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Atheism and Education

I'm going for my second BS right now and over the years I've noticed more tolerant people towards atheism and even a lot of atheists who are open about it (wearing shirts, joining atheists clubs, etc.) I live in Dallas/Fort Worth and there is a church on every block so besides my college, and my close circle of non-college or graduates, I don't know any others who will come out and say it.

Now I don't want to sound pompous and insinuate I'm smarter by believers because I know magic fairy tales (and horrible ones at that) aren't true, but it's really hard not to look down on a person with no education, who has blind belief in the absurdness of religion. Many of them are brilliant doctors, teachers and lawyers; in fact, they know things about their fields that I know nothing about. So I can't say I smarter per say, but I feel like I am in this aspect. Anyone else feel this way?

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Permalink Reply by Grace Fitzpatrick on May 13, 2011 at 12:59am

No. not really.

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Permalink Reply by Avicenna on May 13, 2011 at 1:15am

High IQ is no protection from pseudoscience, woo and faith. It just means that you often are more convinced and can use more complex arguments to defend your self that most people cannot match.

Plenty of smart people have believed in stupid things. Plenty of real doctors believed in Homeopathy despite it being water that's been smacked against a desk in a specific way.

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Permalink Reply by KillerDiller on May 13, 2011 at 6:31am

There is a correlation between IQ and atheism. It is also more common to see "out" atheists in higher education. But I'm a bit confused by your wording here. "[I]t's really hard not to look down on a person with no education, who has blind belief in the absurdness of religion. Many of them are brilliant doctors, teachers and lawyers; in fact, they know things about their fields that I know nothing about."

Being a teacher, lawyer, or especially a doctor, by definition requires a lot of education. There is no such thing as an uneducated doctor no matter what he/she believes about God.

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Permalink Reply by Avicenna on May 13, 2011 at 6:49am

The point is that there are smart people who believe in stupid things... That smart people despite their relative intelligence often believe in Daft Ideas.

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Permalink Reply by booklover on May 13, 2011 at 7:15am

I never finished even my Associated Degree, but I'm intelligent, and was never brainwashed. I know people with and without degrees who are religious. I know people with and without degrees who are Atheists. My Daughter is in college and has many Atheist friends. I did tell her from my experience that some people who are Atheists young tend to become religious as they get older. I have just known some people who have done that. Maybe it won't happen with her friends.

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Permalink Reply by David Anam on May 13, 2011 at 7:57am

Education is not necessarily an indication of intelligence, and intelligence is not necessarily an indication of rational thinking. Many people are book smart and knowledgeable, but don't spend much time thinking for themselves. To see a correlation with atheism, you need to look past education or IQ tests and look at how much "thinking outside the box" a particular career requires.

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Permalink Reply by Grace Fitzpatrick on May 13, 2011 at 11:26am

I have known many intelligent people both religious and non religious, educated and not traditionally educated in a university setting. I have a great deal of respect for almost anyone who knows how to do things that I don't. However, I have a great deal of trouble respecting anyone who chooses to be an ijit regardless of education level or religiosity. For example, I had an astronomy professor in college who was a staunch creationist and mentioned so in class a number of times. I considered him to be an idiot and often wondered why a creationist who thought astronomy was bunk would become an astronomer.

I try to have a basic respect for all people but it's really, really hard with highly educated creationists.

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Permalink Reply by Avicenna on May 13, 2011 at 12:31pm

Astronomy has nothing to do with creationism though. He would be studying the universe as "God's Handiwork" and applied theology rather than science.

Remember the bible is remarkable free of astronomy.

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Permalink Reply by Rob Robinson on May 13, 2011 at 3:36pm

I made the mistake of saying a person has "no education" followed by examples of occupations that require a high level of education and work ethic. The question is still the same though, I sometimes feel superior, free and enlightened in the knowledge that I know the Wizard of OZ is just an old man behind a curtain. I hate smug believers who look down on atheists, and when I say they judge and look down on us, there isn't a minority in existence who gets judged more than us.

So yes, a part of me doubts their "real" world knowledge, not the fields their specialized in or wonderful lives many of them live, I doubt they've ever given serious thought about what they're buying into. Individual thought, not collective ones