Why do some theists think that atheists have no morals?

Question

I work, pay taxes, am devoted to my husband, have raised a lovely daughter and have dogs and cats. I give to charity, volunteer as an ESL tutor, dress decently and am kind to others. I do not lie, cheat or steal. How are you and I different, other than that I do not believe in god(s)?

Tyla - you are describing Pascal's wager. Most atheists are aware of it and have rejected it as nonsense.

Answer 1

I agree.
Morality does not stem from religion.
Morality stems from creation of society, the social contract[1].
Basically people have implicitly agreed to be nice to each other to create a better society.
A lot of societies have different religions, or very loose religions -- yet they have ethics very similar to ours.
Morality does not come from religion -- morality comes from living in a society with other people, and recognizing that other people have right as well as you.

Answer 2

WARNING: Biased and opinionated materials ahead.

Because SOME THEISTS would give no credit to natural development of human civilizations, nor their own government, nor science.

If they believe they could deny tens of thousands of years of unwritten human social evolution, and explain away all that is unknown with just a few selected books, then they could easily manage and manipulate public opinion to ignore and dismiss any good done outside of their control.

To them everything must be associated with and explained by the narrow vision of their "one true God" -- or else it is evil and must be disregarded. It is their fear that they could lose control of society once people begin to have different ideas other than their outdated doctrines.

That is the level of power and control they had enjoyed for many many years. No doubt they have forced their way into civilization and left their marks in a trail of blood.

For evidence, one just have to look at the temples they have built on top of other religions and begin to see how brutal and methodical they have been. Just count up innocent lives burnt at the stake for speaking the wrong truth according to their religion. All these are still happening today!

Many of these theists seem rather proud to be ignorant for they would not acknowledge that they don't have all the answers.

The funny thing is, the harder they try, the more they become the great evil so despise by their own religion. It is a self-fulfilling prophesy described in their own books -- a menu of destruction and they are following it to the letter thinking it would be a glorious day when they are all dead.

It is somewhat ridiculous...

Answer 3

Perhaps its because Atheists have nothing to base morals on? While no generalization is fully accurate, without a belief in god why not commit murder? Why not incest? Why not steal? Evolution and biology are not a foundation for morals. In the animal kingdom with no beliefs and no wisdom these things are common. As we "progress" toward no beliefs, is this where we go? Only right and wrong defined by a belief and understanding in right and wrong can produce real morals. That anyone acts morally is because they were taught about right and wrong at some point based on a belief. Chances are it won't last if history of other "civilizations" is any indicator. Just a thought.

Answer 4

Oooooh, good question!! I have never been of the opinion that atheists have no morals, but all the atheists I have met and had conversations with have always gotten angry and unkind when talking about why they believe what they believe (kinda like when I try to tell my vegetarian mother that eating eggs is not committing murder of little chicken embryos).

When people feel stongly about something that is very important to them - when it's a major part of their lives, it's easy to get upset when someone challenges that belief (or lack of one) or tells you that it's wrong.

I am proud that you are so involved in your community and in life itself, I can only imagine how much more fufilling it would be with a little "faith" thrown in there. ; )

I am really glad you said "some theists" rather than all theists, we aren't ALL that way...when we go to church, we learn who Jesus Christ was and what he taught while he was here on the earth. He taught kindness, fairness, charity, love, admiration, chivalry, forgivness and many other wonderful things. Maybe because you don't believe in Him and what He stands for, it's hard to understand that you believe in all the good things He did and taught. That's just a guess.....

Answer 5

Many theists think morality is only possible if it is handed down from God. Therefore they think "no god=no morals".

Morality, however, can stem from a well-considered framework of community commitment and compassion. There is no reason to have a god to come up with that. Is it any wonder that almost all philosophies and religions have narrowed ethic down to this:

Don't do something to someone else that you wouldn't want done to you, or stated more in the affirmative, act toward others just as you wish they would act toward you.

Answer 6

As far as I can tell, it's just projection. Without the guidance of the Good Book (TM) they would have no morals, so they assume everyone is the same. Or, they are threatened by the relativistic morals that arise from having one's own inner moral compass, rather than the dogmatic morals set down in the Bibble.

Either way, as you correctly suggest, it's deeply insulting.

Answer 7

To answer your main question, it's just a steriotype, when most or some people hear the word atheist, they think of, like, goth people, you know (at least that's what I think of at first, I must admit, but I do know that there are quite a few atheists out there who are of good moral character, it's all basically steriotyping). For your other question, I'm not sure how to answer that....

Answer 8

OKFine, you have morals. You're nice to others, why? No reward for you in heaven. No commandments except your own. If you're finding morals within yourself, did you just think them up? What logic did you use? Why not just exploit other people? You have no accountability to any God, no restraint, at best you have the "religion" of law to look up to, that's it. But get away with what you can, lie, cheat, steal, you're atheist, morals are an absolute waste of time. We are carbon life forms, nothing else, no reason to get carried away with any sense of good or bad.

That's how you and I are different. You have no reason to have morals, I do.

Answer 9

Upon what basis do you adhere to these morals? These laws are derived from age old commandments which many of believe are the directions from God for a healthy and happy life. Without that glue, the morals fall apart and it becomes easy to ignor them as common sense or community standards.

Look at the immorality of sex these days. By the changing of the community standard from that which is published in the 4th commandment, the community is subject to unwanted pregnancies, STDs, and other problems not handled before.

I would say that you are lucky so far, good luck in the future as the values of your family changes to whatever they choose, rather than the formula for happiness.

Answer 10

If a believer is wrong and God doesn’t exist, then nothing has been lost. On the other hand, if the atheist is wrong and God does exist, then the atheist risks going to hell. Therefore, it is smarter to take a chance on believing than to take a chance on not believing, and the atheist is in a bad spot.