Atheism. invalid by the numbers?

[warpspeedpetey]

in the course of another conversation this was posted as to why an atheist would not agree with a theist if they both knew the same thing

What if the person disagreeing actually has more knowlege, not the same? What if the person disagreeing understands something better, not worse than the individual claiming that other’s don’t understand?

that essentially seems to be a polite claim that atheists are more intelligent than their theist counterparts.

here is my response

because thats not a possible scenario when applied to a significantly large sample size of humanity. though some individuals may be more or less educated, intelligent, or knowledgeable, when averaged across the total population we are essentially equal in these qualities

if theism, and atheism were of equal validity, than under the conditions above we should expect to see approximately a 50/50 split. where half the population is theist and half is non-theist

however the actual distribution seems to be 10:1 to 20:1 reflecting a rate of atheism of 5% to 10% of the total population. (though i think that number a little high)

so if the arguments as to individuality were true and both propositions were equally valid then we should see a 50/50 distribution.

but we dont

in order to explain that unequal distribution we have to assume the following positions

1. theists are less intelligent than average, by a large enough amount to account for the rate of that position in society. (9.5 out of 10 would have to be less intelligent than the current average)
2. atheists are less intelligent than average by a rate significant enough to account for that distribution (1 to 2 out of 20 would have to be less intelligent than the current average)
3. the propositions of atheism vs. theism are not of equal validity.

as the first two are false on the face of them, that strongly suggests that the third position is true

the proof being that if they were equally valid than there should be an even distribution among the population

as we dont see that, and the other possibilities are false on their face.

we can only conclude that atheism and theism, are not of equal validity

in fact by the numbers of adherents atheism is only 1/10 to 1/20 as valid as theism (a little tongue in cheek )

does someone have an argument that might refute these ideas?

 

[Genesis315]

The truth is the truth even if no one believes it. It’s not necessarily about intelligence–there’s a host of other reasons individuals do not believe particular truths (ranging from innocent ignorance to obstinate malice).

 

[warpspeedpetey]

The truth is the truth even if no one believes it. It’s not necessarily about intelligence–there’s a host of other reasons individuals do not believe particular truths (ranging from innocent ignorance to obstinate malice).

you are right, as to individuals reasons. that is what each persons view point says, analyzed as a sample however, we can draw certain conclusions from the math, here i hope to show that such an analysis is indicative of the lack of validity of the general idea of atheism.

so in this regard, individual reasons for belief don’t come into play.