If atheists are so smart....?

Question

Then why do they need constant reassurance that they are? So many ahteists on here claim that they are smarter than Christians...then they will all post the same link to the one "study" that "proves" this.

So the ones that do make this claim over and over...what is that saying about them?

Isn't it like a football player who is no good, but still thinks he is better than others because he is on the football team?

Or the ugly cheerleader who still thinks she is hot because she is a cheerleader?

And why is it that theses two examples are usually the most arrogant of the group...self esteem problem?

So when an atheist makes a claim that "atheists are smarter than Christians", is he/she really trying to just feel better about themselves? Are they really saying, "I'm an atheist, so I must be smarter than Christians"?

Disclaimer: I know there are many smart atheists on here, you can tell by their answers. But I don't think I have seen any of those atheists make this claim. It is because they don't have to.

So if you are an atheist, and have never made this claim...then please ignore :)

JonJon: I think you are making a mistake in thinking the ones that make this statement are only talking about religious beliefs. The ones I have seen claim that they are smarter in science/math than Christians...just because they are atheist. I think you would agree that is a false statement on their part.

BTW, I intentionally used "smart" instead of intelligence, because I believe those are two completely different things.

Answer 1

I actually agree with you. When I see statements like that, I keep wondering who they're trying to convince: Us or themselves.

The smart atheists are the ones who SHOW they're smart. They don't continually SAY that they're smart, and expect everyone else to believe them just because they're an atheist.

The TRULY smart atheists are the ones I enjoy here. Don't you?

Answer 2

Actually, you only have to do a small piece of research on the internet to discover that lack of education equates to increased religiosity. And it's not atheists who make up these figures.

Also, consider another fact which can also be veryfied on the internet, there are more believers in prisons worldwide than atheists.

I don't think I'm particularly smart, but Christians do have a mountain to climb when coming at things from a gullible, blind belief point of view. They would be far more respected if they did even a small amount of research for themselves.

Answer 3

I've never claimed to be smarter than a Christian. I do believe I'm smarter than 95% of the population, though. As 1/3 of the world is Christian, the Law of Averages states that quite a few of them will be in that 95%, but many will not be. Further, there are too many Nobel Winning theists for me to begin considering a claim that I am even close to their intellectual peer.

UPDATE: The test takes only a few hours.

Answer 4

More than one. Have ten. I could provide more, but this makes the point.

1. Thomas Howells, 1927
Study of 461 students showed religiously conservative students "are, in general, relatively inferior in intellectual ability."

2. Hilding Carlsojn, 1933
Study of 215 students showed that "there is a tendency for the more intelligent undergraduate to be sympathetic toward… atheism."

3. Abraham Franzblau, 1934
Confirming Howells and Carlson, tested 354 Jewish children, aged 10-16. Found a negative correlation between religiosity and IQ as measured by the Terman intelligence test.

4. Thomas Symington, 1935
Tested 400 young people in colleges and church groups. He reported, "There is a constant positive relation in all the groups between liberal religious thinking and mental ability… There is also a constant positive relation between liberal scores and intelligence…"

5. Vernon Jones, 1938
Tested 381 students, concluding "a slight tendency for intelligence and liberal attitudes to go together."

6. Donald Gragg, 1942
Reported an inverse correlation between 100 ACE freshman test scores and Thurstone "reality of god" scores.

7. Brown and Love, 1951
At the University of Denver, tested 613 male and female students. The mean test scores of non-believers was 119 points, and for believers it was 100. The non-believers ranked in the 80th percentile, and believers in the 50th. Their findings "strongly corroborate those of Howells."

8. Michael Argyle, 1958
Concluded that "although intelligent children grasp religious concepts earlier, they are also the first to doubt the truth of religion, and intelligent students are much less likely to accept orthodox beliefs."

9. Young, Dustin and Holtzman, 1966
Average religiosity decreased as GPA rose.

10. C. Plant and E. Minium, 1967
The more intelligent students were less religious, both before entering college and after 2 years of college.

Answer 5

I don't believe I have ever announced myself to be smart or smarter than anyone else.

There is a famous story about a very talented science scholar, educated at Harvard in paleontology and evolution. (I don't recall his name) he'd had a strict christian upbringing and his religiosity hounded him. He took a pair of scissors to a bible, cutting out every passage that wouldn't make sense if evolution were true. He found there wasn't much left of the bible at all. He decided he had to make a choice between science and religion and he chose religion. Even though he fully admitted he believed the science to be accurate and there was not a shred of evidence to support the scripture, he had to follow the scripture. His career in science was ruined.

This was not a stupid man and was probably far 'smarter' than most of us, but his choice to abandon his knowledge and education in favour of a religion is deluded and that is what I believe Christians to be. Not dumb or less smarter than I, but deluded and in many cases, like this one, deluded through choice.

Answer 6

*applauding* I agree completely. The really smart ones don't have to blow their own horn. Self-praise isn't true praise....it is only praise when it comes from someone else.

And yes, I think it is a self-image problem. People who are confident don't brag or boast - they let their actions speak for themselves. People who are insecure draw attention to themselves in an effort to make that insecurity go away. It's a little bit sad when you think about it that way. Because I'm sure that even the ones who feel the need to brag on their intelligence are truly smart people - but still, it's a bit sad that they think they need to brag in order to feel good about themselves. It's like bullying - bullies think they will look stronger and better than the person they are attacking but they don't realize that it just makes them look like a jerk.

Answer 7

I don't think all athiests are smarter then Christians, or all christians are smarter then athiests. Quite frankly there are many people on here that I think have some work to do. And, no I don't think I'm smarter then all Christians. I think I'm smarter then some, but most certainly not all. I don't need to feel better about myself, I just have different beliefs.

Answer 8

What I like best is the "My IQ is 363" responses.

However, I do think that the relative intelligence of the atheists and the believers is not irrelevant to the arguments we're having. It's not so much that the atheists are all that smart, but that many of the very effective arguments for Christianity are effective solely because they appeal to the seemingly endless supply of people who are amazingly ignorant and incoherent.

The situation is more akin to classical music fans arguing with fervent Brittany Spears fans. The BS fans take her popularity and their fervor as demonstrating that she's the superior artist, and the classical fans are understandably frustrated.

Answer 9

Straw-man argument. I haven't seen anyone make that claim. Are you implying that linking to a study is a demonstration of a superior intelligence? I believe the most that you could infer from such an act is that he/she is literate.

Football players and cheerleaders are stereotypically assumed by many to be arrogant regardless of their looks or abilities.

The funny thing is, I have never met anyone as smug and self-righteous as a man who considered himself "saved".

Answer 10

I'm smart enough to join MENSA if I really wanted to take the time to take their test. I can't prove that the other atheists here are capable of that, but I nevertheless have "faith" in them.



EDIT: A True Christian sure is a funny name for someone so adamant on others blowing their own horn.

Answer 11

LOL What is with you guys today ?You start out with these great question and about halfway thru reading them I hit a word or a phrase that invalidates your entire idea . Tell me what does an ugly cheerleader look like bc I've never seen one ?