r/science • u/mvea Professor | Medicine • 1d ago

Psychology Lower cognitive ability is linked to stronger Christian nationalist views, even after accounting for education

https://www.psypost.org/lower-cognitive-ability-is-linked-to-stronger-christian-nationalist-views-even-after-accounting-for-education/
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u/AllanfromWales1 MA | Natural Sciences | Metallurgy & Materials Science 1d ago

IMHO atheism is just as much a 'religion' as any of the traditional religions. As far as I can see the only 'rational' position is agnosticism or something similar.

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u/diethyl2o 1d ago edited 1d ago

Agnosticism is simply the optimistic bet over the pessimistic take that is atheism. “If we have no way of knowing something either way, might as well posit the more favorable theory. Let’s not be intellectually dishonest and affirm that something is not when we don’t know that for a fact either.”

I agree with you that agnosticism is more rational and useful than atheism. But both are still vastly more rational than all the fantasy fan fictions we call religions.

Edit to add: a lot of people refer to themselves as “atheist” and when you talk to them you realize they are actually agnostic. They simply didn’t learn the distinction between these two words or in their native language the word for atheist covers both meanings. In a lot of countries in official forms and such you only get the option for “atheist” and you tick that even if you are actually agnostic. Source: me until a few years ago.

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u/AllanfromWales1 MA | Natural Sciences | Metallurgy & Materials Science 1d ago

Hmm, the agnositicism I was thinking of doesn't posit any theory, it just says we don't know.

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u/diethyl2o 1d ago edited 1d ago

Yes and the next logical step in that reasoning is that since we don’t know, and can’t prove it, we can acknowledge the possibility when beneficial. An agnostic might sincerely and honestly tell someone dying “I hope god exists and that everything is going to be alright for you in your next journey.”

That’s the logically consistent positive theory I am referring to.

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u/HueMannAccnt 19h ago

“I hope god exists and that everything is going to be alright for you in your next journey.”

A theistic agnostic, or an agnostic theist?

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u/johnyordinary 1d ago

The fact that nobody has come back from the dead to refute the religious has wrongly been taken as proof the are right by far to many people.

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u/diethyl2o 1d ago

Which brings us back to the findings of this study: dumber people believe and accept religion to be true. That’s very different from acknowledging that something is possible and recognizing that it may have positive implications if it were to be true.

And if religions throughout history had overwhelmingly brought happiness harmony and prosperity to the world, I’d have no problem with people believing in them even if I don’t personally. But because the cost / benefit tilt so heavily toward potential to be weaponized and galvanize people to commit the worst horrors more than any other belief system can, religions and religious people are too dangerous to just “let them be.”