why is it that a lot of super religious people think you cannot be moral if you are not religious?

Question

I suggest these people read some philosophy books. A lot of bright philosophers, who were atheists, wrote seminal works on morality, and were highly moral themselves

Answer 1

My personal opinion is that alot of religious people end up with this attitude because many of them barely maintain a moral lifestyle even though they are religious. Think of all the people you know that are constantly preaching abstinence and sexual morality who are caught in,surprisingly enough sex scandals. I in fact have one of these people in my family,my mother is one of these born again,wait until your married holier than thou types. Meanwhile she was pregnant at 16,married to the father for no good reason but the child(me) divorced just a few years later only to spend the next couple years playing the field like a pro. But she had her fun so now it's time for her to tell everyone else to live like a monk or their going to hell,and I'm sure she confessed her sin to jesus and asked for forgiveness,so it's cool. Then you have moral crusaders like Rush who's on what his fourth wife,I've lost count. So I think it's just that as immoral as they have been,they figure Atheists must be burning babies just to see how it smells Plus it's easy to be a moral crusader when you can break any rule and all you have to do is pray to Jesus and it's all good. The rest of us actually have to answer to our consciences.

Answer 2

I'm not saying I agree or disagree with your opinion, but one possible suggestion is that individuals of faith have a guiding principle. We are taught as Christians how to behave (provided we are raised in a wholesome and loving christian environment that promotes spiritual growth) from a very early age.

To say that one side is more right then the other presents a false dilemma fallacy. The connotation of "moral" however indicates profound understanding of right and wrong. For anyone to assert that they as a christian are purely more "moral" because of their beliefs is not representing a true christian, and for an individual to assert that there is more truth in a philosophy book then may exist in an others faith is in itself egotistical as well as elitist.

It is not the words of an individual that make them a christian or an atheist, but rather the actions. What might be right for one may not be right for another and moral conviction does not indicate faith or lack of, it merely indicates the fabric of an individuals character.

(By the way, I am a devout christian, but I dont think that entitles me to anything beyond my own beliefs and the relationships I feel I have with God. I would never try to force my beliefs on anyone as that is wrong and immoral. I rather enjoy diversity of thought as that is what makes life so enjoyable, however it is when and individual tries to force their opinion or beliefs on someone else, or ostracizes someone else because of that persons beliefs, then that person is clearly in the wrong.)

Answer 3

It is not that non-religious people can't be moral, but it is a question of where do the morals come from? Is there a standard of behavior that you can point to and say, "This is why we behave morally." Does the "standard" change?

The reason that "super religious" people are concerned with morality and the unbeliever is the ability to determine on an ad hoc basis or popular vote, what is or is not moral.

Forty years ago, sex out of wedlock was frowned upon. Homosexuality was a perversion. Nowadays, both are embraced. What changed? The non-religious standard of morality did. The religious one did not.

If morals are determined by popular vote, eventually there will be no standard. Mark my words; all manner of perversion will be considered an "alternative lifestyle." Whether bestiality, polyamory, or pedophilia, because those who practice it have learned from those who came before to push their "lifestyles" on society. They will win in courts, whether judicial, or the court of public opinion.

Answer 4

Would the world not be a better place without religion? Fair enough, you still need people to lead by example but does it really have to be a religious person that we have to look up to?

From what I read in the newspapers and see on the TV, its the super-religious morals that cause the worlds problems - its the crackpots that cause the bother!

Answer 5

Getting a fundie to study the point of view of everyone different then a mythological magical being isn't accessible to do. notwithstanding in the adventure that they did, they might both not be able to are conscious of it, or does not enable themselves to are conscious of it. they want to believe that everyone else is evil (or a minimum of atheists), so one can outline themselves as morally more effective. in the adventure that they realized that morality isn't a made from faith, and larger so is in a lot of situations the reason of immoral acts, then they might not have which have of faux superiority that they position self assurance in to experience fulfilled.

Answer 6

I never said that. I do know that before coming here, a lot of the non-religious (or non-christian, mainstream religion) people that I knew were very low on the moral scale. People here have shown me through example that they (the ones I knew) are a low minority. I'm rather pleased to know that. It's nice to meet people who have morals, regardless of religion.

Answer 7

They see morality as being established by God only and do not fathom humans can tell right from wrong, even though that's what Adam and Steve supposedly did in the Garden of Eden by eating the possessed apple.

Answer 8

As far as Biblegod is concerned, morality doesn't matter. Character doesn't matter. Quality dpoesn't matter. The only thing that matters to Biblegod is that you massage his massive ego and kiss his ring. Anything less gets you the lake of fire.

Yeah...real just, merciful, and loving that guy...

To me it's a huge joke. Going on and on about how horribly immoral (or amoral) non-believers are (that includes members of non-Christian faiths), while using their status as "saved" to get away with many of the very things they denounce.

Answer 9

There are many reasons for that. To name a few:

1) They were raised that way: closed minded to everything not pertaining to the bible

2) Another fundamentalist succeded in manipulating the values of a future fundamentalist to where they only think of the bible and lose all sense of ethics.

3) They mix up their certainty of the existence of God and the Bible's preachings about God and it's lack of ethics....

Answer 10

I totally agree. Super religious people have their entire exitence riding on a belief based in superstition--i.e., something they believe in but cannot see, feel, hear, or touch. (A lot of Yahoo people site the wind as something we believe in so I covered my bases). They live with their existence based upon a distant future where they will go away to heaven and live forever in bliss, tra la. They are totally afraid of the realities of death so believe there is no death.