“ (pushing his morality and holding us to account), ”
Why is it that you believe that it is that a person can only be moral if he is forced to by the carrot and stick of religion? The promise of life everlasting or burning in hell.
The atheist I have known are just as moral as Christians.
In full disclosure I am a Deist and the God we believe in makes no requirement but has given us the gift of reason and logic to figure what is right or wrong for ourselves.
My question though is "where does their/our sense of morality come from?" Where did this code come from that you say even atheists can abide by?
"Whose" morality is it that atheists are abiding by? They may abide by it but they didn't invent it...or, if they did, what is the basis for it?
As CS Lewis said, humans have (some do, at least) this powerful inner sense of right and wrong. Did we learn that from our parents, our society? If so, where did our parents and their parents learn it from?
Animals don't have it. Peoples whose civilizations are not based on or influenced by Judeo/Christianity don't have it (our sense of morality that is).
Atheists may be moral as we define morality, but perhaps they are just following the rules of our society...a society founded on the principles of Judeo/Christianity.
The belief that God makes no requirement sounds like something created out of thin air (unless you have something or someone to point to as having heard God say that).
But the other part of your statement seems to be true just by our experience. It does seem that God has written his rules "on our hearts."
Moral based on who’s standards? Apart from a transcendent God there is no basis for objective morality. There would only be personal preference and social convention. If there is no God then nothing is objectively “wrong”
So did all my kids and grandkids.
It didn't work out very well.
“forced to by the carrot and stick of religion? “
Forced? Since an athiest does not believe in God why should he care ?Who is forcing an athiest to do anything? Everyone on this planet lives only a very short life and it all will be sorted out in the end. Frankly I can’t think of any reason to believe in anything that does not offer promise and hope and to me the gift of eternal of life is irresistible.