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LINK Is Belief in God Necessary for Good Values? Global Survey on Religion and Morality | Pew Research Center

Pew Research study on whether belief in God is necessary for good values...

Hages 7 Aug 9
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38 comments

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1

I don't give a flying fuck about what people think, which is basically the gist of this moronic study. I don't believe in any gods or religions, that doesn't make me inmoral at all, in fact that doesn't make me a hypocrite either.

9

Based on Evangelical support of Trump I'd say the opposite is quite true.

They’re a dying breed

8

Some Christians cannot understand how I can have loving kindness and morals without attending church and believing in a god.

I do not need a religious book to tell me to act respectful, kind and caring. At age four, I realized when I am nice to people, they are nice to me.

Two atheists, my daughter and I have tremendous empathy for others.

My goal was to be a good role model for Claire. We taught her compassion, honesty, and to treat all people with respect.

Starting at age five, Claire's dad and I took her to a homeless shelter to serve Thanksgiving dinner.

On Make A Difference Day, I took Claire to volunteer together at nonprofit agencies.

I'm with you Kathleen. What is to understand? Fear of god makes us a moral person? What an insanity? You are a shining example of what is possible because of non belief!!

@Healthydoc70

Thank you for your kind words.

@Healthydoc70 Seconded. Ping @LiterateHiker

7

Nope more atrocities have been committed in the name of religion

World War1 and 2 are prime examples

5

Values and morals are chosen by the individual regardless of their religious beliefs. Even those who claim to have acquired their moral through joining a religion chose these set of morals. We also find all sorts of people religious and otherwise who behave abominably. They lie, cheat, and steal; the cheat on spouses, abuse their children, and the list goes on and on. They betray and violate the very religious morals they claim to believe in. Belonging to a religion at times seems to be more about trying to convince themselves and those around them that they are a good and worthwhile person.

A thousand likes.

@MrDMC - Wow, Thanks.

4

Not at all. Morality comes through evolution.
Within a same gtoup If a certain action helps the group to survive and increase population, then that action is taken as moral. So, we don't need God for morality, morality is the result of evolution process.

4

Well, no whatever gave people the idea that people cannot be moral or good without religion. Such a lot of nonsense.

4

These Pew Research results are useful, only to a certain extent. Raw data and statistics are only as useful as the analysis that must follow

3

This post is really about correlations in opinions on the subject, rather than argument for one side or the other. Pew findings can be useful, but this study pretty much confirms what all of us here should already know, that religeous people credit their belief for anything good and heathens and/or "Satan" for all bad. The national stats roughly reflect education levels and religeous prevalence in nations. Russia's increase in religiosity this past decade is a reflection of Putin's push to use religeous faith for his propaganda aims. But interestingly, they are still a little less religeous than the U.S.

3

Well we know that prison surveys show that the more religious you are (in terms of church attendance before arrest) the more likely you are to break the law. The idea that belief in God is necessary for good values is almost certainly without merit.
But this survey is not attempting to answer that question. It's seeing how prevalent that idea is amongst various demographics. Or to put it another way, how prejudiced people are against atheists. At least in the face of Brexit and the rise of populist politics I have one reason to be grateful to be British.

3

If a person claims they are moral because if they are not they will go to hell, while the godless person is moral just because, to me, the godless person is more moral.

3

I am more ethical as an atheist than I ever was as a religionist. 🙂

3

With an awareness of decency, self discipline, is more important than blind obedience to some fictional, evil god.

Although I rarely eat meat, I am not a vegetarian. If most people were asked, "Would you go into the pasture and poke that cow's eye out?" Most people would say, "No." But yet it's alright to take this terrified young cow to the slaughterhouse.

I find more educated, secular people are interested in all issues.

3

Fascinating statistics. I always look forward to the Pew Research Survey Results. Thanks for sharing them.

3

Very important study and good information to have, particularly from a historical perspective. Thank you for posting it.

2

No, people can have good values and morals without gods, and without the fear and ignorance, Dan Barker says so

2

A question as relevant as "How many people believe that babies are delivered by storks?"

2

Belief in organized religion is an insult to morality and rationality. Are people naturally evil such that they need to be baptized with shamanic incantations and other ludicrous mumbo-jumbo? The morality of the Bible is clearly sick -- especially the Pentateuch. "A witch should be stoned," "Gay people hanged". This is iron-age horseshit and it's time for people to grow up intellectually because overpopulation is destroying the entire planet.

Check out a list of these quotations compiled in my book by the famous feminist writer Barbara Walker. Read a few to your Christian friends and ask them is this what you believe. This is the Word of God isn't it?

[amazon.com]

2

No....morals have nothing to do with religion. Good values come from a good parental upbringing. Our morals and standards are set in childhood by the instruction and example set by our parents. Some parents who set a good moral example will also believe in god, that is coincidental to their morality not due to it. Plenty of other parents who also profess a belief in god do not set a good moral example to their children, and parents who are not religious are a mixed bag too...of good moral exemplars and bad.

Yes.

I agree that god is not necessary. Good parenting helps but can be overcome.

@Mitch07102 Yes...of course, but it is rare.

@Mitch07102 "Good parenting can be overcome." Gotta think about that one! I propose a better combination: "good and sincere". My very stupid mother taught me to be stupid----- and I learned well!!!! Now that I am older than Gawd-dude, I am still trying to throw off the curse.

2

If a child behaves because Santa knows when you've been bad or good, is that out of good values?

MrDMC Level 7 Aug 10, 2020
2

Beliefs are not necessary for anything...
Do i think a belief in gods are necessary for anything? No.
Good values require good reasoning, beliefs are not good reasoning...

2

The research failed to explain why so much bad is done in the name of god.

Did Moses believe in god? He delivered the ten commandments, but was himself a mass murderer and a mass rapist. IN my life, I never cease to wonder at the grotesque morals displayed by so many so-called christians. I have posted many times that most Nazis in WW2 were church going catholics or Lutherans. Morals compelled by the fear of god are like a straw man. Worthless.

1

Morality is a useful fiction designed to help humans live in peace with one another and sustain a healthy society. You don't need religion for morality any more than you need religion for art.

1

Name one immoral action committed by a nonbeliever that cannot be committed by a believer. Name on moral action performed by a believer that cannot be made by a nonbeliever...

You don't have people waiting around for storks when they want to have babies. People actually believe this and make choices based on it.

1

The correlation between GDP and belief is the most interesting part of that article to me. I believe that people who feel the most helpless are the ones more likely to believe in an invisible superpower who will rescue them from their misery.

1

It is insulting to suggest that Humans do not inherantly know what is good, bad, civil or uncivilized !
Certainly Religion has been a negative influence on Humanity!!

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