Are Atheists "morally superior" to Theists?

Question

An Atheist I was communicating with stated that he believed he was morally superior to me (a Theist). Is this the general consensus of most other Atheists out there in R&S?

Oh pardon me. Would you prefer his direct quote? Let me give it to you:
"Once again, you have demonstrated that an atheist is morally superior to a religionist.
....and I stand by my remark that I am morally superior to theists. "

He was speaking as a whole, Atheists are superior to Theists, not in specific personal terms, thank you.

Elliot - No, I am not. This is a conversation that is happening on my blog, you are welcome to join us. I asked this question because I wanted to know if this was his opinion alone or the opinion of the majority of Atheists.

Answer 1

This answer lies in the definition of morality. Morality is a broad term with three major applications.

The first is individual conscience. What you believe to be right or wrong.

The second is shared morals. This applies to moral principles like like those of a particular religion or philosophy.

The third is individual actions and how they reflect moral decisions.

He has no way to determine if his individual conscience and his morality is superior to yours. It is impossible to make that judgement. Likewise, it is very unlikely that he can make a judgement on who's actions reflect higher morals (since you cannot compare lives). In terms of shared morals and moral principles he may be able to make a case for himself, since these principles are available for examination to a certain extent. Unfortunately for him he cannot measure how your individual conscience is effected by shared principles (Your religion).

So it is imposible for him to prove he is morally superior to you. He can claim anything he likes. It doesn't make it true unless he can prove it, and he can't. Don't waste your time debating him.

By the way, I am an athiest.

Answer 2

You are asking a question based upon a stereotype. The basis for your question, however, is a comparison between two individuals. I have met many atheists that have higher moral character than many of the theists that I've met. I would not be so bold to say that I am better than anyone at anything. That's just pure arrogance.

If I can guess at the reason this comparison is even being made, many theists believe that it is impossible for atheists to be moral people without a belief in God and the bible which dictates what morals are. That is a very narrow view of the world and morality in general. Morality doesn't need to be driven by some extraterrestrial rules, common sense, common decency and respect for your fellow man are what drives my sense of morality.

Answer 3

There is no such thing as being morally superior as a group, simply because morals are relative, both to obervers and those who hold them to be true.

Also, generalising in that way is useless, if you want a reasonable answer. Who can sing better, actors or trapeze artists? That is the type of question you are asking. Are accountants verbally superior to chefs? How could you possibly tell? Some are, some aren't.

Some atheists are very moral, others are not. Some theists are very moral and others are not. These things differ from individual to individual.

Being moral and ethical really has little to do with whether you believe in god or not - it depends on your own set of standards. Some people have high moral standards because of the way they were brought up and educated, and the sense of fairness and justice they developed as they grew.

Others have low standards when it comes to ethics and morals, for the same reasons. It has little to do with groups they belong to, their beliefs, or their occupations.

For example - who can draw better, policemen or nurses? It is an impossible question to answer. think about it again, and ask again.

Good luck

Answer 4

That's a pretty ridiculous generalisation. Are you perhaps afraid of confronting this person's assertion directly?

And of course atheists aren't necessarily morally superior to theists. There are some awful atheists, and some rather nice theists. There are also plenty of theists who act the way they do because they seek the reward of heaven and fear the punishment of hell. Those people essentially have no morality, only obedience.

But none of that has anything to do with whether this specific atheist is morally superior to you.

Answer 5

not necessarily.
i have high morale standards, but that doesn't make me morally superior to a theist.
Really you cant judge a theist or an atheist by a single person or group, every human is different, some have major ego's some dont.

Answer 6

I don't give much thought to morality since it is a human societal issue which changes drastically from one culture to the next and within a culture changes over time. Instead, I simply choose to behave in the ways that I feel I would like others to behave. I make no claim to being "superior" compared to anyone else. Instead, I recognize that everyone has an opinion as to what is "right" and what is "wrong". Unless their actions harm others, I don't care how they act.

Answer 7

I don't believe that, as a whole, atheists are morally superior to theists. Nor do I think theists are morally superior to atheists.

I do think I am superior to the religious fanatics that kill abortion doctors in order to uphold a religious belief, hold protests outside of soldiers' funerals because of their beliefs, blow themselves up for their god, fly planes into buildings for their god, blame atrocities like terrorism on people who did nothing more than fight for the rights of everyone, and discriminate against people based on religious belief (or lack thereof), etc.

Fortunately I believe that extremists such as those are in the minority. The majority of people, of any or no faith, are more level headed than that and are on relatively equal moral footing.

Answer 8

Let's set religion aside for just a moment, and we can answer this question. Do you do things that you believe are right--BECAUSE you believe that they are right? Do you truly try to help your fellow man because you want to--not because you feel it's expected of you? Do you believe that it simply makes sense to do for others what would make you, yourself, feel good?

Now enter religion back into it. Because it doesn't matter what you call God--or IF you call God. Answering "yes" to these questions puts you on equal ground with any moral person.

Many religious people only do good things in order to brown nose their way into Heaven. These are the same people who just can't understand how an Atheist could be moral in the first place: no one's keeping score on their "naughty and nice" list as far as the Atheist is concerned. Just as religious people generalize Atheists, Atheists sometimes generalize religious people. The one you communicated with lumped you in with all the selfish followers. I myself am Atheist, and I find that insulting.

Answer 9

I wouldn't say morally superior, no. I do believe that the repression taught by most religions can lead to sagging morals as people are tempted and can't help but act out against their beliefs, as a child would grab the cookie from the jar after being told not to.

I believe that relying on the "God will be mad" formula is an inconsistent way to cement highly moral behavior.

Answer 10

I think that because Atheists claim to rely on logic and rational thought rather than nebulous and unproveable "faith" that they feel they are intellectually superior.
Also, because they don't tell people they're going to hell, many of them do feel morally superior.
I think both categories are way too broad and the definition of morality as well, that few would claim to know the "general consensus."
As for me, the biggest issue has very little to do with with one human group's superiority over another. That is fairly meaningless in the overall scheme of things....