# Politically Conservative Nontheists? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 14, 2010, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/politically-conservative-nontheists/557161 "2010-10-14T18:57:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![AClockworkMelon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aclockworkmelon/32/10803_2.png) [@AClockworkMelon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AClockworkMelon)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2010, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/politically-conservative-nontheists/557161/21 "2010-10-15T12:26:57Z")
> [@J.D.G](#): > > Penn & Teller > > They did a BS episode on the Vatican. I might be wrong though. Penn & Teller are as atheist as you can be. They’re libertarians; social liberals that wouldn’t mesh with what we know as conservatives in the United States. ---
**Author:** ![Sateryn76](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Sateryn76](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sateryn76)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2010, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/politically-conservative-nontheists/557161/22 "2010-10-15T13:03:25Z")
How about Christopher Hitchens? ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2010, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/politically-conservative-nontheists/557161/23 "2010-10-15T13:13:16Z")
Ariel Sharon, probably. ---
**Author:** ![davekhps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@davekhps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davekhps)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2010, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/politically-conservative-nontheists/557161/24 "2010-10-15T15:12:36Z")
Redacted. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2010, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/politically-conservative-nontheists/557161/25 "2010-10-15T15:25:12Z")
Alan Greenspan is an atheist, a libertarian, and a Republican. But I don’t know if conservative really describes him. I don’t agree that libertarianism is a subset of conservatism. ---
**Author:** ![code\_grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@code\_grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/code_grey)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2010, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/politically-conservative-nontheists/557161/26 "2010-10-16T22:44:21Z")
then there is David Hume, the 18th century philosopher who is sort of the intellectual father of traditional conservatism (not so much of the militant laissez faire and similar, but rather of conservatism as general intellectual approach to handling human problems). His argument against accepting supernatural phenomena, including basic claims of Christianity, is found in “Of Miracles” essay, which you can read here [http://www.davidhume.org/texts/?text=ehu#10](http://www.davidhume.org/texts/?text=ehu#10) ---
**Author:** ![yorick73](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/b5a626/32.png) [@yorick73](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yorick73)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2010, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/politically-conservative-nontheists/557161/27 "2010-10-17T04:02:37Z")
Charles Krauthammer ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2010, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/politically-conservative-nontheists/557161/28 "2010-10-17T07:16:12Z")
John Malkovich is famously conservative. [An uncited claim on Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Malkovitch) states that he is also an atheist. There are two broad strokes of conservatism in America: Southern and Western. Religion is a big part of Southern conservatism, but not so much Western. It’s sort of the difference between “Praise Jesus!” and “Get out of my yard.” ---
**Author:** ![falcotron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3ab097/32.png) [@falcotron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/falcotron)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2010, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/politically-conservative-nontheists/557161/29 "2010-10-17T07:42:26Z")
> [@Krokodil](#): > > There are two broad strokes of conservatism in America: Southern and Western. Religion is a big part of Southern conservatism, but not so much Western. It’s sort of the difference between “Praise Jesus!” and “Get out of my yard.” So in Texas, which is not quite southern and not quite western, it’s “Praise Jesus and get out of my yard”? ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2010, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/politically-conservative-nontheists/557161/30 "2010-10-17T07:47:12Z")
> [@falcotron](#): > > > [@Krokodil](#): > > > > There are two broad strokes of conservatism in America: Southern and Western. Religion is a big part of Southern conservatism, but not so much Western. It’s sort of the difference between “Praise Jesus!” and “Get out of my yard.” > > So in Texas, which is not quite southern and not quite western, it’s “Praise Jesus and get out of my yard”? That’s my understanding, yes. ---
**Author:** ![FuzzyOgre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@FuzzyOgre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FuzzyOgre)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2010, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/politically-conservative-nontheists/557161/31 "2010-10-17T07:58:09Z")
> [@Krokodil](#): > > John Malkovich is famously conservative. [An uncited claim on Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Malkovitch) states that he is also an atheist. > > There are two broad strokes of conservatism in America: Southern and Western. Religion is a big part of Southern conservatism, but not so much Western. It’s sort of the difference between “Praise Jesus!” and “Get out of my yard.” Well said. Western Canada is like that too. A lot of fiscal conservatives and a lot of overlapping agnosticism(at the least). ---
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2010, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/politically-conservative-nontheists/557161/32 "2010-10-17T08:19:30Z")
> [@falcotron](#): > > Other than Mussolini and Hitler, people have only mentioned Americans. But east Asia is chock full of conservatives who don’t believe in a personal god, and even northern Europe surely has a lot more than the US (and they’re more open about it). Yes, in Ireland the conservative former Minister for Justice and deputy PM Michael McDowell is reportedly an atheist. We also have secular anti-choice activists here, and even secular left-wing anti-choicers. I put this down to the fact that Catholic Church has so thoroughly controlled the abortion debate that until recently most people haven’t even questioned its dogma. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2010, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/politically-conservative-nontheists/557161/33 "2010-10-17T11:54:58Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > > [@code\_grey](#): > > > > You don’t suspect Deng Xiaoping of belief in a personal god, do you? > > No, but I suspect him of being at least some sort of communist. Yes, and that’s a very politically conservative position to hold in China. Positions which would be considered conservative in, say, the United States, would be considered quite liberal there. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/politically-conservative-nontheists/557161.md?page=1)