This question originally appeared on Quora. Answer by James Waldron Hertsch.
I don't think atheists necessarily "just want to sin." Very few people turn atheist, then grow a goatee, crow, "Now I can sin all I want!!! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA!!!!" and then rampage across the countryside. But I think there are a couple open items:
The "sin" of impiety. A polite atheist isn't going to go out of his way to insult a religious person. But at the same time, an atheist is not likely to attend church, pray, honor the name of a god, or participate in any sort of religious ritual. If you define this sort of lack of piety as a "sin," then yes, the atheist sins by omission every minute of every day. While some of us are glad to have Sunday morning free (if you're in a Christian-oriented country), it's not like an atheist sets out to be as impious as he can. It's simply an aspect of who he is ... of who I am.
What is a sin? Atheists and theists, I think, agree that some acts constitute "sins," as it were. Murder, robbery, and rebooting Full House are all awful acts. But religions, especially fundamentalist sects, tack on other "sins." Homosexuality, close proximity to a member of the opposite sex, and refusal to submit to a male's authority have all been classified as "sins." I can't speak completely for other atheists, but I categorically reject the notion that any of these acts are "sins." Rather, they strike me as man-made laws ... and (esp. the rules re: women) rules that are sexist to boot.
Religious leaders' sins. This sort of thing put me on the path to atheism, and I think it turned others there as well. In Christianity, greed is a sin. A huge sin. And it's considered virtuous to give to others. Yet you have people like Jim Bakker, who embezzled money from his ministry, and the aptly named Creflo Dollar, who sought donations so he could buy himself a private jet. Not to mention every instance of a religious leader who preached sexual purity, yet had his own indiscretions, or religious leaders who preach "do not kill," unless it's in service to their interpretation of the deity.
This kind of hypocrisy turns people off ... and it starts one thinking. If these people act inconsistent with their religions laws -- even laws they putatively believe, then is there any truth to those laws, to those words? It's a powerful question.
More including video link: http://www.ibtimes.com/religion-why-atheists-arent-necessarily-sinners-2544691
Link to Quora and the question - Do atheists just want to sin? https://www.quora.com/Do-atheists-just-want-to-sin
Note: 100 plus replies on the Quora site link. Interesting reading.
anonymous says
Sin is violating god's commandments, but since there is no god, there is no such thing as sin.
Evil, however, is quite real, but it should not be anthropomorphized. Good and evil, morality and immorality can be mathematically modeled and explained in perfect detail in terms of game theory, evolution, and cooperation within a social group. No need for supernatural nonsense.
Morality is best taught with increasing precision as children get older. Do this right, and by the time they are in high school, they will be able to understand the math behind morality. Then in college, they will be able to engineer morality like any other system. The result would be that our society would be able to resolve the complex moral dilemmas it faces from animal rights to economic rights in a globalized economy.
anonymous says
As an atheist, I don't even think about the stupid notion of sin. Instead, I think about right and wrong. I have a very well-developed and refined moral code that is based on rational consideration of others, including non-humans, and empathy. I can happily say that I've never hurt anyone in my life and would not do so, except in defense of myself or others if it were necessary.
Put simply, I follow the mantra of do no harm, and try to help when possible. This moral code does not require, and is not even helped by, the belief in supernatural entities or religion or the threat of torture from some all-seeing god. All it requires is good parenting. Children raised with this idea will become adults who are helpful, not harmful. It's not that difficult.
If anything, atheism enhances morality by removing the selfish motivations of an afterlife. If you are doing good to benefit yourself, it's not really a selfless act.