i've managed to ignore faith in people i know.. somehow..

[toddzilla]

Most of the time i'm getting to the point where i don't think about a person's religious leanings. It's very difficult because i haven't believed for a very, very long time and seriously doubt that i could ever believe in a deity of any sort.

Do any of you have trouble seeing people as intelligent if they believe in god? I have an friend that thinks anyone who believes is just an idiot in general.. while i envy his attitude, i can't give up on virtually everyone i know just because they have an imaginary friend.

[Longhorn]

1. I, too, have a hard time believing that any intelligent person

could believe in god. However, I've come to view it as more of an emotional difference. There was an article in Newsweek in the last year or so that some research indicates we are just "wired" a certain way -- some of us are wired to believe and some of us are not.

There's also the brainwashing that occurs as we grow up, which explains how some folks "religiously" believe in a particular political party and even racism because they were raised that way. It takes a lot of strength and desire to overcome these views, too. I didn't have any trouble freeing myself from the shackles of being raised a Republican Christian, and early on, I accepted intellectually how wrong racism is, but I can't believe the racist thoughts that pop into my head sometimes! I immediately dismiss them and would NEVER act on them but it is upsetting to me that some of these words and phrases were so ingrained in me as I grew up in Indiana and Michigan (not just by my family but my friends and schoolmates) that they would even pop into my head now.

Anyway, I try not to "look down" on believers as long as they leave me alone about my views.

[immoderate]

2. Agree.

There are structures that are beneficial (in an evolutionary sense), that allow for irrational beliefs.

I know lots of people who are believers, and we get along fine. Obviously, these are not the ones who tell me I'm going to hell. I don't think they would want to hang around me any more than I would want to be with them. I even know some who are into apologetics, which is sort of the Christan debate society. I scrap with them occasionally, it's good sport.

--IMM

[Philostopher]

3. Some people literally have no other social structure.

I think biblical literalists are foolish, especially since the bible contradicts itself frequently (both within and between the two testaments) but some folks find having a belief comfortable and rely on their churches to provide social structure. I understand that, though I just got to the point it was uncomfortable to pretend to believe something I didn't. I know people who can't separate the social from the religious aspects of belonging to the church, and some folks are more driven than others to 'belong' to something, whether it's political, cultural, religious or social. I'm pretty atavistic, and so is my husband -- we're damned lucky we found each other!

[kdmorris]

4. It's been a long hard road

to not be as intolerant as some Christians I've met (namely my older sister)and I'm still not quite there. In general, if Christians are willing to leave me alone and let me be, I try to be fine with them. I tend to think of most Christians as illogical rather than unintelligent.

[fshrink]

5. My biggest problem

is one of limits. There quickly comes a point in a relationship where the opposition belief/non-belief, and, yes, I think it's an opposition, where there's a collapse in communication. I now know exactly when that point is coming and I have to hold back. So the relationship remains within rather tight boundaries and cannot develop further. I hate it. But that's reality. As to intelligence, although I think that most dumbs are believers, I don't think that all believers are dumb. Which makes things even worse. Generally speaking, I think that it is at bottom an emotional problem, a kind of neurosis in fact, which avoids (sometimes!) symptoms by resorting to a substitute fantasy. Another problem, related, is that I just cannot trust a believer. I always feel like they could betray me at any time for a mysterious reason...

[leftofthedial]

6. I believe that religion is a form of mental illness

Religious delusions are not a sign of low intelligence, but rather a sign of pathology