“I find a dearth of spirituality in what I have seen of her thought.”
I have only read “Atlas Shrugged” and articles about her. (I started “Fountainhead” years ago but didn’t get far. But you are correct. She is very much against any type of religion, or the idea of a God.
As a Christian, I just put her thoughts about religion or spirituality off to the side. The stuff she writes about government, self-reliance, etc. more than makes up for her lack of spiritual awareness.
That is what I can not do. There needs to be a line between patriotism and idolatry. This is an idea that has only come to me recently. We conservatives rightly deride those who posit the state as the ultimate source of good for citizens. I have to question myself, asking if I delude myself in the same way? If we could only get the right people in power, would all indeed be well?
I would have to disagree. Such an opinion would make her anti-God. But from what I've seen, she really had no hard feelings on it because she truly was atheist. The people I see pushing themselves off as atheists today actually do believe in God when it comes down to it. They just don't like Him.