If atheists have no morals, how come the crime rate among self-identified atheists is so low?

Question

Go Google "crime rate atheists" and get some facts and numbers yourself. I will not spoon feed the willfully ignorant.

"There is no basis for the assumption you suggest; i.e. that religion causes crime,or that atheism causes lawfulness."

Grendel, I did not suggest this at all. My question was very simple. Read it for what it is and stop putting words in my mouth; despite your lengthy response, you simply aren't intelligent enough to guess my assumptions based on my brief and simple question.

Answer 1

I would have thought that self-identifying anything would have a lower crime rate. Most crime appears to be committed by unthinking idiots. Someone who can't spare the time to think of the time they're likely to do if caught/the harm they'll cause/the self-destruction etc. is unlikely to have the time to ponnder the eternal mysteries of existence!

Answer 2

Economics. Most non-believers who will actively identitfy themselves as "atheist" are upscale urban liberals with high educational backgrounds. Most criminals are from lower-income backgrounds and were brought up as fundamentalists,usually Baptist or a related variant. The relationship betwen crime and poverty is well-established. We have a seeming relationship between religion and criminality owing to the fact that fundamentalism is essentially - perhaps because of it's extreme simplicity - the favored denomination of the impoverished classes,both black and while. Statistical analysis does not reflect any attempt at a break-down by denomination. If it did it would surely reveal that Catholics have no marked propensity to crime; that Episcopalians - like most atheists - are upper-income economic elites,generally free of criminal history,and similarly Lutherans. However the primary or most obvious distortion lies in or derives from the fact almost all criminals proceed from lower-income backgrounds and invariably were brought up in one fundamentalist church or another and on arrest and in prison will cite that background as their religious affiliation. An armed robber from a ghetto will say "Baptist". It would ridiculous to extrapolate this into an assumption that active and enrolled Christians engage in criminal activity; that would be rare. He was simply brought up Baptist. Armed robbers do not faithfully attend church. Similarly if the low crime rate of self- identified atheists were attributable to their non-belief,then we would be at a loss to explain the non-criminality of the Episcopalian,or most Catholics and Lutherans for that matter. There only appears to be a correlation because - again - most atheists are upscale urban or suburban elites,whereas most criminals are lower-income,and that is a strata associated with fundamentalism,particularly among blacks. There is no basis for the assumption you suggest; i.e. that religion causes crime,or that atheism causes lawfulness. Epicopalians do not rob banks; and there was no shortage of crime in the Soviet Union. It's entirely a matter of education and income.
P.S. I know of no study that suggests "atheists have no morals". On this point I cannot answer since I have never seen the question posed before and it has probably never been addressed in any logistical fashion. Fundies make assumptions that atheists would lead wild and immoral lifestyles,but they believe that for a reason: their experience of the non-believer is essentially confined to the so-called fundamentalist "back-slider",who frequently does react to tossing off faith by tossing off normal restraint. It isn't rare. The fundamentalist is not basing this stereotype on formal atheists of the upper-income variety. In terms of their own experience it would undoubtably seem valid. But that is a subjective perception on their part,based on their own personal or anecdotal experience.

Answer 3

No part of this statement is accurate. The crime rate among atheists is the same as crime rate among theists, and atheists are no more moral than any other belief-based group.

I've also noticed you've not provided any statistics that might bolster your claim. Nice try, though.

Answer 4

It is not fair to use statistics. You should just look at it logically, from a theistic point of view, where their logic dictates to them that they must have superior morals by virtue of their belief in god. Examining the realities of their logic is not fair to them, as they are not really allowed to think, but only to believe.

Answer 5

any stats about athiest are made by atheist and are not creditable...atheist are no diffrent then other people they just don't have any souls...this has nothing to do with morals...it just means that atheist cant see their reflection in a mirror.

Answer 6

... atheists do have morals. It's foolish to assume that just because one doesn't believe in any deities that they aren't human beings with rational minds.

Answer 7

I don't know what your source is, but even if that was true, you need to re-frame your understanding of this issue.

"Morality" is not something that can be separated from belief/unbelief in God. God created spiritual laws as well as physical laws. If we are "good" at all, it is because of God's grace. It doesn't matter what we call ourselves or what semantic labels we place on ourselves. We are all created in the image of God, so our sense of conscience is the same. We all have a God-shaped void, so atheists as well as Christians crave after God like water or air.

None of us are moral. We all need Christ for redemption. Christ was the only one who lived a pure, sinless life. When we accept Him, we enter into His sinless life and die to our old selves. We are justified by faith in Him, and then He sanctifies us as we continue to walk with Him and abide in Him.

Answer 8

Why do you claim atheists have no morals. I work in a recovery center and spiritual convictions or lack of have nothing to do with morals.

Answer 9

Because satan doesnt need to mess with that which already belongs to him

Answer 10

*crickets*