“If you don’t believe in God, where do morals come from?”
On this Sacrilegious Sabbath, I will be answering this supposed gotcha question the religious continue to ask the nonbeliever. After all, there are millions and millions of atheists worldwide who behave in a moral way without a reference to a divine standard, so let’s explore why these heathens could possibly know it’s wrong to murder and rape.
In short, our moral behaviors as a species have evolved over time and continue to evolve. In a similar process of evolution where all biological life will physically change by means of reproduction, variation, and selection, moral behaviors have also developed through reproduction, variation, and selection. This phenomenon is predominantly observed among all social species. A pride of lions have developed a code of morals to kill the zebras, but thou shalt not kill a fellow lion. This is because it helps support the survival of the lion species. Humans have also developed a code of morals to kill the cows, pigs, and chickens, but thou shalt not kill a fellow human to support the survival of the human species. Science has observed a specific code of morals among different species to help support the survival of each species. These moral behaviors are a combination of heritable and learned behaviors.
Now that we’ve covered evolving moral behaviors among different species, let’s explore the moral behaviors of our own species, homo sapiens. If we study the short period of written history we can conclude that morals have changed and developed significantly over centuries. It is critical to point out that moral behaviors are not “improving” and “degrading” because that assumes the existence of an objective moral standard of which there is no supporting evidence, rather moral behaviors are simply changing or evolving over time. Our moral codes once condoned slavery, misogyny, homophobia, racial segregation, animal sacrifice, pedophilia, incest, blasphemy, war, and much more. However, by means of a process of reproduction, variation, and selection, these moral behaviors have evolved over generations to better support the survival of our social species. And these moral behaviors will continue to evolve in the future. We will likely see the demise of factory farming, consumption of nonrenewable resources, the war on certain drugs, anti-abortion laws, indoctrinating children with religious propaganda, violent wars, and other moral behaviors we don’t currently recognize as immoral. The variations of moral behaviors that benefit the survival and pleasures of our species the most will continue to be selected for and continue to evolve.
In a similar way that biological life evolves over time, science also observes evolution happen among specific geographical regions. When it comes to moral behaviors, science also observes a diversification among geographical regions or political boundaries. The obvious evidence to support this claim is the difference in certain laws on a state level and national level. Countries around the world have independently established what they determine is right or wrong through generations of reproduction, variation, and selection. Here in the US a person can travel to a neighboring state and suddenly it’s not immoral to consume cannabis or get an abortion. Moral behaviors have evolved over time and space.
Some religious zealots stubbornly hold to the false belief that a supernatural deity enforces a code of objective and unchangeable moral behaviors. However, there is an important contradiction to point out in their line of reasoning. On the one hand a particular god created us humans with intrinsic morals. That’s how they explain the millions and millions of atheists who intrinsically know right from wrong. On the other hand, this particular god published a sacred codified set of scriptures that dictate right from wrong. The contradiction is that this particular god created us with intrinsic morals that oppose the scriptural standards. We as humans have developed morals beyond the bronze age standards of misogyny, racism, and homophobia found in holy texts. My question for the religious is, if you believe in a god, where do morals come from? And if they come from your god, then why do holy scriptures oppose our morals?
There is a clear and conclusive explanation as to where morals come from. Derived from the observable evidence we study in nature, moral behaviors naturally evolve over time to further support the survival and pleasure of our species. And morals will continue to evolve. Unfortunately for the religious, there is no rational explanation or evidence to excuse their supernatural imaginary friend as the arbiter of morals. Nothing is sacred or beyond scrutiny. So be good for the sake of evolution.
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