Posted on 01/19/2006 3:56:16 AM PST by ComtedeMaistre
Most conservatives are religious. But there is a small minority of non-religious individuals, who were attracted to the conservative movement because they were influenced by secular movements such as Ayn Rand's objectivism.
Should atheists be welcomed into the conservative movement? Do atheists make good conservatives?
If a movement or group is based on a religious belief then it would logically follow that most would be religious.
Oh? Todays religious folks want to impose the word of God, not expose the word of God to those who don't know His message or heed His scriptures.
And the Taliban would be considered conservatives. But I think conservatives in the US are not in the same class.
Yeah. Just like Saddam's Republican Guard is the same thing as the GOP. /sarc
Could be Michael Moore.
Well, I guess if you wanted to say that some Christian conservatives want to impose their religious morality on others.
I believe Conservatism has nothing to do with religion and exists separate and apart. That's why people like Pat Robertson are so annoying.
As I have observed countless times here on FR, often your religious convictions are at odds with true conservative values.
Oddly enough, Christians can also claim to own the liberal movement by the premeses of the original post. A goodly portion of black Protestant churches support liberal candidates and causes, as do many Protestant and Catholic churches in the Northeast and out West. Something like 70 percent of the population of the U.S. claims to be a Christian of one stripe or another, while the number of self-proclaimed atheists hover around 1 to 2 percent. As about half the country votes liberal in any given election, this is a strong indication that many liberal voters are also Christians.
At what point did the requirement for having a religious believe enter into the equation of whether you are conservative or not?
Do atheists make good conservatives?
Yes.
Atheists?
Are they the people that say they don't believe in God but
...do nothing but talk about Him?
...do nothing but rail against Him?
...do nothing but obsess about Him?
...until they finally come to believe in Him
as C.S.Lewis did.
HEY FELLAS!!!,
if He doesn't exist why are you talking about Him?
Flapdoodle
Radio, it's good to see you. (Were we supposed to answer this question seriously?)
Maybe it's the word "own".
Christians do not own Conservatism. No more than atheists own Liberalism. And Christians should not attempt to legislate religion into law.
Well I'd say a lot of outspoken Conservatives are religious. This of course doesn't take into account the millions of non-religious (or non church going) conservatives who vote every couple of years.
Conservatives adhere to the Constitution.
Whether or not they adhere to the Word of God is the choice that God has allowed them to make.
Fortunately, there is very little conflict between the two, however in the case of a conflict I will always put God before the Constitution. In that regard atheists may make better conservatives.
On the other hand, Christians and Jews know that their rights come from God and that the Constitution doesn't grant rights, but rather limits the power of the governemnt. Atheist conservatives know that the Constitution limits the powers of government, but the source of their rights is a little more of an obscure subject. In that regard Christians make better conservatives.
Conclusion: Atheists are a slightly different type of conservative, but they are neither better nor worse conservatives that Christians or Jews.
Thanks. Sorry I was gone for a bit. Just getting over pneumonia. Went to the hospital twice. Not been a fun start to a year. Better now! (After taking more pills than I thought existed, now my tummy is revolting from the pill abuse. LOL!)
(Were we supposed to answer this question seriously?)
Not sure actually. (But I did) :-)
I never found Natural Law to be obscure.
But your point is understood, nonetheless.
They are vunerable to socialists convincing them "ends jsutify the means" governments can "do good - isn't that the Christian thinhg?"
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