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[Fenrir]

I suspected that you meant it hyperbolically, but a wolf can hope.

[kaijyuu]

The way I see it, I feel no need to believe in any gods, because if I was a god, I would like atheists better anyway.

You know, they do good things just for the sake of being good, not just so they can be rewarded (though I would like religious people who did it for the sake of being good as well)

Atheists tend to be just as reward-based, but instead of saying they do good things for rewards in heaven, they say they do it for rewards in turn. IE, be nice so people are nice back. A wacky karmic balance thing that ironically requires just as much faith or hope that people will be nice back


Those who do good things for the sake of doing good things and not for any other perceived rewards don't follow any religious boundary, I don't think. There are people like that in every religion or non-religion, though seem to be in the minority.

[Fenrir]

Atheists tend to be just as reward-based, but instead of saying they do good things for rewards in heaven, they say they do it for rewards in turn. IE, be nice so people are nice back. A wacky karmic balance thing that ironically requires just as much faith or hope that people will be nice back

The emphasis is mine. That is the way people rationalize it, but I have my doubts that most people that say this actually do good things to be rewarded. They just never think to say “I do these things because I am genuinely concerned about other people.” I am not sure why, but I suspect it is because they do not know how to answer “Why are you concerned about other people?”

[G-Flex]

Atheists tend to be just as reward-based, but instead of saying they do good things for rewards in heaven, they say they do it for rewards in turn. IE, be nice so people are nice back. A wacky karmic balance thing that ironically requires just as much faith or hope that people will be nice back

• You're pigeonholing/generalizing a lot here. Speaking as an atheist, and for other atheists I know, plenty of atheists' stated reasons for doing good things is because doing good things is, well, good, not because they'll get some kind of reward.
• No, it doesn't take just as much faith. It's hardly some esoteric, mystical concept that people will be nice to you if you're nice to them.

[irmo]

You know, they do good things just for the sake of being good, not just so they can be rewarded (though I would like religious people who did it for the sake of being good as well)

Lots of theists do good things without expecting any specific reward. There is such a thing as simple gratitude.