“You don’t need religion to have morals. If you can’t tell the difference between right and wrong, you lack empathy, not religion.”
Recently, I came across a Facebook post that briefly compared Atheism to Christianity. Not in a simple explanative comparison, but rather one of morality. It was simply titled “A Man is Drowning”. From there, it described what an Atheist would do, compared to a Christian, if they saw a man drowning. According to the post, an Atheist would think “Good. He is unfit for life. The gene pool is stronger without him.” Continues eating lunch. However, a Christian would think “He’s made from God’s image. He needs help.” Risks his own life. He jumps in to save the man.
Like many Americans, I grew up in a Christian household, and there really were great things about that. Religion can offer a sense of peace and community. But as an adult, I’ve found myself identifying as Agnostic, close to Atheism, more and more, and happily so. After reading the post, I was deeply offended. My position about religion is deeply tied with my sense of self. Being Agnostic has brought me peace in a way religion never could. I think that there were, and are, so many religious questions yet to be answered. But not one of them include the morality of individual people based on their belief of higher power. Atheism and Agnosticism, like religion, expect and applaud morality.
Thinking about practical difficulties involved in the theological justification of religion, it seems that either a god’s commandments are arbitrary so there is no reason to follow them; or that a god’s commandments are not arbitrary and there are reasons for them. But if the latter is the case, then we are practicing philosophical, not theological, ethics, which refer to rules provided by an external source, such as a god or principles in religion. Morals, however, refer to an individual's own principles regarding right and wrong. When looking for the reasons why things are moral or immoral, right or wrong, religious beliefs become a non factor. Atheism and Agnosticism should be respected because the desire to do the right thing does not come from a potential supernatural rewards system, it comes from within.
Religion is entirely separate from morality. Morality is innate and intrinsic, and it’s existence is independent of the existence of a god. Atheism and Agnosticism also exist independent of a specific god or gods, yet are not without morality. I believe in good, not god. There are enormous philosophical difficulties with the association between morality and religion. But not one of them include the life of another human being. Life, and capacity to save one another, is not based on religion, but rather, morality.
