One of the reasons why I left Islam and became an atheist was because I was amazed by how it was atheists who lived by principles and ideals, and it was religious people who lived by selfish interests and greed. The reason for why this is the case is simple:

Religious people are taught that "deeds lead to consequences" while atheists are taught "principles are principles." Religious people do all the things that they do because they want rewards in the afterlife. To them, religion is a life-long transaction. They do good deeds to increase their afterlife award, while they refrain from sin because they don't want to be punished. These are not principles. This is a transaction by every definition of the word.

On the other hand, atheists are taught to do what they do because it is right. Atheists don't expect rewards or karma to come from their action. They are guided by positive and enriching natural human emotions that inspire human being to do good and to want others to experience those emotions. When they do something bad, it is natural human remorse that affects them. When they do good, they do it because it is better for the world, not because there is a reward for them waiting at the end of the line. Since atheists have minds uncorrupted by religion, their minds are always searching for answers. Luckily, it appears that most atheists find humanism, or some semblance of humanism that is grounded in the idea that all human beings are equal, and that rights are universal.

Of course, I don't expect one of the biggest propagators of the "deeds lead to consequences" mentality to understand this.