Do you think atheist are better people?

Question

First I don't have a religion, I'm not athiest or christian or anything else. I'm still soul searching to find my place in regards to spirituality. BUT, do you think athiest are better people? I ask because if you are a person without fear of God's wrath or judgement and still choose to be a good person who loves their family, love their life, and respects other then doesn't it make sense that they are better as far as mankind goes with controlling the bad within themseleves and exudeing the good.

Sorry for using the word better but i really couldn't articulate exactly what i was trying to get across. It was the only word I could really think of but i think the detail of the question get's across the point I was trying to make.

Answer 1

I believe that all people, whether believers in God or not, should be good for the sake of being good, and not for fear of punishment or hope of reward.

Perhaps it is easier for a believer in God to get caught in the mistake of only being good out of fear. But an Atheist can also be good for the "wrong" reasons as well. He or she may wish to not get arrested, for example. Or he or she may be very concerned about his or her image and reputation.

I think all of us, no matter what we believe, ought to examine our true motives carefully, if we want to make sure we are doing good for the right reasons.

Answer 2

Faith is how you treat a "god".
Morality is how you treat _people_.

The two have nothing to do with each other.

Every time I hear some godbot claiming "Our religion makes for better people!" I can only shake my head. If that's the case, then the religious should explain catholic pedophiles, explain religious terrorists (christian, jewish, muslims, hindus, buddhists, etc.), and explain the Nazis and the KKK. Instead, the religious give the same cop-out answer every time: "They're not christians!" or whatever crap they belong to.

If Hitler wasn't a christian, then Stalin wasn't an atheist (of course, Stalin *did* study for the seminary when he was young...).

A US Department of Corrections (the government) study showed that 0.2% of the US prison population were atheists or agnostics, but the US census said 10% of its citizens were. That means atheists and agnostics are 20 times LESS likely to be in prison, and the religious were MORE likely than average to be incarcerated.

The Barna Group (a US research company, owned and run by fundamentalist christians) did a study on divorce. In couples whose religion was the same, the lowest rate of divorce was for atheists (21%) and the highest was for fundamentalist christians (26%), the very people who blather about "family values".

The fact is, "good christian" is at best a coincidence, if it's not an oxymoron. It sure as hell is not a redundancy, despite the lies that christians tell.

Answer 3

I have known atheists, agnostics, and people of varying types of faith. If you want to know from my personal experiences who the better people are- I will tell you. First, you have to understand the fact that any human being is capable of letting you down. My belief is that God is the only unchanging, infinitely loving, constant truth. Think about what that means. People who have faith in God's word, and let it work through them are the ones least likely to let you down, and to have true joy and be able to give joy to others. My stepdad was an atheist. He thought he didn't need God because of his high IQ, yet he did not spread much joy, and sometimes even alienated others. When things got tough in his life, he responded by running head on into a tree in his car and killing himself.
My good friend's dad was an atheist, and he had everything together. He was very likable and considerate to others. One day his wife asked for a divorce, and he could not figure out why the safe logical world he had built for himself could not stay the same, so he locked himself in the running car, in the garage, when no one was home, and asphyxiated himself to death. Separation from God is destructive. Not all unbelievers will end this way. And bad things will occassionally happen to the faithful. The difference is in the way a true believer handles adversity, when life doesn't seem worth living. I hope that you will seek the wisdom of the word of God, and I pray that you will choose faith.

Answer 4

I could quote a bible verse at you like half the people are or say what i believe or say youre confused but what good would that do. We're all confused. We don't really know the truth. The reality is atheists are just like everyone else. The only difference is that atheists make their own belief system. Just like a christian or any other religion its up to the person decide what to do with there lives and how to live it. If you take the religion out of the picture all you have left is the person and whether or not that person is a good one is up to the person themself. Anyone can be a good person with values and no judgemental ways, they just have to choose to live that way.

Answer 5

Religion is really just evil in disguise.

Religion is responsible for the majority of wars, conflict and murder of innocent life since humanity began. There is considerable evidence to classify religion as evil, and talk of religion (Gods etc) should be banned. Because the records prove over and over again throughout humanity that religion is clearly responsible for crimes against humanity, taking part in any religious activity should also be outlawed and made a criminal offence.

The world would be a much happier and peaceful place if religion ceased to exist. Although there are some decent religious believers and preachers, they are unwittingly spreading evil around our world, and that they should simply keep their beliefs and thoughts to themselves in the best interests of humanity, or suffer the consequences for their actions.

People should consider that the world would be like Heaven if religion ceased to exist, but all the believers and preachers have turned the planet into Hell.

Answer 6

Most of the atheists I know are assholes or are not moral, or behave like they should. The behaviors I'm talking about include suicidal, drugs, large amounts of alcohol, and constantly fighting. I know personally three or four athiests and this is how they act, I'm not saying all atheists are like this but all of the ones that I personally know are. Good enough for you? Someone's going to say I live in a small town or am wrong but that's probably because they're offended by my statement.

Answer 7

I'm going to say no, and the reason being is that they say they don't have a faith, but they do have beliefs, and those belief they try to force down others trouts, and yet act as though there not. I on the other hand I belong to the religion of one, and the church of Parris Adams, If I disagree with someone/ thing then I will say it, i will point it out, when I'm mad at god I will say "hey your letting this war go on long enough, stop it". i grew up going to church, in fact I went to a private school. It is because of that I can't let go of my past belief about god, but I can alter him, I can reinterpret the bible to how I read it. I don't fear him, or the devil, strike me down I would say out load when I disagree with this world I see, but yet every time there's a storm outside I shake, terrified, and yet still ready to die. For me it isn't the fear, or the readiness to die that propels me to be good, it is who I am that does it.

Answer 8

That could be said, but you also have to consider that a lot of religious people will be good people either way. Although if you want to see some people who only act good out of fear say that God didn't give us morals, you get tons of people saying "If we don't have anything to fear why would you not rape and steal?". Dead serious, some people actually think that.

But overall it is hard to make assumptions or generalizations. I'm an atheist and consider myself a good person, but I don't want to sound conceited, but yes, people who have decided to be good people without fear of any gods are truly good people. That is actually something the Buddha said long ago.

Answer 9

Selfishness is the root of all evil. So to be good out of fear of Hell, or for the reward of Heaven is ultimately a selfish act.

A person who is good for the good of mankind for the sake of being good is truly a good person.

And to those that say "religion is the cause of many wars". This is true, but science is the enabler of worse wars. Technology breeds more advanced weapons of destruction, and we can thank science for the A-Bomb

Heron by the Sea, you bring up very good points.

Answer 10

'Better' is a loaded word, and subject to interpretation. I think that by and large atheists are more analytical, more clear-minded, more rational, more pragmatic and seek truth more readily than the religious extreme, but does that make them 'better'?

But you make a good point. Being a good, unselfish person for it's own sake rather than because of a promise of heaven or a threat of hell is more admirable than doing it because you were told to and promised a reward for it.