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No, of course not. You're obviously just fine as you are. That said, your atheist parents may have done a particularly good job teaching you common sense, empa
by gyardley 12y ago
No, of course not. You're obviously just fine as you are.
That said, your atheist parents may have done a particularly good job teaching you common sense, empathy, and civility, or you may be naturally inclined towards common sense, empathy, and civility in a way that not every person is.
For those individuals who aren't inclined to common sense, empathy, or civility, and for those individuals with parents who aren't so good at teaching common sense, empathy, and civility, religious organizations can play a very useful role. The god-talk isn't the important part, it's belonging to a broader community that specializes in teaching moral lessons. The decline in religious institutions really doesn't affect smart well-off people with good parents, but it's been terrible for the rest of society, because no secular community has replaced it.
As an aside, the void that so many of these cults fill isn't an absence of moral precepts, it's that sense of community and belonging.
- enraged_camel 12y ago>>For those individuals who aren't inclined to common sense, empathy, or civility, and for those individuals with parents who aren't so good at teaching common sense, empathy, and civility, religious organizations can play a very useful role. It can also make them use religion to justify their lack of common sense, empathy and civility.