http:\/\/www.realclearscience.com\/articles\/2017\/06\/05\/why_are_atheists_generally_smarter_than_religious_people.html<\/a><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
The reported findings are thought-provoking, but\u00a0they\u2019re not necessarily flattering to atheists or to the highly intelligent, let alone evidence that atheism is true.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
This topic is related to the observation, so beloved of a certain strain of atheists, that elite scientists are less likely to be theists than are scientists generally, and considerably less\u00a0so than are non-scientists in the general population.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Critics of religious belief often take this to prove, or at least to strongly suggest, that theism is false, that it\u2019s irrational, and perhaps even that it\u2019s a crutch for stupid people.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Maybe.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
But I think not. \u00a0(And there are, in fact, elite scientists who are or have been very religious; I\u2019ve featured a fairly sizable number of them here on this blog.) \u00a0I\u2019ve been on record for many years as believing that worldviews are seldom if ever a function of purely intellectual processes. \u00a0Not here. \u00a0Not anywhere.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Anyway, I can think of several other potential explanations for the fact that elite scientists tend \u2014 tend<\/em>, mind you \u2014 to be non-religious. \u00a0One obvious possibility is simply that the kind of personality required for someone to rise to the scientific elite \u2014 not the intellect, as such, but the supportive\/attendant personality \u2014 includes elements that militate against religious sentiments in some way, or against active and committed participation in a church, mosque, or synagogue. \u00a0These are possibilities that, so far as I\u2019m aware, can\u2019t be ruled out on the basis of any solid data.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Posted from Richmond, Virginia<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00a0 \u00a0 The title is just a tad misleading. \u00a0 For one thing, there are plenty of highly intelligent theists, people who are every bit as intelligent, every bit as thoughtful and rational, as any atheist. \u00a0 But I think it\u2019s unarguably true \u2014 it\u2019s certainly been my consistent impression \u2014 that the percentage of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-42626","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n
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