People who have no religion know right from wrong just as well as regular worshippers, according to the study.
The team behind the research found that most religions were similar and had a moral code which helped to organize society.
But people who did not have a religious background still appeared to have intuitive judgments of right and wrong in common with believers, according to the findings, published in the journal Trends in Cognitive Sciences.
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“For some, there is no morality without religion, while others see religion as merely one way of expressing one’s moral intuitions,” he said.
“For some, there is no morality without religion” is an incorrect statement. There is, by proof of this study, morality without religion for everyone.
Religion does not lead to morality, it just takes the credit. If you have a moral theist, the religion will tell you “It’s a good thing he’s religious… that’s why he’s so moral”. The theist, trusting his religion, believes that he would be a bad person without religion, and that therefore those without religion are also bad. The religion gets thanked, while at the same time promotes interaction with unbelievers. It’s no-lose. It’s a lie (actually, it’s the promotion of bigotry), but it’s no-lose.
Oh? So there is an objective moral standard after all?
There, that’s much closer to the Truth.
No. Just because there is morality without religion, that doesn’t mean that there is some absolute objective moral standard after all. It just means that we all have morals.
Whenever I hear someone claim that there is some objective standard that should apply to everyone’s thinking – because it’s correct in the first place, it makes me think that they’re saying that there’s a solid object somewhere in the universe, called “objective morality.” lol
What would that object look like? What color would it be? Finally, why would anyone have to abide by it?
It’s not a solid object, it’s an idea. Like so many ideas, it doesn’t coincide with the objective reality.
Morals are opinions, all subject to the stylings of those who raise kids, and the genes that get passed on to those kids, as well as the life experience we have during our lives, and the opinions we derive from them. That’s about it.
It’s another secular area that religion tries to co-opt.
Um, doesn’t the concept of morality imply a consensus—that is, a conformity to ideals of right human conduct? If so, please explain how independently defined ideals of conduct can constitute a code of morality if no one is intellectually bound to acknowledge their validity?
Really? So, if I stole your car and defended it by claiming it was an act in accordance with my morality, you’d be OK with attributing it to being just my “opinion?”
No, they’re objective, universal axioms that all conscious beings cannot ignore.
Joe, I’m an atheist, and I think there is an objective moral standard. Morals are man-made inventions, but they are not completely arbitrary. All morals are based on the need to establish behavioral norms that minimize conflict and maximize happiness and well-being for members of a population. The specific morals that are establish may vary greatly, but the ultimate goal is always the same. This is the objective moral standard.
It is ironic that the people who are arguing in defense of an objective moral standard in this blog do not in fact realize what the true moral standard is. They think it’s doing what God tells you to do, rather than doing what is best for people. Of course, when Christians make moral judgments, they usually use the same humanistic standards as everyone else. What causes problems is when they ignore the real objective standards in favor of following some believed directive from God.
Even laboratory mice have been shown to posses empathy for one another, not to mention many other animals that also posses meta-cognition and other more highly developed intellectual traits (such as the human animal). If you take a little time to study theory of mind, empathy and ethics then you can start to understand how morality is simply a trait that is possessed by humans.
That being said, some humans can be born sociopaths and completely lack those traits while others can be taught a rigid code of morals that is in conflict with self-evident morality. Such codes are nearly always religious. The bible teaches that if a man rapes a virgin girl then he must marry her. Any clear thinking human animal knows this to be an immoral rule, but the true christian must somehow hold that self-evident truth against the “truth” he/she was taught that the bible is the revealed word of god and therefore infallible.
Similar immoral rules run throughout the old and new testament of the bible, and very few christians actually believe them or follow them – a father must help stone his daughter if it is discovered that she was not a virgin when she got married, a woman may never teach a man anything, etc. Basic morality is a trait that has had an evolutionary advantage for humans. Man-made ‘morality’ like that which is taught in the bible is rubbish.
Dave…exactly where does the bible claim morality is achieved by being religious?
You know what? You’re right. The study merely agrees with what Scripture teaches. So…?
People claim that morality is achieved by being religious. The Bible hints at it quite a lot, but it doesn’t have to be so clear in order for some Christians to be especially clear about that.
The Bible also doesn’t contain any humor. But many Christians make us laugh, easily.
Its nice to see evidence to support what all of us atheists already know.
Let’s all try to ignore the 2 idiots who deem themselves wiser than any of us, shall we?
The bible and koran do not provide for a moral code….it provides for an immoral code…..it teaches sexism and racism….it also teaches children to be afraid of things that are not even there like: ghosts, demons, evil spirits and the devil….
leave the children alone stupid religion
For me, I learned about morality by watching the misbehavior that was rampant in my old church. From beginning to end, a church service is a pack of lies, and insulting ones too.
Well I think lying is wrong and harmful. The FIRST place I learned that lesson was in church. Lying to children about something important ought to be a crime, but it’s what Christianity relies on. Other religions too.
Leaving religion was a giant step in the direction of positive morality, for me.
Dont forget the rampant homophobia found in the bible and koran.
I learned this from my mother, who is not religious at all. She taught me that lying is wrong because it hurts people, namely HER, and then she passed on the pain to me as I spent a portion of my summers grounded. Lesson learned.
Where does it teach this Charlie? Teach…not a historical book. But where does it TEACH this…?
Phreedm there are many examples, here are only a few:
examples of racism
Gods chosen people http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chosen_people
Rules for slavery Exod. 21:20-21 & 21:16 and Matt. 10:24
examples of sexism
god is a father figure
jesus was a man
women was created out of mans rib
women commits the first sin and is punished with labor pains
there are no testimonies from women like john, paul, luke and mathew
sex is regulated by condemning homosexuals and the idea of fornication
the information age has no place for a supernatural tyrant…..monotheism and all of its lunacy can go f itself….
Charlie, it’s interesting that those who insist their morality originates in ‘oft re-translated semi-literate scribblings rooted in the primitive mythology of Bronze Age tribesmen’ (Greenwood: Pharyngula) are apparently capable of shutting down nearly all analytical processes in their brains where it comes to evaluating said text, and frequently, appear to not have read it in the first place.
It appeals to our intellect and good nature to attempt to teach a man to fish instead of supplying him with a nice filet; you’ve attempted to do both at the same time with your list. Sometimes, however, it’s better to just let the man starve.
I think the idea of blasphemy helps keep the sheeple believing the ancient scribblings…..its got to be fear that keeps them in line…..
I also think the only way we can let them starve is to follow the constitution and separate church from state….their ill deserving credibility remains as long as their righteous bullshit remains in the public square….this righteous bullshit is in our police, military, government, national holidays, currency, courts, tax shelters ….ect….crap….every freaking day at 6 and three times on Sunday I hear stupid church bells from my house….
Gay uncles convey a survival advantage to nephews and nieces.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35347847/ns/health-behavior/
I just wish all of my little cousins didnt live so far away! I have “adopted” several friends kids and am helping with them as much as I can through mentoring. They all love their awesome “Uncle Alex”.
OTRAUMP
Everyone is living without god. There are many who hold the god concept, but it is merely a concept, within their brains. God lives as a fantasy within the minds of those who hold to the god concept.
Religion is separate. Religions, of which there are many, and most which believe themselves to be exclusive, as a gateway to eventual paradise. Each religion has it’s own brand of delusion outside of reality. They, all religions, are mindsets. Each mindset is an attempt to shield the individual from reality as they lack the necessary inner strengths to face life squarely without this mental barrier. They probably feel that without some supernatural force backing them that they cannot survive life’s daily challenges and temptations.
here’s Jim Demented, a republican South Carolina Senator, shoving religious based morality claims down are throat….what a hypocrite, basically he states that tax dollars should not be used to fund abortions because many Americans think they know the likes and dislikes of their supernatural friends….and I say a hypocrite because Im sure he has no problem with federal dollars going to faith based initiatives and well as are current tax brake system for religion….
http://demint.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=JimsJournal.BlogHome&Issue_id=9f67bb12-5645-4c68-be0d-ecfc47587aca
the same demented thinking person also thinks human activity cannot effect climate change…
http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/02/12/reconciling-record-snow-storms-global-warming/