Morality has evolved in the brains of social animals, including humans, because both cooperation and competition help us to survive. It involves attributes such as empathy, compassion, cooperation, reciprocity, fairness and justice. None of these require believing in gods.

Humans and some other animals have a greater capacity for more nuanced morality, because we have a greater capacity for reason. We can know that something is wrong, because we can understand that it causes unjustified harm. This does not require believing in gods.

Positive psychology shows we are happiest when we have positive relations with other people, when we are absorbed in activities that we love doing for their own sake, and when we have a sense of meaning or purpose. Again, none of these require believing in gods.

With regard to society, public discourse is increasingly tribal and hostile, particularly on social media. But in real life, on all sides of most issues, most people are promoting what they sincerely believe to be best for society, whether they are correct or mistaken. This includes atheists and religious people.

We in Atheist Ireland try to combat this tribal hostility by disagreeing respectfully with others. We also work together with religious groups who want to promote secular politics and human rights, such as the Evangelical Alliance of Ireland and the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community of Ireland.