Is it possible for an Atheist to still be a moral person?

Question

Well, i kinda already asked my question....


Discuss....

Tony: Thats the thing, to us Atheists, God doesnt exist.

Thats what I love about Atheism, no wars have, or ever will be fought in its name. You can't exactly be a martyr for a non-religion.

Answer 1

Obviously. Why not?

And if you look around, you can plainly see that atheists' morals are, in general, better than those of believers, or at least better than those of the loudest believers.

Most atheists - probably a vast majority - came to atheism at least partly because of the high values that they put on truth and honesty. Right there that filters out the dishonesty and disregard for the truth that characterizes quite a few religious movements (the anti-abortionists, creationists, anti-homosexual movements, LeBlanc's answer below, etc.).

In the other direction, becoming an atheist generally causes a person to value life in a way that people who believe in life after death probably can't even imagine.

While it is still quite possible for an atheist to have bad morals, those two factors make it less likely. In a very real sense, atheism is a moral achievement.

Answer 2

In my experience an atheist can actually be moral than a religious person.

I'm an atheist and was strangling someone the other day and a christian said to me "Tom, what are you doing? Don't you know thou shalt not kill!?"

Of course that didn't happen as I have a very strong sense of what is right and wrong. I didn't need it spoon fed to me to understand.

I believe that moral behaviour and values are intrinsically instilled in our society and without that society would not function. Most of us know what is right for the greater good. We don't steal the iPod from a weedy teenager because we might get punished, but because we know it is the wrong thing to do and we do not wish to hurt someone else -even if that person's a stranger.

Let's put it this way, you couldn't see a plane full of atheists flying an airliner into an office block. Most wrong in the world seems to be done in the name of some god or another.

Answer 3

Yes, it is entirely possible for an Atheist to still be a moral person. Some people even say that I have too much morals (I tend to be really nice to everyone).

Morals were created before Christianity or any modern day religion because the teachings of Confucius and Buddha existed long before Jesus and Mohammad appeared.

Answer 4

I had to go and look up the word moral so that I could answer correctly. Dictionary.com says moral means:

1. of, pertaining to, or concerned with the principles or rules of right conduct or the distinction between right and wrong; ethical: moral attitudes.
2. expressing or conveying truths or counsel as to right conduct, as a speaker or a literary work; moralizing: a moral novel.
3. founded on the fundamental principles of right conduct rather than on legalities, enactment, or custom: moral obligations.
4. capable of conforming to the rules of right conduct: a moral being.
5. conforming to the rules of right conduct (opposed to immoral): a moral man.
6. virtuous in sexual matters; chaste.
7. of, pertaining to, or acting on the mind, feelings, will, or character: moral support.
8. resting upon convincing grounds of probability; virtual: a moral certainty.

Based upon the definition of moral, I see that of course, anyone can be a moral person. But my question is why would you? Living a moral life is a hard road to walk upon, what would you accomplish by living by such strictures ... I guess I can't figure out why I'd bother, if I didn't think there was something to look forward to at the end of a morally kept life.

Answer 5

Absolutely, in fact prison statistics have revealed a huge percentage of prisoners to be believers and an almost negligable amount to be atheists. Most atheists behave morally for the greater good of mankind, and not because they believe that it will help get them a ticket to heaven, which I believe says a lot.

Answer 6

for sure,

religious people live by the morales of another, ie what their religion states

Athiests, as i am, believe in their own morales. This said, even religious people can live by their own morales.

Morality though is hard to distinguish to whether a person is good or bad, as my morales are different form yours. Some one may believe that it is good to kill all traffic wardens, but does it make it ok to do it because it is morale to the person who carries it out

Morality is purely a personal thing, and even people who follow religious morales will ultimately follow their own morales.

J

Answer 7

Atheists are more moral than religious people. Religion tends to make people morally lazy. Most religious people I know can't defend why they think something is actually right or wrong without just defaulting to "God said so". That's a result of them having their morality spoon-fed to them all their lives.

Atheists, on the other hand, tend to think through such issues more deeply. They tend to look at a wider range of philosophies and take into account more the various situations and complexities of life to build their moral basis upon.

Answer 8

Morality is a religious concept that necessitates some god creature standing behind you with a hammer, ready to send you to an eternity of fire and suffering. Atheists have "ethics" which are based on rationality and the social contract. Ethics are far superior to morals.

Answer 9

to the person who said "only with gods help"

thats sad.

You don't have to have faith to be moral, you have to have faith to be religious. If you live your life well and are happy and treat others with kindness and respect, then you are a moral person.

Don't listen to Christian fanatics who tell you that God will make you a moral person. Religion has nothing to do with Morality. Religion is religion. Morality is Morality. Please keep them seperate.

Answer 10

definition of Moral

mor‧al  /ˈmɔrəl, ˈmɒr-/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[mawr-uhl, mor-] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation

–adjective 1. of, pertaining to, or concerned with the principles or rules of right conduct or the distinction between right and wrong; ethical: moral attitudes.
2. expressing or conveying truths or counsel as to right conduct, as a speaker or a literary work; moralizing: a moral novel.
3. founded on the fundamental principles of right conduct rather than on legalities, enactment, or custom: moral obligations.
4. capable of conforming to the rules of right conduct: a moral being.
5. conforming to the rules of right conduct (opposed to immoral): a moral man.
6. virtuous in sexual matters; chaste.
7. of, pertaining to, or acting on the mind, feelings, will, or character: moral support.
8. resting upon convincing grounds of probability; virtual: a moral certainty.
–noun 9. the moral teaching or practical lesson contained in a fable, tale, experience, etc.
10. the embodiment or type of something.
11. morals, principles or habits with respect to right or wrong conduct.

I didn't see it mention you have to be a theist