atheist as well as conspiracy theorist?

[CapnAwesome]

Conspiracy theorists drive me absolutely bonkers. Don't forget they are not harmless either and several mass shooters in the U.S. have been conspiracy theorists.

[Athene]

I acknowledge that being an atheist is simply a lack of belief in a god or gods, and nothing more. I just find it odd that someone whose logical thought process allows them to dismiss religious beliefs, are seemingly unable to draw from their ability to reason in other matters.  I'm certainly not referring to someone who indulges in speculative musings from time to time, or believes that some conspiracies are true. I'm referring to people whose go-to response  to any issue that lacks clarity, is that it's part of a large conspiracy. There seems to be a tendency to try and pass these beliefs off as healthy skepticism. It's not.

[Gawdzilla]

Let's say you've been in a bad relationship with an emotionally abusive partner, who lies to you, demeans you and controls everything about the relationship.  You somehow manage to find the courage to break it off, only to start dating your ex's look alike cousin. Probably not the best move to make, right? If someone rejects religious beliefs, yet finds themselves viewing most events through the lens of conspiracy theory,
a reboot of rational thinking may be in order. Making leaps and jumps to conclusions, filling in the gaps with whatever the you want is not cool. That sort of thinking is best left with  theists, in my opinion.

The people who believe in conspiracy theories range from people too lazy to think about the topic to total nutbags. The people who create, propagate and sell CTs are either in it for a buck or intent on attacking some person or group. CTs always make someone look bad, with good reason.

[brewer]

I'd love to meet an atheist that has pronoia. I'd be willing to listen to their views for quite a while.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pronoia_%28psychology%29

[Longhorn]

Perhaps your face looked like your avatar?

Lol. Maybe, but with more pantpissing terror

[BitchinHitchins]

I feel like religion forces people to adopt a mindset of "nothing is merely coincidence".

Johnny prayed that his sister will live, although she has a terminal illness in which 90% afflicted will die. Her doctors did everything they could and she ended up surviving the illness. Religion says it was the work of god. Reality says she was lucky that she was within the 10% of people who responded to treatment.

We find the same mentality with worldwide events that seem to line up perfectly with a conspiracy theory. Even if one were to break free from religion this mentality of "nothing is coincidence" can stick around.