Have you ever met an unintelligent atheist?
By soadnot
@soadnot (1606)
Canada
7 responses
@PsychoDude (2013)
• Netherlands
9 May 07
Yeh, and he believed in God... That was so.... gawd :P, he just called himself an atheist cause he thought the word sounded nice or something, lol.
2 people like this
@inspiredfaith (31)
• Bulgaria
9 May 07
I do it all the time. But there is the problem - they aren't really atheists, because they believe ..... and i will stop here, because to be an atheist means not to believe in anything. :)
2 people like this
@Tanya8 (1733)
• Canada
9 May 07
I have met the odd atheist online whose position wasn't very well thought out. However most of the atheists I know on line and in real life tend to be intelligent and inquisitive.
I think that as atheism becomes more common, it's natural that some people won't ever go through a process where they wonder about God, and arrive at atheism through reason. People born to non-religious parents and who live in non-religious communities are often atheistic by default. Thus there's no way to say whether their intelligence level has anything to do with their position on God.
1 person likes this
@Tanya8 (1733)
• Canada
10 May 07
Yes, you're right; that was sloppy of me. I know that agnosticism means "no knowledge" of God, but the term is often casually used by people to indicate that they're on the fence regarding God's existence. I had the latter type of people in mind when I was responding.
@lecanis (16647)
• Murfreesboro, Tennessee
11 May 07
I have actually known a few atheists that weren't intelligent. They were people who didn't believe in anything because they were too lazy to learn, or because they wanted to be rebellious. They wore the word "atheist" like a badge, proving to the world how cool and nonconformist they were, even though really they were just conforming to another standard.
Granted, I have also known a lot of very intelligent atheists. Just as I have known intelligent people that were religious.
@soadnot (1606)
• Canada
9 May 07
i find that a lawyer who is not intelligent would not be a successful one. a catholic who is not intelligent may have just grown in that environment. but, to be an atheist, you must be able to question what has been told to you, and either examine or reject its conclusion. therefore i think to actually be a true atheist you must be smart.. im not sure, can you can disprove me?
4 people like this
@okn0tok (569)
• United States
9 May 07
If your an atheist why are you posting in religion?
Is that smart?
Or do you consider it a religion?
Or did you post it here, under religion, to prove to people that have one you and all other atheists are smarter because you have no religion?
Brilliant.
Atheism is not a religion it can't have a g-d or a pope or a priest...
It is simply someone who does not believe in a divine power or religious structure, it does not mean they are smarter or know anything more than anyone else on this planet.
Yes I have met some very unintelligent people who are atheists.
@Tanya8 (1733)
• Canada
10 May 07
I'm actually an atheist. I'm interested in religion for two reasons: one, because I enjoy learning about different belief systems and cultures; and two, because religous people outnumber atheists and our differences in outlook sometimes spill over in to social and political issues. I think it's worthwhile for atheists and religious people to communicate, and hopefully correct misunderstandings we might have about one another's views
By the way, I added religion to my "interests list" after getting involved in a few discussions, and it now seems to be the only one of my interests that always has new discussions. Since it's always at the top of my list, I end up on religious discussions frequently.
@okn0tok (569)
• United States
10 May 07
Huh?
Atheist's do not believe in G-d, no I don' think they would be interested in religion.
Agnostics do not know what they believe, the may believe in a higher power but not know what it is, or they may not believe in anything but I would dare say they might be more interested than an atheist.
Obviously the questioned was not posed for other atheists to answer, that would be pointless.
@brothertuck (1257)
• United States
9 May 07
As you said those who are atheist usually have thought it through and have come by their disbelief because of gathering the info and deciding intelligently. I have to say though I have met unintelligent atheists, but only because they are more anti-religion rather then atheist. Some also are followers of a belief that is not connotative to a belief in a supreme being or pantheon of beings.
So yes I have met an atheist who isn't intelligent.
