Atheists' "Good Without God" is Now a Majority View


In recent decades, the public's view that religion in one's life contributed to her good morality has gone from a 2/3rds support to a 2/3rds nonsupport. According to polling, the majority in the U.S. no longer believes that if a person is religious, she is more likely to possess high moral standards. It conforms to a billboard used many times by atheists across the country which says, "Are You Good Without God?" (Technically, of course, it should have used the word "gods.")

Readers know well the endorsement by millions of Christians of Trump who lies, cheats and does not pay what he owes. What we tend to forget is that leaders such as Pat Robinson condemned Bill Clinton as immoral for his sexual misconduct and then endorsed Trump. This defines hypocrisy. 

Every other month I receive my copy of, Freethought, published by the Freedom From Religion Foundation. It always has four or five pages of tiny print under the heading, "White Collar Crime." The 50-75 cases discussed are crimes by clergy, sex and theft mostly. Once in a while I amuse myself by recalling the many times I've been asked, "What is your moral baseline. You are adrift without as solid rock of moral values." I, and all atheists I know, have a baseline for moral values. The Bible and its stories in which God kills about two million innocent people is not a source of good moral values. 

The public in Europe and the U.S. has seen first-hand the moral failures of clergy. That is why polling shows the majority do not associate good moral values with Christianity. 

I watch a podcast produced by a couple of young pastors in the denomination called Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. They lament the rapid fall of members and churches in their denomination. Their analysis of their environment is a country that is either "Pagan" or "Prepagan." Their solution is to license many more clergy and have them serve with no or low pay. With more boots on the ground, free marketing, they reason, their numbers will rise. It seems to me preachers need a product people are looking for. If most people don't believe Christianity is better than other ways of looking at the world I don't see where better numbers will come from. 

Looking at the evidence, religion of those in prison, newspaper accounts and personal knowledge, "Good Without God" fits well the human experience.

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