[David Sklansky]

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<font color="blue"> Meanwhile if I am wrong, then why are the great majority of moderately intelligent people religious? </font>

The answer is upbringing and education. The majority were likely brain-washed as children and most do not possess post graduate degrees or a high level of education in math or the hard sciences.


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This is generally correct but a little harsh. Most people, at least in the U.S., believe in God for the same reason that they believe in democracy, capitalism, equality, etc. Their parents and the communities they grew up in accepted those principles, and they didn't find it particularly onerous to continue believing in those principles as they got older.

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That's kinda what I said, but DS is making a distinction between political and religious creed, because of religions upsides. What I'm saying is that if you are brought up having something drilled in you and everyone else in your family, community, country, seems to hold similar views (and certainly very few lambast them), then it makes sense how even an intelligent person doesn't think to question these beliefs even when he becomes an adult. That's all I was trying to say.

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A good argument for 75 years ago. Or maybe even 40 years ago. Nowadays everybody is aware that the majority of scientists disagree with most of the specific religious beliefs. Therefore moderately intelligent people who are religious, can be assummed to have made a conscious decision to disagree with those scientists.