My Atheist Prejudice

Now I truly consider myself of average intelligence with a basic bachelor’s degree and even a light reader. But I can’t help but look at religious people as being hillbilly stupid. As soon as someone mentions “God”, I just cringe and lower them two notches in respect. I don’t see poor, uneducated, or rural people as being innately stupid in any way. But once the religion comes out, I wonder how they can tie their shoes.

I know there are great leaders (ex. Obama), writers, and even technologist that are strongly religious. But even then I assume that they are either: 1) Not really religious 2) Need it as a crutch for psychological issues or 3) Are actually a bit stupid regardless of their skills in other facets of intelligence. Add to that a fourth of them being indoctrinated from birth and convincing themselves that they believe it in order to avoid conflict with their family/peers.

Anyway, it’s still an unfair, untrue prejudice that I would like to get rid of it. It’s partly the “people who don’t agree with me are stupid” misconception that most people have to some degree. But it’s also that I don’t understand how one can hold on to an irrational concept and still be able to apply reason to the rest of their life without seeing the obvious conflict. I assume it has something to do with being able to compartmentalize one part of one’s life from the rest. But otherwise, I’m stumped.

So if anyone has any thoughts or insights, please let me know.

Originally Posted by RawBones

Anyway, it’s still an unfair, untrue prejudice that I would like to get rid of it. It’s partly the “people who don’t agree with me are stupid” misconception that most people have to some degree. But it’s also that I don’t understand how one can hold on to an irrational concept and still be able to apply reason to the rest of their life without seeing the obvious conflict. I assume it has something to do with being able to compartmentalize one part of one’s life from the rest. But otherwise, I’m stumped.

Originally Posted by Christian Soldier

That there just sumarizes my imidiate reaction when I hear someone is an atheist.

Exactly what is your immediate reaction when you, a fundamentalist Christian that denies the veracity of evolution by natural selection, hear that someone is an atheist? Because surely your reaction cannot possibly be some kind of corollary to what RawBones has written here. How would that even sound? You wonder at how an atheist can use reason in all areas of his/her life except that part that denies the existence of supernatural beings?

No one in this forum could compete intellectually with Isaac Newton, yet he believed in god and was religious. There really is no excuse for prejudice and it is praise worthy that you are attempting to correct this. Our knowledge of the universe is far from adequate to give us any feeling of intellectual superiority. We have no grounds for judging others as anything other than fellow humans trying to survive in a very complicated universe with more questions than answers. "The Elegant Universe" by Brian Green gives plenty of reason to feel humble about one's own intellectual fitness.

Originally Posted by Christian Soldier

On how we got here, whether or not evolution happened, whether or not there is a god, on most of the supposed contradictions in the Bible, and this just names a few of the areas that I think atheists have trouble with using logic.

The contradictions in the bible are not supposed, they are well documented, and perfectly understood by scholars much smarter and with more knowledge at their fingertips than you or I. It is completely pointless to argue against this fact.

If you find it "illogical" that people accept evolutionary theory, you misinterpret the meaning of the word "logic". Evolution by natural selection is a fact, and it is supported by the most rigorous and testable body of scientific data the world has ever had, from dozens of different disciplines. It is a scientific theory, but it is not "just a theory" in the vernacular sense of the word that ignorant people like to use. I could no more say that evolution by natural selection isn't true than I could say the earth isn't revolving around the sun today, or my heart isn't beating in my chest at the moment, because I passionately believe otherwise. I would be a fool blinded by supernatural dogma, if I were to insist on such nonsense.

If you are suggesting it is more logical to believe in God than not, you're going to have to put your money where your mouth is. Do you really mean to say that it is more logical to believe in a supernatural being for which we have no evidence, who is not observably active in the universe, who cannot be seen and studied, and who is infinitely complex and yet not created, over accepting decades of empirical scientific data that is verifiable, falsifiable, stands up to the rigours of scientific theorizing, and is mathematically sound?

More logical?

I demand to see your logic. Present me with syllogisms that show how logical it is to believe in God, and how illogical it is to do otherwise.

RawBones- no need to feel bad if you feel a bit superior to religious people. You actually ARE smarter than they are. Really.

Originally Posted by Rationella

No one in this forum could compete intellectually with Isaac Newton, yet he believed in god and was religious. There really is no excuse for prejudice and it is praise worthy that you are attempting to correct this. Our knowledge of the universe is far from adequate to give us any feeling of intellectual superiority. We have no grounds for judging others as anything other than fellow humans trying to survive in a very complicated universe with more questions than answers.

Isaac Newton lived a century before Charles Darwin published Origin of Species, so he was still a product of his times. We don't know what his beliefs would be had he learned about the theory of evolution, or Watson & Crick's DNA double-helix in the 20th c. With the wealth of evidence supporting evolution in various fields of science today, it's illogical for a scientist to still believe in a god. Yet many still do.

I have nothing against scientists who are religious as long as their beliefs do not affect their scientific work. I just get really pissed off when religious scientists attempt to discredit evolution and get ID to be taught in the classrooms. At least with creationists their agenda is clear, but with ID proponents, it's their variation of creationism in the guise of science, this kind of intellectual dishonesty that sickens me. It's not that religious people are stupid, or more stupid, because they can be really smart and savvy. but they choose to compartmentalize their rationality and acceptance of reality somehow. my only explanation for myself is that there is a biological necessity for religiosity that is still ingrained in our genetic makeup. why else would perfectly intelligent, educated people be religious?

On the positive side, IDers have provided some interesting arguments, which have only strengthened the evidence supporting evolution by natural selection. On a smaller scale, various religious members on this forum have also brought on challenging questions and views, and we generally argue quite constructively.

I think for myself, I try to keep an open mind as much as possible. though I'm aware of the relativism of both sides (as I used to be a christian myself), I also vacillate between being prejudiced against religious folk and trying to be more humanistic in my attitude towards them. I also try to avoid feeling superior to them, but then it's rare to encounter a religious person who isn't arrogant or who has a holier-than-thou attitude. and then that reinforces my prejudice against them again! alas, it's a constant internal struggle for me!