Can you be intelligent, and religious?

Question

Can you be intelligent and believe in a deity? And good grammar doesn't always show real intelligence. Think about it, Doctors and Scientist are extremely intelligent, yet to do their work they always have to assume God is imaginary, they prescribe medicine, they perform experiments, and God cannot be a factor in these because relying on God for a specific outcome is not going to work. All Atheists are smart, they have to be, to have been able to think for themselves, and solve the religious conflicts that have been stumping people for thousands of years. So can you be smart and believe in a god? Absolutely not, but it's a question so what do you think? I do expect to get some flame for this, but make sure you read the question thoroughly and don't interpret a different meaning from what I am saying.

I do consider myself intelligent, and I am also an atheist.

Answer 1

I have a pretty good IQ, I do quite a lot of reading on the subjects of religion and science -- and I'm a Reincarnationist. I rejected the biblical stories as pure mythology a long time ago, but I believe in "God" after a fashion, the god who is the non-judgmental, non-intervening, eternal and intelligent Cosmos, the source of all things, of which we are each a part.

My point of view is this -- I am certain there are other dimensions which intertwine with our own, but our perception of reality is very limited as of the beginning of the 21st century. I believe scientists are just beginning to open doors to amazing discoveries - through quantum physics and the M theory - and one day science will ascertain that life contains an energized essence - a part of the eternal Cosmos - which merely shifts into another realm at death. I believe science will be able to prove that "life" continues.

Imo, organized religions are basically primitive superstition and mythology, but as for spirituality itself I don't see that as so very far apart from science. There's a spirituality about the Cosmos that as yet we can barely comprehend.

Answer 2

Well I don't think you can catagorize this. And I personally have seen doctors that truly do believe in God. They showed their faith to me by praying & even giving God the credit for their talent. For that talent doesn't come from a textbook. I believe there are intelligent people in all walks of life & all professions...as well as those with less intelligence. Some people have tons of book learning but not an ounce of common sense. A friend of ours does not believe in God but does believe in UFO's...and even though he is our friend, he's not the brightest crayon in the box. And even an athiest has faith....When they flip a light swith, they have faith the electric will be there to turn on the light. When they turn the key in the switch, they have faith the car will start...& so on. Humans so often think they are so much smarter than they are. We tend to think if we don't understand something or really know much about it, it's not worth it. And often people shy away from what they don't understand. Thats where the faith comes in for Christians. We believe God's word to be true. The diety is not something humans can create therefore many won't believe in it. But God can & did create the diety, Father, Son & Holy Spirit. If humans could do that we would be equal to God..which will never be. But like I always say...If the athiests are right & Christians are wrong, we have nothing to lose, but if Christians are right & athiests are wrong..."THEY" have everything to lose.
I am not a mathmatician or a lawyer, but I am not less intelligent because of that. We all have various degrees of intelligence in different ways. thats what makes the world work!

Answer 3

There is intelligence, and there is wisdom. Although one can aid the other, they are not the same. Intelligence includes keen observation and logical reason in making sense of what is observed. Wisdom refers instead to the capacity (a) to relate to the world and to other persons in meaningful and mutually useful ways and (b) to have peace of mind in the face of suffering and death.

One can believe in God because it helps them achieve wisdom: peace of mind and improved functioning in the world. Alcoholics Anonymous is the most effective "treatment" available for alcohol dependence, and at its core is a belief in a "higher power that can restore [them] to sanity." For recovering alcoholics this is very wise, although it cannot be observed or proven. It also seems an intelligent path because it has such a good, observable track record.

However, belief in God is not the only path to wisdom. Many Buddhists and other seekers of internal peace do not believe in any God, or at least consider the question irrelevant. Many intelligent people (religious and non-religious) have been tortured by internal "demons" (forgive the metaphor). For them both intelligence and religion may fail them until they find an adequate path toward wisdom.

So neither intelligence nor religious conviction seem enough. It's possible that you need more than the blind adherence to either to find what you need to endure the trials of life.

Answer 4

of course intelligent people can be religious.
Jewish doctors, for example, (and there are a lot of them) don't "pretend there's no g-d when doing their work". Rather, since we have a rule that we don't rely on miracles, we must utilize nature as best we can. We expect nature to work, but know that on very rare occasions, G-d might change nature, but we don't count on it.

Also, I don't think all atheists are smart. Many became atheists when they were simply rebelious teenagers, and never grew out of it. Also, children of atheists aren't always intelligent either. But just b/c there are a lot of smart ahteists doesn't make their opinion right. (Consider, for example, that for around 2000 years the intellectual elite thought that the world always existed. Now we know they were wrong.)

Answer 5

Amazingly many scientists believe in a personal god as do many doctors so I am not sure what you are talking about.

Also I have met many atheists who were morons. Now true I have met many who were very smart and some I guess you would call average. The same can be said about the believers I have met. So basically stop being a dork and learn to treat people as individuals. And remember there are many people smarter then you or me that disagree on it as well.

Answer 6

Einstein believed in G*d, so the very simple answer to your question is "Yes," though you have already asked and answered your question "No," thus proving that you are clearly a master among mental midgets.

You have created a character (G*d) whom you expect to have the characteristics that other people have told you G*d has, and use the fact that scientists do not appeal to G*d as proof that the G*d you've invented doesn't exist after all.

There is no more proof that G*d does not exist as there is proof that G*d does exist. You have made a choice to believe that the lack of evidence proves one thing, instead of another. This is NOT science.

Answer 7

I wouldn't agree with either premise. I know Christians who are quite intelligent, and atheists who are more than one fry short of a Happy Meal. Just because doctors and scientists use scientific means to help others doesn't mean they don't believe in God as well. God may be omnipresent, but I don't expect him to fulfill my every wish when I might be able to do things for myself. And who says God's not working through them when they work to help cure someone, or make a new discovery?

Answer 8

I think you mistake intelligence for the be all and end all of our existance. There are all kinds of intelligences. We are all different and think in different ways at differnet times of our lives. The intelect brings us ways to interput our world. Our spiritually is part of our nature too. This comes to us in different ways at different times also. In the Bible it says we come to Christ by faith not by sight. It also says we come to him as little children. Meaning we have a faith. There are many, many scientists and great thinkers who believe in God. We ourselves didnot create the universe. It is a glorious mystery for our intelect to solve. Also a source of joy for our soul to experience. The two go hand and hand. Most people I have met who think there is only the intellect have had huge trust issues for very good reasons. It takes trust to have faith. Also people disbarge what they don't understand. The spiritual involves feelings and giving our will over to a power greater than ourselves. When people worship they free themselves and let their souls sing. We are all at our own place on our journey through life. I know more today than I did yesterday. You know what you know and it is different than your neighbor down the street yet it is the same day and the same minute. This is happening for everyone all over the world. Who is to say we are all supposed to know everything the same at the same time? I have thought so many times in my life that I was completely right and found later to have changed my thinking. The older I get the more it happens. Because of this I try not to tell anyone they are wrong. We can agree to disagree. I hope my answer made you look at life a little different then usual.

Answer 9

Of course you can. Personally I'm an atheist, but some of the most intelligent people I have known have been religious. One was a physics professor and a devout Muslim. One was a Baptist minister. I know someone who has a PhD in philosophy and is a Jehovah's Witness. No one belief system has a monopoly on intelligence.

Answer 10

I like to think I'm reasonably intelligent...(Just for a little background info: I am dual majoring in Marine and Molecular Biology and working in a cancer research lab as we speak...) I do not believe that science and faith are two mutually exclusive ideas. Also, I was not raised in a religous household. I was raised in a culturally Jewish one, that did not mention God at all. So, in response to the comment above, I was open minded enough to consider God, even to consider beyond what I was "raised" to believe.