Do atheists have a conscience?

Sin is defined as 'an offense to god'. Since there is no deity, it is impossible for anyone to sin.

Conscience is the ability to recognize one has done wrong and hurt someone or erred against society. It is an awareness of the violation of altruism and empathy.

Atheists have consciences.

Well - atheists are human. Just because you don't believe in a higher power doesn't mean the you have no morals or values or conscience. Some people do wrong without feeling guilty - but I don't think it has anything to do with their belief in a higher power.

Some people need to be SCARED into doing good. I think a lot of athiests are good people - here and now - and they're just good because it feels right - not because they believe there is a higher power that will have them burning in hell after they die. And I'm sure - that a lot of athiests feel bad after they do something that hurts another or the Universe.

And really - does God want us running around feeling guilty? I don't think so. We should just try to be good - and if we screw up - forgive ourselves and move on. I heard a speaker say one time that SIN is an acronym. It stands for Self Inflicted Nonsense. I agree.

Some do, some do not. The same can be said of any group of people. Saying that he is without sin doesn't mean he thinks is has done notihng wrong. Since a sin is an offense against God and atheists do not believe in any God, there is no sin.

I know several atheists and they are among the most moral people I know.

But you apparently have confused sin (a act) with Conscience (the feeling of guilt)

Many atheists are very active in community programs, volunteering, and other social activisms.

Many call themselves Humanists to emphasize their belief in helping mankind.

What would make you think that atheists do not have a conscience? Sociopaths and Psychopaths might not be we are normal people just like you.

I don't know what you read but when some atheists say that they are without "sin" they mean that they do not acknowledge the concept of "sinning against God" since they don't believe in God. But we still generally know right from wrong and when we do wrong (as everybody does now and again) we often feel bad about it to some degree (as everybody does now and again).

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Nope, they just don't live by the definition of "sin" that is in the Bible. They think more in terms of humanistic morals rather than laws that are set in stone. They make their own choices about what is or isn't a sin, usually considering who is hurt by an action. It's more of an empathy thing.

They can feel guilty, but not because some book tells them they should.

The problem is what you decide is a sin. If you are a religious fanatic, 90% of what I do in life would be as sin to you. To me it is a natural part of life. Religion was created to make people feel guilty about something. You seem to be doing a good job.

My answer could be that atheists do certainly have an self reliant 'ethical compass'... and so do non secular human beings. (to a pair quantity the direction this 'compass' factors relies upon on how the guy substitute into pronounced, yet i think of maximum individuals have faster or later of their lives grew to become their back on their friends and pronounced "it extremely is erroneous", or "there's no longer something incorrect with that".) yet then i'm an atheist and you're probable non secular, so which you will disagree needless to say. you should look at what's occurring interior the international and in society. i assume it extremely is the evidence you're searching for. Religions do tend to grant some form of ethical framework that are stable to dangle to in case you're in difficulty say in penitentiary or kicking a habit, yet it extremely is as much as the guy extremely than the religion. on the different hand, if somebody chooses to curl a faith to justify an evil deed, it extremely is not the religion's fault. Being non secular or no longer has no touching on in spite of if one is stable or evil.

Athiests have morality, they just don't believe in supernatural characters. Because they have the same human feelngs we are all born with, athiests feel regret and guilt when they do things that violate their moral code or cause harm or suffering to others. Some may argue that this is evidence that God is not the source of morality, but instead it is a trait we have evolved to ensure our survival. (We wouldn't get very far as a species if we constantly made each other suffer and undermined good works.)

Absolutely. Being without sin is being without a religious concept. That does NOT mean atheists are without fault and fallibility. Atheists feel guilty just like anyone else, but not because they've "sinned". "Sinning" is a religious notion that atheists do not believe in because there is no god to "offend" by sinning. YOU may consider it sinning, but that's not what atheists consider it.

As J.P. rightly said, a conscience is what makes you know when something is wrong. It has nothing to do with sin. Conscience is developed from years of conditioning.