Religion

First time I read through this I jumped to some conclusions. I thought you were saying we don't have morals. Now rereading this I think I get what you are trying to say.

[div class="excerpt" style="background-color:#dcdcdc; padding-bottom:5px; border:1px solid #bfbfbf; border-bottom:none; border-radius:0.4615em 0.4615em 0em 0em; box-shadow:3px 3px 3px #999999;"]Donald Ian Rankin[div class="excerpt" style="background-color:#f0f0f0; border:1px solid #bfbfbf; border-top:none; border-radius:0em 0em 0.4615em 0.4615em; box-shadow:3px 3px 3px #999999;"]What there *aren't*, and can't be, are any non-religious answers to the question "why is it in my interest to act ethically?". As an atheist, I have to accept that sometimes doing the right thing is not going to be rewarded.

Okay, so that I make sure Im getting what you are saying right let me just restate what I think you are trying say. You feel there is no SELFISH reason to act ethically as an atheist. While some theists have belief systems that include rewards in the after life for ethical behavior atheism does not. It is entirely possible for us to encounter situations where if we were to act ethically it would not benefit us in any way, and quite possibly acting in that way would be to our detriment.

Or in other words justice is not always served in end. The wicked are not always punished, and the just are not always rewarded.

You are not saying we cant be moral, so much as we might act ethically in vain. Is this right?
If so, the way you put it in your OP made it very hard to understand.

Even in these situations, I feel we do in fact have rewards in these situations...but they are not as concrete as the divine rewards our theist friends believe they will get and might not be very satisfying to some. The first is that we feel good for doing these things. The good deed is a reward in and of itself. It shows that we empathize with others and relieves the altruistic tension millions of years of evolution has drilled into us. We can also take pride in ourselves for doing something that others probably would not do. I guess this fits into your Dawkins example.

The second reward I believe we get from doing this is that we set an example. By doing selfless actions we leave examples for other. These examples can benefit us by either convincing others atheists to follow down our paths (thereby making the world a slightly better place) or by proving to theists that we can be just as moral if not more so as they can. The latter could lead to the end of many of the unfounded stereotypes and stigma associated atheism and help us find more acceptance in society.

Finally, I believe that if there is no true justice in this world, then the impetus is on us to bring what justice we can to this world, even if it is to our own detriment. It might not directly help me, but it might make things better for those who come after me.

[div class="excerpt" style="background-color:#dcdcdc; padding-bottom:5px; border:1px solid #bfbfbf; border-bottom:none; border-radius:0.4615em 0.4615em 0em 0em; box-shadow:3px 3px 3px #999999;"]Donald Ian Rankin[div class="excerpt" style="background-color:#f0f0f0; border:1px solid #bfbfbf; border-top:none; border-radius:0em 0em 0.4615em 0.4615em; box-shadow:3px 3px 3px #999999;"]This is only a weak absence, not a strong one like the other - atheism doesn't in any way preclude other things gluing communities together and providing a focus for the social life of a village, but it doesn't do so itself, and again religion does.

All I can say here is that I LOATHED going to church on sundays when I was a kid and was glad to not have to do that anymore. This makes sense in that I'm very socially phobic/schizoid. The type of community I got from church was very stressful and caused me nothing but anxiety. Conversely, on the internet I found a type of community with other agnostics/atheists that suits me better. People who see things more similarly to the way i do. So for me, at least, it brought me more community rather than less. Without this I probably would have been a hermit like you said

Regardless, this loss of community can easily be replaced by something else. Something that does not cause me the moral outrage that religion does when it attacks homosexuality, birth control, minorities, etc. If that loss of community is the price to get rid of all the awkward moments, boredom, constantly having to switch from standing to sitting to kneeling, and listening to morals I dont agree then that is the best trade i ever made