Leo Strauss, perhaps the most influential conservative thinker of recent decades, was an atheist.
Uh, oh, time for the annual 'Eating our own' movement, just in time for an election year. This is a perfect example of what scares the moderately (or less) religious away from the conservative movement.
>>Leo Strauss, perhaps the most influential conservative thinker of recent decades, was an atheist<<
I think Russell Kirk had a more important influence on conservative thinking than Leo Strauss. And Kirk was deeply religious.