No, without god, good and evil are a matter of what is best for the culture at large. Murdering children puts my children at risk, so obviously it is wrong regardless.
You can try to make that argument. But you would be incorrect. Laws have been around long before the bible. The Chinese and Japanese had no western religion and yet had laws. Buddhism doesn't even teach that there is a god and their moral code is similar to ours.
That is complete nonsense.
An atheist still feels pain. We still love our friends and family and care about their future. The only real difference between an atheist and a religious person is the foundation of our morality.
For example, the bible says homosexuality is wrong.
I can see where it may be less preferable in some ways. But I do not see any reason it would be wrong as it doesn't harm anyone.
The bible says marriage is sacred. Again, I can see where marriage can be a benefit when raising kids and the relationship can certainly have it's advantages. But I do not see divorce as inherently evil.
Rape, murder, theft... these things and others are obviously wrong as they harm others and thus have the potential to harm me. So who in their right mind would ever, regardless of belief or lack of belief, think they are okay?
It's absurd.
Of course, you are incorrect.
And history has proven you so.
So...here is your remedial, complete with links and sourced material, so that you may continue your study.
1. The putative father of fascism, the French Revolution, turned politics into a religion, replacing Christianity with a secular faith in the Jacobin agenda. The Jacobean atheism was integrated with rationalism,
and with
the dismissal of Judeo-Christian scriptures.
Differences between Left & Right in their Psycho-Philosophic background
2. Robespierres view was based on Rousseaus theory of
the general will: individuals who live in accordance with the general will are free and virtuous while those who defy it are criminals, fools, or heretics.
Rousseau: Political Economy
3. You say: "Second, I would point out that the golden rule is innately logical. The fact that virtually every religion on the planet has a similar moral code means that it's not about religion at all, but about a sensible code that benefits all."
Exactly the view of Robespierre and Rousseau!
For the rulers well know that the general will is always on the side which is most favorable to the public interest, that is to say, the most equitable; so that it is needful only to act justly to be certain of following the general will. Jean-Jacques Rousseau, The Social Contract and Discourses, trans. G.D.H.Cole, p. 297
4. And, what if any don't agree with the 'general will,' or your 'golden rule'?
Although attributed to Rousseau, it was Diderot who gave the model for totalitarianism of reason: We must reason about all things, and
anyone who refuses to seek out the truth thereby renounces his human nature and should be treated by the rest of his species as a wild beast. So, once truth is determined, anyone who doesnt accept it was either insane or wicked and morally evil. It is not the individual who has the right to decide about the nature of right and wrong, but only the human race, expressed as the general will.
Himmelfarb, The Roads to Modernity, p. 167-68
And, the sentence for any who disagree?
c. Robespierre used Rousseaus call for a reign of virtue, proclaiming the Republic of Virtue, his euphemism for The Terror.
In The Social Contract Rousseau advocated death for anyone who did not uphold the common values of the community: the totalitarian view of reshaping of humanity, echoed in communism, Nazism, progressivism. Robespierre: the necessity of bringing about a complete regeneration and, if I may express myself so, of creating a new people. Himmefarb, , Ibid.
Such is morality without God.
5. The comparison? The American Revolution, with the protagonists who were religious.
The French Revolution occurred almost simultaneously with the American Revolution. While sharing many similarities, there was one glaring difference.
The French were not Christian and attempted to introduce a godless humanistic government. The result is amply recorded in history books. Instead of the liberty, justice, peace, happiness, and prosperity experienced in America, France suffered chaos and injustice as thousands of heads rolled under the sharp blade of the guillotine.
Religion and Government in America: Are they*complementary? ? The Mandate
I hope you enjoyed, and reflect on, this history lesson.