Do atheists, agnostics and other non-believers have spiritual needs? And would they benefit from their own religion?

By "spiritual" I mean a sense of moral connectedness--a sense of contributing to something meaningful and larger than oneself--like healing the legacy of injustice, alienation, ignorance, sickness, and bad faith that abounds in the world. We live in a highly competitive, materialistic, power-oriented society where people often use one another to get ahead; tend to value only those who are "useful" to their ends; and try to "get" the other guy before he "gets" you. Selfishness, greed, punitiveness and being "hard" are elevated to virtues, while being kind, loving, forgiving and generous are despised as being "soft.

" In this respect, one's humanity--or spirituality--is assaulted at every turn.By "religion" I mean people bound together by a common moral discourse, fellowship, and personal renewal of commitment to certain cherished values, such as love, compassion, dignity and respect (as opposed to ritualized professions of belief, obedience out of fear, or worship of gods). Asked by Zuma 25 months ago Similar questions: atheists agnostics non believers spiritual benefit religion Society > Religion & Spirituality.

Similar questions: atheists agnostics non believers spiritual benefit religion.

From My Perspective... These type of questions are difficult for me to answer as they expose me in this raw and open way. I generally don't like to sit all raw and exposed and open awaiting the thrashing that sometimes you can get in this place. I am attempting a heartfelt answer as it is a superb question in my opinion.

I have before stated, and will once again proclaim, I don't believe in god or any other spiritual form. I am a follower of science only. I was raised to be a free thinker.My parents did not support shaping the child's mind with religion and instead felt like we would grow up and decide for ourselves what to think.

That being said. I have a serious sense of moral connectedness that doesn't come from god or anywhere else but inside my heart. I volunteer with the elderly multiple times a week and participate in numerous charitable organizations both financially and with the gift of time.

I feel bound with people through a common thread of love, moral discourse, fellowship, and all of those things but not because someone told me to, guilted me into it, or made me worry I wouldn't end up in a good place in the end if I didn't. That common thread for me comes from a place a step back from religion. I am a human, woman, wife, member of society etc. I can connect with people deeply coming from all those places before you get to my religious beliefs.

In fact, the organization I volunteer at, at it's foundation, is a Christian organization. They are aware that I am an atheist and that there is no chance of conversion. I was named volunteer of the year in fact this last year.

It is based on my contribution and and not my spirituality. I wish to be judged on my actions rather than my beliefs. I know many who 'claim' to be Christian and then judge people or aren't honest.

They shouldn't be judged based on their claim of Christianity but rather on their actions. I fundamentally believe that as a society we would be better off if we stripped away the prejudices and the judgements and looked at people based on who they are and what they do rather than what they say they are. People are inherently good.

I fundamentally believe that. Given the opportunity to find common ground with anyone, I think if we could leave religion out of it we might find even more common ground between us. I think religion gets in the way.

The "rules" of religion or the limits of it encourage closedmindedness. Closemindedness doesn't leave one able to make the deep connections that you were refering to in your question. I don't have spiritual needs and I wouldn't benefit from a religion because that is the very need I don't have and as there isn't a void there, nothing needs to be filled.

You feel good, generous, kind, giving, etc.Because you do. There aren't any guidelines for it so you are free to act on it in anyway and everyway you choose to. There isn't a structure to it so there is a free feeling that would be gone if you made rules or added some religion to it.

The gift is not having structure. The gift is not having rules. The gift is knowing your own heart, loving, and acting from it.

Being open to connecting to people from all walks of life, all ages, all beliefs without pretenses, without worrying about how you differ and instead, focus on how you connect to those people. That is the true gift in my mind.

Atheists are free thinkers I cannot speak for agnostics because I am not one. But as an atheist, I can tell you that most of the needs that a spiritual or religious person gets fulfilled through their religion, an atheist can fulfill himself. We simply do not have the need to feel comforted by the promise of an afterlife.

We know there is good and bad in the world and we accept it as it is; we do not need to explain it with stories and falsehoods. We do not need a priest or a god to tell us how to live our lives, or what is good and what is bad. We do not need to feel like a part of something bigger, because we know that we are not.

We know that we are an extraordinary set of coincidences. We do not feel the need to explain our existence. If we want to good, we do good.

And vice-versa. "There is no good or bad, but thinking that makes it so. " "Few are the number the feel with their own hearts, and see with their own eyes." (Albert Einstein, I believe) That said, if we did feel these religious or spiritual needs, we would not be atheists.

Only people who lack the ability of a free-thinker have to have these needs met via outside influences. I have encountered more greed, selfishness, unwarranted self-righteousness, competitiveness, materialism, etc... in the religious community than I ever have when speaking to a "non believer". People who are too much into their religion tend to loose touch with reality.

They want everything to be explained to them as some great miracle of god and when it is not, they dismiss it as the work of the Devil. To an atheist, this is nothing short of ridiculous.An atheist will find the logical, scientific (real) answer, not the theological one. No offense meant to any religious folk.

The beauty of being an atheist is that you know you are the truly enlightened ones and you see religion for what it really is: a prehistoric misconception that has been twisted and used over the centuries to control the masses, justify bloodshed, and misguide the human race as a whole. Atheists are the real advocates of peace. They feel no need to kill or die for any faith-based nonsense.

More wars are fought in the name of some god (pick one) than for any other reason. Religious folk tend to think they are doing good whan they are actually doing harm. How many missionaries have tried to convert etire tribes of people who had their own sets of beliefs?

Was this right of them? What makes their beleifs so correct and the natives' beleifs incorrect? Religion is poison and it is unnecessary.

Please don’t email me and tell me I am going to Hell, because I don’t believe in Hell. Your religion is much like your opinion: it only applies to you and you have no right to force it upon any one else. Peace.

We are 'significantly' emotional beings...personal needs can be foremost in our lives... hope you are well! This statement does stand out as significant from your question. Do you see life in this light?"We live in a highly competitive, materialistic, power-oriented society where people often use one another to get ahead; tend to value only those who are "useful" to their ends; and try to "get" the other guy before he "gets" you.

Selfishness, greed, punitiveness and being "hard" are elevated to virtues, while being kind, loving, forgiving and generous are despised as being "soft. " In this respect, one's humanity--or spirituality--is assaulted at every turn." How we live, love, view, communicate, use power, work, fight, admonish, grow, fail, progress in life is more to do with our personal experiences that have shaped us.

You sound jaundiced! Why the negative view? Is compassion, altruism, unconditional love for others related to the spiritual (however defined) or is it just a human trait prodded to the surface by life experiences?

Inner values are learnt from significant others, mainly parents and the predominant culture. Perhaps 'spiritual' is a handy label but is really just our 'humanness' which to me, is more significant. Religion is fundamentally based around power and compliance.

There are underlying links to survival. Depending on the human needs of the individual the religious conviction can run in degrees of obsession. Extreme fundamentalism can contain in humans a high degree of neurotic, sometimes psychotic behaviors or tendencies that can encompass a strong need for control and power.

More balanced religious belief perhaps is just a consequence of exposure to the belief system coupled with a balanced outlook on life. The need to help others may just be part of the package, but does it come from within the individual?"Do atheists, agnostics and other nonbelievers have spiritual needs? And would they benefit from their own religion?

" We all have our own needs based on our life experiences. Perhaps we are not as "needy' as some religious folk but we are still very human. Humans are emotional beings and love, compassion, and a sense of belonging are basic and wanted by most humans.

We should be our own 'temples' or 'instruments' of insight and learning and not stained or contaminated by the compliances demanded by URL1 many, self esteem, love of self and a balanced outlook on life are significant and are basic to our (spiritual) needs being met. No specific religion needed. Sources: My Take!Chowfan.

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The word Religion seems to be a distraction from what you're asking. Religion as meaning "a particular system of faith", or particular system of belief, has been used since about 1300, according to dictionary.reference.com/browse/religion. I've always believed that atheism is as much a belief system as is any recognized religion.(The same goes for agnosticism, which is a totally different belief system and definition.) Since you combine them and "other non-believers" in your question, I'll do that in my answer too but I'll call them non-theists (which also is a different belief system and definition).

Using your definition of religion as people bound together by a common moral discourse, fellowship, and personal renewal of commitment to certain cherished values, I think non-theists do end up enjoying that kind of fellowship in their personal friendships with like-minded others. Likewise, volunteering time and/or money to an organization is a way to identify with the values of that organization. There are actually many places for atheists to connect with others, from in-person discussion groups to on-line forums.

There doesn't seem to be a problem with communing with other atheists, enjoying that feeling of connectedness and purpose you mentioned, and contributing to something larger than self. Just don't call it "religion". Sources: a BA in religion and psychology; my belief systems .

One way of looking at that is saying they do, and deal with it by denying it. And now that I've angered half of Askville, I'll say that generally, people without morals are considered psychotic (Batman's "Joker" for example). Atheists tend to have very strong morals that are largely based on the education that got them to where they are.

Pretty much all religions have some kind of moral code; the problem we have is that they tend to differ. The principal sticking point there is the Moslem "kill the infidel" moral. This, then, gets copied by others (Roman Catholic to Mormon) to devastation, which is why atheists often seem to have a higher moral code.

Thus, atheists have a sense of contributing to a meaningful, larger than self "legacy" by encouraging others to step out of that "kill the infidel" malarkey and simply allow others to live their lives. And many times it does look like a huge improvement. I favor the Christian model, tho, which helps others live their lives..

" "How many of you like Religion and why" (11 answers) "Religion & Spirituality" "Your 'Change category' does not work. You put my 'computer' question into 'Religion & Spirituality.'" "Question for agnostics (and maybe a few atheists), see details. " "Believers: Is raising a child in a false religion (or none at all) a form of spiritual child abuse?

Why, or why not?" ""Religion is for people who are scared of hell, and spirituality is for people who have been through it. " comments? " (10 answers) "Is religion for everyone?" "what do you think of this religion?

" (10 answers) "NOT MEANT TO BE OFFENSIVE! Why do the atheists seem to spend so much time in the religion category.

How many of you like Religion and why" (11 answers).

Your 'Change category' does not work. You put my 'computer' question into 'Religion & Spirituality.

Question for agnostics (and maybe a few atheists), see details.

Religion is for people who are scared of hell, and spirituality is for people who have been through it. " comments? " (10 answers).

NOT MEANT TO BE OFFENSIVE! Why do the atheists seem to spend so much time in the religion category.

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.