Being a moral person and belief in any particular deity have absolutely no necessary relationship. Many atheists are highly moral, and many ‘believers’ are immoral. In fact, a number of very public ‘Christian’ leaders have explicitly claimed that believing certain statements about the nature of Jesus is all that is required for salvation, and therefore their (im)moral acts are are irrelevant.
The Judeo-Christian teaching includes a system of moral values, derived from the Judeo-Christian God. But it is not the only, or even the best, moral system. Numerous atrocities have been committed in the name of this same God – major ones being the Crusades, the Inquisition, and the subjugation of the Americas. Ongoing ‘religious’ violence includes the Middle East, Latin America, Africa….
While the most moral person I’ve known in my life was adamant that there is no God, no afterlife, no spiritual realm. Yet he is deeply committed to respect for life, care for nature, and living with integrity.
