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There's no reason to think religious people live by a higher moral standard than atheists though. There are bad apples in all crowds.
I can't speak for Christians, I can only speak to the behaviors that I have seen.
I grew up in the south, the land of fundamentalism. I have never been around a group of hypocrites bigger than many of the so-called Christians I knew. Talk about Sunday morals! It certainly made me re-think organized religion.
Don't get me wrong, i'm not saying they're ALL bad, but I haven't met enough of the good ones to fill a church.
Religions have the lowest standards for becoming one of the herd.
When is the last time you heard a religious authority lecturing about morals that were not a phase of sexual behavior?
I think each individual has their own reaction to religion. Religion defines and instills morality for some and does just the opposite for others.
Well said. People are people. Give them any belief system or moral schema and some will use it for self-improvement, while others use it for self-justification.
The question is irrelevant. One does not need religion, spirituality, or lack of either in order to have morals. It all depends on the individuals upbringing(both parental and social) and mental state.
A persons moral level has little to do with religion.
It depends on the religion. Some have little to no effect. Some result in usually low moral standards, like Islam. Some result in usually higher standards like Buddhism. Christianity tends to be around no effect, though it has some effect, and it depends on the Christian and what parts they choose to focus on if they focus on anything in the bible at all.
Ha ha, wow. Absolutely no evidence for any of that.
The question is irrelevant. One does not need religion, spirituality, or lack of either in order to have morals. It all depends on the individuals upbringing(both parental and social) and mental state.
A persons moral level has little to do with religion.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mizzile
Ha ha, wow. Absolutely no evidence for any of that.
It's obvious you didn't read this post so I'll post it again for ya. And this is a thread from 2011.
I think it does aim, train and argue for high moral standards. It is arguable that all social systems other than those that represent a group that rejects social standing (and there are some religious in there, too) aim at high moral standards. As an atheist i am concerned with improving moral standards and, while I have to concede that religion has a sort of monkey press button - monkey get peanut type of encouragement to lead a good life, it often seems to lack effectiveness and can so easily go off the rails.
I think there are better and more effective ways of accomplishing higher moral standards and they are to be found in humanism, reasoning and education rather than in religion.
That said, yes, religion does train people to have high moral standards - though those moral standards were in fact already identified before the religion adapted them.
Well, I seem to be in the minority. I could be wrong.
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