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Does anyone else feel alone?

Being a conservative atheist is a case of being a double minority; it kind of puts one on the wrong side of pretty much everything.

I've found it difficult to find anyplace where I fit in; obviously churches are out, as are virtually any groups among the artsy crowd (tough, because I'm an artist) and most social groups. The closest thing I've found is the local Republican supporters, most of whom are wonderful people, though I do have to remember to watch my step there and not disparage religion lest I get the cold shoulder.

I find myself wishing for the days before the political parties reached out to the fringe movements on either side in an effort to curry favor and get votes. (The Democrats embraced radical racial and other minority groups, and the Republicans did the same with religious zealots.)

Being single, it also makes dating hell. The liberal women don't want anything to do with me, and the few conservatives I can find are usually repelled by my lack of religion.

Quite honestly, I find conservative religious people easier to take than liberal atheists. The conservatives, while they may disagree about religion, are at least nice about it & behave responsibly, whereas most of the liberals are just mean assholes who are downright abusive to anyone who doesn't share their views.

Anyone else feel this way or have similar experiences?

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Smiley Courtney on September 30, 2011 at 4:34pm

Yup!,

That pretty well says it, Michael.

Even here . . . we have only 25 members!

Permalink Reply by Jim Rogers on October 30, 2011 at 10:54am

Wow. This topic touches close to home!

Conservatives suspect me of being a closet liberal because I'm an atheist. Liberals are suspicious of me because they see me as a libertarian/conservative.

I consider myself a confirmed atheist conservative despite the double rejection.

Personally, if I were single, I'd move to an island and leave both to destroy each other. But I'm not, and my Catholic wife now holds me at theological and emotional arms length.

In my analysis, crudely put, being an atheist conservative stinks.

I'm hoping this group and forum will be a safe haven for me and others like me.

Permalink Reply by Tonya Wynn on November 7, 2011 at 12:07pm

Jim, no wonder you seem so hostile...your wife isn't giving you 'no love'. Did you change your religious views after you married or were you silly enough to marry a religious person? A couple must share core values in order to be successful in marriage. Reality is a core value: there is no God.

Permalink Reply by Jim Rogers on November 7, 2011 at 12:22pm

Not surprisingly you have sunk to the levels indicative of losing the argument...addressing my personal life, about which you know little at best, and accusing me of arguing for arguments sake, which is a soft way of asking me to simply shut up. I was a Catholic when we were married, we still share the same values though she derives hers from Christianity and I derive mine from my own sense of morals and ethics.

Our only disagreement is about the role of God or lack thereof. Nice try.

Permalink Reply by Tonya Wynn on March 16, 2012 at 8:59am

Our personal lives reflect who we are, how we think. I am glad you see the light now.

All right-leaning atheists have nearly no place to go...atheists, as a rule, are leftists and Conservatives tend to be religious bullies. I really like the site/group Chris recommended, Facebook's Conservative-Atheists. There are lots of people there, allm of them much less abrasive than me (I blame it on living in New York for too long). You have a warm,friendly, accepting place there.

Permalink Reply by Pearl on May 11, 2012 at 7:46am

Tonya, i like you. We seem to agree on many things. I was telling a friend recently who is trying to decide if he wants to become an atheist to be honest with his girlfriend. I told him he cannot afford to allow her marry him blind, as that would be deception at it's worst and if she is very religious, she would feel the vows meant nothing to him, not understanding that as an atheist, his words bind him more than the possibility of breaking a word to any god.

That said, i can do nothing about family and friends i acquired before i became an atheist. But all the relationships i have forged after, i am upfront about who i am and i let you make the choice if you wanna roll with me or not.

Because marriage is "too close to home", you cannot act theist all your life, and you cannot wake up one day and say to your spouse "look honey, i should have told you 20years ago, all the prayers we have prayed together for the past 10years have meant nothing to me, little wonder they weren't answered". While he/she looks on in horror. Nor would you allow your kids be raised religious. If you can stand that? You need to review your claim on atheism.

Permalink Reply by Pearl on May 11, 2012 at 7:50am

Tonya, i gotta remind you here that an agnostic atheist is as much an atheist as you and i. So don't force your particular brand on anyone, and try to undermine their atheism. This is the same problem between weak and strong atheists, none is more atheist than the other as what unites us foremost is the ability to just BE despite what is or isn't. If we start to be divisive and split hairs, we end up being no better than the religious we abhor.

Permalink Reply by Jim Rogers on November 13, 2011 at 9:00am

I belong to a conservative political blog. They disparage me because I'm an atheist and essentially say I can't possibly be a conservative while being an atheist.

I have commented on political topics here as an atheist and have been accused of being a Christian in disguise because I disagree with their political stance.

Can't stand leftists because they seem quite religious to me, facts be damned. Can't stand the religious because they keep telling me about their "awesome" god, facts be damned.

Ugh!!!!!

Permalink Reply by Smiley Courtney on November 13, 2011 at 9:10am

I hear ya Jim!!!!!!!

Permalink Reply by Jim Rogers on November 13, 2011 at 9:25am

Thanks. I needed that.

Permalink Reply by Michael on January 8, 2012 at 5:08pm

Jim:

I've gotten that same sort of reaction. I attended a meeting at a local atheist society. When I mentioned that I considered myself a political conservative, most people reacted as though I had a communicable disease, actually pulling away from me slightly.

One fellow was insolent enough to declare that it is impossible to separate politics and religion, and that anyone claimed to be both an atheist and a conservative was lying. I responded by saying that maybe HE found it impossible, but that others were not bound by his limitations.

And I agree, many so-called left-wing "atheists" are indeed atheistic in name only. They are just as religious about other things as many right-wingers are about God.

I've about come to the conclusion that a large segment of the human race are, to an extent, crazy. The exact subject of the craziness may vary, but the behavior derived from it is rather uniform.

I find it interesting how much situations vary depending on geography. I live in one of the most liberal areas of the country, and consequently, someone who qualifies as a "conservative" here would probably be labeled as a "liberal" in many parts of, say, the deep South.

By contrast, many of the liberal set here are so far to the left that they are regarded as nut cases even by the liberals in other parts of the country.

Weird. (shaking head) What ever happened to "all things in moderation"?

Permalink Reply by Pearl on May 11, 2012 at 7:50am

Lol.