Can Atheists be good people?

Question

I've heard that Atheists are all bad people, is this true?

Answer 1

It is only religious propagandist who say that atheists are all bad people.

Answer 2

My best advice is to give all religious doctrines a wide berth. Even doctrines which are opposed to religion, such as atheism. Faith is generally the expression of something deeper; and *not* a thing to be grasped by clumsy hands.

And agnosticism? This is perhaps the most prudent of doctrines.  

Answer 3

That is a slanderous lie. Which preacher said that? I have seen many Christians behaving worse than any atheist I have ever known. Some religious people believe they can do anything they like, even commit crimes, and then buy forgiveness.

Answer 4

I believe that the human heart is what makes a person good or bad. A firm belief in the Almighty does not define them as being good or bad.

Answer 5

my best friend is athiest and she's awsome and very caring.

Answer 6

No one is a bad person.  

Answer 7

I am atheist and I'm not bad. I just don't believe in god. I'm just like a normal christian person just take away the god part. people base too much on religion it's ridiculous. I respect other peoples beliefs and I wish they'd respect mine.

who told you atheists are bad anyway? do they know every atheist in the world?  

Answer 8

My personal view is that the everyday world is one of the manifestations of the living God. Anyone who wants to focus their attention on that particular form of God is welcome to do so, as I have no complaints over it. Regards, Larry (Hindu).

Answer 9

That's just generalizing.

There's bad people of all Races, religions etc. I could go on.

I'm an atheists. I'd hardly consider myself to be a horrible person. Im sorry, but I just can't believe an invisible man in sky, that is listening to millions of people at once, and granting all these prayers.

Sorry if I offened anyone.

Answer 10

Can humans be good people?  Be good now...

(ie - for humans to get along we need to all respect each others' points of view, didn't your Kindergarten teacher teach you that?)

Answer 11

Yes, of course they can. My definition of a good person does not involve God. Though I like to believe he exists, that doesn't make it so. I could be wrong. I believe goodness is in how we behave towards others, not whether or not you believe in God. What if God isn't real? The concept is what counts, and the concept is to treat everyone, every creature, with kindnes, love and respect. To be an honestly caring human being to all things.

Answer 12

Ignorant people who don't try to get to know Atheists would probably say yes, but being atheist doesn't mean that they don't have morals, they will still follow the laws generally, it depends on the individual.

Answer 13

The belief in materialism, atheism, is the maximization of ugliness, the climax of the finite antithesis of the beautiful. Highest beauty consists in the panorama of the unification of the variations which have been born of pre-existent harmonious reality.

Much of today's problems stem from athistic secularism. The father of secularism was the narrow-minded and godless attitude of nineteenth- and twentieth-century so-called science--atheistic science.

I do believe that a misguided person can be moral and try to be good  as with parenting but error is still error and if it is continued in the face of truth it is suicidal.

Answer 14

of course atheists can be good people. atheists can have all the same values, all the same morals, all the same ethics, all the same concepts of right and wrong as any given christian does. the only difference is atheists will never believe that they act good, that they are good because god wants them to be, they just don't believe in god. but they can act in every single way the bible suggests.

technically, i believe that all people are good, just some miseducated, ignoring that, some atheists are not good people, and neither are some christians.

you heard this because that person is brainwashed, that person is miseducated, that person is ripe for attacking innocent atheists, for hating them, this is the danger of religion. that person is the type "bad person" miseducation creates.

just like i'm sure you would agree the islamist terrorists are mislead into believing that all americans are bad people. religion caused it.

Answer 15

It is not true. Atheists can be good people.

Take any measure of 'goodness' that you like, and you will not find anything anything that stops an atheist being that good. If you are lucky you will find some people who are that good, and some will be believers of different faiths and some will be atheists.

It is important to distinguish this from what the scriptures say about faith. Faith may lead to salvation - that doesn't mean the faithful are good and the unfaithful are bad - just means that faith leads to salvation, that's all. Lack of faith may be punishable in some interpretations - doesn't mean it is is bad, just punishable.

It is within my memory that Catholics were thought by some to be agents of the devil. If they were, that would maybe be bad - but they are not, no more are atheists.

Answer 16

Why not?

Except a very few, most of the atheists are the best humanitarians.

Answer 17

Just because they don't believe in a God doesn't mean they're not good people. There are a lot of non-theist beliefs that teach morale without a God.  

Answer 18

And who told you this stereotyping view? Could it have been from some judgmental fairy tale believer? ;-)=

Answer 19

there are just as many good atheists as there are people who believe in God

Answer 20

what do you mean by "good"?

Answer 21

Sense and Goodness Without God.....

First and foremost, people are people, just human beings, like you and I...

Then we have good and bad people.

Good people are good because the follow the Straight Path

Bad people are bad because the follow they do not follow the Straight Path.

Let us define the Straight Path...

We will agree to accept  ... The Ten Commandments

Therefore:

Good people adhere to the Ten Commandments

and

Bad people do not.

Now say a person who believes in God and the Ten Commandments, lies, steals, has illicit s*x, kills etc.... Would you consider this person a good person?  Of course not!

Now say a person who does not believe in God, but thinks that the Ten Commandments are just and fair.... and believes in them because of being just and fair, and lives his life accordingly.... Would you consider this person a bad person?  Of course not!

My answer:

A good person is a good person by the fact of being GOOD.

A bad person is a bad person by the fact of being BAD.

By their actions you shall know them (which is which).

Now ask yourself this question.

Answer 22

"Good People?" Atheist aren't bad people to start off with. Just because a person chooses not to believe in a God or religion doesn't make them evil or anything like that. Atheist just chose a different path than most people;  its also how different people choose different religions;  people just choose different paths to follow.  

Answer 23

Your belief (or lack thereof) does NOT make you a good or bad person, completely untrue.

Answer 24

THAT IS EXTREMELY FALSE!

People can decide to not believe and still have high morals and do good deeds for their fellow man.

Infact no offense though I am a member of a Catholic I know that there are Athiests out there who do more good deeds than some people who are members of religous organizations including my own.

The perception by old fashion people and yes including people I know who have ridiculed me for the support of free choice of to beleive or not to believe because like most they are not that open minded to the ideas of others.

The saying religion divides is not that true but its usually the fault of the members who some due to arrogance cause divides.

Answer 25

No, all Atheists are horrible, horrible people.

Your pet golden retriever who cannot fathom a god? Evil.

The victim of brain trauma? Evil.

Frederick Douglass? Don't even get me started.

All Christians, though, like Hitler, are generally good people.

Answer 26

Not believing in God doesn't make you a bad person.  

Answer 27

Er, no.

I'm an atheist, and I wouldn't consider myself a bad person. Just because I don't believe in a God(s)/Ultimate Truth or believe that there is a God(s)/Ultimate Truth, it doesn't make me a bad person.

Atheists, agnostics, theists, etc. - they can all be as heinous as each other. Just because someone doesn't believe what you believe, it doesn't make them bad.  

Answer 28

Of course they can. That's not to say all atheists are good people, just like not all Christians or Muslims are good people. Just because one doesn't believe in a god doesn't mean they are automatically an immoral person. Morals do not come from god.

Answer 29

The people most frequently spouting that rhetoric are pastors and highly religious people; in other words, those with an intense interest in making the "godless" life seem as unattractive as possible.

In truth, Atheists aren't any worse than *most* religious people.  Keeping in mind that the world's largest private charity is run by Atheist Bill Gates, it certainly helps to knock a hole in the notion that we're selfish people who choose to "do what we like."  I, myself, often volunteer at a local hospital's cancer ward, and donate time and money to charities as often as I'm able to.

But that doesn't make us better than anyone else.  We're people, too:  We love, we hate, we breath and bleed just like you do.  I've often answered this question with a stock reply, and here it is:

We're not a different species of animal.  We're human beings, and bound to all of the same challenges as the next person.  Once you account for all of the Gods you reject (there have been over 2,000 recognized and sincerely worshiped deities in Man's recorded history)--and the reasons why you reject those other Gods--it should take only a nudge to understand an Atheist.  I just deny the existence of one more God than you do.  That's it, and that's all.