Morality is not unique to humans and has been around long before humans even existed. It comes from our basic evolutionary instincts for survival as all living creatures must rely on their family and piers to survive as a species. It is the classic "I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine" principle. There are mutual benefits from working as a team, as social animals humans worked out the way we want to live and concluded that we don't want to be in a society where it is okay to steal or rape.

Morality is not pre-determined as the Bible suggests but rather morality is subjective and constantly improving. As we examine the results from particular actions we can determine what causes the lest amount of harm to one's self and others. 50 years ago most of us were racists, black people had to ride in the back of buses, and gays were out casted by society. Nowadays it is common to see two men walking hand in hand down the street and all races are relatively respected on equal grounds. Some of us are behind or above the wave of moral standards but we are all far ahead of our biblical ancestors like Moses and Abraham. The change in our moral standards is driven by improved education and then expressed on the news, television, in speeches, novels and judicial reason.

We know people are capable of being moral without God because there is no god to guide us morally but can people be moral without the belief in an overseeing god? Many Christians honestly cannot understand how the human race can live a moral life without the fear of an all-powerful god judging all of our actions. If such a concept is hard for Christians to understand then they really need to take a look at their own sense of morality. Do they really think they themselves could not behave in a moral manner without someone overlooking them? If a person is only being moral out of fear of punishment or a desire for personal reward then their actions are not moral ones but rather actions of fear or greed. Morality is about being good for goodness' sakes.

It is commonly taught that we 'need' religion, that a society cannot manage without instructions from a celestial dictatorship. However, if we compare a primarily religious society like America to more secular nations we see the opposite. There is actually a higher rate of homicide, juvenile and early adult mortality, sexually transmitted disease infections, teen pregnancy, and abortions within religious based societies. Western European countries such as Sweden and Denmark are primarily secular, yet they have far lower crime rates, better social services for the disadvantaged and contribute more per capita to international aid than the US where the majority is religious.

% of Non-Religious 12% America 44% Great Brittian 54% France 65% Japan 85% Sweden

The highest divorce rates occur in the most religious 'Bible Belt' states of America that includes Tennessee, Arkansas, Alabama and Oklahoma as shown by statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau and the National Center for Health. Massachusetts, home of same sex marriage, has the lowest divorce rate. Teen pregnancy, suicide and alcohol related traffic fatalities are also higher in states with larger religious populations. Even education level drops drastically when religion is involved. Today the higher the educational attainment, or the higher the scores earned on intelligence or achievement tests, the less likely are the individuals to be Christians. None of this is evidence to say Christians are worse as people but it does clearly prove that religion does not make you a better person, nor is it needed for society. According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons as of 1997 atheists make up 12% of the US population yet only 0.209% of its prison population. That is 156 out of 74,731 criminals who do not deriver their morals from religious beliefs while the rest do. Catholics & Protestants make up 74.172% of that population. Out of convicted rapists, 57% admitted to reading pornography and 95% admitted to reading the Bible.