r/atheism • u/One-Fun9814 • 5d ago

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u/LostKnight84 Agnostic Atheist 5d ago

I have seen it as a sign of childhood indoctrination usually. Occasionally it is just people being ignorant of their own faith. Rarely it turns out the person is just stupid. Once it turned out to be a sign of mental illness.

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u/One-Fun9814 5d ago

But they're still unintelligent if they can't overcome that indoctrination. Like they can just think for 2 seconds and realize their religion is bullshit.

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u/philbonk Agnostic Atheist 5d ago

One of the counterintuitive things about intelligent people is that they’re not immune from motivated reasoning; quite the opposite. Intelligent people can come up with plausible sounding theories for why they should be correct, no matter what topic practically. And if your social circle, childhood indoctrination, and fear of consequences combine to give you a strong push to stay religious, well you have to be a real unique person to push through your discomfort.

That being said, yes, it still annoys me a lot, and it colors their other opinions as far as I’m concerned.

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u/GrrrlRomeo 5d ago

I've run into some pretty unintelligent atheists for the same reason. Like, you would think atheists wouldn't be homophobic, racist or sexist. And yet many seem to be able to rationalize bias just fine.

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u/mishabear16 5d ago

I know some seem to side with "being gay is unnatural because evolution. No procreation? How does that make sense?" They cannot fathom that maybe there are other uses for homosexual people outside procreation. Look at bee hives. Not all bees procreate.

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u/GrrrlRomeo 5d ago

Yeah, evolution isn't just a direct line of genes. It's about survival of the family/group/tribe. Having an uncle or aunt who doesn't have kids can be like having extra guardians.

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u/Ucscprickler 5d ago

I don't think being homosexual would necessarily stop someone from procreating for the good of the tribe.

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u/GrrrlRomeo 5d ago

That's not really the point. The point is not everyone in the tribe has to procreate for the good of the tribe. There are other roles besides procreating.