Why are most atheists left-wing?

[Jinos]

Atheists are better at critical thinking.

[Francis Fitzgerald]

Many aren't.

[Gomona]

I don't know. Alot of ones I've met have been conservative verging on being state worshippers. But that's my experience with them.

[The USOT]

IMO your making a leap to say that intelligence = atheism whilst stupidity = Theism

Albert Einstein is a classic example, hell even Stephen Hawking admitted that

"the universe is governed by the laws of science. The laws may have been decreed by God, but God does not intervene to break the laws."

not denying that a theistic reality is possible.

In my own personal experience, 2 of the most intelligent people I have been fortunate enough to meet have both been religious (1 catholic, 1 Animist beleive it or not). Holding religious beleifs in no way is equatable to intelligence, other than that you have faith. Its not something I would have or care for, but it in no way makes someone as much of an idiot as the origional post would suggest.




Getting back on topic I suppose it is typically due to political values of society and how people are raised.
If you think about it for instance, by and large in America the two driving forces of your politics are either the Liberalist democrats or the Conservative republicans. Faith (or lack off) being a very personal thing, its far easier to identify and find common values with the side that you hold most in common with (this being more commonly from my own outsiders perspective of America, the liberals).

As for why we dislike Anarcho Capitalism? Because most people in the world see a need for a state, feel comforted by objective justice, have at some point been screwed over by a business and are terrified of what they could do without regulation, and of course most importantly (myself being example having spent a year where I could barely move due to crippling pain leaving me unable to function in society for that duration) are petrified by the thought of having no wellfare to keep them alive in times of need.

In short, not everyone beleives that Anarcho Capitalism is in their own "rational self interest".

[Faolinn]

I don't know. Alot of ones I've met have been conservative verging on being state worshippers. But that's my experience with them.

I have had very similar encounters.

[Xomic]

I think it has to do with Atheism generally requiring you to be in charge of your own morality.

Whether or not religious people will admit it, having a strong religious conviction that what you're doing is right only leads to immoral actions

[Trotskylvania]

IMO your making a leap to say that intelligence = atheism whilst stupidity = Theism

Albert Einstein is a classic example, hell even Stephen Hawking admitted that

"the universe is governed by the laws of science. The laws may have been decreed by God, but God does not intervene to break the laws."

not denying that a theistic reality is possible.

Einstein wasn't a traditional believer. Like a lot of theoretical physicists, he held a deep attachment to the Spinozan view of God: "Who reveals Himself in the lawful harmony of the world, not in a God Who concerns Himself with the fate and the doings of mankind."

[Luxativia]

I may be a communist, but I still believe in God.

Then you're not a true communist.

[Sailsia]

I used to post in some atheist forum(randi,rationaskepticism,rationalia,freethought etc) and I have left all of them

Why? because the great majority of atheists there are liberals/social democrats(US sense) or far-leftists

Another thing i have noticed is: we(anarcho-capitalists/libertarians) are often treat very badly,often worse than social conservative

Why people smart enough to be atheists are not smart enough to understand the free market?

Why is someone smart enough to be an atheist not smart enough to understand Social Democracy? It works both ways.

[Rhodmhire]

I used to post in some atheist forum(randi,rationaskepticism,rationalia,freethought etc) and I have left all of them

Why? because the great majority of atheists there are liberals/social democrats(US sense) or far-leftists

Another thing i have noticed is: we(anarcho-capitalists/libertarians) are often treat very badly,often worse than social conservative

Why people smart enough to be atheists are not smart enough to understand the free market?

A lot of conservative positions on social issues (abortion, same-sex marriage, capital punishment) at least seem to be commanded by a good many Gods, mainly the Judeo-Christian God if you're talking strictly America and Europe. Therefore, it makes sense that a lot of conservatives are Jewish, Christian, or by extension, just plain religious. A lot of religious laws try to curtail sexual obscenities, they are more authoritarian in nature, they try to prop up a social order which does not permit or does permit those things to occurr based on the text. Or so it is interpreted by many religious conservatives.

When I was a Christian I was fairly center-right at the beginning, basically for that reason, too. But over time I found myself tending towards the upper left and I considered myself some kind of libertarian toward the end of my belief and into the beginning of my disbelief. I remain a left-libertarian to this day, and I assume I'll keep that mindset if I do become a believer again. Sometimes I wonder if the two are independent. I mean, I didn't change radically in a political sense when I made the transition, it kind of just remained the same. The two had little to no correlation. But for others they do, plenty of others in fact.

The same goes for the non-religious, the atheists. They tend to be more left-wing, more supportive of pro-choice policies and same-sex marital rights and are opposed to things like capital punishment because they have no deity stipulating that some of those things are good whereas others are bad. Therefore they can rely more on their own experiences, interpretations, and reasoning and come to a conclusion independent of a deity. They are more likely to come to a conclusion which coincides with the left in some way or another. That doesn't rule out libertarianism, though, mind you. You seem to be of the opinion that it does. Also, on top of all that, most atheists probably want to disassociate themselves with the right because, well, for the most part, the right doesn't want them. The right is very religious. The right does not like them. The left, on the other hand, religious or otherwise (they tend to be less religious) welcomes them. They are interested to hear what they have to say more often. They don't want to cut them off. They aren't as hostile.

And I think libertarians are "treated worse" because if anything, the ideas just aren't that widespread and tend to be more radical. Conservatism and liberalism and even totalitarianism/authoritarianism are known, understood well, and aside from the final of those three, the others tend not to be so radical. Libertarianism, on the other hand, isn't so well-known, and once you do know a thing or two about it, the whole ideology can seem very out of the ordinary, very radical. It's not so much a thing of belief or the lack thereof, but rather a thing of the ideology itself, how well-known it is, how well-understood it is, and the analyses of the people criticizing or praising it. It's mostly got to do with what it preaches, and for a lot of people it preaches some radical economic ideas concerning the free market and just how free it should be allowed to be.

[Xercon]

Really interesting point.

I have the opposite problem, most Christians seem to be right-wing for some reason which makes no sense whatsoever to me.

If you actually believe in the teachings of Jesus (humour me a moment, those many of you who don't) you would know that it his teachings were heal the sick, feed the poor... basically they were left-wing and socialistic teachings.

Atheism on the other hand I would imagine to logically be libertarian or right wing, as it is an evolutionary fact that one must compete in order to survive which is a very right-wing view.

Sorry to generalise or if I offend anyone.

[Rhodmhire]

Really interesting point.

I have the opposite problem, most Christians seem to be right-wing for some reason which makes no sense whatsoever to me.

If you actually believe in the teachings of Jesus (humour me a moment, those many of you who don't) you would know that it his teachings were heal the sick, feed the poor... basically they were left-wing and socialistic teachings.

I don't know that I would go quite as far as to say they were socialistic. I mean Jesus's overall message was inherently spiritual as opposed to literal. I look to Nicodemus thinking that by being "born again" Jesus meant that he had to be shoved up into his mother's uterus again to get into heaven as a less practical but easily understood example. A lot of conflict and misunderstanding arose between Jesus and the people because they were unable to distinguish between a message of literalism and a message of spirituality. Of course many of his teachings did apply to the daily lives of people here on earth, but even in those there is a spiritual undertone.

Then again, I too saw the teachings of Jesus as going against what many on the right had to say in several instances as well when I believed (although I still technically do believe in the teachings, just not the divinity of the rabbi or their spiritual undertones), and so I can see your point, and I think it is fairly valid, although not in every instance.

Atheism on the other hand I would imagine to logically be libertarian or right wing, as it is an evolutionary fact that one must compete in order to survive which is a very right-wing view.

I think this is confusing evolutionary Darwinism with social Darwinism. A large quantity of atheists would not call themselves proponents of the latter.

[Soxastan]

Democrats just like science. I dunno. Republicans could too. But it might have to deal with economics.

[Cologno]

as it is an evolutionary fact that one must compete in order to survive which is a very right-wing view.
.

only if you confuse darwinism with Social darwinism

cooperation and mutual aid are the most important factors in the evolution of the most advanced organism

[Mosasauria]

Because conservatism is often backed by religion. You'll find very few atheist conservatives, as many have no reason to follow conservatism and often find they disagree with the right.

[Rhodmhire]

Democrats just like science. I dunno. Republicans could too. But it might have to deal with economics.

It's not just Republicans, but the right in general, including many libertarian facets. The conflict between science and economics is poignant and really does deprive the right of often being able to support a lot of their causes or to bolster their claims. I mean, just thinking of basic day-to-day economics, it's all about short-term individual profit, at least on a personal level. Just from that, an idea that many on the right promote (short-term individualism), it's really hard to bring, like, global climactic change into it (long-term communitarianism), since that is a long-term problem that involves cooperation and which ultimately affects multiple people. In many cases, the entire population of a country, continent, or the planet.

And that shit costs money to fund for research and to address, too.

And science often conflicts with corporations. Do I really need to name the countless times throughout history where scientists have found something wrong with a substance or product and the company goes out of their way to denounce the evidence so they don't have to lose money solving the problem? Wasn't that a part of why it took so long to deal with chlorofluorocarbons, because DuPont was raking it in with Freon?

That's not in every case, but it's in a lot of cases. It's more a thing of conservatism than Republicanism. Republicanism (party) doesn't always conservatism (ideology). And it's almost always about the ideology in these discussions.

[Cologno]

I remain a left-libertarian to this day

with an anarcho-capitalist flag?

[Trippoli]

One of my good friends from school who like to argue with me on politics, is a atheist and a die hard right winger. So it's common they're religious, though you do get a few who aren't.

Also, I have met some radical Christians "Purge the gays derp derp" who are more left wing than I am.

[Baja California Prime]

3--The social conservative side paints us as "foreign, America-hating, amoral", and we don't do it to them, and the willfully ignorant (large chunk of the population) tend to believe whoever screams the loudest and meanest.

Really?, you say things like the underlined and wonder why you are called "America hatin"
You are correct, you haven't turned Conservative into a dirty word, rather you have turned "American" to be synonymous for Ignorant.

Gee, that's funny mr. rightwinger. According to your bullshit rationality, I deserve the label "America hater" unless I state that we have no ignorant people in America? What next, you gonna call me a terrorist sympathizer for stating that we have a lot of fat people? Gonna call me a communist if I state that our nation has made mistakes before or that we aren't "NUMBER 1" at everything?

Thanks for proving my point!
PS they are called LOW INFORMATION VOTERS, which is almost the definition of the willfully ignorant in America.

[ZombieRothbard]

Because religion gives people a values system, atheism tends to attract people who are nihilistic and therefor undisturbed by the immorality and slavery of collectivism.

[Dakini]

IMO your making a leap to say that intelligence = atheism whilst stupidity = Theism

Albert Einstein is a classic example, hell even Stephen Hawking admitted that

"the universe is governed by the laws of science. The laws may have been decreed by God, but God does not intervene to break the laws."

not denying that a theistic reality is possible.

It's doubtful that Einstein was a theist. He used the word "god" to mean "the universe" more often than not.

But Einstein was not really religious. He remarked that "the idea of a personal God is an anthropological concept which I cannot take seriously". When asked if he believed in God, Einstein explained: "I believe in Spinoza's God who reveals himself in the orderly harmony of what exists, not in a God who concerns himself with fates and actions of human beings."

Hawking is about the same.

In my own personal experience, 2 of the most intelligent people I have been fortunate enough to meet have both been religious (1 catholic, 1 Animist beleive it or not). Holding religious beleifs in no way is equatable to intelligence, other than that you have faith. Its not something I would have or care for, but it in no way makes someone as much of an idiot as the origional post would suggest.

If anecdotes were worth anything, the most intelligent people I know are atheists or "don't give a shit"-ists. I know more than two of them too.

Granted, I don't believe that it takes intelligence to be an atheist, I've met plenty of stupid ones.

[Chumblywumbly]

Because religion gives people a values system, atheism tends to attract people who are nihilistic and therefor undisturbed by the immorality and slavery of collectivism.

Is the catechism-like dogma in the above meant to be ironic?

Sadly, I suspect not.

[Seperates]

Because the Right wing in America is full of fundementalist, religious, anti-skeptical, nutjobs. That's probebly why.

[Seperates]

Because religion gives people a values system, atheism tends to attract people who are nihilistic and therefor undisturbed by the immorality and slavery of collectivism.

Really? Because I was under the impression that you lived under a atheistic, secular, court of law. My bad, you must live in Iran.

[ZombieRothbard]

Because religion gives people a values system, atheism tends to attract people who are nihilistic and therefor undisturbed by the immorality and slavery of collectivism.

Is the catechism-like dogma in the above meant to be ironic?

Sadly, I suspect not.

What is catechism?