Why are so many atheists mentally ill?

acer2009

According to studies conducted, atheists are far more likely to have mental illnesses than Christians (in direct contradiction made by atheists that it is the theist who is mentally ill):

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/gnxp/2011/09/atheism-as-mental-deviance/

Tyler Cowen points me to a PDF, Religious Belief Systems of Persons with High Functioning Autism, which has some fascinating results on the religiosity (or lack thereof) of people with high functioning autism. I’ve seen speculation about the peculiar psychological profile of atheists before in the cognitive science literature, and there’s a fair amount of social psychological data on the different personality profile of atheists (e.g., more disagreeable).

http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0036880

In neuroimaging studies, thinking about [14] and praying to [15] God activates brain regions implicated in mentalizing; thus mentalizing might be a necessary component of belief in God, without being a sufficient cause. When adults form inferences about God's mind, they show the same mentalizing biases that are typically found when reasoning about other peoples' minds [16]–[18]. Developmentally, children's reasoning about God's mental states, and about other non-physical agents, tracks the cognitive development of mentalizing tendencies [19], [20]. Finally, mentalizing is deficient at higher levels of the autism spectrum [8], [9], [21], [22], and interestingly men are both more likely to score high on the autism spectrum [23] and more likely to be non-believers [24]–[26]. These lines of evidence suggest that mentally representing supernatural beings (and their mental states) requires mentalizing capacities. This in turn implies that mentalizing deficits would constrain intuitive support for belief in God.

So atheists, why you still defending your mental illness? Is it because you are nothing more than degenerates who don't want any personal accountability for their actions or is it because you are just edgy teenagers who haven't grown up yet?

Frank_Macky

^ Personal accountability??? I don't need any of this personal accountability claptrap, Jesus died for my sins and I am covered by the blood of Jesus and I will be saved no matter what I do.

The degenerates are those people who believe that trying to do the right thing is of any value in "saving their souls".



As a suggestion, please look up the definition of sarcasm. I know that you religious types are often too dense to pick up on that.

Frank_Macky

New Flash:

Poster with avatar keeps accusing others of being wanna-be "edgy teenagers".

acer2009

Someone seems mad he belongs in the mentally ill category.

Frank_Macky

acer2009 wrote:

According to studies conducted, atheists are far more likely to have mental illnesses than Christians (in direct contradiction made by atheists that it is the theist who is mentally ill)

Your interpretation of the studies is wrong. What this means is that even mentally ill (your pejorative term for autistics, not mine) people are smarter than theist-nuts like you.

sophion

the findings only state that the autistic has reduced capacity to believe in the the supernatural.

acer2009

Sorry guy, just because you curse and hate Christians won't make the facts go away. You can rationalize all you want, it shows that most atheists are mentally ill and are more likely to be autistic. It's also probably the reason why your posts aren't really that deep and enlightening, especially in threads that you start

Frank_Macky

acer2009 wrote: »

Someone seems mad he belongs in the mentally ill category.

You seem to have great difficulty discerning from a post whether someone is angry or just making fun of you. Perhaps that is a indicator of some sort of "mental illness"?

acer2009

sophion wrote: »

the findings only state that the autistic has reduced capacity to believe in the the supernatural.

Which is what it is. Autism is a mental illness. Many autistic people most probably are atheists because they suffer from some mental illness denying concepts that detach them from reality and from the non-material. You can rationalize all you want, it won't make it go away.

We can readily see why atheists also tend to be more sociopaths, and it's solely because of this reason.

Frank_Macky

acer2009 wrote: »

[the study] shows that most atheists are mentally ill and are more likely to be autistic.

There you have it folks:

A demonstration of precisely the sort of reasoning "skill" that leads creationists to conclude that dinosaurs and humans coexisted at the same time.

Don't flatter yourself acer2009, the evidence suggests strongly that you're no brainiac.

But true to form, you think that having "faith" that you are a brainiac means you are one.

caporegime

But produce any morality-themed movie and typically it's the "sheep-sheep" (the snitch: the one who wants to either promote or save his own ***) who gets recognized by the masses (regardless of religious affiliation) as the antagonist. *ʞıɥ*

sophion

acer2009 wrote: »

Which is what it is. Autism is a mental illness. Many autistic people most probably are atheists because they suffer from some mental illness denying concepts that detach them from reality and from the non-material. You can rationalize all you want, it won't make it go away.

We can readily see why atheists also tend to be more sociopaths, and it's solely because of this reason.

it doesnt mean that atheists are autistic.

acer2009

sophion wrote: »

it doesnt mean that atheists are autistic.

Read the study? It was interpreted two ways:

1) Atheists tend to be autistic
2) Autistic tend to be atheists

Woop-de-doo! A matter of negligible semantics. Must be tough rationalizing something that puts atheists in a negative light.

sophion

acer2009 wrote: »

2) Autistic tend to be atheists

that is correct

acer2009 wrote: »

1) Atheists tend to be autistic

where does it say that?

acer2009

caporegime wrote: »

But produce any morality-themed movie and typically it's the "sheep-sheep" (the snitch: the one who wants to either promote or save his own ***) who gets recognized by the masses (regardless of religious affiliation) as the antagonist. *ʞıɥ*

Psychopaths always get that treatment. The fact that you defend psychopaths gives great weight that atheists are indeed mentally ill.

Frank_Macky

acer2009 wrote: »

Read the study? It was interpreted two ways:

1) Atheists tend to be autistic
2) Autistic tend to be atheists

Woop-de-doo! A matter of negligible semantics. Must be tough rationalizing something that puts atheists in a negative light.

"Negligible semantics" WAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Please make sure you pass Logic 101 before you try posting stuff like that again if you don't want to get stigmatized as a buffoon.

acer2009

sophion wrote: »

where does it say that?

http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0036880

In neuroimaging studies, thinking about [14] and praying to [15] God activates brain regions implicated in mentalizing; thus mentalizing might be a necessary component of belief in God, without being a sufficient cause. When adults form inferences about God's mind, they show the same mentalizing biases that are typically found when reasoning about other peoples' minds

Like I said, just live with that fact. I'm not saying all atheists are autistics, what the study does show that those who are atheists tend to be autistic.

Frank_Macky

acer2009 wrote: »

http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0036880

In neuroimaging studies, thinking about [14] and praying to [15] God activates brain regions implicated in mentalizing; thus mentalizing might be a necessary component of belief in God, without being a sufficient cause. When adults form inferences about God's mind, they show the same mentalizing biases that are typically found when reasoning about other peoples' minds

Good fricking grief. You really do need to take reading comprehension classes.


- First you say that 1) and 2) mean the same thing and the difference is only "negligible semantics"

- Then, from the statement "mentalizing might be a necessary component of belief in God, without being a sufficient cause" - you are concluding that it means that "atheists tend to be autistic" ??!??


In all seriousness, after watching how theists stumble around in this forum in their attempts to "reason", there is strong evidence to support the addition of a new condition in the DSM that mainly affects self-described theists -> "autistic reasoning"

caporegime

acer2009 wrote: »

Psychopaths always get that treatment. The fact that you defend psychopaths gives great weight that atheists are indeed mentally ill.

So, you're admitting then that you're just trying to save your own ***? Why not let it go and just let God deal with these "insane" unbelievers Himself, eh? *ʞıɥ*

acer2009

caporegime wrote: »

So, you're admitting then that you're just trying to save your own ***? Why not let it go and just let God deal with these "insane" unbelievers Himself, eh? *ʞıɥ*

Are you seriously implying that you condone psychopathic behavior? And you guys go to great lengths to prove this study wrong when you SHOW that you exhibit one?

sophion

acer2009 wrote: »

http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0036880

In neuroimaging studies, thinking about [14] and praying to [15] God activates brain regions implicated in mentalizing; thus mentalizing might be a necessary component of belief in God, without being a sufficient cause. When adults form inferences about God's mind, they show the same mentalizing biases that are typically found when reasoning about other peoples' minds

Like I said, just live with that fact. I'm not saying all atheists are autistics, what the study does show that those who are atheists tend to be autistic.

there is nothing in there that implies "Atheists tend to be autistic".