Is an atheist kinder than a believer?
What is your experience?
Well, speaking personally as one only truly can, Atheists, for the majority part, are somewhat kinder and more caring than the believers possibly because,
A) we are that way simply because we KNOW and understand that it IS the right, correct and decent way to be,
B) we do it because we can and we KNOW that there IS no Sky Daddy watching and taking notes,
C) we know that there are NO rewards awaiting us in some mythical, non-existent After-life, and best of all,
D) IF you're anything like me, you get a kind of warm feeling when you do something for someone in need of help, etc, EVEN if they don't actually thank you for it in so many words.
Research on altruism shows lower levels of altruism in children with religious parents. Does that help?
[scientificamerican.com]
Religion, belief or ethnicity doesn't prove kindness
It's your personality
Excellent view.
Religion does prove CRUELTY beliefs burning in hell forever is as cruel as impossible to get more cruel
I doubt a difference in which is kinder. I do believe that an atheist tends to think out the consequences of any acts of kindness before acting on them more than a believer does.
I agree that we are more mindful.
I've known kind empathetic believers as well as hateful ones.
I've known kind empathetic atheists/agnostics and I've known hateful ones.
I think it depends on the person.
Different personalities.
Velvet glove over the violent fists of believers deceives Atheists away from holding cruel faiths accountable..... consider how evil it is to "forgive" Hitler welcomed into the alleged heaven while burning Atheists forever no matter how KIND we are
Religion obviously doesn’t give one any advantage in empathy despite them claiming a monopoly on the virtue.
I was talking to a customer of mine who has a large produce farm. He was saying that he couldn’t find any US born workers, and all his workers were from Mexico. He thought it was a shame that we were having to “keep them up” in his words. Meanwhile he was sitting in the shade while his workers were busting their asses in his fields. I said it looks like they’re the ones keeping us up.
Very enlightening. Thanks for sharing that.
I was raised Hindu and was taught that giving is a gift. Xtianity teaches give and thou shalt receive.
However the community I was raised in, showed kindness to everyone regardless of what faith they followed.
After leaving home and living in another city - most of the believers I know, give with an agenda. Most of the Atheists i know give selflessly and are involved in charity, human rights etc
...but I also agree with what @ScienceBill72 says.
@TimeOutForMe manipulation = kindness via agenda
Kindness - meh - But in thoughtfulness and true and genuine help, my experience has been more positive with non-believers, and open-minded believers. I prefer to be surrounded by people who are doing the right thing by people and doing it because that's what's in their heart for altruistic purposes, not to get brownie points for getting into some gated community in the sky.
Religion or lack thereof does not dictate one's morality, thus whether or not they believe is probably irrelevant as it relates to how kind they are.
I think whether an atheist is kinder than a believer depends on the person...not the beliefs. Now if you want to talk about being judgemental then I would say, in my experience, that an atheist is less judgemental.
I don’t know the left wing nuts are awfully judgmental. That is pretty obvious from the hate towards Trump exhibited by those on this website.
@Trajan61 how about in my personal experience away from this particular social media platform I find atheists are less judgemental. Engaging with most people on here takes me back to my days as a Christian. It gets taxing taking the knives out of your back sometimes.
@ArtemisDivine Most of my friends are religious so I can’t really relate to atheist outside of this website. A lot of them on this website are filled with hate though for people who support Trump or are sympathetic to the religious.
Its hard for me to say, the places I worked, esp now in entertainment, we don't talk about beliefs too much. I would say the few I know who are believers do tend to be nice and pleasant to work with. Only one person years ago, seemed out of place to be in entertainment, where we are open and really can talk about anything. This person was why on the more reserved side . I would also imagine some others, who may fall under non denominational , might be nice, but could be a bit arrogant, or condescending, even though they are nice. The few athiests I know at work are good, smart, have a side of them that don't take stupid people/arguments lightly.
Thats great to hear.
In my experiences, in a word, yes. No doubt about it.
I think this question presents us with a false cause fallacy.
I asked this because my religious mother
was telling me that christians are kinder.
In my own experience atheists have been kinder
than any christian.
It’s why I was asking everyone.
I think it really depends on their personality and Character, it depends really on who raised them and influenced them in their early Life, and where their heads At. Race and background don't matter either, some poor people are as big an Asshole as rich people can be , same with being Nice or Kind
In my experience, there is much hypocrisy among believers (christian mainly), and hypocrisy is never kind.
No I don't think atheists are kinder. There are nice atheists and some atheists are assholes (I've met and dated a few on here!), just like some people of faith are kind and some are total fucking asshole douchebag pussy-grabbing tax evading draft dodging scumbags. Vote!
Draft dodgers should be prohibited from running for office.
@SeaRay215ex agreed!
I don’t believe so. I have met some very rude atheist and very kind believers in my lifetime.
My experience as well. I think the biggest difference was with me. As a nonbeliever, I felt I connected with people better. I think I didn't feel the need to look for judgment of others - even in small ways or unexpressed ways - as I did as a believer. It made relating to others easier.
Since I don't ask if people I meet are atheist or among the faithful, I don't know.