I do not believe in a contemporary atheism resulting from the disbelief of religious institutions. My atheism comes from the search and understanding of basic concepts, such as space and time, matter and energy. It is not a matter of belief but research. Who better than science for that?
The broken rules and no connection with the behavior of my time never convinced me. I have always seen the church and religion as an institution of unnecessary control. My education has always been based on ethics and morals have never made sense to me. Reading contemporary scientific books, experimental philosophy: Richard Dawkins with The Selfish Gene went to the door, then António Damasio kicked the bucket!
Welcome to CFI and I understand where you are coming from. My own atheism comes from getting an education too, not just of religion, but a BS degree in Psychology, which also including classes in philosophy, religion, mythology, science, and other courses. I think getting an education, a real one, not one at a religious institution, helps in reasoning and leading to a more secular thinking. I don’t think you’ll find much debate or disagreement on what you’ve said here.
I have always seen the church and religion as an institution of unnecessary control.
Morality, as a concept of human behavior, is located in the cultural sphere. Cultural is understood as a group that is organized by interest, pressure, choices or affinity, and a new culture may disappoint and behave with specific rules accepted by the group. These cultural rules are moral. In the field of ethics, moral choices do not matter. Ethics does not deliberate on morals, it deepens the understanding between the various structures of a system and its functioning. We are not alone, no, I do not speak of God. . . Every set moves, everything that exists!