Theists frequently visit our Facebook page and comment with accusations like, "atheists have no morals," or "atheists are angry with God" or "atheism is just another religion". These and many others are very commonly used by the religious in online and face-to-face conversations with atheists.
Atheists do indeed have morals. Atheists recognize inherent evolved human morals as well as the complex moral systems that change and adapt within human societies. Since atheists do not have a system of divine absolution, atheists emphasize personal responsibility and rely on logical, reasoned morality.
Atheists are not angry with God. Atheists might get angry with the behavior of certain religious groups or individuals but it's not possible to be angry with something in which one does not hold a belief.
Atheism is not a religion. Sometimes theists will suggest that atheists are also religious as way to say, "you're just like us, just with anti-beliefs". However, a quick dictionary search will reveal that atheism does not fit any standardized definition of "religion". James G. Huneker put it best, "Without dogma a religion is like a body without skeleton. It can't stand." Religions require dogmas and dogmas require an absolute authority. Atheism does not recognize an absolute authority, therefore it has no dogmas, ergo, it cannot be a religion.
Some of the accusations we've heard, like "atheists believe everything came from nothing", are relatively harmless and even rather comical. Others, like "atheists have no morals", are widely believed and have real-world implications for atheists in their daily lives and are even the source for legislation against atheists in many places around the world. As such, they are worthy of thoughtful repudiation.
Atheist Republic writer Lee Myers provided a popular response to some of the most common accusations in "Ten Common Myths About Atheists".
Do you have your own list of interesting, false, absurd, and/or funny things you've heard people say about atheists or atheism? We want to curate a collection of them on our website. Share your stories with us by replying to this email.
