Atheists smarter than religious folk?

[YT="Lawrence O'Donnell and Penn Jillette"]NTIBKZH3kzg[/YT]
Whatcha think?

One school of thought may be that atheists are more curious, flexible, and less traditional, thus believing more in facts and science versus what someone told them is the right way to think.

If someone of faith believes one new discovery, it's a slippery slope to losing their "faith" and thus their soul (lake of fire and all that stuff) so it's best to value tradition over science.

More smug and condescending? Certainly. Smarter? Meh.

Valid, but is there really a non-smug way of telling someone they're wrong? I mean, even if it isn't smug, the recipient could take it that way all too easily, who will then probably address (in quite a smug fashion, as well) how they're right and the atheist is wrong.

Perhaps smugness is just an overall human trait.

However, this thread does a pretty good job disproving that hypothesis.

At the end of the day the religious have the upper hand over the atheists (in their eyes anyway). No matter how smart the atheists are, they go to hell - they are "too smart for their own good" as it were.

Then again I don't consider myself "smart" yet don't take much stock in religion.

Using forums as a measuring tool for intelligence is NEVER the best idea. I come from FaceTheJury.com. I know what I'm talking about.

oldfella, I totally meant to agree instead of disagree. I'll give you +2 later on.

Sorry 'bout that. Noob error!

I like Bunnie's new dual already!

I think critical thinking skills are critical thinking skills. Religious, non-religious, doesn't matter. As long as people are reasonable to one another, and treat each other fairly, I don't give a shit who thinks who is smarter than whom.

Doesn't matter, rep is all fucked up and if you're below x post count or in the red it shows as disagrees no matter what you do.

Not to worry, it won't count against his points. Negs are nutered for the "special" amongst us.

I think one of the best examples of incredibly ignorant religious thinking came from a fellow electronics instructor quite a few years back. Bear in mind he isn't alone - I have heard this comment from other people in his religious demographic (black protestant):

"I don't believe in evolution. That big gorilla has been living at the Atlanta Zoo for twenty years now, and he ain't evolved yet!"

Wow-just wow. Where to begin even discussing evolution with this man?

I find most atheists have really read and studied different religious texts and ended up rejecting them because of logical inconsistencies while most religious people really don't know much about their own religion. They were brought up in a particular religion and that's why they're that religion.

True. And obedience and tradition are a big part of religion. If your preacher/mom said "x and y are in The Bible and mean such and such" then you are not likely to question these things. Trying to read too much into things is to invite the devil into your life.

With no fear of the devil a person can think logically and crunch the numbers to realize the Earth isn't flat.

I knew every answer to that easy quiz and I am not atheist.

The idea that people who believe in God never explore other religions and philosophies is ignorant as well. Sure, quite a few don't but many do.

Like any other group, it is folly to try and broad-brush and stereotype believers.

(Watch, I don't have to even say anything to piss people off in a topic like this)

My anecdotal evidence suggests otherwise, as apparently does this study, but as Penn Jillette notes, atheists (still hate that word without qualifiers) are generally better educated, which leads to exposure of these religions. Of the friends whom I attended a college prep Catholic High School with, not a single one of them has remained religious. As a matter of fact, I was the last one to stop being religious at the age of 24. I mostly attribute lack of religious belief to our exposure to multiple religions, sooner or later you have to ask the big question: "All of these other religions think they are right too, but they can't all be."

Sure, everyone asks those questions.

Not everyone throws the baby out with the bathwater in seeking their answers, however.

For me, stepping into atheism required a totally different frame of mind. It wasn't because I was "smarter", and it wasn't because of my education. Hell, when I became an atheist, I only had a high school education under my belt.

There are lots of smart atheists, but there are also plenty of dumb ones, too. Just because one doesn't believe in a god or gods does not make one impervious, or even just less prone, to stupidity.

On the other hand, it's all kinds of hip.

It was on a warm spring night that I realized that there is no such thing as god, only the universe on a level that we can't even perceive because it is so massive. We create the god to better grasp this concept.

Just so everyone knows, this isn't a dick-waving competition. I was merely curious to what people thought.

But just to clear things up, I am a smug atheist.

Imagine you're in a world where the majority isn't tuned into something as basic and vital as, oh, say, round Earth.

How would you handle it?

You saying you wouldn't have your sniffy/pissy days?
I call bullshit.

Who's throwing the baby out with the bathwater? I just realized that none of it made the slightest bit of sense to me.

Just another way of seperating people into little groups that can be more easily controlled. I got all of the answers correct too. I decided long ago that religion wasn't for me. Yep, I believe in a 'supreme being' or perhaps supreme civilization that had a hand in our development. To much evidence there not to. Nope, I don't believe that we crawled out of the sludge and selectively evolved. No evidence at all really to prove that. And most wars are political or religious in nature. Crusades, the Northern Ireland thing, etc. Atheistism is just another belief system such is religion. I was raised to respect ALL religions. This appears to be just another way to divide people and keep them from getting along on their own. Just my opinion.

been gone a week.. and this is still the hot topic..

What's that one about better to keep silent and be thought a fool than to open one's mouth...