Godliness, Goodness

Does goodness equal Godliness? Can we be good without God? The topic of religion, more specifically God, has remained such a taboo topic amongst people. But as controversial as it is, it’s a fair topic worth discussing.

Religion all around brings a lot to the table. Aside from the belief in God, or some sort of higher power, most religions encourage a behavior that the average person could and would not look down upon. With a foundation of beliefs stemming from God, believers are taught from a young age what is right and what is wrong. Proactive in choosing the right and doing good, the morals they teach are for the most part logical and ethical. Their ideas of living life are more than reasonable.

It may seem that these factors, religion, God, and goodness run hand in hand but goodness can also stand alone. In most religion, God is the basis of people's actions and the encourager of behaviors, but is it quite the stretch to say that every good deed one does is because of Him. A good example of this comes from sociologist Alfie Kohn who studied the relationship of religion and behavior. His research showed that nonreligious people were equally as willing to help neighbors. Another study resulted in atheists as being the leading group of students who resist cheating on tests. (Beedles, 63).

So can we be good without God? Yes. Religion instills values, social rules, and supports and encourages morals that influence everyday society (Beedles, 65), but these positive factors would probably all still exist, even if religion did not.