Here is a video of Richard Dawkins on the Bill O’Reilly’s show. There is some banter back and forth. Towards the end Dawkins is explaining that Stalin did the atrocious things that he did not because he was an atheist, but because he was a morally corrupt person. O’Reilly dismissed Dawkins (of course) and basically chalked up Stalin’s bad deeds to atheism.

Is atheism forever doomed to hell for being perceived as morally corrupt? Can the concept of moral universalism become mainstream? Where do your morals come from? Is morality and moral guidance the domain of religion?

I grew up Catholic so I can’t claim that my morality is self derived or derived from my parents and schooling. My social norms are definitely influenced from my 7 years in Catholic school. I like to think that my current moral fiber is more of a reflection of my own comfort with the world and the moral completeness of the people around me, ie you people. How do you view your own morality? How do you view society’s morality?