do atheists have morals? are they naturally immoral?

Question

my exboyfriend is an atheist. he always claimed that morality (truthfulness, honesty, faithfulness, etc) was an innate human quality and that you need not believe in God to know right from wrong. we were very much in love and ready to move in together, and the week we were supposed to sign our lease, he cheated on me with his ex-girlfriend? is it human nature to be promiscuous, or just a guy thing perhaps? does he need god?

i am a moral atheist myself, i asked this questions bc i was curious what both christians and atheists would say, only ignorant people believe morals only come from God

Answer 1

personal experiences prove nothing.

my grandfather was a pedophile who raped his daughters and grandchildren and was also a devoted catholic.

who cares? your bf was right, btw. a hypocrite, but he really just hurt himself, not other atheists.

Answer 2

Wow, a whole lot of awesome questions. Let's answer the easiest first. Does he need God? Absolutely. Is it human nature to be promiscuous? Yes, for several reasons. People feel the need for procreation, love, and acceptance and as such have the tendancy to give in to their bodily desires in a sinful nature.

Do atheists have morals? No. God instilled in all people the innate knowledge of Him and therefore people can generally "feel" right from wrong. However, with no foundation for what they believe, atheists cannot maintain true morals. After all what are morals? Webster's Dictionary describes it in these terms: of or relating to principles of right or wrong.

So what is right and wrong? Right and wrong is based on your faith system. This is why Muslims have completely different morals than Christians, and atheists are different still. The issue with atheists, though, is that they have no foundational basis for their choices between right and wrong beyond what they themselves feel. Now, I am not going to say that everyone of a certain faith system (eg. Christianity) perfectly follow the teachings of the sacred text they use because we all know this just isn't true. The fact is, though, that they, at least, have a foundation which is beyond them for determining what is right and wrong.

Finally, are they naturally immoral? Not exactly. there are some atheists out there that are more "Christian" than many professed Christians. The fact doesn't change, though, that they have no foundation for their "moral" choices.

Answer 3

Do you need God? You seem to be trying to write your question from a Christian point of view.. ?you were moving in together? and then ask if he needs God... You also need God.

The problem of morality without God is that there is no basis for the morality. The bible gives a firm foundation for our morality. What is definitely right and wrong.. An atheist needs to decide by talking to others and they collectively decide what is right and wrong.. Your boyfriend obviously does not have the morals that he claimed.
If you are brainwashed to think that this is a guy thing, then get ready for a life of somebody cheating on you. First off a Christian should not be sleeping together before marriage and after they should be faithful for life..

Answer 4

Gods are not the source of morals; survival is. Humans are tribal animals (as are all primates), and we naturally live in biologically related clusters. In order to live together in greater comity, we devise general principles for right behavior as well as specific rules of conduct. Not all possible sets of moral rules are equally good: some are better than others, usually because they work in better accord with human nature.

Half the battle in practical morality is getting everyone involved to agree on standards, and then solidifying the standards with tradition. The snark who comes along later trying to sell other ideas (a "new morality") is an enemy, unless his idea is So Very Much Better than tradition that it justifies the chaos of breaking the group's long-standing moral consensus.

That usually will not be true. The advantage that traditional morality has is the fact that it has stood the test of time and is known to work. Some new-fangled system, on the other hand, might sound good, might seem to offer advantages, but when it is put into practice there arise unforeseen costs and hazards, and everybody's out to interpret the new system in every situation to his own advantage, which causes fighting.

Anyway, atheists have morals, just as religious people do. Atheists usually have a better understanding of the origin and true purpose of moral systems.

Males have an evolutionary incentive to be promiscuous, and females have an evolutionary reason not to approve of male promiscuity. Women can usually have only one baby per year. Men, if they work at it, can father lots of babies per year, provided that they win the mating competition. The more children one has, the more successful one is, in biological terms. So men are naturally inclined to be promiscuous.

But the more women that a man has children with, the small is the share that each woman can have from the man's ability to produce wealth. If he has had children by lots of women, he's spread so thin that each woman is materially poor. They might actually have to work to support their children! To make things easier on themselves, females try to discourage males from being promiscuous.

Which gender's interests are the most moral? That depends on the longterm outcome that either kind of society has, and I don't have enough data to make that judgment.

Answer 5

Morality is determined by society. It is actually an abstract concept, with no grounding as a 'universal truth'. It is not inate; it must be taught and learned.

For example: Human sacrifice was once considered noble, as was eating certain organs (brain eating was once considered a moral obligation, to prevent a person's wisdom from being lost). As society changed, this became less and less honorable, until eventually, it became considered vile and immoral.

Monogamy is not an innate human quality. It's human nature to seek pleasure where ever we can, as well as spread our DNA around as much as possible. However, society says that cheating is wrong (and yes, it hurts like hell when someone cheats on you...the morals imposed helped to create emotional bonds), but that doesn't mean that he needs god (maybe just a swift kick in the as$).

Answer 6

That, in my opinion, is a stupid question. When did god=morals. Morals is treating people, animals, and the planet right. I do not need the 10 commandments to tell me what I should be doing.

By the way you never did anything wrong. maybe not as bad as what your BF did, but what could be bad in the eyes of god. i do believe the bible says that man is sinful and therefore falls short of the glory of god. So you sin, i may do bad things, but my morals do not come from a god.

By the way what I do believe in is a form of Karma... you get back what you give out. That's the way I live my life. I give out love and I hopefully get it in return.

Answer 7

He is wrong; morality is not innate, but obtains from evolution, which applies to societies as well as to species: a society which adheres to a sound moral code will survive preferably to one that does not. That does not, of course, determine that a particular individual will have learned (or will use) a moral sense. As for promiscuity, it is to a degree innate in the species, but there are men who aren't. As for god, that is an irrelevancy.

Answer 8

He was right on saying morality is an innate HUMAN quality borne out by evolution. But males being natural polygamous ANIMALS is another thing.

Answer 9

wow...how ignorant of you..
he cheated because he is a man, w/hormones and young. Has nothing to do w/morals or religion.

the kindest, most giving people i've met are atheists. they know that this is their only shot at life..for there is no heaven, after life.

atheists live each day to the fullest, don't steal b/c that is wrong in any sense...are greatful for food and family..

Think of the US prison systems...they are filled w/god fearing folk..they are murderers and rapests...and well priests are just as bad..

why would anyone want to follow that cult???

it's all made up by man...

do you have morals? what are morals?
atheists don't need stupid ignorant xian terms for ways to live ..as they live in peace..w/o made up invisible beings..

if u cannot accept your bf as a person of life...then leave, don't try to convert him.. He already knows better than you.
good luck.

Answer 10

I've read that more than half of all married men commit adultery. Only 11 percent of the population are atheists. Therefore, the vast majority of adulterer believe in God.

Answer 11

Cheaters are just idiots...not a thing to do with beliefs...look at the believers that molest children even...they may be good at being a believer, but are bad people outside of that...

Yes we have morals. Of course there are good and bad in all groups, but hey... it's a Saturday night and look at those of us that are spending it on the computer instead of out partying or pillaging small towns. lol