[Serious] When you left theism, did you go Left?

[Rev. Rye]

It's complicated. On the one hand, my old church is Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod, which is roughly speaking, the missing link between the Roman Catholic Church and the American Evangelical movement, something for those of us who like candles AND far-right politics. If you've listened to Last Podcast on the Left's series on John List, it has modernised a bit since then, but not by very much. On the other hand, my family were further left than most of the rest of the congregation. When my fifth grade class (it was tied to the Church) held a mock-election for the 2000 elections, Bush won about 18-to-Reverend. Or maybe there was a second vote for Gore, I don't know.

Of course, that said, it was a bit jarring even to them when I came out as a Democratic Socialist* (and bear in mind, this is before Bernie was a household name), and even they were accepting when I told them I no longer believed in God, if only because the time I had there was so horrific that even the Church Elder's daughter that was my mother could see where I was coming from. Labels aside, I think not having to give a shit what the church thought helped make it easier to explore where my politics lay.

* or maybe I'm more Social Democrat, or perhaps even Libertarian Socialist fits my views better.