Why Do Americans Still Dislike Atheists?

A leftist friend—apparently an atheist—sends a link to a Washington Post op-ed lamenting the continuing discrimination against atheists, “long after blacks and Jews have made great strides.” It is titled “Why do Americans still dislike atheists?”

This author answers his own question. He writes, “On basic questions of morality and human decency – issues such as governmental use of torture, the death penalty, punitive hitting of children, racism, sexism, homophobia, anti-Semitism, environmental degradation or human rights – the irreligious tend to be more ethical than their religious peers.” Problem is, most of these are not moral issues, but political ones—much less “basic questions of morality.” All of them might be purely political, depending on how he is interpreting them.

On the evidence of his own concept of morality, then, atheists seem to lack a moral compass. This is reason enough to be wary of them.

He does then cite one or two real moral issues: murder rates, for example. But his research on this seems to be little more than eyeballing a map. This site, on the other hand, cites real studies that suggest murder rates are lower in US cities and states with greater church attendance. It also cites studies suggesting that the religious are less likely to commit domestic violence or indulge in extramarital sex, while more likely to donate to charity or volunteer their time. For what little such social studies are worth.

The author also asserts that atheists are more likely to “practice safe sex.” But this does not signify. This too is not morality, but self-interest. Morality involves sacrifice for others.

For what it's worth, of the Ten Commandments, the traditional code of morality in the Western world, atheists automatically violate the first two or three. Jesus sums up the commandments as only two: first, love God with your whole heart, next, love your neighbour as yourself. Atheists are necessarily not meeting the requirements of this first commandment. Now, you may want to argue that Jesus and Moses are wrong on what morality is—which is to say, in Christian or Jewish terms, that god is wrong on what morality is—but it remains true that arguing that atheists are as moral as the next guy requires you to redefine what morality has always meant in Western civilization.

You might object that it is not reasonable to condemn someone for believing something he happens, in good faith, to believe. Very well: how about if he happens to believe, in good faith, that it is okay to kill Jews? How about if he believes, in good faith, that his self-interest trumps everything else? How about if he believes he has the right to kill anyone who disagrees with him?

No, some thoughts or moral positions are in themselves immoral. Atheism might well fall in that class. We have traditionally believed throughout the Western world that it does.

Should it be illegal? That is a different question. But we may well have every right and reason to look askance at or mistrust atheists.