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"Why Are Atheists Generally Smarter Than Religious People?"

Evangelicalhumanist

Evangelicalhumanist

"Truth" isn't a thing...
Premium Member
Cooky said:
That negates the possibility of supernatural intervention. I believe in the supernatural.
Click to expand...
Why?

I don't know if, by "supernatural intervention," you might mean by God, but it has always seemed to me that if God is all that most people claim, it can hardly be likely He would change His mind about something already decided just because somebody down here didn't like it.
 
Cooky

Cooky

Veteran Member
Evangelicalhumanist said:
Why?

I don't know if, by "supernatural intervention," you might mean by God, but it has always seemed to me that if God is all that most people claim, it can hardly be likely He would change His mind about something already decided just because somebody down here didn't like it.
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If I'm impartial to everything, then what's left of "me"..? I'm just an open book then with blank pages.
 
Milton Platt

Milton Platt

Well-Known Member
ReluctantMathematician said:
Why Are Atheists Generally Smarter Than Religious People? | Live Science

The evidence to support this overall general negative association between religion and intelligence keeps building, and such results have been replicated in many studies. I think at this point the evidence is fairly strong that this general negative association between religion and intelligence is real and that the question now is to understand its nature and what it means.

Understand that we are talking about a general overall trend, and not any one person or group, so we are not talking about anyone's religion. Now there are several proposed explanations. Such as suggesting religious people are more in line with intuitive thinking rather than analytical thinking, and this fails to show on a conventional test of intelligence. Others suggest that this negative trend is more closely linked with fundamentalism than all of religion. There seems to be a number of different suggested explanations.

So why do you think this general negative association between religion and intelligence exist? What are your theories?

Feel free to bring in other studies, I have looked at a few and they have interesting ones out there, but keep in mind that the evidence for this negative association has been replicated many times in many different scenarios, so the question of if it actually exists is not the focus of this debate. What we want to do now is understand the nature of this association.
Click to expand...

I don't know that atheist's are "smarter" than religious people necessarily. You have to look at many factors. Generally religion is more prevalent in countries which have a less educated populous overall. It could be argued that lack of education is the key, not IQ
 
TheSimpleView

TheSimpleView

New Member
Seems like there is a lot of frustration going on with your statement. Maybe a better choice of words. I know that intellectual and intelligent are very closely related but intellectual does not necessarily mean intelligence nor does intelligence necessarily mean intellectual. However, I think to say that many atheists are intellectuals would be more accurate than to say they are intelligent. for instance for a non intellectual person someone could make a statement. As long as the information is sound and the source is already trusted they are most likely to agree. An intellectual on the other hand would have to know the whys and wherefores. They would need to be sure of the information itself and not necessarily just the source. They therefore then tend to do far more research and studying than a non intellectual and could in that way be seen as intelligent because they possess more information than others. Also, because of a lot of contradiction and inconsistency in the religious Realm mostly due I suppose to non intelligent people trying to sound smart, the intellectual becomes dismayed with the system and therefore abandons it. Because they may not be intelligent what they tend to abandoned is God and not the person speaking the inconsistency that they heard. An intelligent person may see it as necessary to sift through the inconsistency and differences and decide for themselves the truth of God or a god or a Creator as you put it. it's just my point of view I know there's many different angles for almost any statement, this is just mine. And I know you said that it should be studies taken, but this is. I am an intellectual and at least slightly intelligent I have watched and observed this phenomenon for many years now and I've come to the conclusion that all men are just trying to find out who or what is in charge
 
Sand Dancer

Sand Dancer

Crazy Cat Lady
ReluctantMathematician said:
Why Are Atheists Generally Smarter Than Religious People? | Live Science

The evidence to support this overall general negative association between religion and intelligence keeps building, and such results have been replicated in many studies. I think at this point the evidence is fairly strong that this general negative association between religion and intelligence is real and that the question now is to understand its nature and what it means.

Understand that we are talking about a general overall trend, and not any one person or group, so we are not talking about anyone's religion. Now there are several proposed explanations. Such as suggesting religious people are more in line with intuitive thinking rather than analytical thinking, and this fails to show on a conventional test of intelligence. Others suggest that this negative trend is more closely linked with fundamentalism than all of religion. There seems to be a number of different suggested explanations.

So why do you think this general negative association between religion and intelligence exist? What are your theories?

Feel free to bring in other studies, I have looked at a few and they have interesting ones out there, but keep in mind that the evidence for this negative association has been replicated many times in many different scenarios, so the question of if it actually exists is not the focus of this debate. What we want to do now is understand the nature of this association.
Click to expand...

I don't think it's really intelligence but education. Most atheists were Christian, and ended up being those who want to broaden their knowledge. Conservative religions don't really want people to learn too much about the world. They question too much when they do. That's a no-no.
 
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