Does Religion Make You Nice?--Does atheism make you mean?

Slate.com ^ | Nov. 7, 2008 | Paul Bloom

[Jvette]

I think we are debating two different things. The original question, “Does religions make you nice...” itself begs the question, “Why do we even ask”?

I think you are saying that as humans developed into more organized societies the need to control interaction became necessary. The conscience is then trained to act and react to what society has deemed acceptable.

My question is why do we even think of this stuff. Animals don’t, not a single one. They live within a society and they interact with each other yet they do not ponder why they behave certain ways. They just do it. It doesn’t matter to them if it is nice or mean. Let’s consider again the example of dogs. They are domesticated, trained by man to behave in certain ways. If left alone, they would be wild. They would fight over food, females, territories etc...but they would not think about whether or not what they are doing is right or wrong. Similarly, humans fight over these things, but they wonder whether their actions are right or wrong.

I began by saying that this question is what led me back to God and religion. In all of creation, in all of the billions of creatures that inhabit this planet, why are humans they only living beings that think of things like this? I guess we have the classic which came first question.

I have not read any Freud in years, not a fan. And I’m not likely to start. If you haven’t guessed, I have my answers to these questions.

I appreciate that you have taken the time to respond like you have. This is one of the great things about the internet, that we can have a conversation like this, without knowing one another. Looking forward to your next post.:)