Atheism and Morality

Can a person be moral if they have no religion guiding their behavior? The answer is a very clear yes.

Surely we can't deny that religion and spirituality have a relationship with morality. However, there is a big difference between the relationship of God and morality and morality being impossible without God. My religious beliefs help my shape my morality, and I am reasonably sure it works that way for many other people practicing a variety of different religions. Our beliefs and religious frameworks help to shape our beliefs about the world around us, about life, and about how we should treat ourselves and others. Our religious traditions guide us in matters of honesty, sexuality, and even the way we eat or dress depending on the individual tradition.

How morality or immorality is defined is a key factor here. Miriam Webster's online dictionary defines moral as, among other things, "of or relating to principles of right and wrong in behavior" and "capable of right and wrong action". It lists immoral as "conflicting with generally or traditionally held moral principles". Individual people do not always define right and wrong the same way on a personal level. For example, I feel it is wrong to gossip or to talk to discuss very private issues with someone other than the person or people involved. For others this is clearly an acceptable activity. You only have to turn on the television, pick up a magazine, or read an internet blog to see the proof of that on a large scale, and on a smaller scale it happens frequently in different social groups like high schools, offices, and even churches.