It’s Official: Religion Doesn’t Make You More Moral

The Daily Beast ^ | 09/23/2014 | Elizabeth Picciuto

[SeekAndFind]

A recent study comparing views on morality of religious and non-religious people found something surprising: Religion doesn’t make our everyday lives more moral. Suppose you actually do have an angel over your shoulder telling you the right thing to do. That angel probably wouldn’t tell you anything you didn’t already know. A recent study in Science aimed at uncovering how we experience morality in our everyday lives suggests that religious people are no more moral—or immoral—than non-religious people. Whether or not we believe that divine precepts give us guidance, our behavior is remarkably similar.

The fact that atheists are apparently as moral as believers will be counterintuitive to some. In Fyodor Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov, Dmitri Karamazov famously worries, “But what will become of men then…without God and immortal life? All things are lawful then, they can do what they like?”

[Telepathic Intruder]

It depends, of course, on what you consider to be a moral act. Is giving money to your church considered moral? Not according to atheists.

[all the best]

Settled science. No comments from you deniers.

[Chode]

good people make good churches, not the other way round...

same as slum people make slums, slums don't make slum people

[ravenwolf]

Who in the hell ever thought it did?

[detective]

“The study relies on the participants in the study to self-report honestly and accurately, and participants might be embarrassed to reveal immoral acts. People also have a tendency to overestimate how moral they have been.”

If you just ask people they will all say they are moral.

What the survey shows is that when participating in a survey, nonreligious people describe themselves as moral.

[Vision]

People are paid to create this stupidity.

[ColdSteelTalon]

Christianity is concerned with spreading the gospel. The moral laws serve only one purpose, to prove that we are all immoral and need to be saved because we are separated from God.

Our morality in any form does not measure up to God's standard. The only standard that counts.

[Calvin Locke]

It depends, of course, on what you consider to be a moral act.

Ah, photo ops carrying a bible to the local house of worship in DC does, or doesn't count?

[Captain Rhino]

Yeah, because those societies founded on atheism - the Soviet Union, the communist regimes of Eastern Europe, the People's Republic of China, and last but not least North Korea - were/are such wonderful places that thousands wanted to enter them while millions attempted to flee their utopia built on man-made values.

[Politicalkiddo]

Not if you belong to the Muslim “religion”.

[doc1019]

Well said.

[Viennacon]

Idiotic study. If there is no God, there is no morality!

Bear in mind, likely judgement questions on what makes you ‘moral’ probably included things such as

- women’s right to choose?

- same sex marriage?

- affirmative action?

- mercy for illegal amnesty-seekers?

[x]

*sigh*

The idea is more that society's religious background makes people -- even those who don't believe in God -- more moral than they would be in a wholly secular or godless world.

[Idaho_Cowboy]

And Steve Brown is not surprised.
http://www.keylife.org/articles/getting-better
http://www.keylife.org/articles/radical-freedom
http://www.keylife.org/articles/steves-devotional-growing-in-grace

For those who are follow the worlds religion they will not be more moral, because they are still slaves to sin. I also believe that those of us who are saved won’t get better till we admit we can’t get better. Jesus came to save sinners not moralists.

[kaehurowing]

What nonsense. The participants were asked to self evaluate what they thought was moral and immoral.

[LearsFool]

“For as many as have sinned without law will also perish without law, and as many as have sinned in the law will be judged by the law (for not the hearers of the law are just in the sight of God, but the doers of the law will be justified; for when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law to themselves, who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them) in the day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel.”

- Romans 2:12-16

[Jonty30]

Ping

[unread]

Brought to you by “The Daily Beast”... What...you expected something else..?

[Faith Presses On]

This was especially interesting: "Wisneski agreed that the concern about self-reporting is a “valid critique” of his study. He observed, however, that many participants report committing immoral acts such as adultery, which is encouraging (at least as far as the accuracy of the study is concerned)." Don't liberals generally accept adultery as "normal" and "natural"? That was most likely an editing slip on their part. Like others have said, this study proves absolutely nothing. It shows that people whether religious or not have beliefs about right and wrong, and that they might be troubled about going against them, but again, it comes down to what those beliefs are in the first place. If they're not Christian, they aren't truly moral.