I’ve heard atheist here on FR say that they can do good, without believing in God.
I don’t see why not.
I think they can do good as well, but if we’re honest we know that what we think is good is much different than what they think is good sometimes. For example, an atheist would think it good to escort women to an abortion clinic for an abortion.
I agree with you. Same thing with some lapsed Catholics I know. Thanks to their upbringing (and maybe some things they'd rather not acknowledge), their actions would qualify them as near-exemplars of Christianity, except for the whole not going to church and mouthing off about the pope/priests/church stuff.
The question isn't about a mild mannered-individual growing up in a culture shaped by religion. Can an atheist society thrive for generations, has it ever?
If America was suddenly sprayed with a chemical that removed all belief in God, and made everyone 100% purely free of any concept of God and a soul and an after life, and removed all residue and traces of any connection with that past, I don't think that the result would be positive.