Curious: why are some very smart people very religious

[Gawen]

As for people wanting to know your christian values before they elect you, that just goes to show how the religious interpretation of moral philosophy can really make people look incredibly stupid. It's easier for me to assume they think that because they really are stupid...either that or the security blanket their religion provides is incredibly stupid. I haven't met a smart person who follows that line of thinking so I can't assert that with certainty.

The problem is most of these people don't think it's stupid at all. It's perfectly normal to believe in some guy born of a virgin, dying and then resurrecting when they're voting for, then asking for the 25 million dollars and then designing a recreation centre or "Do we really need traffic lights at this intersection?". Because, you see, every city council meeting is started with a prayer, asking the invisible sky daddy for help in this or that and a blessing for something they are going to do anyway....even though, ironically, it's all God's doing. Sheesh. The walls they've built up to keep their cozy invisible comfort zone would make me laugh if it didn't make me puke first.

[xSilverPhinx]

As for people wanting to know your christian values before they elect you, that just goes to show how the religious interpretation of moral philosophy can really make people look incredibly stupid. It's easier for me to assume they think that because they really are stupid...either that or the security blanket their religion provides is incredibly stupid. I haven't met a smart person who follows that line of thinking so I can't assert that with certainty.

The problem is most of these people don't think it's stupid at all. It's perfectly normal to believe in some guy born of a virgin, dying and then resurrecting when they're voting for, then asking for the 25 million dollars and then designing a recreation centre or "Do we really need traffic lights at this intersection?". Because, you see, every city council meeting is started with a prayer, asking the invisible sky daddy for help in this or that and a blessing for something they are going to do anyway....even though, ironically, it's all God's doing. Sheesh. The walls they've built up to keep their cozy invisible comfort zone would make me laugh if it didn't make me puke first.

Yeah...it really is disturbing to think that elected officials believe in that nonsense (if they really do believe it). I wouldn't mentally classify them as the mature theists based on only those facts, to me they're stupid people who also happen to be fundamental literalists, and so there's nothing really paradoxical about why they would believe those things.

That reeks more of conservative "us versus them" herd mentality - when the majority will only trust and vote for people who subscribe to their ideologies and leaving out the "devil's spawn", while at the same time not really considering if candidates are actually competent. It's really sad...some people need their comfort zones shaken up a little bit, otherwise we'll be plunged into a second hellish dark age.