Are they? I disagree with that premise. "Christians aren't perfect, just forgiven". Sound familiar? Sounds like many christians have already been forgiven, by themselves. By the laws of man I am held accountable. Which is why if I'm caught doing something naughty, I don't claim that I was allowed to be naughty because I was obeying a "higher" law. Ultimate? No. There is no evidence for such.

Like Moongrim, I disagree with that premise, *if* it relates to how we live. True, some people believe that there exists some "ultimate" accountability after we die, and others do not. But if we are going to go further and claim that those who believe in it are more likely to be good in this life, then that is false. I've never seen evidence showing the non-religious to be "worse" people than the religious. Our jails would be filled overwhelmingly with atheists if this were the case. The accountability that the non-religious have is harmony with the people in our lives. If we treat others right, they will be likely to treat us right. "You scratch my back, I scratch yours" deal. Doing good to each other pays off, and doing wrong to each other yields consequences. The golden rule isn't so much a commandment as it is a helpful suggestion to ensure our own acceptable treatment. Richard Dawkins made an excellent program about the science of altruism called "Nice Guys Finish First" that you can watch here: http://video.google.com/videosearch?hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&hs=GIE&resnum=0&q=nice%20guys%20finish%20first%20dawkins&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wv#

Whether there's a god or not, I am accountable to the human race and the world.

I like the way Penn Jillette said it. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5015557

I'm accountable to myself, my family, my community, and if I think about it, posterity. . 1. I need to feel good about myself regarding what I have done, am doing and expect to do. . 2. I want my children to have good tools, emotional as well as others so I work to my best to provide them. I want them to love me when they are grown up - but that's secondary. Mostly I want them equipped to do well for themselves. This feeds back to #1. . 3. I want my community to think well of me. So I work to be helpful, fun to hang with, all that. I work not no be in someone's debt very long. I don't steal, do harm etc. This feeds back to #1. . There is plenty to feel accountable too right here and now without even going so far as invoking law. . When I die, I'll no longer be. But my memory can still be a burden or benefit to my family so as long as I can look passed my own demise and care about my kids - not even death will free me of responsability for what I do today. . Ultimate enough? :-) . +5

Why do you think morals and accountability are the property of the religious? What makes you believe that people can only be good, decent, kind, compassionate, law abiding, socially responsible and worthwhile if they profess a belief in something they consider a fairy tale? . Please try to find an honest answer to this. You may learn something. Your assumptions are dead wrong, offensive and make you look silly.

I hold me accountable....I don't need a bible to explain how to be a good person...

I'm not an atheist, but I don't think of myself as being accountable to god. My ultimate sense of accountability is to my country first, my community second, and Humanity third.

I guess the person who holds me the most accountable is my son. I made a promise to him (and my husband) when he was born that he would have a great life. That means I would do everything I could to be a great mom, he would have the material things he needs and the moments he spends with me would be memorable. If I lose my job, my home and my savings, he will still have a great life....just with less.

I hold myself accountable for my actions. I have pretty strong moral compass and try to always make decisions that will benefit the most people. I don't feel like I will be judged by a third party at death or anything like that but I do feel accountable to humanity and to the planet and try to make the positive impact I can on both.

of course we are accountable for our every action and deed and thought. we are all the same, one and alike, god resides within us all, there is no separate god sitting upon nigh, watching over us to proclaim death or ill will. Our thoughts, deeds, actions to ourselves, and others are the answer we are looking for, we have the god within us, that's where he resides, its easy to give it on, pass it along, be as one............ there is no religion required........it's just life.:)

I am not atheist myself, but all the same I do not believe that I need any god to enforce accountability. Humanity holds me accountable. Beyond my death, posterity will hold me accountable.

I will not be held accountable in any "ultimate" way. There will be no "Judgment Day" where a god will decide if we have been good or bad. - I am held accountable by myself and my peers every day. If I find that I have acted in an unacceptable way, I correct my action. If my peers find that I have acted unacceptably, they may need to convince me that I am not correct, but they will hold me accountable.

The way in this question is phrased is embedded in the Christian, hierarchical, view of the Universe. This sees the world like a feudal court: God at the top, Jesus next, then some angels, maybe saints, then humans, and the rest of creation below for humans to exploit. Atheists simply don't have this hierarchical view. We are not the highest, or the lowest - nobody and nothing is. We may be the most intelligent, and possibly the most powerful. But that does not put us either up or down in a hierarchy. Perhaps it gives us a duty of stewardship - if so, it is one we are fulfilling badly. But there is no hierarchy in which to be accountable.

I'm accountable to the whole of life, where I find my true ground of being. The me that is only concerned with limited things can never be fully satisfied. Being whole and satisfied means recognizing yourself as inseparable from the whole, and that brings responsibility with it.

Atheists are accountable to their own good consciences and societal expectations. Even without God, people are perfectly capable of being good and accountable.