Does secularism make people more ethical?

[Skybird]

http://www.spiegel.de/international/...777281,00.html

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Secularists make up some 15 percent of the global population, or about 1 billion people. As a group, this puts them third in size behind Christians (2.3 billion) and Muslims (1.6 billion).
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This heightened public profile may be contributing to the shrinking numbers of religious believers. Churches in the US are losing up to 1 million members every year. In Europe, secularization has advanced even further. The number of non-religious people, those who do not believe in God or any higher power, has reached approximately 40 percent in France and about 27 percent in Germany.
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So what do these increasing numbers of non-believers believe in, if not God? Sociologist Phil Zuckerman, who hopes to start a secular studies major at California's Pitzer College, says that secularists tend to be more ethical than religious people. On average, they are more commonly opposed to the death penalty, war and discrimination. And they also have fewer objections to foreigners, homosexuals, oral sex and hashish.
The most surprising insight revealed by the new wave of secular research so far is that atheists know more about the God they don't believe in than the believers themselves. This is the conclusion suggested by a 2010 Pew Research Center survey of US citizens. Even when the higher education levels of the unreligious were factored out, they proved to be better informed in matters of faith, followed by Jewish and Mormon believers.
But their knowledge doesn't seem to do them much good, since secularists rank among the least-liked groups of people in the US, falling behind even Muslims and homosexuals. In the states of South Carolina and Arkansas, those who deny the existence of a supreme being are not even permitted to hold public office.
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Germany serves as a sort of historical case study for sociologists, thanks to the distinct differences in religious tendencies between the formerly divided east and west. In the former East Germany, or German Democratic Republic (GDR), where atheism long ago shed its association with the educated classes and became a common value, it has evolved over three generations.
Nearly 67 percent of eastern Germans have no religious affiliation, compared to just 18 percent in the West. This trend isn't likely to change in the foreseeable future, since children who grew up with non-religious parents are almost certain to remain secular. The mother's beliefs have an especially significant impact on the children's belief systems.
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Boston University's Catherine Caldwell-Harris is researching the differences between the secular and religious minds. "Humans have two cognitive styles," the psychologist says. "One type finds deeper meaning in everything; even bad weather can be framed as fate. The other type is neurologically predisposed to be skeptical, and they don't put much weight in beliefs and agency detection."

[MH]

Originally Posted by Skybird

http://www.spiegel.de/international/...777281,00.html

Does secularism make people more ethical?

Im really not sure about that generally speaking....

[Herr-Berbunch]

My wife and I are secularist, and quite ethical (usually). IMO religion is the worst thing to happen to the human race - how many have died in it's many names? From a thread about a year ago it seemed that subsim, or at least the GT-frequenting portion was quite secular

In answer to your title - yes, I do. There is no other preoccupation, so that a more ethical judgement can be made.

[Anthony W.]

Religion, when practiced responsibly and civilly, is the best way to keep a population at peace.

[CaptainMattJ.]

Herr berbunch and i share the same views then

Religion *can* teach some ethics and morals, but then turns around and spews bull****. People may "believe" in god, but more and more are realizing what a load of bull religion has become, and dont follow what they teach, such as the seven deadly sins.

I have no problem with the belief in god. Even if it is just false hope, it helps people find hope from themselves indirectly in times of need.

I have a problem with religion. they say "love everyone" and blah blah, and they turn around and say "Down with Homos! down with Atheists! they deserve to burn in hell!". Hypocrites much? I also love how they have a convenient answer for everything.

Along with their "no Homo" crap, comes the uncovering of the priests not only having sex with males, but underaged alter boys no less. Its so infuriating.

Religion IS one of the worst things thats happened to mankind. hundreds of millions slaughtered in the name of religion, oppression and hate in the name of religion. Where does it end?

[NeonSamurai]

Originally Posted by Anthony W.

Religion, when practiced responsibly and civilly, is the best way to keep a population at peace.

Unless you have 2 religions, then there will be no peace.

[Osmium Steele]

Not even with one of these....

[Herr-Berbunch]

Originally Posted by NeonSamurai

Unless you have 2 religions, then there will be no peace.

Yeah, Buddhists v's Sikhs - that'd be one to watch

[razark]

Originally Posted by CaptainMattJ.

Religion *can* teach some ethics and morals...

Religion says "Do what's right, or you'll get smacked."

Secularism says "Do what's right because it's right."

[MH]

Originally Posted by NeonSamurai

Unless you have 2 religions, then there will be no peace.

Its funny....
if you talked to many RELIGIUS Jews and Arabs you would find that on basic level there is a lot respect between the two religions.
Politicalization of religion is more an issue.
Political religion is just an ideology like any ideology than millions died for....

[Herr-Berbunch]

My wife teaches religion to 11-16 year olds, and being secular make her job so much easier - when I was at school we did christianity, judaism and a touch of islam, now they don't learn stuff out of a text book (at least not in my wife's class), instead they talk about their points of view, and listen to others - eventually they empathise and can see others' pov without even being asked. The subject of their views changes - religion, abortion, marriage, families, death, rape, neighbours, communities, nationalities - and within that is a more ethical view.

They don't need to know that some bloke built a big boat and took on umpteen animals when it rained, etc.!

Matt- didn't even think of the catholic priest scandels. Catholics covering things up, never *cough - helping Nazis escape to South America*

[vienna]

I once had a book of quotations edited, in part, by the late Steve Allen. The book was similar to "Bartlett's Quotations" in that it was devided, alphabetically, by topic (e.g, 'Love', 'Resonsibility', 'Thrift", etc.) One of the topics was "The Golen Rule". The quotes were taken from religious writings (Bible, Koran, etc.) and secular philosophical sources. They all boiled down to one "basic idea": "Do unto others as you would have done unto you". One can be religious or secular; the "basic idea" should be the governing concept...

[ZeeWolf]

Interesting question,
I do not think man will conform until he is convinced that it is a unselfish
act that has both long and shot term personal benefits. All so it seams
that every one, when asked if they are ethical (or moral) will answer yes.
Jesus was absolutely despised for confronting those who thought they were
the model of ethical and moral purity. Hated because he [Jesus] called them evil.
Perhaps a good follow-up question may be "When all things become subjective
will man ever discover the bottom to his depravity?"

ZeeWolf

[Platapus]

Originally Posted by Anthony W.

Religion, when practiced responsibly and civilly..,

When that ever happens, let us know, please.

Originally Posted by Platapus

When that ever happens, let us know, please.

It happens all the time, they just keep it to themselves like their supposed to.

Unfortunately the world is filled with nutjobs who wave their religions around like a penis and shove it down everyone else's throat.