correct word) became more liberal than anyone I know in the 1960’s (okay, that might be a bit of an exaggeration, but not by much). What it tells me is that these same people who so readily dropped their social conscience, or gained one (it depends on your point of view) didn’t actually believe in anything to begin with and probably don’t today. If major atheist groups decided wokeness was unproductive to atheism, most of these same people would suddenly drop their beliefs like a hot rock. Others would soon follow because, yes, these people are not leaders, but followers. Tell me how I should act, what I should believe.

I’m not saying this is all liberal/progressive atheists, but a good number. Why? It’s easier to let someone else think for you. And yes, it means the same for atheism with these people; as soon as it’s inconvenient for them to be atheist, they’ll drop that as well. I’ve noticed that for some, it’s like being in a clique in high school. In order to get along within that group, you have to adopt what most others already have. If you don’t, you can’t be one of us.

I don’t know how many times I’ve been told that I can’t be an atheist, because I’m a conservative. See? Even Christians are not that bigoted, generally. I think that most atheists become liberal because they see what they’ve come from (some religion) as being evil and they would like to be seen as accepting, placing as much distance as they are able between their old beliefs and atheism. You’re now a good person where before you were not and of course everyone wants to be seen and known as good. What’s funny to me is that before these same people left their religious belief, they thought they were good. So, I guess there’s more than one kind of good or, a majority of those on this planet are in fact, not good people.

To me, some of these people’s attitude comes across as elitist. It’s something I hope to never become or at least appear to be. It’s terrible for the cause of atheism and it’s awful for the individuals involved. The conceit is strong in this one, Obi-Wan. It’s time for some to get over themselves.

Let atheists be just that and whatever else anyone wants to hang on to, is fine, let’s just not assoicate any of it with being an atheist.