Atheists are more intelligent than religious people, say researchers

[phands]

A person lacking in intellectual wherewithal is to pitied, not ridiculed.

True. But at the same time, they should not be in charge of making laws or shaping nations.

 

[T.G.G. Moogly]

If atheists are smarter than everyone else, they will be judged more harshly at the Pearly Gates.
"What's your excuse?" St Peter will ask. "Dummies were able to figure this stuff out".


See Romans 2. Luke 12. James 3.
Someone who does not know, and then does something wrong, will be judged differently than the person who accounts themself wiser than everyone else and presumes to teach others.

So your religion requires people to be idiots? That makes sense.

- - - Updated - - -

you think atheists already know they're wrong. What's your evidence for this claim? You have none. Why do you believe a claim that has no evidence and is at best speculation?

And this goes back to your prejudice against atheists. You are presuming that all atheists are fundamentally dishonest.

It's been my experience that if you're out maligning atheists, gays, muslims, liberals, women, etc. it's because you don't know any or work with any personally. So you're just lobbing shells downrange because it feels good to hear the explosions.

I think 99% of today's religious claims are certifiably insane. How a person could claim to turn food into a 2000 year old demigod and at the same time stroll through a grocery store to buy food, or take time to tie a shoe just fascinates me to no end. I want to see inside that brain.

My FIL hated blacks and spoke terribly of them until his daughter married a black man.

Maybe people should have to listen everyday to everything they said that day.

 

[Tom Sawyer]

If atheists are smarter than everyone else, they will be judged more harshly at the Pearly Gates.
"What's your excuse?" St Peter will ask. "Dummies were able to figure this stuff out".


See Romans 2. Luke 12. James 3.
Someone who does not know, and then does something wrong, will be judged differently than the person who accounts themself wiser than everyone else and presumes to teach others.

Ya, I would hope so. Intent means a lot and someone who knowingly does something needs to be held to a different standard than someone who does the same through ignorance.

 

[T.G.G. Moogly]

If atheists are smarter than everyone else, they will be judged more harshly at the Pearly Gates.
"What's your excuse?" St Peter will ask. "Dummies were able to figure this stuff out".


See Romans 2. Luke 12. James 3.
Someone who does not know, and then does something wrong, will be judged differently than the person who accounts themself wiser than everyone else and presumes to teach others.

Ya, I would hope so. Intent means a lot and someone who knowingly does something needs to be held to a different standard than someone who does the same through ignorance.

That strikes me as a silly discussion. Christians say atheists aren't smart. Atheists say christians aren't smart. Seems people love to engage in confirmation bias is all.

Now if a given christian person is sincere in his statement that a given atheist really is smarter, why is that person still a christian? You see, the whole discussion is just silly.

 

[phands]

That strikes me as a silly discussion. Christians say atheists aren't smart. Atheists say christians aren't smart. Seems people love to engage in confirmation bias is all.

Now if a given christian person is sincere in his statement that a given atheist really is smarter, why is that person still a christian? You see, the whole discussion is just silly.

Then don't participate. The discussion is valid because research has shown that there is an effect, but not really why, and people are interested enough to discuss here. And then along comes an xtian and verifies the assertion....

 

[Ruth Harris]

That strikes me as a silly discussion. Christians say atheists aren't smart. Atheists say christians aren't smart. Seems people love to engage in confirmation bias is all.

Now if a given christian person is sincere in his statement that a given atheist really is smarter, why is that person still a christian? You see, the whole discussion is just silly.

I have no hesitation in saying that there are many people on this forum who are more intelligent than I am, and I do mean that sincerely. However, this does not mean that they are omniscient or perfect. No person can honestly make that claim.

Just because one person is more intelligent than another person, it does not mean that you should accept everything they say as the infallible truth. Everyone makes mistakes, no matter their level of intelligence.

Ruth

 

[abaddon]

That strikes me as a silly discussion. Christians say atheists aren't smart. Atheists say christians aren't smart. Seems people love to engage in confirmation bias is all.

Now if a given christian person is sincere in his statement that a given atheist really is smarter, why is that person still a christian? You see, the whole discussion is just silly.

I have no hesitation in saying that there are many people on this forum who are more intelligent than I am, and I do mean that sincerely. However, this does not mean that they are omniscient or perfect. No person can honestly make that claim.

Just because one person is more intelligent than another person, it does not mean that you should accept everything they say as the infallible truth. Everyone makes mistakes, no matter their level of intelligence.

Ruth

I agree. That's an important insight. But be sure to apply it to everyone, not just to atheists.

If a scientist or journalist or preacher or priest or guru or your mom or your dad or the Bible says something, the next step is always to wonder "Is that really true?" and go look for the evidence and do your best to weigh that evidence. It is never "Well if they say it's true...", or "That feels right to me...".

If it's true that religious persons, very generally speaking, do a little less well on whichever tests, then it could be their tendency to rely on authority and personal preference that helps cause that result. Some atheists become atheists by striving to overcome those habits of mind.

 

[atrib]

If atheists are smarter than everyone else, they will be judged more harshly at the Pearly Gates.
"What's your excuse?" St Peter will ask. "Dummies were able to figure this stuff out".

So Biblegod likes stupid people more than smart people. And Biblegod gave us
brains but doesn't want us using them. Makes perfect sense.

 

[abaddon]

nm

 

[Lion IRC]

My basic point is that when you confidently* declare that..."I, Steve Hawking, the totally most absolutely smartest person in the room, do hereby declare that there is no God, (because evidence ain't evidence unless I say so,) and anyone who says there is, must be a Dunning Kruger moron." then you really won't have much wriggle room to plead that you were simply an honestly ignorant open-minded agnostic searching for truth.

*Confident - from the Latin "con fide" (with faith)

 

[Underseer]

If you look at the metastudies on this topic, you will find that the difference in averages are 4 to 6 IQ points, depending on which metastudy you read.

Since the average IQ is by definition 100 points, we're talking about a difference in averages of only 4% to 6%. Yes, atheists are smarter. Yes, the difference is statistically significant, but in practical terms, it's really too small to care about.

Frankly, from the histograms I've seen, we have a group at the top of the intelligence curve that is probably throwing the average off. Everyone outside the super-genius segment of the histogram is probably not appreciably different from their theist counterparts.

Further, as more and more theists become atheist, the difference in average IQ is likely to shrink even further.

Stop gloating and beating your chests. Becoming an atheist didn't make any of us any smarter.

 

[abaddon]

My basic point is that when you confidently* declare that..."I, Steve Hawking, the totally most absolutely smartest person in the room, do hereby declare that there is no God, (because evidence ain't evidence unless I say so,) and anyone who says there is, must be a Dunning Kruger moron." then you really won't have much wriggle room to plead that you were simply an honestly ignorant open-minded agnostic searching for truth.

*Confident - from the Latin "con fide" (with faith)

No one has said anything that could be honestly paraphrased that way.

"Fidere" is Latin for "to trust". You're conflating the terms trust and faith again. It seems very hard for you to imagine persons who don't merely assert things.

"Agnostic" and "atheist". One means "I don't know until there's better evidence" and the other means "I don't believe until there's better evidence".

 

[abaddon]

My basic point is that when you confidently* declare that..."I, Steve Hawking, the totally most absolutely smartest person in the room, do hereby declare that there is no God, (because evidence ain't evidence unless I say so,) and anyone who says there is, must be a Dunning Kruger moron." then you really won't have much wriggle room to plead that you were simply an honestly ignorant open-minded agnostic searching for truth.

*Confident - from the Latin "con fide" (with faith)

The claim "I know what's going to happen to you after you die" is a confident declaration. It's dogmatic know-it-all-ism.

Your argument depends on atheists being dogmatically opposed to God. That too is an over-confident declaration.

All the evidence I've seen for God has left me unconvinced, so I withhold belief. It's a conditional disbelief because, if someone supplied the asked-for strong evidence, I would in fact change my mind.

Surely you know what strong evidence is. You know the earth's round -- not because "it is written" but because "I've seen strong evidence". You know not to buy a bridge in Brooklyn -- not because "shady salesmen give poor testimony" but because "I need to see strong evidence". But you fail to be consistent and apply the principle to "biblicism", and that's being deliberately obtuse.

 

[WAB]

A person lacking in intellectual wherewithal is to pitied, not ridiculed.

True. But at the same time, they should not be in charge of making laws or shaping nations.

True,

But, what religious law is impeding your freedom?

OOps, ignore this post. Read the next....

 

[WAB]

A person lacking in intellectual wherewithal is to pitied, not ridiculed.

True. But at the same time, they should not be in charge of making laws or shaping nations.

phands, I'm an agnostic, and I agree with you most of the time, and I am epmphatically with you against the idiocy of racism and sexism. BUT:

There's always but _(_!_)

When was the last time religious laws restricted your freedom?

 

[WAB]

If you look at the metastudies on this topic, you will find that the difference in averages are 4 to 6 IQ points, depending on which metastudy you read.

Since the average IQ is by definition 100 points, we're talking about a difference in averages of only 4% to 6%. Yes, atheists are smarter. Yes, the difference is statistically significant, but in practical terms, it's really too small to care about.

Frankly, from the histograms I've seen, we have a group at the top of the intelligence curve that is probably throwing the average off. Everyone outside the super-genius segment of the histogram is probably not appreciably different from their theist counterparts.

Further, as more and more theists become atheist, the difference in average IQ is likely to shrink even further.

Stop gloating and beating your chests. Becoming an atheist didn't make any of us any smarter.

Blessings upon your noodly head, Underseer.

 

[phands]

A person lacking in intellectual wherewithal is to pitied, not ridiculed.

True. But at the same time, they should not be in charge of making laws or shaping nations.

phands, I'm an agnostic, and I agree with you most of the time, and I am epmphatically with you against the idiocy of racism and sexism. BUT:

There's always but _(_!_)

When was the last time religious laws restricted your freedom?

It's a little restrictive to say "freedom" - the influence of religion is implicit and far-reaching, so some restrictions are part of the cultural fabrics of countries.

I lived in Ireland for many years until 2012. I have been cautioned by a policeman for blasphemy when I asserted in a private conversation that there is no god and that religion is a con. To be fair, I wasn't prosecuted or anything - no one has been since the 19th century. but the law is still on the books. For years, licensing laws meant that buying alcohol on certain days is forbidden (Good Friday for one). At school in Ireland, my kids were required to take religious indoctrination classes. A friend of my daughter's died after a botched abortion because abortion was illegal - a purely religious law. Visiting Egypt, I couldn't go to certain places because I'm not muslim.

 

[steve_bank]

Atheists do not masterbate as much as thesists, they have better sex lives.

 

[T.G.G. Moogly]

My basic point is that when you confidently* declare that..."I, Steve Hawking, the totally most absolutely smartest person in the room, do hereby declare that there is no God, (because evidence ain't evidence unless I say so,) and anyone who says there is, must be a Dunning Kruger moron." then you really won't have much wriggle room to plead that you were simply an honestly ignorant open-minded agnostic searching for truth.

*Confident - from the Latin "con fide" (with faith)

You're just engaging in hyperbole. Get back to the middle. To many people, gods are just invisible dragons and tooth fairies.

 

[T.G.G. Moogly]

If atheists are smarter than everyone else, they will be judged more harshly at the Pearly Gates.
"What's your excuse?" St Peter will ask. "Dummies were able to figure this stuff out".

So Biblegod likes stupid people more than smart people. And Biblegod gave us
brains but doesn't want us using them. Makes perfect sense.

I think the point he's making is that you must know when to use your brain and when to put it on hold, which is really stupid. Kids are smart and trusting because they lack knowledge. Religion therefore likes kids.

I'm waiting to hear why Jesus had himself killed. Jesus is the most intelligent being ever conceived according to followers. Why did he have himself killed?