Originally Posted by mixedmedia

I have to say that while I, for the most part, agree that many "lay" people use their religion as a crutch of sorts to help them deal with the challenge of facing an existence full of ungraspable meaning, significance, value, etc., but to suggest that those who have faith in religious philosophy are, by nature of being faithful, less intelligent than atheists is well, yes, condescending. What about religious scholars, Jesuit and Franciscan monks...the Rev. Jim Wallis? And for that matter, the Dalai Lama and other Buddhist monks, lamas, bikshus, etc. The Buddhists have faith in reincarnation, karma, enlightenment and nirvana, bodhisattvas...does this make them less intelligent? Atheism is a faith, as well. Atheists have faith that the unknowable is, at least, definitely not what they think it is not. I offer up, as a fully neutral observer, that many people who call themselves atheists are not necessarily more intelligent or open-minded than those who have faith. That they are simply another fragmentation of mankind's eternal quest for the meaning of life. I suppose, it's natural for those who think they are privy to "the truth" to lord it a bit (no pun intended...well, maybe a little one) over those who are "not." Avid Christians do it, too. Ya. But I think to voice these things in a generalized way is just a way of patting one's self on the back to validate their own understanding of things.