Atheism and politics

Atheists do not have a unified political standing, but embrace a diverse range of political opinions. However, historically and in recent times the majority of atheist have leaned towards the left/liberal side of the political spectrum in both economic and social views. For example, a Harris interactive poll found that most atheist are liberal. Atheists hold all major political positions, including the secular left and the secular right.

Not possessing a religious basis for morality, atheists are fundamentally incapable of having a coherent system of morality (see: Atheism and morality). The Barna Group found that atheists and agnostics in America were more likely, than theists in America, to look upon the following behaviors as morally acceptable: illegal drug use; excessive drinking; sexual relationships outside of marriage; abortion; cohabitating with someone of opposite sex outside of marriage; obscene language; gambling; pornography and obscene sexual behavior; and engaging in homosexuality/bisexuality. Atheists are less likely to hold to social conservatism.

As atheists' morality can be diverse, so to are their political opinions, and this varies from country to country: the secular left are the most notable in the USA while in the United Kingdom there are links with a tradition of the secualar right, e.g. David Hume who was an Atheist whose book History would "spread toryism across the land" according to Thomas Jefferson.

Atheism on the Left (Socialism and Communism)

According to the University of Cambridge, historically, the "most notable spread of atheism was achieved through the success of the 1917 Russian Revolution, which brought the Marxist-Leninists to power." Vitalij Lazarʹevič Ginzburg, a Soviet physicist, wrote that the "Bolshevik communists were not merely atheists but, according to Lenin's terminology, militant atheists." However, prior to this, the Reign of Terror of the French Revolution established an atheist state, with the official ideology being the Cult of Reason; during this time thousands of believers were suppressed and executed by the guillotine. There is far more notable examples of Atheists on the left than in any other political spectrum. This is mainly due to the Marx idea that "Religion is the opium of the masses" which appeals to Atheists. Additionally, within totalitarian communist regimes, the church was a threat to the power of the dictator and so being a Militant Atheist was necessary in order to expand the power of the state. Though, quite ironically, the communist left sometimes push for more integration of church and state. An example of this was Stalin's revitalization of the Russian Orthodox Church in 1941, which was joked to be more of a nationalization than a revitalization.. In British Politics, the Socialist party Labour have had multiple Atheist members including Clement Attlee who became prime-minister and Ken Livingston, mayor of London

Atheism On The Right (Conservatism and Libertarianism)

Made most apparent by the secular right, there are a number of Atheists who follow Conservatism in both the fiscal and social sense. Jillian Becker, a British Conservative Atheist who founded the blog "The Atheist Conservative", once claimed "one does not need Jesus to lead one toward a conservative viewpoint. In fact, a case could be made that the irrationality of religion is completely at odds with the ultra-rationality of conservative politics.". In fact, US republicanism did not start combineing reglion with conservatism until the 1970s.. The Secular right claims that conservatism ends with "Human Flourishing" and so an Atheist who follows reason and logic would accept this as the best political pathway. Another reason is that Atheists will reject Liberal claptrap due to the lack of evidence that Liberals can provide against the historical evidence that Conservatism provides. As aforementioned, the level of Atheists who are conservative varies greatly by country. In the USA, few Atheists are conservatives, while there are a few notable conservatives such as Razib Khan and Heather Mac Donald who are considered leading figures of the secular right. This low level can be attributed to Attacks from the religious right such as George Bush who once said "No, I don't know that atheists should be considered as citizens, nor should they be considered patriots" which would not ease Secular Right and Religious Right tensions. There is a far stronger position of Atheist conservatives in The United Kingdom, with famous adherents such as David Hume, Reginald Johnston and Tory MP Michael Portillo. In South Korera, the Head of the conservative party was an atheist while he was running against a Roman-Catholic liberal.

Atheism In the Center (Liberalism)

The Secular left, while called left, actively promotes liberalism. It demands "strict government secularism" and "anger toward religious and political conservatives," within the USA. The secular left has historically opposed religious conservatives and social conservatism. Part of this is ideologically centered. Liberalism had its foundlings in challenging traditions and religious thinking has became tradition for certain countries. As such, being an Atheist defies tradition in these countries and so Atheism would seem liberal. It has been claimed that American Atheism has only became liberal in a reaction towards the attacks of the Religious Right in a case of "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" and even a claim that the secular left is not strong but is rather an over-reaction of the religious right in calling all center-left politicians "the secular left". Within the United Kingdom, there are notable atheist liberals such as current Deputy Prime-Minister Nick Clegg.