Why are Christians assumed to be stupid by non-Christians?
In case you aren't aware, yes, I am a Christian man.
Oh...I see. You have never heard anyone make such claims, right? Apparently, Bluto Blutarsky thinks that Christians are below average in intelligence. See the following question, and scroll down to Bluto's response:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AsKMptvaedcR.LrIQ_L8CgLd7BR.;_ylv=3?qid=20091228115750AA21hpV
It just pisses me off that people think this way. I am just repelled by ignorance.
How do you feel about it?
Awww, i dont think youre stupid.
Only the fundies.
studies have proven it.
The irony meter just broke.
You just assumed that all non-Christians assume that all Christians are stupid. Based on one person’s post on Yahoo. See it?
Stupid is as stupid does, and ignorance is a human condition. It doesn’t only exist among non-Christians, or only among Christians.
I don’t like it when people call me extraordinarily handsome either…
Doesn’t mean that there isn’t some truth to it though…
It is a generalization. Human beings have a habit of generalizing based on too little evidence (only a few examples) which is a fallacy (false logic) and flawed inductive reasoning.
The "evidence" they use to base this generalization on is caused by creationists/fundamentalists who falsely claim that Genesis MUST be read literally, even though the majority of Jews, Christians (including Catholics) know otherwise.
They set up a "false dilemma" another fallacy (also called "either/or") because science and faith do NOT contradict each other (except in their own narrow minds). Since these people of limited education believe what their unscrupulous leaders tell them, they claim all known scientific discoveries (like evolution) are false or contradict God, neither of which is true.
These deluded but devout Christians are very vocal and political, and therefore make the rest of us look bad.
Everyone is entitled to their opinion, no matter how ignorant you think that their opinion is. Besides, one person does not speak for all.
It’s just the ones that open their mouths before thinking like Fred Phelps…I hate that man with a passion.
Something about judging them by their fruits…
The same reason Christians assume Atheists to be amoral. Ignorant stereotyping.
Read this to get a VERY accurate description of the war between Atheists and Christians. It’s a short read, and quite funny:
http://blog.sarcasmsociety.com/religion-spirituality/atheism-makes-you-smart.html
It’s done to hurt and push buttons. I am still waiting for them to insult my dog. That’s the only thing that hasn’t been done yet on this forum.
I guess you haven’t been here long, but Bluto says these things about every religion. He thinks he’s amusing…I think it’s best to ignore things like this. If you let him get to you, you let him have power over you. Stay above it…
Edit: Wow! Two thumbs down because I wasn’t snarky enough? Or maybe I was too rational? Or maybe I didn’t insult anyone? Geez!
why generalize?
I don’t think christians are stupid, some may be, but the main issue I see is ignorance - from BOTH sides of the equation
Take a look at this. It’s not just christians, but people of all religious preference.
http://hypnosis.home.netcom.com/iq_vs_religiosity.htm
I’m Christian to! Noone is gonna tell my I’m stupid(even though I am)
Why do you care what unbelievers think of you, they are spiritually dead and have a dead future. I pity them. Because one day they will have to face God and give an account of their hatred.
Give me a few minutes and I can find you a number of similar disparaging remarks made by Christians toward atheists.
Generalizations are a way of opening one’s mouth to remove any doubt that one is a fool. Don’t fall prey to the same trap; I know a number of intelligent Christians, just as I know (online) a number of stupid atheists.
I am just repelled by ignorance.
Me too! But it’s the wilfully ignorant, like christians, who continue to shape their lives around superstitious nonsense who really piss me off!
The same reason non Christians are assumed to be stupid by Christians. I am not repelled by ignorance. It is unchristian to be repelled by the less fortunate. If you are a true Christian as you claim you should have compassion for the ignorant after all many of our Christian brethren are ignorant and we are trying to rise above that stigonema.
I don’t assume you’re stupid. I do assume that you are deluded, however.
In fact, I know many highly intelligent Christians (and other religious people) and I am baffled as to how you can BE religious. If you can think, which clearly you can, I cannot understand how you have missed the logical fallacies of your religion.
Can I also add that you are also ASSUMING when you make the generalization that all non-Christian people ASSUME you’re stupid. Nice.
ok-
reality check here dude, you are analyzing WAAAAY too much.
- however, anyone who actually believes that snakes can talk, or men live in giant fishes or virgins have babies (pre-artificial insemination), or that people rise from the dead, is going to be looked down on just the same as if they adamantly insisted that spiderman is a reason why crime rates in nyc are down or that the moon was made of cheese or that godzilla is the reason for the tsunami a few years back.
- if you are a christian, and don’t adamantly insist on those or similar things, then you are not stupid, but then you are just following dogmatic approach or towing the line you have swallowed and not kicking it off.
- i’ve often myself asked how an otherwise intelligent person can become so moronic when it comes to religion. there are many reasons why- but that still doesn’t absolve them of teh responsibility of acting like an idiot during an attempt at discussion on a religious topic.
EDIT:
if this bothers you that much then perhaps the internet is not for you.
There are some Christians that make all of us look like ignorant fools because they are more vocal than the rest of us. In all honesty generalizations and assumption would annoy anyone whether they be Christian or not.
If I allowed myself to get ticked off by little acts of ignorance, my head would have already exploded.
Because it is irrational to believe in unprovable things just because someone told you too….. most acts of irrational behavior come off as looking stupid to the outsider…
I believe that it is statistically impossible for every theist out there to be a moron.
The problem I run into is that all these intelligent, rational, grounded people apparently check all that at the door when it comes to religion.
In all of humanity’s recorded history, I have yet to see an intelligent, logical argument for the existence of a god.
Lol
Because the man who discovered electricity just had to be stupid because he was Christian.
I used to consider Christians to be just as smart or stupid as any other people. Perhaps more in numbers than percentage because there are more Christians than say, atheists or Pagans but still normal amounts of each.
However, after being on Yahoo Answers, Religion & Spirituality section for this long, I have been convinced that the smart percentage is way lower than the stupid percentage or at least doesn’t show as much.
Although you think that non-christians are ignorant, that’s what they think about you. I think its because the whole religion thing sounds too simple too them. One friend I knew loved to equate it to a children’s story. Saying that if you a good person you go to a happy place but if your bad you will be punished. But is it really that much different from any other religion? Every single religion in the world say’s theirs is right and yours is wrong, no matter what evidence you give them.
They don’t think you’re stupid… but maybe they think you’re too ignorant or too lazy to question your own religion. That’s not my opinion, but if you start claiming that the United States was founded on Christianity then *I* will think you are stupid.
because u believe in a zombie savior
Ya know that comes right straight out of Darwin’s Origin of Species and Eugenics and Sigmund Schlomo Freud. It is a vain attempt to stop people from praying or being Educated in their world view, when all of us probably know More about it than they do!
they are just like their father the devil and don’t mind speaking Evil of dignity! 2nd Peter 2:10,Jude…
Because our presence makes sinners feel guilty.
if the shoe fits…
I only think the fundamentalists are a little dumb.
Because so many christians come here every day and prove it. Really, if you just read some of these posts, you’ll see it, too. Assuming you can be objective, that is.
im agnostic and i never said that so why are you posting a question like that?????
I don’t really care what Bluto thinks. Nor do I have any specific opinion on whether any non-christian thinks that christians, including myself, are less intelligent. That is their hang-up, if they believe so, not mine. Ignorance is repulsive, but anger is wasted when directed towards the ignorant.
Why do you generalise? Some non-Christians might possibly assume that Christians in general are stupid. The reason this assumption is stupid is that it’s a generalisation of a huge population group. Like the one you just made.
Personally, I know better. I was a Christian for 25 years. I did not suddenly gain a hundred IQ points when I left Christianity behind to become an agnostic deist and later an agnostic atheist.
But I guess I can understand why some people would tend to think Christians must be less well-endowed in the brain department. I mean, talking snakes and donkeys? Really?
It’s still a stupid generalisation, though.
The beliefs of a single individual to not encompass the beliefs of all individuals in that group. i do not think that Christians are stupid. I do not believe in God so right off the bat I know that not all non-Christians think that Christians are stupid. There are plenty of Christians who call me stupid for not believing. The normally site pascal’s wager or something like that. You are not stupid for believing in God and rest assured there are plenty of us atheists our there that know that.
because non-christians who say this are arrogant people who know less that they think they know.
I feel that Christians need to get over themselves. Christians are assumed to be stupid by nonChristians because most Christians are stupid, willfully stupid by claiming ignorance in favor of faith over truth. Faith is what you have in fairy tales. Romans, Chapter 2 tells Christians that preaching the law to the Gentile is blaspheme to God because those who teach the Law break the Law and that Gentiles are a law unto themselves. Christians just do not get the meaning of not judging others. This is found in America and it is also found in Uganda where Christians manipulate their law makers to bring about the death of homosexuals, whom Christians claim should die for breaking god’s law. See Romans Chapter 2. Christians are not to judge others, period. With every word and through every deed a Christian does, they prove there is no god and they also prove just how shallow and evil creatures Christians truly are.
The fact is that the religious are on average less educated and less intelligent than those who are not religious.
I know many christians that seem to be quite intelligent, though they are stifled by their religious beliefs in my opinion.
There are millions of different beliefs, and opinions. Who knows who is right or wrong? All non christians don’t think christians are stupid as all christians don’t think non christians are stupid.
Then theres politics.
For the same reason that many people thought Columbus stupid for believing the Earth to be round.
The answer to your question is this: look at those answers you have already. See the open malice and arrogance ("I-am-smarter-than-you" attitude)?
Put yourself in their place: if atheists are (in fact) wrong, then that means they have made a terrible, terrible mistake.
The dilemma of the atheist is sometimes called "Pascal Wager" (named after the 17th Century religious mystic and mathematician). Pascal’s Wager is (more or less) elucidated like this: "You might as well believe in a Christian divinity;
- if you do believe and you are right, then your reward is salvation [the pay-off is huge];
- if you do believe and you are wrong, then all you have lost is a few days of debauchery and the minor gains of sins [a small price to pay for being wrong].
Restated:
- if you deny the Christian divinity and you are right, then all you have gained is the benefits of sinful behavior offset by the damage caused by sinful behavior;
- if you deny the Christian divinity and you are wrong, the consequences are likely to be severe.
Don’t be repelled by their ignorance. They are simply children. They are the brothers and sisters of Christ, you know.
Just be thankful that you have the blessing of Faith.
I don’t assume Christians are stupid because most of them aren’t. But there are plenty that live up to the stereotype. Just look at some of these answers…
one of the best you are too
intelligence is based on your ability to learn, not what you know, but, how you learn it can affect yoru ability to learn, beign told knowledge by any organised group with intentions other than teaching will usually lead to missing important details
less intelligent no, have less inforamtion and less of the facts,yes
Because we know something that they refuse to comprehend.
I am repelled by ignorance also. Why is it that "christians" consider the bible the word of god when it has been well proven to be nothing more than a poorly plagiarized history text having nothing to do with any gods. And to reinforce their intellectual capacity they quite often quote a fairy tale to verify the authenticity of the fairy tale.