Post Praetorian said:

Puggo - Jar Jar's Yoda said:

So basically your argument is that atheists are more likely to commit crime, despite any evidence for such a claim, and despite evidence to the contrary?

No such claim has been made...nor, apparently, refuted...

The question at present is what might prevent an atheist from partaking in such a theft, not whether any such crimes may have occurred in fact.

Well, one possibility is that the absence of ancient religious creeds might itself prevent prevent partaking in all manner of crimes. Quite a bit of killing is going on, for example, because a sacred book apparently demands it. Not being bound to such scripture, I am thus prevented from murdering heretics, or stealing their children.

Perhaps a less passive answer would be that an atheist, in order to function in society, must think about and fully form his/her own moral code. When asked why I think it is immoral to do something, such as stealing that trinket, I generally have an explanation - rather just falling back on "because God says I shouldn't do it."