Are atheists/agnostics devoid of morals? I would say not. I remember Somerset Maugham’s argument in ‘Of Human Bondage’ that even though some of us ‘lose’ God/religion as we grow up, the morals and values remain and we carry the baggage around for the rest of our lives. He talks about the protagonist Philip Carey, “When he put away the religion in which he had been brought up, he had kept unimpaired the morality which was part and parcel of it.”
Speaking for myself, though I don’t have a religion and am a self-proclaimed agnostic, there is one maxim that I try to hold on to.
When I was around thirteen, I went on a trip with my parents to northern Uttar Pradesh, to what is now Uttaranchal. There in the winding mountainous roads of the foothills of the Himalayas, there were inspirational sayings, apart from the usual ‘Speed Kills’ kind, painted on the huge boulders or rock-faces by the side of the road. I took a fancy to one of them. Its from the Bible.
“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 7:12
OR
“Do to others as you would have them do to you.” Luke 6:31
But interestingly I found out much later that almost all prophets, religions and philosophers say the same thing in one way or the other. This is called the Ethics of Reciprocity.
Zoroaster: “That nature alone is good which refrains from doing unto another whatsoever is not good for itself.”
Buddha: “Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful.”
Confucius: “Tse-kung asked, ‘Is there one word that can serve as a principle of conduct for life?’ Confucius replied, ‘It is the word ‘shu’ — reciprocity. Do not impose on others what you yourself do not desire.’”
Hillel: “What is hateful to you, do not to your fellow man. This is the law: all the rest is commentary.”
The Mahabharata: “This is the sum of duty: do naught to others which if done to thee would cause thee pain.”
The Hadith: “None of you [truly] believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself.”
Plato: “May I do to others as I would that they should do unto me.”
Socrates: “Do not do to others that which would anger you if others did it to you.”
Something to think about?