Can there be morality if there is no God?

If God does not exist, then we do not have a foundation for objective moral values and duties.

Let’s clarify the question by making two very important distinctions.


Clarification #1: What is the question we’re asking?

Notice what our question is not asking. It is not asking, “Must we believe in God to have moral values?” It is not asking, “Must we believe in God to live a moral life?”

These are questions about whether or not we can know what’s good or do good things without God. And it’s pretty obvious that answer to that question is, yes we can. The Bible tells us that everyone recognizes the moral law written on their hearts in Romans 2:14-15, but that’s not the question we’re asking.

The question is, Where does morality come from, and can there be objective morality without God? What is the best explanation for the existence of moral duties and obligations? This is called “the grounding question.” What’s the foundation for morality? Let me illustrate...

Suppose you see a friend reading and you ask, “What are you reading?” Your friend replies, “I’m reading a newspaper article about current tax legislation in Congress.” You follow up with another question: “Sounds interesting. Who wrote the article?” Now, imagine your friend looks at you, puzzled, and says, “I don't need to know who wrote the article in order to read it. Look, I’m reading the article right now.”

Think about it, is your friend correct? Can they read an article without knowing who the writer is? Absolutely. But imagine your friend continues: “You know what, I don’t even believe in writers. They don’t exist. But that’s never stopped me from reading.” Again, can your friend read articles without a belief in writers? Absolutely. But that is not the question you are asking. You want to know where the article comes from. In other words, who wrote it? You understand that articles are just the kind of thing that need their existence explained.

In the same way, we are not concerned with whether or not the atheist can know moral values, just like you weren’t concerned with whether your friend could read the article. Our question is, What’s the best explanation for how morality came to be? Just like in the illustration, you asked how the article came to be. If we have discovered a feature of reality, like newspaper articles or objective moral values, where do they come from? What best explains their existence?

Clarification #2: We must distinguish between objective morality and subjective morality.

When I claim there are objective moral values and obligations, I don’t mean I like them or prefer them. They aren’t just “my truths” or my beliefs. I mean that morality is real and objectively true. It’s true for all of us at all times and places. Objective truths are true whether anyone believes them or not.

Here’s another way of putting it. On December 14, 2012, at approximately 9:30 A.M., Adam Lanza walked into Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, and gunned down 20 children between the ages of six and seven, as well as six adult staff members.

Adam Lanza’s actions were objectively wrong. And when I say they were objectively wrong, I don't mean that I simply don’t like them. I do not mean that his actions were wrong because we’ve all agreed hurting people is wrong. I mean Adam Lanza’s actions were objectively wrong, whether anyone thought so or not.