Ethics, Morals and Atheism

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I have a question I am hoping to learn some opinions on.

First I would like to say. This is not an attack on atheists nor a judgement on them. I want to learn.

First Question

I am curious how an atheist defines his/her sense of morality. Do you accept the morals of religion without the belief in God? Do you define morals based on your own experiences?

Second Question:

Would you say your learned morals from your parents? And if you did, were your parents atheists?

Without religion, there can be no "morals of religion". You can not accept what isn't there.


If you accept the definition of "Morality" as "conformity to the rules of right conduct" (a dictionary definition), then determining what constitutes "right conduct" is all that remains. For the most part, secular laws and community standards (i.e., customs & traditions) are sufficient to define "right conduct".


Actually, it's your third question.


Yes, but only in the context of being a child in their home, and not in the more global context of being an adult on my own.


Mum was more spiritual than religious, and dad was a devout Alcoholic. Both were Theists, although neither identified with any one Christian sect.

I'm Agnostic, but lean towards a disbelief in deity.

I don't accept the morals of religion, just the ones that I think create a society that's safe and productive for human beings. I view ethics as essential to our function, both as a society and as individuals. I sympathize or empathize with a lot of suffering out there and wish it didn't have to be. It seems like a human life that's out of sync with itself and out of place, and in addition to the individual aspect of it that creates a disorganized and chaotic world with unrealized potential and function.

Ethics, whether they come from religion or necessity, are what primarily separates us from the animal kingdom in my mind, and only through adherence to them can we escape the animal nature in ourselves. I view animals as inherently innocent, but the animal nature in humans as a cause of suffering and confusion that's best restrained and directed until the day (if there comes one) we can truly outgrow it.

I didn't learn from my parents, who are both Christian. I've pieced together a framework over the years by observation and thought.

Good on you for being curious. Too often Atheists are written off as godless heathens who are incapable of morality, when in fact we are capable of being as moral if not moreso than your average "Christian" (See Gandhi on this one).

As said before, there is no such thing as Morals of Religion. This stems from the myth that morality comes from God, that of course, is the product of the Judeo-Christian definition of human beings as inherently evil, which is dead wrong. However, I'll acknowledge that religion has been the mouthpiece for many humanist ideas, despite also allowing or encouraging great evil. While I can derive "don't drink (perfect wisdom, here), love your neighbor, give to the poor, heal the sick, and speak the truth" from a variety of religions as well as non-religious sources, I can also derive "Enslave the 'other', leave no living thing alive in conquered cities, kill the gay or anyone with decent fashion sense and who likes shellfish, and so on" from religious sources, but rarely from non-religious sources.

I think that the Buddha was quite right when he said that one should treat others as one would wish to be treated. All other morality stems from this. Patience, forgiveness, moderation, altruism, neither raping nor murdering, etc. all stem from this concept. A humanist or atheist should obey the laws, but only to the point when they contradict this rule.

Richard Dawkins has a lot to say on the matter in this series:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHhSYyvI-5k[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEclvp40KHU[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3w71PAo8zT4[/youtube]



I learned a lot of it from my parents. My mother is a devout Methodist, and my father Catholic, but they both taught me from an early age to pick the rational path and study all of the religions and philosophies until I found one that fit, admittedly with the preference that it be a Christian one. I remember after 9/11, when the world was caught up in anti-Muslim hysteria, I bought and studied a copy of Al-Quran, and studied it in detail before declaring that it was absurd, cruel, and inhuman. My mother was so proud, not because of my conclusion, which she did agree with, but with the fact that I had taken the time to learn before condemning it.

This is the essence of what I learned from my parents: There is an absolute morality (Which does not come from God; It is tallied in the human cost), and that one should question everything. Oh, and that a lot of the evils ascribed to Christianity come from a faulty understanding of scripture, which is actually quite right.

As an aside, when I refer to religious morals I am thinking things like the 10 commandments.

Only 10? At last count, there were 613 "Commandments" in the first 5 books of the Bible alone.

I'm not sure if I am an atheist, but I am certainly non-religious.

I think Divine Command Theory is pretty terrible. Just looking to an authority for morality is not a good approach, because the authority could make mistakes. You can be guided, sure, but make sure you actually agree with the reasoning behind the guidance.

I base my morality on three principles, in order of importance:
1) all people have certain basic rights that must be upheld
2) I should do whatever encourages growth of certain traits in myself
3) the greatest happiness for the greatest number

Examples of basic rights that all have: the right to life or death as they choose, the right to bodily autonomy, the right to free education, the right to free healthcare, innocent until proven guilty, trial before a jury of your peers

Examples of traits that should be allowed to flourish: patience, kindness, generousity

I am quite good at applying #1, alright at applying #3, and utterly terrible at applying #2. I do not believe that #1 and #2 conflict very often, but #2 applies to a lot of situations that #1 doesn't apply to.

If I encounter a moral dilemma, then I have another tool I use: I think of a similar situation, work out how I would react in that situation, look at any meaningful differences between the two situations, and then either work out how to act in both situations or how to adjust my behaviour based on the differences between the situations.

I'm not really an atheist (but I'm not very religious, either) - I think your question, probably unintentionally, is reducing religious texts like the bible, Koran or Torah into instruction manuals on morality or how to live your life. Knowing what's right and wrong doesn't necessarily have to come from a religious text or be derived from sort of higher power / deity. Beyond being taught these things by our parents, we can learn them on our own just by observing our surroundings and figuring out what works best. Of course, our surroundings are filled with people who are religious, so if the ultimate goal of this is to try and figure out what people's sense of right and wrong would be without religion entering into the picture at all, its not something easily answered.

I base my morals on critical thinking, taking as much into consideration as I possibly can. One conclusion I reached is that religion, or the lack thereof, doesn't determine how people behave. There are decent religious people and religious people who have done great damage to their fellow humans. And the same goes for non religious people. What determines what we do is governed by our genes and our environment, which in turn influences the expression of our genes, or simply is harmful, neutral or favourable.

This is about how I feel and I'm not entirely Atheist. I've sort of wandered into the general direction of Pantheism, but I really don't buy into the idea of an Interventionist God. We are here and we have to deal with it.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgHoyTvyh4o[/youtube]

Christened into the Catholic church.
Went to 7th day adventist Sunday school for a while.
Confirmed into the Church of England.
Molested by choirmaster

Became an Atheist after long and interesting discussions with a divinity student while living in a Methodist Young Mens Hostel.

I think religious morals are an oxymoron. No matter which side you are on, its fine to kill your enemies, and God is on your side.

I also like the way that martyrs are either saints or terrorists depending on which side they are on.

P.S. I really like Richard Dawkins views on the subject.

I don't believe in any universal sense of right and wrong, but I have my own principals and a loose code of honor. I just don't shove it onto others or expect them to share my own perceptions.

I don't really have any rational justification for why I have it; after a lifetime of being strung along by one belief system after another (religious and secular), I believe that we have a very simple, innate sense of fair play, justice, and decency, that gets corrupted by culture and ideology.

Buddhism and Taoism.
Atheist morals.
You're welcome.

I am atheist, and do not follow any religious guidelines whatever.

"Morals & ethics" usually refer to an adherence to religious or cultural codes, so in that context I would be classed as amoral.

I am personally hardworking, caring, altruistic, and a regular volunteer and donor of what time, money and blood I can.
I do not do this to please a deity or "insure" an afterlife.
It simply makes me feel good to improve things for myself and fellow earthdwellers

The only way to operate on the premise that Christianity is a morally sound religion, an example to follow, is by excessively cherry picking out all the parts that don't fit your own conception of what the religion is and your own system of values that, like it or not, exist independently of any spiritual deity

QFT. Not only do people cherry pick, they also completely twist and rationalize things so that they fit into their own worldviews. People do this whether or not they're religious.

I believe religion appeals to conscience rather than defining it. The capacity to feel shame and guilt has to already be there. What people also tend to have the capacity for is rationalizing and confirming their own biases.

My parents are religious and I would say my morals mostly come from my own judgment which is influenced by others to some extent. Although everyone has different morals, everyone recognizes selfishness for what it is. The biggest problem isn't with defining what's good and what's bad, but defining what motives are selfish.

So in short, the same capacity for guilt and shame that make true believers good people also make atheists good people.