I’ve been pondering this and I think that the reason atheists such as myself tend to fall on the liberal side of politics is because most conservative views are directly drawn from religious dogma.
Now, not all conservatives are theists/Christians, but it’s a safe bet to say that almost all of them are. It’s hard to justify homophobia and the like without some form of divine sponsorship.
I think atheists tend to be liberal because conservatism is a bit unnatural and oppressive, thus requiring some form of childhood coercion and indoctrination to take root in most adherents.
However, you could be “initiated” if you will into conservatism by, say, having a bad experience with a gay person or having a mom with post-abortion depression.
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I’m a straight, liberal agnostic. I support gay rights just as any other human right. I’m both socially and economically left of center. I completely reject everything about Christianity.
Unfortunately, I still don’t understand your post.
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What is unnatural about conservatism? Burke (the father of conservatism) argued that most of the people in the world do not rationalize their actions, they rely on tradition and history to guide them. For example, I drive on the right side of the road. I don’t think, “I should drive on the right side of the road, because everyone else is, and I don’t want to hit them.” I don’t think about it at all. I just do it, because I’ve always done it that way. If I thought about every single action that I did every day, if I rationalized the way I tie my shoes or put on my pants or shave, I would stay in bed like Oblomov and dream my life away.
Tradition matters because it makes life easier. I don’t have to rationalize my every single movement because we’ve (humans) have been doing things this way for a long time.
In other words, to be a conservative is to follow tradition. This, of course, is the most natural thing in the world.
To be a radical is to desire for change, for improvement in the human way, for removal of all the old values. These things are unnatural. Liberalism, not conservatism, is unnatural.
Unless you feel oppressed by the requirement to drive on the right side of the road. In which case, you’re right to be an atheist, because God Almighty could not help you.
[...] 30, 2008 by Ben In which I respond to a post arguing that conservatism is “unnatural.” Now, not all conservatives are [...]
I think it’s pretty much a case that liberal/left minded people tend to think for themselves a lot more than conservatives, who do tend to take instructions for life from religion and fail to stop and think about it critically.
Kurt:
Really? What’s confusing you?
Ben:
We are not discussing things like driving on the right side of the road. We are discussing political issues and values.
Also, you seem to be mistaking liberalism for anarchy.
Throughout the years, conservatism has endorsed things like slavery, segregation, homophobia, and prayer in school. It’s an aggressive, oppressive version of a “don’t fix what ain’t broke” mentality, as you have demonstrated in your overreliance on the word “tradition”.
The thing, though, is that when conservatives’ pet issues are discussed or challenged, conservatives can become incredibly passionate in defending their old-fashioned values.
And the conservative side of an issue almost always oppresses someone else.*
I think it is unnatural to fight so hard to deny other people the rights they deserve. It’s a lack of empathy, desire to make things better, and open-mindedness, all of which are key for productive, functional members of society.
There you go. Unnatural.
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*Although I don’t see how being against gun control takes anyone’s rights – hence the “almost always” bit.
How can you say beng conservative is unnatural and thn say everyone wants to be friends with gayety? Gayness is unnatural!
I say conservatism is unnatural because people so aggressively attempt to oppress other people who they do not know.
As for homosexuality, it is not normal, but that doens’t mean homosexuals should be oppressed and hated.
Some of the funniest, kindest people I know are gay.
I agree.
Whilst tradition is important to humans, the desire to improve is even stronger. It is why we have advanced from using simple tools to increasing complexity. In many other areas where tradition can stand to be improved (or downright discarded), it is. This is not the case with Religion. It stands by the same principles and practices no matter how much time passes unless change is forced upon it. It is the act of standing defiantly against social improvement instead, that is unnatural.
Even though I am about as apathetic to politics as anyone can get, I usually end up on the more conservative side when it comes to economics and the role of the government. This might surprise Matt, but I’ve come to this point of view out of a desire to think for myself. The conservative view of limited government intervention in economics and daily life promotes individuality and free thought. I also think that it is just as possible to present a case that some atheists “follow instructions” from their atheism and allow it to prohibit them from thinking critically.
P.S.
I do not endorse segregation, slavery, homophobia and I’m fine with prayer in schools being a personal choice.
I disagree with the argument that liberal people think more for themselves then conservatives.
To be a liberal is to say there are no definite answers. Wow. Insightful. God is dead. There are no longer interesting questions, because you’ve answered the question of “What is the purpose of life?” with “There is none. We’re completely random particles who are lucky (or unlucky) enough to be alive.
And when you wake in the middle of the night and wonder why on Earth you’re alive, you have no answer. You don’t need one. You took the easy way out. And if there is no reason to live, there is no responsibility.
But listen, I take all my thoughts straight out of the Bible. I don’t actually mind being called a lower intellectual life form. Noooo problem.
Actually, I’ve got the Pope fed directly into my brain. I’m not even thinking these things right now.
Do repost on my blog though, I apologize for mishandling the response.
I would go the other way and say a lot of liberals tend to be atheist. Liberals prefer a libertarian social order, except that they want big government to pay the bills. Libertarians don’t like anyone telling them what to do, so why would they want God in their life? When you don’t want God, its easy enough to find reasons not to believe. People are extremely adept at finding reasons to justify whatever they want to do or don’t want to do, and the smartest ones are best of all.
Nonni
Thank you for answering my comment.
Ben:
Again, you seem to be mistaking liberalism for atheism and anarchy. I’m discussing keeping homosexuals, rape victims, non-Christians, etc. in oppression for no good reason other than closemindedness and selfishness.
If you want to bitch about how atheists are pointless and immoral, you can haul your ass over to ignorantchristian.wordpress.com where you can feel right at home.
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Michellespagefornonni:
I disagree, since about 8o percent of Americans are Christian and about 50% of Americans are liberal, it follows that at least 30% of liberals are Christian or some other form of theist, perhaps deist, as some ultra-liberals I know.
angryxtian:
“Gayness is unnatural!”
actually it has been proven that it is completely natural, your born that way, like something in your brain is different, im not an expert on it ok.
With this “mistaking liberalism for atheism and anarchy”
You would all do well to remember that most liberals are athiest, not all, and that anarchy is the extreme left, whereas liberal is moderate left.
Shidemn:
You are right that homosexuality is ingrained in all of us to an extent; many other animals also exhibit occasional homosexuality.
However, I disagree that most liberals are atheists, simply because there aren’t enough atheists for that.
I have to agree with chillin (weird). I know several Christians that fall left of center.
As to the unnatural side of homosexuality, there are many prominent, biblical theologians who recognize that some people are born with homosexual tendancies. This doesn’t change the fact that it’s sin, just like alchoholism and drug abuse are ingrained in some from birth, but it does mean some people are born with that tendancy.