For those who do not believe in religion?

Question

I am studying how one determiens thier moral and ethical beliefs.What is the foundation for your moral and ethical beliefs? Please do say my parents taught me. I am looking for something deeper.

Answer 1

This should help.
http://answers.yahoo.com/search/search_result;_ylt=Ah2RaUys9ZvQzOeJRzeNX2_d7BR.;_ylv=3?p=where+do+atheists+get+their+morals+from

My morals do not depend on any religion. I do the right thing because I know it's the right thing. I did not need a book or church to tell me to treat others how I want to be treated.

Answer 2

When people get together and decide to live amongst each other in a community, they become a society. Living in a society (for the mutual protection of all), they codify laws and behaviors that become the norm for all living in that society to follow. These become the basis for ethics and morals for that society.

You can see that this is the case, when you examine different societies, that have different morals and ethics. For example, in Amazonian jungles, certain tribes find it perfectly moral and ethical to be cannibals. Where as other societies do not accept that.

No religions or gods required.

Answer 3

My moral beliefs are founded on the fact that I have empathy for other human beings (and even animals) and I don't want to see them harmed. I also feel a sense of guilt if I cause someone else harm. Why do I feel that way? It's just the way that I'm wired, as it is the way that you are wired. It's our nature.

I suppose rationally, I shouldn't care for others. If I could get away with harming others, without any consequences or feeling of guilt, then it wouldn't be in my interest to help them. But that's not the way that we evolved, and the fact that my ethics are just an evolutionary misfiring does not make the welfare of others any less important to me, or my conscience any less real.

Answer 4

As much as religions talk about retribution after death (some before death & others in the next birth),
the laws of the country too try to keep the persons/society in line.
Freedom is not necessarily that we can do whatever we please. - "Your freedom ends where my nose begins".
There is no need to have religion to be a 'normal' human being .
The ethics and morals are the laws of man as much as the laws of countries. One who does not believe in religions can also live free and with good moral and ethical beliefs.

Answer 5

Good question.

As an atheist i get my moral beliefs from my love for humanity and this planet. I believe that life is such a random and beautiful occurence that it would be a horrible waste of my chance to live if i were to go about making life harder for everyone else.

From studying history i know for certain that morality was not invented by Jesus or Moses or God, these are principals that have existed in many past cultures. These are manmade ideas and although some people would not follow the rules without a fear of God, many of us understand the rules from the perspective of its inventors.

I always tell people that i could probably write a bible which was even more kind and logical than the bible. You don't have to be superhuman to think of these very basic principles of kindness. Its an insult to mankind to think that we couldnt think of this by ourselves.

Compassion and empathy are emotions which are deeply laid in our species. Only those who can repress such emotions (religious or non religious) can commit attrocities.

Answer 6

Hiho diggity more moral pop quizzes these do turn atheists off. I just don't get why christians have to drill us about our morals, theirs should be under questioning. People will say the bible provide moral code well guess many people missed a lot of things that the bible hold. I can understand why people believe in the bible because it is feed to them from a worker of the church and they deliberately skip the parts for the believers not to know.

Answer 7

Humanism is a philosophy of life inspired by humanity and guided by reason. It provides the basis for a fulfilling and ethical life without religion.

Humanists make sense of the world using reason, experience and shared human values.
Humanists see no convincing evidence for gods, the supernatural, or life after death.
Humanists believe that moral values are properly founded on human empathy and scientific understanding.
Humanists believe we must live this life on the basis that it is the only life we'll have -- that, therefore, we must make the most of it for ourselves, each other, and our world.
Humanist philosophies have arisen separately in many different cultures over many thousands of years. Whether or not they use the term humanism, tens of millions of Americans and hundreds of millions of people around the world agree with the humanist philosophy of living a happy and productive life based on reason and compassion.

Answer 8

Something deeper is the fact that we are all born with a moral code that is than defined by how others around us act. If you listen to that voice inside your head it will always tell you to do what is considered "right". Cavemen knew the deference between wrong and right long before anyone started "teaching" morals.

Answer 9

Deeper? Alright. Lets go back to living among the Monkeys. Have you noticed that Monkeys will not tolerate stealing from one another? Have you noticed female and male Monkeys tending to their young? Many, many things we all did before just like Monkeys. No bibles then, no religions then, just basic learning experiences to get along with our fellow humans. We are far more advanced now and even you should know, morality is not exclusive to religion and never has been, as bad as you and many others want it to be.

Answer 10

First off i don't believe in religion i believe in Christianity, religion could be anything such as i take a bath every morning religiously religious is just something you believe you should do. Christianity you don't have to do, just be. God made us as human beings not human doings, and i learned all this from a discipleship training course i went through. No I'm a pastor or nothing i am just a firm believer in the foundations of faith in Christ and He is the reason I'm alive today and will live for eternity. I am enveloped in His love and nothing not even death can separate me from that.

Answer 11

early writings like confucius , the hamarabi code , different schools of philosphical thought , commone sense and reason ,authors like Ayn Rand , Albert Eistein or the field of psychology starting with Sigmund Freud ,Carl Jung ,BF Skinner and the justice system rooted in common law prior to religion in england . then a very persnickety view of the various religious paradigms such as the Christ and Buddha
etc. abridged into a real edited version viable for my life and the big picture .