Msnbc or nbcnews more likely, obama is their savior. atheist combine government and religion because they have no other way , example of a complete hypocrisy of separation of church and state.state is their church.

It’s scary how many people think there isn’t any morality without religion. It’s made me realize that for a large number of people, there may not be morality without religion. Now that I’m older and realize this, I no longer try to point out the absurdity of some religious belief to their adherents. What if that is the only thing holding them back from becoming murderers and rapists? It’s hard for me to imagine, but when people tell you over and over again that the only reason they aren’t criminals is because of religion, maybe we need to pay attention to that. Far be it from me to take away the one thing that keeps these people from stealing, raping and murdering.

Anonymous wrote:where do you get your morals from? The internet? CNN.com?

Most people get their morals from their parents. Isn't that obvious? They tell you what to do and what not to do.

The idea that people only behave morally because they fear god's retribution is absurd. Does anyone really choose not to rape, steal or murder because they are afraid of going to hell? Seems like a motivation of last resort. No, I think most people are "moral" because they feel obligated to the family, friends and community to which they belong. If you live on a desert island, or in an isolated rural area, you can do pretty much as you please because your actions do not have an impact on others. But in any sort of society, people figure out pretty quickly that bad behavior comes back to haunt you pretty quick. You don't do to others what you don't want them doing to you. That's a lesson that's learned from preschool on. God has nothing to do with it.

Anonymous wrote:where do you get your morals from? The internet? CNN.com?

I don't need a big pretend man in the sky to tell me right from wrong. I don't need "Thou shalt not kill". Oh really? Killing someone is like, not OK? Huh. Interesting. Thanks for letting me know.

I get my morals from EMPATHY. I don't do things to people that would hurt their feelings because I can imagine how they feel - and I actually FEEL that way too.

I got my morals from my parents telling me what was OK, and what wasn't. It is as a person matures that they internalize the why behind right and wrong. With our without religion.

Simply telling my children, "How would YOU feel if someone did that to you?" Is usually enough to provoke reflection, apology, and/or change in behavior.

The more serious problem I think is that 1 out of every four people doesn't have the ability to empathize. (Google stats on sociopathy). And I don't think any amount of religious teaching is going to help them.

I have a question for you - where did the preists who raped young children get THEIR morals, hmmm?

Yup. I'm also tired of constantly hearing about "Christian values" and how "Christians are held to a higher standard." Then, when you ask what those values are, or what the higher standard is...they either don't know, can't explain, or tell you some universal truth such as the Golden Rule which exists in all religions, or one of Jesus' homilies from the Hebrew Scriptures.

where do you get your morals from? The internet? CNN.com?

Not everyone with religion believes those without don't have morals. Religion and morals don't come hand in hand.

I am religious compared to most of the people I meet who don't follow the same religion as I, but I know that there are obviously people out there with a different religion, no religion, whatever who have great and better morals than me.

Maybe some people don't have the conscience part of the brain developed so they need to be guided by something else.

As a little kid I went to hebrew school at my temple twice a week, plus Friday night Shabbot services. I went to hebrew nursery school before that. I was bat mitzvah'd. And holy shit was I a rotten kid! You know how some people believe in a "bad seed"? I was a bad seed. I truly expected to grow up and wind up either homeless or in jail. I don't think my parents expected much more than that, though they hoped.

Well now I have been inside a temple twice in the last 15 years. I've never been homeless or to jail, though I was on unemployment and food stamps and was a month away from eviction when I got a job. While I used to be a bad seed, a bad person who occasionally did good things, I've somehow turned into a good person who sometimes does or thinks bad things. Religion plays almost zero part in my life now. I volunteer. I help people. I do the right thing even when it's hard (when I can figure out what that is).

It is seriously annoying!

The ones I've tried to explain it to don't actually care to look at it from another perspective. It's a pointless argument.

I witnessed this firsthand the other day. Tween DD had friends over at our house and out of the blue one of them asked her if "she accepts JC as her savior now" and DD answered that "I'm not religious. That hasn't changed."
Then the friend's sibling who was also there turned to me and said that it must be nice because we don't have to worry about right and wrong.
I was just floored.
Then I told the kids that we absolutely care about right and wrong and we follow the Golden Rule and its logical consequences.

OP, I know plenty of people who claim to be religious and they are not spiritual. Huge difference. They wouldn't know right from wrong if it hit them off the head. Maybe it should.

I think some people can't believe that others have morals without believing in a God because they wouldn't have any morals without their God.

You know what's really irritating? Those of religious faith that can't quite understand how someone without religion could possibly have morals.

If you are one such individual: There are many who do not require god (or gods) in order to have morals. In fact, it's my experience that those who follow a religion tend to have a looser grasp on morality because of a belief system that promotes forgiveness and absolution of sins.