Most of the people in the world grow up in families with some kind of religious affiliation and as a result their early education in morality often has religious influence. One of the common themes among world religions is that good deeds lead to salvation and/or an eternal life of bliss while bad deeds lead to suffering and/or an eternal life of torment. The expectations of rewards and/or punishment can exert huge influences on one’s life choices and may even make some assume one cannot be good without god. But this is an erroneous belief since it assumes human beings are not capable of good deeds unless they are promised rewards or cautioned against punishment. While a belief in god can motivate people to do good deeds, one is also capable of good deeds without a belief in god because rewards and punishment are not the only factors that determine one’s life actions and/or choices.
People do not only do good deeds because their god tells them so but for a wide range of reasons. Our collective knowledge has significantly increased over the last few decades and the field of psychology has been no exception. Psychologists have come up with different theories as to why we do good deeds which may or may not have any connection with one’s religious affiliation or belief system. One reason people do good deeds is because it makes them feel good about themselves. Another reason why some people may do good deeds is to enhance their social reputation in the society. People also do good deeds with the expectation that the other person may return the kindness some day. Sometimes good acts are driven by the realization that the interests of the individuals are closely related to the interests of the group. Just as good deeds are sometimes driven by the desire to feel good about oneself or for evolutionary reasons, they may also be inspired by feelings such as empathy (Taylor) which is not surprising because human beings are capable of a wide range of emotions. It is clear that even without god, people are capable of and will do good deeds.
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"Can You Be Good Without God".
Human beings share numerous traits with other species on earth and, in fact, there is only one major characteristic that distinguishes us from others, i.e. we are the most intelligent of all species on earth. Yet not only humans but even other animal species are capable of distinguishing between right and wrong even though it is reasonable to assume that the concept of god doesn’t exist in their relatively simpler conscience. A research study found that species ranging from mice to wolves are governed by quite similar codes of conducts as humans. The University of Colorado’s Professor Marc Bekoff believes morals exist among all mammals. For example, chimpanzees rarely subject their disabled colleagues to displays of aggression (The Daily Mail). Thus, if animals are capable of doing the right things even though they are not familiar with the concept of god, there is no reason why human beings are not capable of doing the same.
If people were not capable of doing good without god, we won’t expect agnostics and atheists to be socially caring yet the evidence suggests otherwise. In November 2011, the largest donor group on micro-financing website Kiva was an atheist group. The Richard Dawkins Foundation established the Non-Believers Giving Aid Disaster Relief Fund in the aftermath of 2010 Haitian earthquake (Winston). Facebook’s prominent founder Mark Zuckerberg, who describes himself as an atheist (Sommer), was the top philanthropist last year with $970 million donation (The Associated Press). Thus, even the evidence suggests people can do good deeds even if they don’t believe in a divine deity.
There is little argument that religions can inspire people to do good deeds but it would be a mistake to assume people cannot be good without a belief in divine being. People do not only do good deeds because they expect reward or want to avoid punishment but for a wide variety of factors including self-satisfaction and for the greater good of the society which in turn benefits them as well, too. Not only human beings but even animals are capable of distinguishing between right and wrong. Even the evidence supports the fact that nonbelievers can do good deeds and be exemplary members of the society.
