Do you need to be religious to have morals?

I saw this and thought this would be a great point to discuss.  Albert Einstein after all is considered one of the greatest minds of the last hundred years or so.  Probably of all time.  But regardless of who said it, this is a statement I find powerful and worthy of deeper thought.

It is said that you need religion to have a moral code.  Most religious types will likely come up with something along the lines of "how do you know what is right if you don't have religion?" when this very prospect is put to them.  Religion does offer us a structured moral code.  There is a set code of conduct that we can refer to in a religious text that if we get into a sticky situation morally.  Subject to some interpretation of course.

But I will ask this.  What if under these moral codes it says "kill all who do not believe in your religion".  Most main stream religions actually have something to this effect in their religious texts.  A large number of people now days will say "oh but we don't follow that part" yet it is in there, part of the moral code of conduct that has influenced history time and again.  How many died in the Christian Crusades?  How many die now in the War on the West staged by fundamentalist Islamics?  Two examples of when this moral code is taken literally.

I am atheist.  I believe in a higher power but I don't subscribe to any religion.  I would favour Wicca if I had to pick a religion because the Wiccan Rede is the closest to my own moral code.  The final line of the Wiccan Rede is "An ye harm none, do what ye will".  If we all lived by this one line then I think this world would be an infinitely better place.  And you don't need to be religious or a Wiccan to live by this simple ethos.

And then we come to the real point of this post.  Do you need to be religious to have a positive moral code?

I would say those of us who do not have religion in our lives have a stronger moral code.  We do not draw lines in the sand over trivial things like belief or sexuality or gender and so on.  This is because we do not have a theology that tells us we are going to hell if we embrace someone who is a homosexual or give rights to women or have friends with a variety of beliefs.

Yet there is also one point that is more critical here.  Our moral code is by choice.  It is not forced on us.  It is not fear based.  There is no one telling us we will burn forever in hell if we do not follow the moral codes written in a book.  There is no priest to absolve our so called sins.  There is no one offering the reward of heaven.  We are on our own to forge our own code of morality.  We are free to question morality with no repercussion and explore it to establish our own system by which to live by.

Because someone with no religion has to forge their own moral code then they give their charity willingly and for different reward.  They have to give it unselfishly.  How can you give charity in a selfish way if you have no greater power tapping on your shoulder and saying "Your not joining my club if you don't help you fellow man".

I volunteer with a no kill animal charity.  I help them not from the selfish desire to insure my afterlife is free of fire, but because I find it abhorrent that we live in a society where a cat or a dog can lose its life for as pathetic a reason as it hasn't found a home in its allotted time.  I, like many others, want to live in a world where cats and dogs are not treated as disposable objects but treated as living creatures that share our planet.  My reward is from helping animals to find loving forever homes and knowing that I have helped to get some of these animals out of horrible situations.  My reward is not based in a need for karma or a ticket to heaven.

I simply help because I love animals and there are two things in this world I cannot tolerate.  The first is those who would harm a child.  The second is those who would harm an animal.  Both are often incapable of fighting back and therefore are at the whim of the adult who has the power.  That power could come from the adult being physically larger than them.  It could be they hold the gun.  Or the adult is the ones placing the animal or child in a cage so they cannot escape as they are tortured to death.  Do not confuse this with the debate over eating meat.  Animals that die for meat in modern countries often have wonderful lives and are killed quickly.  They serve a purpose and are not killed because a human got bored and needed entertainment.

I do not need to be religious to find these things criminal.  I do not need religion to find motivation to want to change the world for the better.  I have a desire to change the world for the better, not for my own reward.  My desire is to change the world for the better so that the innocent in this world do not suffer.  Which ultimately is the difference.

You might argue that well who cares what the motivation is as long as aid is given.  That maybe be.  But I live with passion.  I live with desire to change the world.  I do not live with fear of heaven or hell.  And I can find motivation to go that bit further from knowing that for a small handful of living creatures I really am making a difference in their lives.  Even if they cannot thank me.

The Wiccan Rede
http://wicca.com/celtic/wicca/rede.htm