"Are atheists mentally ill?"

[Joe Republic]

Oh the irony...

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[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Having a belief in something, in and of itself, doesn't necessarily mean the believer is mentally ill (although there was, interestingly, one study put out a couple months ago that links belief in a hateful God to mental illness).  As for IQ tests, haven't they already been proven to be one of the worst ways of measuring "intelligence" in groups, be it race, religion, or otherwise?  Sorry, but the more I read this bunk, the more skeptical I become of its inherent value.  Both sides are guilty of abusing and misinterpreting studies to suit their own (often hateful) agenda, and this article is nothing new.

[afleitch]

As a journalist who riles about 'f-cking Scots who live in peat huts', 'cliterati; and 'nuking the Spanish' over Gibraltar he is nothing but a windbag. Hilarious article though.

[DC Al Fine]

Having a belief in something, in and of itself, doesn't necessarily mean the believer is mentally ill (although there was, interestingly, one study put out a couple months ago that links belief in a hateful God to mental illness). As for IQ tests, haven't they already been proven to be one of the worst ways of measuring "intelligence" in groups, be it race, religion, or otherwise?  Sorry, but the more I read this bunk, the more skeptical I become of its inherent value.  Both sides are guilty of abusing and misinterpreting studies to suit their own (often hateful) agenda, and this article is nothing new.

I'm not familiar with this, can you give me a quick recap?

As for the mental illness thing, anectdotally I remember atheist PZ Myers asked his readers to take the AQ test and the results were considerably higher than the norm; there might be other factors at play there though.

[afleitch]

Having a belief in something, in and of itself, doesn't necessarily mean the believer is mentally ill (although there was, interestingly, one study put out a couple months ago that links belief in a hateful God to mental illness). As for IQ tests, haven't they already been proven to be one of the worst ways of measuring "intelligence" in groups, be it race, religion, or otherwise?  Sorry, but the more I read this bunk, the more skeptical I become of its inherent value.  Both sides are guilty of abusing and misinterpreting studies to suit their own (often hateful) agenda, and this article is nothing new.

I'm not familiar with this, can you give me a quick recap?

As for the mental illness thing, anectdotally I remember atheist PZ Myers asked his readers to take the AQ test and the results were considerably higher than the norm; there might be other factors at play there though.

Autism is not a mental illness as it is neurologically based. On the study in question, one from the University of Boston suggested those with high functioning autism (Aspergers mainly) trended more towards atheism-agnosticism-own system beliefs. It didn't suggest that atheists tended to be high functioning autistics. On the other hand, if we want to play a bit of ping pong (because such things are fun) there is a high correlation between religiousity and schizophrenia with 24% of schizophrenics in a 2002 study, saying they experienced religious delusions. Of course that does not suggest that the religious trend towards being schizophrenic.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Having a belief in something, in and of itself, doesn't necessarily mean the believer is mentally ill (although there was, interestingly, one study put out a couple months ago that links belief in a hateful God to mental illness). As for IQ tests, haven't they already been proven to be one of the worst ways of measuring "intelligence" in groups, be it race, religion, or otherwise?  Sorry, but the more I read this bunk, the more skeptical I become of its inherent value.  Both sides are guilty of abusing and misinterpreting studies to suit their own (often hateful) agenda, and this article is nothing new.

I'm not familiar with this, can you give me a quick recap?

As for the mental illness thing, anectdotally I remember atheist PZ Myers asked his readers to take the AQ test and the results were considerably higher than the norm; there might be other factors at play there though.

Long story short, we have a wealth of evidence that intelligence is highly malleable to a multitude of environmental factors, and things like race and religion aren't discrete enough to qualify as biological categories for which people can be grouped and compared.  Also, IQ scores don't really reflect beyond what a person learned in school.  You can say x race is smarter on average than y race or a religious group is smarter on average than b religious group, but it's a moot point because people can be categorized any way you choose.

[Oldiesfreak1854]

No, not necessarily.

[barfbag]

Well something has to be wrong in order for someone to believe that something can arise from nothing. When regarding the existence of God, realistic laws of science do not apply as we are dealing with the infinite. Material is finite though and therefore must have a first mover, first cause, or first essence. Now this isn't to say that God's presence isn't highly exaggerated by religion.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Couple things.

1. This is very true:

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2. As Scott said, IQ is utter bullsh*t anyway.

3. If we really want to go down that road (we don't) it's worth pointing out that intelligence and happiness have no reason to go hand in hand.

[Oakvale]

IQ tests are kind of nonsense but they don't reflect "what you learned in school".

[World politics is up Schmitt creek]

Using mental health as a blunt instrument in these sorts of religious pissing contests is always a disgusting tactic no matter what direction it's coming from.

[Tetro Kornbluth]

Trolling and supporting pseudoscientific racism. Excellent.

[John Dibble]

Well something has to be wrong in order for someone to believe that something can arise from nothing. When regarding the existence of God, realistic laws of science do not apply as we are dealing with the infinite. Material is finite though and therefore must have a first mover, first cause, or first essence. Now this isn't to say that God's presence isn't highly exaggerated by religion.

So if you believe something could arise from nothing then you've got something wrong with you, but if you think an immortal sky wizard is responsible for everything then you're perfectly fine? I realize you probably find the notion of calling your deity a sky wizard insulting, but I'm pretty damn tired of hearing this "something from nothing" argument from creationists myself since that isn't really the position atheists generally take.

[DC Al Fine]

Well something has to be wrong in order for someone to believe that something can arise from nothing. When regarding the existence of God, realistic laws of science do not apply as we are dealing with the infinite. Material is finite though and therefore must have a first mover, first cause, or first essence. Now this isn't to say that God's presence isn't highly exaggerated by religion.

So if you believe something could arise from nothing then you've got something wrong with you, but if you think an immortal sky wizard is responsible for everything then you're perfectly fine? I realize you probably find the notion of calling your deity a sky wizard insulting, butI'm pretty damn tired of hearing this "something from nothing" argument from creationists myself since  that isn't really the position atheists generally take.

What is the position atheists take?

[John Dibble]

Well something has to be wrong in order for someone to believe that something can arise from nothing. When regarding the existence of God, realistic laws of science do not apply as we are dealing with the infinite. Material is finite though and therefore must have a first mover, first cause, or first essence. Now this isn't to say that God's presence isn't highly exaggerated by religion.

So if you believe something could arise from nothing then you've got something wrong with you, but if you think an immortal sky wizard is responsible for everything then you're perfectly fine? I realize you probably find the notion of calling your deity a sky wizard insulting, butI'm pretty damn tired of hearing this "something from nothing" argument from creationists myself since  that isn't really the position atheists generally take.

What is the position atheists take?

It's usually either "I don't know" or it deals with a base understanding of quantum physics. ("nothing" isn't really nothing in that)

[Oswald Acted Alone, You Kook]

The question really should be opposite (Are the mentally ill atheists?) in some cases.

[afleitch]

The question really should be opposite (Are the mentally ill atheists?) in some cases.

But that's the equivalent of 'Are the mentally ill Christians' in some cases or 'Are the mentally ill Dutch, Latino, Rich.'

[Oswald Acted Alone, You Kook]

The question really should be opposite (Are the mentally ill atheists?) in some cases.

But that's the equivalent of 'Are the mentally ill Christians' in some cases or 'Are the mentally ill Dutch, Latino, Rich.'

I was thinking of it in the way people say that babies and animals are atheists.

[World politics is up Schmitt creek]

The question really should be opposite (Are the mentally ill atheists?) in some cases.

But that's the equivalent of 'Are the mentally ill Christians' in some cases or 'Are the mentally ill Dutch, Latino, Rich.'

I was thinking of it in the way people say that babies and animals are atheists.

That's a horrible thing to say about mentally ill people, and not because it's ipso facto insulting to be called an atheist.

[barfbag]

Well something has to be wrong in order for someone to believe that something can arise from nothing. When regarding the existence of God, realistic laws of science do not apply as we are dealing with the infinite. Material is finite though and therefore must have a first mover, first cause, or first essence. Now this isn't to say that God's presence isn't highly exaggerated by religion.

So if you believe something could arise from nothing then you've got something wrong with you, but if you think an immortal sky wizard is responsible for everything then you're perfectly fine? I realize you probably find the notion of calling your deity a sky wizard insulting, but I'm pretty damn tired of hearing this "something from nothing" argument from creationists myself since that isn't really the position atheists generally take.

I said nothing of the sorts.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

Probably. I mean, who am I to say what goes on in their focked up heads.

[afleitch]

Probably. I mean, who am I to say what goes on in their focked up heads.

So you think I'm f-cked up?

[Filuwaúrdjan]

This thread is taking a dark turn. Fluffy bunnies! Fluffy bunnies for everyone!

[Oswald Acted Alone, You Kook]

Probably. I mean, who am I to say what goes on in their focked up heads.

So you think I'm f-cked up?

No, he thinks you're an animal.

[afleitch]

Probably. I mean, who am I to say what goes on in their focked up heads.

So you think I'm f-cked up?

No, he thinks you're an animal.

In the bedroom of course