In a series of compelling recent studies, Gervais and colleagues ( Gervais, Shariff, & Norenzayan, 2011 see also Gervais, 2011, 2013a, 2014a Gervais & Norenzayan, 2012b, 2013) have demonstrated strong implicit associations of atheists with immorality. More than half of Americans share Laura Schlessinger’s belief that morality is impossible without belief in God ( Pew Research Center, 2007), and in many countries this attitude is far more prevalent (see Figure 1). The notion that religion is a precondition for morality is widespread and deeply ingrained. 1 Echoing this refrain, conservatives like to claim that “declining moral standards” are at least partly attributable to the rise of secularism and the decline of organized religion (see Zuckerman, 2008). Although he favored the former proposal, many others have argued that morality is dictated by-and indeed unthinkable without-God: “If God does not exist, everything is permitted” ( Dostoevsky, 1880/1990).

In the Euthyphro, Socrates famously asked whether goodness is loved by the gods because it is good, or whether goodness is good because it is loved by the gods.

The question of whether or not morality requires religion is both topical and ancient. Our goals are twofold: to produce a detailed picture of the current state of the field, and to provide a road map for future research on the relationship between religion and morality. We adopt this fractionating strategy, setting out an encompassing evolutionary framework within which to situate and evaluate relevant evidence. We argue that to make progress, the categories “religion” and “morality” must be fractionated into a set of biologically and psychologically cogent traits, revealing the cognitive foundations that shape and constrain relevant cultural variants. Many scientific investigations have failed to decompose “religion” and “morality” into theoretically grounded elements have adopted parochial conceptions of key concepts-in particular, sanitized conceptions of “prosocial” behavior and have neglected to consider the complex interplay between cognition and culture. Does religion make us more moral? Is it necessary for morality? Do moral inclinations emerge independently of religious intuitions? These debates, which nowadays rumble on in scientific journals as well as in public life, have frequently been marred by a series of conceptual confusions and limitations. The relationship between religion and morality has long been hotly debated.

Moral Compass by Bryant Johnson