The point of life is to reproduce and to keep your species alive, the same as any other living thing. Also you should be your own ultimate authority. If someone needs a “higher power” to be a good person, then they’re probably not genuinely a good person.
According to western atheism* the point of life is to reproduce and keep your species alive, the same as any other living thing.
All living things are alike in ways, but are defined by the things that make them unique. Humans are unique in our capacity for rational thinking. We can think outside of the constraints of the present moment and even past our own death. This is what allows us to moralize. Choosing not to and leaning into moral subjectivism is something you can do, but it's bad and generally dishonest.
You can't be your own ultimate authority, because you know the limitations of your control. Maybe you're misunderstanding the meaning of the word ultimate.
Religion is a part of history. I agree with this change. Unless you are SPECIFICALLY studying the text outside of any person of influence, and just the text itself, that is religious study.
Silly way to look at it. Being a good person and being religious doesn't always go hand in hand. We all know that morals are different from spirituality. You could argue that one who is truly spiritual would fundamentally be a better person *(than their prior selves, not better than others)* if the dogma itself reflects those values, but ultimately people seek something greater than their mortal perspective.
I didn't say that being a good person and being religious always go hand in hand. The problem with western atheism is that it encourages materialism, nihilism, and selfishness. This is not true of all forms of atheism. Buddhism is atheism with a belief in a universal order, in right and wrong. Without those things you are lost.
Most atheists are just lying to themselves though. You believe in good and evil, I don't know why you feel the need to pretend you don't.