It is not so much than I am an atheist as much that I really don’t care much about all this. I got real fish to fry before I get to the imaginary fish. Thank God (ha ha) in western countries religion is not very prevalent, and even much less in my circles, but one thing I like about China is that it is a culture which has a pretty good set of morals and ethics with no need to say “God said so”.
>>Is it really necessary for someone to believe in a god?
Obviously not. Millions of Chinese can’t be wrong.
>> How do atheists feel looked upon by the general public?
You mean atheists are not part of the general public? What are we then? Fried trout?
>> Why do atheists feel the need to deny the existance of any higher power whatsoever?
Funny, I never felt that need. Coffe and chocolate, yes, Denying the existance of superior powers, no. Is it fun? Maybe I should try it.
>> Is it simply human nature to desire to have a higher power to believe in?
Possibly. People look for comfort where they can find it but for me religion is nothing but wishful thinking: if i want it to be true then it will be true. In my experience that’s not how things work.
China has good morals and ethics? Are we talking about the same country here? Only a few decades ago, they were running over their citizens with tanks. They’re jails are unexcusably inhumane because they beat and starve their prisoners.
King Seymore, welcome to the SDMB. I gather you have not been to China or know much about it. Does the fact that the government there do things we disapprove of mean the entire people and culture have no morals or ethics? If your government does something which you consider unfair, does that mean you and all your countrymen have no morals?
I have been to China a few times and have friends there. I consider Chinese culture to be quite moral and ethical. I have not been to the Philippines but know a few Filipinos and a bit about their culture. They are an extremely religious culture and yet I do not think they are any better than China. In fact I believe they are worse.
To equate religion and ethics is insulting to all of us who are not religious. I am not religious and my ethics are quite a bit higher than those of some religious people I know.