New Research Looks At The Difference In Morals Between Theists & Atheists

Religion serves different purposes for different people, including, in some cases, helping to guide their moral compass. A new study published in PLOS ONE set out to determine how these personal values might differ between atheists and theists1. Here's what researchers found while digging into this interesting question.

The first two studies involved 429 American atheists and theists, and the second batch involved 4,193 atheists and theists from America and Sweden. Stahl notes in his research that being religious in the U.S. is more common than it is in Sweden, one of the most secular countries in the world.

"This data suggests that the cross-cultural stereotype of atheists as lacking a moral compass is inaccurate," Stahl writes in his research. He adds that disbelievers are just "less inclined to endorse the binding moral foundations and more inclined to judge the morality of actions that inflict harm on a consequentialist, case-by-case basis."

If this study is any indication, atheists certainly do have strong values. They just may not look the same as believers'—and that's a-OK. At the end of the day, morals are subjective. Across different countries, cultures, and, yes, religions, people all have their own way of considering morality. And even when we approach questions from right and wrong from different starting points, that doesn't mean we can't reach the same conclusions in the end.