All humans, not just religious, have capacity for good

JEFF JACOBY'S Nov. 23 op-ed column "A question of faith" comes off as more than a little intolerant of the 16 percent of Americans who don't want to be associated with any organized religion (a statistic cited in Bill Maher's film "Religulous"). Certainly, churches and other religious establishments act as wonderful conduits for the charitable spirit within any community. But this is no reason to assert that atheists can't be generous on their own, lead fulfilled lives, or have "stable families." There is plenty of evidence that religious people are morally corrupt in the same vein that Jacoby proclaims nonreligious people to be. One only needs to pick up a Richard Dawkins book to see the other side of this increasingly polarizing rift.

As an atheist, I am insulted by the presumption of author David Wolpe's and Jacoby's theses. I am a human, and we humans all have the capability for good, whether our personal beliefs line up with everyone else's.

Michael Breeling
Needham