The article represents a continuation and conclusion of a series of sociological commentaries pertaining to three prejudices regarding atheism being revived by some representatives of the Roman-Catholic Church in post-socialist states. Said assertions allege that atheists are immoral, intrinsically unhappy, and that there is a lack of meaning in their lives. In the author's treatment of the thesis regarding the immorality of atheists - which figures prominently in the (endless) discourse on the "general and relentless attrition of values" - he has undertaken empirical research as to the values and moral orientations of atheists and theists in postsocialist states. The research, which was based on data acquired through EVS 1999-2000 and ISSP 1998, reveals that: (1.) In some post-socialist states convinced atheists are among the most morally rigorous groupings, while in others they are among the most permissive. (2.) In general, they do not seem to constitutea social basis upon which "a decline in values" may be predicated. (3.) In Slovenia there is no correlation between disbelief in God and moral permissivity. The convinced atheists are in some instances even more morally scrupulous than theists. It seems that the Roman Catholic Church resorts to the centuries-old notion of immorality of atheists in order to legitimise the supposed irreplaceable social role.
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