Does Secularism Make People More Ethical?

[Mr. McD]

"For example, many believe that the US population is steadily becoming more religious -- but this is an optical illusion. Many evangelicals have simply become more aggressive and more political."

The most surprising insight revealed by the new wave of secular research so far is that atheists know more about the God they don't believe in than the believers themselves. This is the conclusion suggested by a 2010 Pew Research Center survey of US citizens. Even when the higher education levels of the unreligious were factored out, they proved to be better informed in matters of faith, followed by Jewish and Mormon believers.

http://www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/0%2C1518%2C777281%2C00.html

[Kerrytravelers]

1. For me, yes, because it makes me more honest.

I'm not making excuses for what my religion is doing to others, such as being anti-gay. I'm not using convoluted logic to explain how someone came down from the clouds, impregnated a virgin with himself, never did anything wrong, died, walked around on earth some more, then floated back up into the clouds. There is no way that can be truthful. And by supporting the nonsensical stories that accompany all religions, not just the one I was born into, I would be lying- to myself. Honesty begins with one's self. If I can't be honest with myself, why would I be honest to anyone else?

This in't to say that all theists are dishonest or unethical, but that they are not being fully honest with themselves.