What is your moral code?

I'm not sure where this notion originated, but there is a theory that abounds that people without faith in a higher power have no ethics or morality.  It is assumed that because atheists don't have the fear of retribution that most religion provides, that they will feel free to commit any number of crimes and wrongs.  I am sure there are exceptions, but for the most part the opposite seems to be the case.  All of the atheists I know are very moral people and have a specific code that they live by.  My personal code follows along the same lines.  I believe that the way to determine right from wrong is by simply asking yourself one question. 

Will the action I am about to take cause any sort of harm to someone else?  

Under Christianity, I got the answer "yes" to that question on more than one occasion which is one of the reasons that I began to seek answers.  Now I don't claim, any more than the religious do, to be perfect at following my code.  I fail.  Often.

Choosing to do right and help others through non-required acts of altruism is a higher form of right than doing so because someone told you that you must, in my opinion.  Most atheists do things because they see us as all in this together. . . equal and human.  Many religions seem to be more "us" against "them".  I understand that this difference stems from the two basic ways that humanity can be viewed.  It is either essentially good or essentially evil.  Christianity takes the second view.  Some religions like to claim that they exist for the greater good but end up only benefiting a small number, I cannot understand this.  I basically see humanity positively and I believe that people can change the world.      

Here is a poem I stumbled upon a while back that clearly illustrates the differences between these two very different ways of viewing the world.  I don't believe that she wrote this to apply to agnosticism or atheism but just different belief systems.  I made that connection because so many want to portray those people as being amoral and it just isn't the case but rather a result of different worldviews.

"It Matters What You Believe" by Sophia Lyons Fahs

Some beliefs are like walled gardens. They encourage exclusiveness, and the feeling of being especially privileged.

Other beliefs are expansive and lead the way into wider and deeper sympathies. 

Some beliefs are like shadows, clouding children's days with fears of unknown calamities. 

Other beliefs are like sunshine, blessing children with the warmth of happiness. 

Some beliefs are divisive, separating the saved from the unsaved, friends from enemies.

Other beliefs are bonds in a world community, where sincere differences beautify the pattern. 

Some beliefs are like blinders, shutting off the power to choose one's own direction. 

         Other beliefs are like gateways opening wide vistas for exploration. 

Some beliefs weaken a person's selfhood. They blight the growth of resourcefulness.

Other beliefs nurture self-confidence and enrich the feeling of personal worth. 

Some beliefs are rigid, like the body of death, impotent in a changing world. 

Other beliefs are pliable, like the young sapling, ever growing with the upward thrust of life.

What are your views?  Does your religion ever encourage you act in a way that might be hurtful to others, physically or emotionally?  Do you believe that people have the capacity to do good at all or are they essentially evil?