--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'm not saying that atheists can't act…" description: "\"I'm not saying that atheists can't act morally or have moral knowledge. But when I ascribe virtue to an atheist, it's as a theist who sees the atheist ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a78/william-a-dembski-10968_atheist_i-m-not-saying-that-atheists-can-t-act-m_2274718.png" --- # I'm not saying that atheists can't act morally or have… ![“I'm not saying that atheists can't act morally or have moral knowledge. But when I ascribe virtue to an atheist, it's as a theist who sees the atheist as conforming to objective moral values. The atheist, by contrast, has no such basis for morality. And yet all moral judgments require a basis for…” quote by William A. Dembski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a78/william-a-dembski-10968_atheist_i-m-not-saying-that-atheists-can-t-act-m_2274718.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a78/william-a-dembski-10968_atheist_i-m-not-saying-that-atheists-can-t-act-m_2274718.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a78/william-a-dembski-10968_atheist_i-m-not-saying-that-atheists-can-t-act-m_2274718.png) > “I'm not saying that atheists can't act morally or have moral knowledge. But when I ascribe virtue to an atheist, it's as a theist who sees the atheist as conforming to objective moral values. The atheist, by contrast, has no such basis for morality. And yet all moral judgments require a basis for morality, some standard of right and wrong.” [William A. Dembski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-a-dembski/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Atheists lack a divine source for morality, making moral standards seem subjective. **In simple terms:** Atheists have no divine moral source. Key Takeaway Consider secular foundations for ethics. Themes morality atheism philosophy Mood critical inquisitive Type ethical philosophical When to use this quote - debate - education - policy making - interfaith dialogue Key Concepts metaethics objective vs. subjective values Questions to Reflect On - Can morality be objective without religion? - What alternative foundations support moral judgments? A Different Perspective Secular ethics can provide robust moral frameworks. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Atheist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheist/) [Judgment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/judgment/) [Moral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral/) [Moral values](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral-values/) [Morality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/morality/) [Right and wrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/right-and-wrong/) [Theist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theist/) [Values](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/values/) [Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue/) ## Related quotes > [The problem of good as it faces the atheist is this: Nature, which is the nuts-and-bolts reality for the atheist, has no values and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-a-dembski/the-problem-of-good-as-it-faces-the-atheist-is-this-nature-which-is/) [William A. Dembski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-a-dembski/) > [“To act morally is not to act out of fear of punishment; it is not to act as one is commanded to act. Rather,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-m-cahn/to-act-morally-is-not-to-act-out-of-fear-of-punishment-it-is-not-to/) Steven M. Cahn > [Not only in order to act morally, but even to formulate theoretical questions, devise experiments, choose which ones to perform and what conclusions to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-w-wood/not-only-in-order-to-act-morally-but-even-to-formulate-theoretical/) [Allen W. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-w-wood/) > [The only way to show a true respect for God is to act morally while ignoring God’s existence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/the-only-way-to-show-a-true-respect-for-god-is-to-act-morally-while-2/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) > [Religion, media and schools tell us to disregard animals, view them as commodities, property and resources, and convince us that animals cannot think clearly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-yourofsky/religion-media-and-schools-tell-us-to-disregard-animals-view-them-as/) [Gary Yourofsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-yourofsky/) > [“The only way to show a true respect for God is to act morally while ignoring God’s existence.” ― A History of God: The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/the-only-way-to-show-a-true-respect-for-god-is-to-act-morally-while/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) > [“While I don't think sociopaths have any sort of moral urge to do good things, I think they can and do act morally in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-e-thomas-2/while-i-don-t-think-sociopaths-have-any-sort-of-moral-urge-to-do-good/) [M. E. Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-e-thomas-2/) > [“If you cannot or will not imagine the results of your actions, there’s no way you can act morally or responsibly. Little kids can’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/if-you-cannot-or-will-not-imagine-the-results-of-your-actions-there-s/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [The first step to be taken by everyone who wishes to act morally is to decide not to act according to the general customs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-maritain/the-first-step-to-be-taken-by-everyone-who-wishes-to-act-morally-is/) [Jacques Maritain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-maritain/) > [If you think that you are where you are just because you worked hard, it is easy to become self-righteous and make classist moral…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bunch/if-you-think-that-you-are-where-you-are-just-because-you-worked-hard/) [Charlotte Bunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bunch/) > [I never make moral judgments; I'm not qualified to do so. I am not a censor, a priest, or a politician.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/i-never-make-moral-judgments-i-m-not-qualified-to-do-so-i-am-not-a/) [Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) > [My early research - I'm a social psychologist, and my early research was on how people make moral judgments. When I entered the field…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-haidt/my-early-research-i-m-a-social-psychologist-and-my-early-research-was/) [Jonathan Haidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-haidt/) > [Self-righteousness is the inevitable fruit of simple moral judgments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/self-righteousness-is-the-inevitable-fruit-of-simple-moral-judgments/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [I'm very interested in why we do good things, or bad things, and where moral judgments come from.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bloom/i-m-very-interested-in-why-we-do-good-things-or-bad-things-and-where/) [Paul Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bloom/) > [“What does it matter if another player, your friend or rival, intended good things and had only your interests at heart, if the effects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/what-does-it-matter-if-another-player-your-friend-or-rival-intended/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) ## More by William A. Dembski > [The problem with merely writing so that you can be understood is that the wrong people, in advancing their agendas, are only too ready…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-a-dembski/the-problem-with-merely-writing-so-that-you-can-be-understood-is-that/) [William A. Dembski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-a-dembski/) > [Intelligent Design opens the whole possibility of us being created in the image of a benevolent God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-a-dembski/intelligent-design-opens-the-whole-possibility-of-us-being-created-in/) [William A. Dembski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-a-dembski/) > [“Science must not degenerate into applied materialistic philosophy. But this is exactly what it does at the hands of today's alchemists, namely, the materialistic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-a-dembski/science-must-not-degenerate-into-applied-materialistic-philosophy-but/) [William A. Dembski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-a-dembski/) > [As a biblical inerrantist, I believe that what the Bible teaches is true and bow to the text, including its teaching about the Flood…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-a-dembski/as-a-biblical-inerrantist-i-believe-that-what-the-bible-teaches-is/) [William A. Dembski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-a-dembski/) > [The young earth-solution to reconciling the order of creation with natural history makes good exegetical and theological sense. Indeed, the overwhelming consensus of theologians…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-a-dembski/the-young-earth-solution-to-reconciling-the-order-of-creation-with/) [William A. Dembski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-a-dembski/) > [The scientific picture of the world championed since the Enlightenment is not just wrong but massively wrong. Indeed entire fields of inquiry, especially in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-a-dembski/the-scientific-picture-of-the-world-championed-since-the/) [William A. Dembski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-a-dembski/) > [Precisely because intelligent design does not turn the study of biological origins into a Bible-science controversy, intelligent design is a position around which Christians…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-a-dembski/precisely-because-intelligent-design-does-not-turn-the-study-of/) [William A. Dembski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-a-dembski/) > [“ Johnson is a radical skeptic, insisting, in the best Socratic tradition, that everything be put on the table for examination. By contrast, most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-a-dembski/johnson-is-a-radical-skeptic-insisting-in-the-best-socratic-tradition/) [William A. Dembski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-a-dembski/) > [“Yet, unlike the causal specificity that obtains for microevolutionary processes, origin-of-life researchers have yet to specify the chemical pathways that supposedly originated life. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-a-dembski/yet-unlike-the-causal-specificity-that-obtains-for-microevolutionary/) [William A. Dembski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-a-dembski/) > [There is an immediate payoff to intelligent design: it destroys the atheistic legacy of Darwinian evolution. Intelligent design makes it impossible to be an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-a-dembski/there-is-an-immediate-payoff-to-intelligent-design-it-destroys-the/) [William A. Dembski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-a-dembski/) > [The positive evidence for Darwinism is confined to small-scale evolutionary changes like insects developing insecticide resistance…Evidence like that for insecticide resistance confirms the Darwinian…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-a-dembski/the-positive-evidence-for-darwinism-is-confined-to-small-scale/) [William A. Dembski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-a-dembski/) > [How a designer gets from thought to thing is, at least in broad strokes, straightforward: (1) A designer conceives a purpose. (2) To accomplish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-a-dembski/how-a-designer-gets-from-thought-to-thing-is-at-least-in-broad/) [William A. Dembski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-a-dembski/) > [“To exist is to be in communion, and to be in communion is to exchange information. Accordingly, the fundamental science, indeed the science that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-a-dembski/to-exist-is-to-be-in-communion-and-to-be-in-communion-is-to-exchange/) [William A. Dembski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-a-dembski/) > [Because government has tremendous power, it attracts people who are eager to game the system, obtaining by force of law what they could never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-a-dembski/because-government-has-tremendous-power-it-attracts-people-who-are/) [William A. Dembski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-a-dembski/) > [Without a unified political climate of opinion, there is little or no political profit in doing the right thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-a-dembski/without-a-unified-political-climate-of-opinion-there-is-little-or-no/) [William A. Dembski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-a-dembski/) [Explore all 62 William A. Dembski quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-a-dembski/) ## More Atheist quotes > [From Augustine down, theologians have tried to compel people to accept their special interpretation of the Scripture, and the tortures of the inquisition, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matilda-joslyn-gage/from-augustine-down-theologians-have-tried-to-compel-people-to-accept/) [Matilda Joslyn Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matilda-joslyn-gage/) > [Let me tell you that atheism has never painted a masterpiece. Atheism has never dispelled fear. Atheism has never healed a disease; faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hagee/let-me-tell-you-that-atheism-has-never-painted-a-masterpiece-atheism/) [John Hagee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hagee/) > [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [That the world is in a bad shape is undeniable, but there is not the faintest reason in history to suppose that Christianity offers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/that-the-world-is-in-a-bad-shape-is-undeniable-but-there-is-not-the/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [“I felt like praying or something, when I was in bed, but I couldn't do it. I can't always pray when I feel like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/i-felt-like-praying-or-something-when-i-was-in-bed-but-i-couldn-t-do/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [Atheist’s denial of God’s existence needs just as much substantiation as does the theist’s claim; the atheist must give plausible reasons for rejecting God’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-copan/atheist-s-denial-of-god-s-existence-needs-just-as-much-substantiation/) [Paul Copan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-copan/) > [“The atheist joined his hands. It wasn't against the Gods. He smiled, with his hands folded, saw his daughter's in-laws approaching near.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bhavik-sarkhedi/the-atheist-joined-his-hands-it-wasn-t-against-the-gods-he-smiled/) [Bhavik Sarkhedi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bhavik-sarkhedi/) > [I am surprised that anyone can profess to be an atheist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-comfort/i-am-surprised-that-anyone-can-profess-to-be-an-atheist/) [Ray Comfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-comfort/) > [“I have found it an amusing strategy, when asked whether I am an atheist, to point out that the questioner is also an atheist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/i-have-found-it-an-amusing-strategy-when-asked-whether-i-am-an/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [An Atheist wandering down a road where he meets up a four road junction , he asks a passer by hey !, where does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-rambharack/an-atheist-wandering-down-a-road-where-he-meets-up-a-four-road/) [Glen Rambharack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-rambharack/) > [Good churches are not built by bad men; at least, there must be probity and enthusiasm somewhere in the society. These minsters were neither…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/good-churches-are-not-built-by-bad-men-at-least-there-must-be-probity/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [An ineffably holy God, who has the utmost abhorrence of sin, was never invented by any of Adam's descendents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-w-pink/an-ineffably-holy-god-who-has-the-utmost-abhorrence-of-sin-was-never/) [Arthur W. Pink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-w-pink/) > [If all the Atheists & Agnostics left America, they'd lose 93% of The National Academy of Sciences & less than 1% of the prison population.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ricky-gervais/if-all-the-atheists-agnostics-left-america-they-d-lose-93-of-the/) [Ricky Gervais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ricky-gervais/) > [I am an atheist. I don't think there's anything divine. Beautiful, impressive, awe-inspiring - sure, but not divine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nomy-arpaly/i-am-an-atheist-i-don-t-think-there-s-anything-divine-beautiful/) [Nomy Arpaly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nomy-arpaly/) > [I am like all other atheists only in that I do not believe there are any gods. Beyond that, I may differ dramatically in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-carrier/i-am-like-all-other-atheists-only-in-that-i-do-not-believe-there-are/) [Richard Carrier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-carrier/) [Browse all 2,434 Atheist quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atheist/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I'm not saying that atheists can't act morally or have moral knowledge. But when I ascribe virtue to an atheist, it's as a theist who sees the atheist as conforming to objective moral values. The atheist, by contrast, has no such basis for morality. And yet all moral judgments require a basis for morality, some standard of right and wrong.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William A. Dembski" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-a-dembski/i-m-not-saying-that-atheists-can-t-act-morally-or-have-moral/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Atheist" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-a-dembski/i-m-not-saying-that-atheists-can-t-act-morally-or-have-moral/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a78/william-a-dembski-10968_atheist_i-m-not-saying-that-atheists-can-t-act-m_2274718.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a78/william-a-dembski-10968_atheist_i-m-not-saying-that-atheists-can-t-act-m_2274718.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a78/william-a-dembski-10968_atheist_i-m-not-saying-that-atheists-can-t-act-m_2274718.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I'm not saying that atheists can't act morally or have moral knowledge. But when I ascribe virtue to an…” — William A. Dembski", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "William A. Dembski", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-a-dembski/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I'm not saying that atheists can't...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-a-dembski/i-m-not-saying-that-atheists-can-t-act-morally-or-have-moral/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-a-dembski/i-m-not-saying-that-atheists-can-t-act-morally-or-have-moral/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```