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Are religious people really less smart, on average, than atheists?

#11
Syne Offline
Excuses. You can doubt that there is not a god. But you don't if you're dogmatic.
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#12
Magical Realist Offline
(Jan 28, 2018 09:29 PM)Syne Wrote: "These results support the hypothesis that behavioral biases rather than impaired general intelligence underlie the religiosity effect."

(Feb 4, 2018 05:00 AM)Syne Wrote: Excuses. You can doubt that there is not a god. But you don't if you're dogmatic.

Doubting that there is no god is believing in god. And only beliefs are dogmatic.
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#13
Syne Offline
(Feb 4, 2018 05:14 AM)Magical Realist Wrote:
(Feb 4, 2018 05:00 AM)Syne Wrote: Excuses. You can doubt that there is not a god. But you don't if you're dogmatic.

Doubting that there is no god is believing in god. And only beliefs are dogmatic.

Do you even read what you write?
If any doubt that there is no god is belief in god, then you just confirmed that you can't, by your own definition, doubt your own atheistic belief.
That is dogmatic. And yes, also a belief, otherwise it could be proven.

dogmatic - inclined to lay down principles as incontrovertibly true

Most Christians will admit they have doubted whether their belief was incontrovertibly true.
Most (?) atheists cannot admit they have doubted that god incontrovertibly does not exist.
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#14
Magical Realist Offline
Quote:If any doubt that there is no god is belief in god, then you just confirmed that you can't, by your own definition, doubt your own atheistic belief.

Right..an atheist can't doubt god and believe in him at the same time. To do so would be cognitively dissonant. If theists claim to be capable of this state, it speaks to their own mental confusion. It isn't a virtue by any stretch.
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#15
Leigha Offline
(Feb 4, 2018 05:14 AM)Magical Realist Wrote:
(Jan 28, 2018 09:29 PM)Syne Wrote: "These results support the hypothesis that behavioral biases rather than impaired general intelligence underlie the religiosity effect."

(Feb 4, 2018 05:00 AM)Syne Wrote: Excuses. You can doubt that there is not a god. But you don't if you're dogmatic.

Doubting that there is no god is believing in god. And only beliefs are dogmatic.

Doubting actually means one is agnostic, maybe not entirely believing, but not entirely disbelieving, at the same time.
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#16
Syne Offline
(Feb 4, 2018 06:16 AM)Magical Realist Wrote:
Quote:If any doubt that there is no god is belief in god, then you just confirmed that you can't, by your own definition, doubt your own atheistic belief.

Right..an atheist can't doubt god and believe in him at the same time. To do so would be cognitively dissonant. If theists claim to be capable of this state, it speaks to their own mental confusion. It isn't a virtue by any stretch.

An atheist could, theoretically, doubt god and sometimes doubt that the doubt is valid (not doubt the fact that you're doubting Rolleyes ).
You don't have to believe in god to occasionally have some doubt that it doesn't exist. To deny that is dogmatic.

Skepticism is all about a healthy ability to doubt, even ones most precious beliefs.
Such doubt is how cognitive dissonance is corrected by testing against contrary facts/beliefs and finding a consistent reconciliation.
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#17
Magical Realist Offline
Quote:An atheist could, theoretically, doubt god and sometimes doubt that the doubt is valid (not doubt the fact that you're doubting Rolleyes ).

Then he stops being atheist the moment he starts believing in god. You can't doubt god and believe in him at the same time. That's cognitive dissonance and only leads to stress and neurosis.
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#18
Syne Offline
(Feb 4, 2018 07:28 AM)Magical Realist Wrote:
Quote:An atheist could, theoretically, doubt god and sometimes doubt that the doubt is valid (not doubt the fact that you're doubting Rolleyes ).

Then he stops being atheist the moment he starts believing in god. You can't doubt god and believe in him at the same time. That's cognitive dissonance and only leads to stress and neurosis.

Doubting the validity of your doubt isn't belief. At best, it's agnosticism.
You can think the sun is out, but doubting that doesn't mean you think it's night. It means you're not sure....not dogmatically convinced it is incontrovertibly true.
You don't understand theist belief, but I'd certainly trust you about cognitive dissonance leading to stress and neurosis.
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#19
Magical Realist Offline
Quote:Doubting the validity of your doubt isn't belief.

Doubting your doubt in god is belief in god, however weak it may be. There is no way around it. And it can't be doubt and belief at the same time without cognitive dissonance.
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#20
Syne Offline
(Feb 4, 2018 07:53 AM)Magical Realist Wrote:
Quote:Doubting the validity of your doubt isn't belief.

Doubting your doubt in god is belief in god, however weak it may be. There is no way around it. And it can't be doubt and belief at the same time without cognitive dissonance.

Doubting doubt is uncertainty, not belief.
You just keep proving my point. You're inability to recognize uncertainty demonstrates your dogmatism.
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