Why do so many religious people think that atheists don't have morals?

Question

Why do so many religious people think that atheists don't have any morals and that they don't care about being good people?

Answer 1

Major world religions such as Christianity and Islam are inherently amoral - They do not judge behaviour according to whether it is moral, but according to whether it is 'sinful', i.e. whether or not it is consistent with the orders of the religion's deity. Atheism, by contrast, allows for true morality, since the atheist worldview allows actions to be judged good or bad according to conscience, which is the true definition of morality.

In the theistic worldview, anything goes as long as it is imagined to be the wishes of the deity... and virtually any atrocity can and has been justified in this way. This is how all oppressive regimes succeed, whether it be Nazi Germany, Stalinist Russia or Iraq under Saddam - The most hideous crimes can be justified on the basis of "just following orders".

Furthermore, anyone imagining that they can make moral pronouncements from a religious basis is faced with an insurmountable problem: In tying their pronouncements to religious claims, their pronouncements are invalid until they can provide logically satisfactory evidence that the claims are true, and this they will never be able to do, so therefore any moral viewpoints based on religion should be dismissed as irrelevant.

Answer 2

Not many religious people think this way and it isn't because of their religion nor beliefs. Some Atheists that I have encounter in this section have said and I quote "I don't believe in sin and I can do whatever I want" such as lie,cheat,steal,engage in sexual immorality etc... which doesn't concern me because that's God's concerns and their choice. I have met some non-religious people who have personal convictions outside of religion and God and they are very good people. They don't believe that Homosexuality is something that you are born with. They believe that evolution is unexplainable. They don't believe that extramarital relations is o.k and other moral issues in this world. These people are moral. In my opinion are true good atheists. On this site, the non-believers on here show lack of morals against Christians and Christianity thru their perverted opinions. The questions that they ask are sickening and inflammatory. They say that they hate God but How can you hate something that you say don't exist? Why would someone else beliefs cause them to hate the followers especially those who they never met and never come in contact with? These people who are not true atheists attack believers with insults and these people are not what I called "good people".
There are good people like yourself. The reason why I know you are a true atheist is because you are not a regular in this section and ur question is respectable and not judgemental. You and other true atheists don't worry about what religious people think because you live and let others live too.

Shalom
+j+

Answer 3

As a Christian I realize that Atheists, Agnostics, Monotheists, Polytheists believers, each possess an innate sense of moral values.

Christian Truth, which is Ultimate Truth, is unchanging regardless of human intuition, intellegence, or emotional demeanor.

We believe there is but ONE Truth. This is not a derogatory statement but a philosophical point. All beliefs share in the ONE Truth (the ONE God) and reveal His presences by their very existence.

So I can accept your position as an Atheists and challenge it respectfully in pursuit of Ultimate Truth (God). I sincerely believe that ALL humanity, ALL the universe was created by God, and thus were created in His image.

All are children of God.

Answer 4

I am religious, and I do not think that. Religion is a personal choice and your faith is your own. If you choose not to believe in a God or Gods/Goddesses, then that is your own choice. It doesn't mean that you can't tell right from wrong! You have just as much invested in the planet as the rest of us. Gods don't give you or me the ability to see morals, that is given to us by free will.
Look at John Wayne Gacy. He went to church. Fat lot of good that did him. . .

Answer 5

You can have ethics, but not morals, for morals require a first principle basis. There are very good and ethical atheists, I was one. Morals are a different issue.

Answer 6

people are so bound to religion and it has made them feel that they are the most superior persons in the whole world and their ego cannot believe that there are people who do not need any religion to govern their life they can live their life with their own morals and principles so the religious people look down towards the atheists.

Answer 7

Because both never follow the rules of morality. Christians most of the time forget all they learn on sunday during the week, and athiests think all christians are bible-beaters. Negative stereotypes are never good.

Answer 8

Not that they don't have morals but that don't have a solid base for their morals. No unchanging ground so that their morals change with the wind. Even as we see many things today being considered to be moral that were overwhelmingly considered immoral just a couple decades ago.

Answer 9

Because for a number of religions, namely Christianity, the morals practiced by that faith are the only ones they are able to accept.

Answer 10

The answer is simple. Those religious that believe non-thiests are amoral do so because they believe their morality is the only sense of "real" morality that should be followed by every individual. Not believing in god (to them) is immoral.