(July 8, 2017 at 12:17 pm)*Deidre* Wrote: There seems to be this need from both "sides" at times to put the other down as if this will somehow bring people to "their" side. Honestly, there's open minded and closed minded people who are atheists and theists, so I wonder about the validity of these "studies." How about Einstein etc...he seemed so open minded that many of his peers thought he was crazy for his theories. (although, he didn't believe in the idea of a personal god, not sure if he considered himself agnostic or an atheist) I would say that I've met many more close minded religious types than atheists, in general. Many religious people only view life according to their "holy book" and can't see any new thoughts or ideas past that.
So true! Casting broad generalizations onto hugely diverse populations is just dumb (and really closed-minded).
Theists and atheists can be closed or open minded depending on their personal outlook, intelligence, and life experiences. Believing or not believing in a deity isn't the single contributing factor here.