Morality:
Morals in the Absence of Religion
Taylor
Swank
Northern
Illinois University
Abstract
Morality
as it pertains to atheism and theism. Atheism is the lack of belief in a god,
gods, or higher being. Theism is the strong belief in a god, gods, or higher
being. Morality for the purpose of this essay is defined as the ability to make
the distinction between right and wrong and being able to act upon that
appropriately. Atheism is more moral
than theism for differing reasons, mainly that it has purer standards of
morality. Atheism lacks fear of a higher being, unlike theism. It also is free
from lust for rewards in the afterlife, as well as lacking blind obedience to
the rules of a deity. Theism has all of these fears and wants, and is therefore
less moral. This paper cites several articles, as well as using ideas from
other sources that will listed at the end.
Keywords: Theism, Atheism, Morality
Morality: Morality in the Absence of Religion
Is atheism more moral than theism? First, atheism versus theism must be defined,
as must the definition of morality for the purpose of this comparison. Atheism is the lack of belief in the presence
of a supernatural being or any sort of afterlife, while theism is the strong
belief in such a being and generally an afterlife. Morality can be defined as understanding and
acting according to the basis of right and wrong. Essentially,
atheism is a purer moral system than theism on the basis of beliefs and reasons
for morality. Each side has plenty of
their own reasons for acting “morally”. However,
the argument can be made that the atheists are more moral because of the
reasoning behind their morals. Atheists act morally out of such reasons as empathy,
needs for survival based on cooperation, and even the want to help future generations.
Theists act morally out of such reasons as fear of the higher being’s retribution,
lust for a comfortable place in the afterlife, or out of blind obedience borne of
not knowing differently. This is not to say that either side has no flaws, only
that atheism has purer motives for being moral than does theism.
In order to fully understand the ideas
presented, theism and atheism must be fully explained, along with the
definition of morality. The definition
of morality, for the purpose of this argument, is having the ability to make
the distinction between right and wrong and to act upon this accordingly. Morals are the views that humans have of what
is right and wrong, and what is acceptable and what is not. People have numerous different reasons for
acting upon these codes. Theism is the
strong belief in a deity or supernatural being.
Theism primarily believes that a god or gods created the world and
humanity. It states that everything there is was created by an omiscient being
or beings. There is also the belief that
whatever deity or deities created the world and all in it, also gave humans
moral codes to adhere to. Depending on
the religion, these moral codes differ slightly but remain generally the
same. However, not all religions work
the same way or have the exact same belief system. Now atheism, on the other hand, is the lack
of belief in a supernatural power, higher being, or any sort of deity. Atheism
denies the ideals of religion. The
beliefs in heaven, hell, purgatory, or any sort of afterlife tend to be absent. Instead, atheists tend to believe in science
and such things that have logical proof.
Therefore, atheists are more prone to belief in Evolution and The Big
Bang Theory; ideas with scientific and logical settings that are more easily
proven. Not all atheists share the same
ideas, however, but it can be generally said that atheists deny deities.
Generally, religions attempt to teach
what they see as good morality. All
religions have at least a slightly different view of what they teach as right
and wrong, and moral and immoral.
Religions tend to have a set of rules that try to teach what is right
and wrong according to the belief system of the particular religion. For example, Christianity has the Ten
Commandments. That lists what good Christians should and should not do with
respect to the seven deadly sins. Most
religions have rules similar to these, and share similar moral beliefs. However, what motivates these morals? Are
these moral standards possibly more moral than atheist standards? The answer to
the latter is no. The motivation behind
religious morals differ greatly depending on the religion and sometimes the
person. With the idea of the Ten
Commandments in mind (or whatever set of rules are being followed), what is
happening but obedience? If theists
blindly follow these rules set by deities, how can they be more moral according
to the definition of morality? That is
not being moral. Once again, morality is
making a choice between right and wrong.
They are not choosing between right and wrong, but rather doing what
they are told is acceptable to do.
According to Fred Klett’s “The Absurdity of Atheism”, “Unless God
exists, there is no eternal and transcendent standard for right and
wrong.” The article continues to talk
about the Ten Commandments and how they set a moral standard, and without them
humanity is left to create its own standards.
Why is it that humans must rely on rules set forth by a deity to
understand right and wrong? This need
not be based on rules sent by higher beings. Humans are capable of
instinctually being moral, by the need for cooperation between them. Therefore, what is so wrong with letting
humans create their own moral code? Humans have shown that they can be moral
without the rules given by a god. Some
theists follow the morals set by the higher being in order to gain access to
heaven, or attain a good place in the afterlife, with no retrubution Theists
follow the moral code, not only out of obedience, but also out of fear. Theists can be told that “there is a God our
there to whom you are accountable” and this incites fear(Klett,4). Theists fear the eternal punishment that will
be meted out at the time of judgment for their moral indiscretions. This makes them ultimately less moral, in the
sense that morality must be a decision made by a person for reasoning not based
on fear. People should not base their
morals on a need to escape retribution by a divine being. Not all theists base their morals on rules
set by higher beings for fear of punishment, or out of blind obedience;
however, there is the majority that does
and that is not real morality.
Why are atheists viewed as being
immoral and evil? Generally, because
they do not believe in a deity and are seen as therefore not understanding
morals. This is an incorrect assumption
based on those who see religious morals as being the only way to live
properly. Atheists have many, pure
reasons for being moral outside of a religion.
Humans are social creatures, according to The Secular Web, and therefore
are discouraged from immoral behaviors out of a need for self-preservation and
cooperation. Self-preservation and
cooperation are main reasons for morality amongst atheists. Atheists believe that in order for society to
be successful and in order for the human species to survive, morals must be
upheld in a positive way. Atheists also
behave morally because of empathetic tendencies towards other humans. They, even along with theists too, feel the
need to be compassionate towards each other, therefore behaving morally. However, even with theists that behave this way,
atheists do this more often as a main reason for their morality. Atheists generally do not believe in
heaven or an afterlife. Instead, they
focus on this life. This means that
atheists live their lives and do their moral deeds without expecting eternal
rewards from a deity. This in theory
makes atheists less selfish, in the sense that theists could act morally
because they want rewards in the afterlife.
With the absence of belief in the afterlife, atheists live morally
because they want to potentially help other humans before their lifetime is
over. They don’t live to improve their
chances in heaven. They behave morally
to leave a lasting impact on the world that could aid those that come after;
this is a pure moral in the sense that atheists only think of what they can do
for other humans, and not of what can be done for them in return. Atheism as a whole is more beneficial to
morality. According to Sam Harris in his
article, “An Atheist Manifesto”, countries with a higher percentage of atheists
tend to be healthier with lower homicide and infant mortality rates. He also states that countries with higher
religious populations tend to have higher rates in these areas, along with more
societal dysfunction as a whole.
Therefore, religion does not do as much to ensure morality as people
tend to think. Morality is also more
prominent in atheists in the sense that they live as if no one watches them,
unlike theists. Atheists are moral
because of the above stated reasons, but also because they simply live their
lives. They don’t act morally because a
supernatural being may or may not be watching and judging them from high
above. They act morally because they
feel they should, and not because of the expectations of a supernatural
power.
Atheists, with the lack of belief in
deities or the afterlife, tend to have a
purer moral system than can be seen with theists. Morality, in definition, is the ability to
make the distinction between right and wrong and act accordingly. Theists can be moral, generally speaking, but
to the purposes that serve themselves.
Atheists and theists both have flaws with the ideas that shape their
moral beliefs, but atheists can be moral without influence from rules of a
deity, fear of retribution or punishment, or lust for an eternal afterlife full
of rewards. Those tend to be the reasons
that influence theistic morality. Each
side has their own reasons for believing in the morals and ideals that they
do. This is not to say that neither has
flaws, although atheism is more purely moral on the basis that the morals are
only influenced by instincts for the preservation of humanity.
References
Klett, Fred (2012). The Absurdity of Atheism, 1-5. Retrieved from http://chaim.org/atheist.htm
The Secular Web (2007). An Introduction to Atheism. Retrieved from http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/mathew/intro.html
Harris, Sam (2005). An Atheist Manifesto. Retrieved from http://www.truthdig.com
Cline, Austin (2012). About.com. Myths on Atheism, Meaning, Morality: Atheists
Lead Meaningless Lives of Despair. Retrieved from http://atheism.about.com/od/atheismmyths/p/AtheismMeaning.htm?p=1
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