Why do you think it is that 'atheists' seem to generally be smarter than religious people? Or, non-believers of higher intellect than believers? Just read up on an article that said 63 scientific studies concluded that people of faith are less intelligent than atheists. Wanted to hear your thoughts.
"Intelligence" isn't objective enough to say that atheists are "smarter" than theists; that article, and poll, is bullshit (and whoever believes it is quite credulous). A scientific (atheistic) journal concludes that theists are less cognitively capable than atheists... how astute of them.
You should contact the guy who lead it, I am sure he'd be interested in you.. and can the crow fly? Or does it have to actually climb the tree? http://www.psych.rochester.edu/people/zuckerman_miron/index.html As for the study, sounds bout right. I don't see it as them being less intelligent really, just that they are using up brain processing power when it isn't needed. If two people have the same "intelligence" capacity and one is an atheist and the other a man of god, the theist will be taking away a brain power that could of been dedicated to logic.
I don't believe there is a good enough scale of human intelligence in modern times. The next best thing is the IQ, only official through MENSA; however, there is no official standard for intellectual ability yet. Until then there can't be a legit case on the entire ordeal.
Not all religious people. But adults who believe in a magical sky god are no different than adults who believe in santa clause.
I think the problem arises in blind faith. Through the proccess of ones life, one is usually born into religion and thus adhere to those same principles whilst making a few changes over the course of their lives, yet remaining in the same ideological framework of their upbringing. There are the few who question the world around them to a greater degree than some others, and in their quest they are likely to find that the principle doctrine that was their guiding spiritual nourishment was in fact defective in many ways. This usually leads to a stage in many peoples lives where there is some resentment regarding a previous lifestyle that seems to have proven injurious to their overall progress in life. Thus, one feels some sort of mild revulsion towards the self for falling into such a trap. Many of these people become atheists, and sadly lose their drive to reach even further underneath the folds of our universe to uncover deeper truths. It is my opinion that the dumbest people are most likely to be theist, but it is also my opinion that the smartest people are likely to be theist. One who comprehends pattern, systems, language and the general phenomena of the universe through the lens of science must eventually reach a point of comprehension where the idea of God finally begins to make sense. Sadly, there are those who are content in a malnourished and incomplete worldview that is just as nonsensical as those who blindly believe in the corrupted texts that define most major religions.
The ability to reason, rational thought. In terms with it and the brain, a person typically will react with a mix logical and emotional thought. Some people lean more one way, others the other way. Things like God, gods and goddesses, the soul, a spirit, the afterlife, faith, karma, and whatever else harp on emotional thought, your "feelings". When you're someone who is active in their belief, it's physically taking away "power" from your logical processing. And the study was from 63 studies from a long span of time, 10 of which showed there being a positive correlation with being religious and intelligence. The majority of them showed negative though, and that really isn't a surprise because the majority of people are controlled by their emotions.
I believe that religion doesn't dumb you down but forces you to have a one track mind. Then you don't question anything, think, or learn. Just take it back to Spanish Inquisition, the church did not allow you to question the church. If you did, you were beheaded. Although times aren't like that now, people within your church society will look down on you if you question the church Sent from my iPhone using Grasscity Forum
I'd say because atheists continually ask questions about the world and don't rely on fantasy to negotiate their lives. The more information you have and are willing to act on, the more versatile you are. So if you allow and accept more information into your life you're generally able to deal with your life more adeptly, or appear "smarter." Willful ignorance is often mistaken for a lack of intellect, it isn't, sometimes its a lack of courage.
Well assuming that statement is true, then I can think of a few reasons. I think it depends on how deep the religious influence is in the community surrounding where we are raised. Like how some places won't teach evolution, and instead teach creationism.
Precisely. I think its easy to dismiss people for their backwards thinking and actions as dumb, when in actuality they're too frightened to acknowledge what they probably know intuitively, that there is no God as they imagine it and that we're on our own in life.
I think atheists are also forced into rational thinking. It's easy to say " god made it happen", or dont worry, god will take care of me" An atheist usually thinks about these things rationally, and comes to a logical explanation. I mean, we don't have the ability to push a problem to the side with hopes that someone else will take care of everything. With that being said, I have met some really dumb atheists Sent from my GT-I9300T using Grasscity Forum mobile app