Personally, I view religion as the next hurdle in our evolution, and that our survival as a species probably depends on it. Faith is the belief in something in the absence of evidence. It is by definition, ignorance. The proper response for ignorance is education.

No matter how you present scientific facts to a religious person, they almost always metaphorically stick their fingers in their ears and go "la la la la la" often followed by a scripture quote. This is what willful ignorance looks like.

I am not aggressive towards ignorant people. Most of the time, it's not their fault. They just didn't know. I have a lot of respect for people who are willing to be educated or can educate themselves. An open mind.

I have zero tolerance and no respect for the willfully ignorant. Willful ignorance is the conscious, deliberate choice to avoid, ignore, or reject readily available information because it contradicts personal beliefs or requires unwanted action. How does one combat willful ignorance? It makes me want to be aggressive but the problem with that is that response will only be met with hostility and they only bury themselves further into their delusions.

How do we combat willful ignorance? Well, why don't you look around the forum? Like the topic that is currently below/above yours titled "Natural Selection Seems Insufficient."

(September 2, 2026 at 9:10 pm)Northern Skies Wrote: Personally, I view religion as the next hurdle in our evolution, and that our survival as a species probably depends on it. Faith is the belief in something in the absence of evidence. It is by definition, ignorance. The proper response for ignorance is education.

No matter how you present scientific facts to a religious person, they almost always metaphorically stick their fingers in their ears and go "la la la la la" often followed by a scripture quote. This is what willful ignorance looks like.

I am not aggressive towards ignorant people. Most of the time, it's not their fault. They just didn't know. I have a lot of respect for people who are willing to be educated or can educate themselves. An open mind.

I have zero tolerance and no respect for the willfully ignorant. Willful ignorance is the conscious, deliberate choice to avoid, ignore, or reject readily available information because it contradicts personal beliefs or requires unwanted action. How does one combat willful ignorance? It makes me want to be aggressive but the problem with that is that response will only be met with hostility and they only bury themselves further into their delusions.

Probably the best way for atheists to combat willful ignorance in themselves is to read books by and engage with intelligent religious people. Too often we see anti-religious types making blanket statements against a lowest-common-denominator type Christianity, and ignoring the far more serious versions. The most high-profile instance of this was Richard Dawkins, who confidently rebutted several theological arguments while getting them all entirely wrong. (I guess Dawkins has been cancelled now, but at the time he had fans.)

Every week on Twitter you see atheists repeating false stories about Galileo, Giordano Bruno, and Hypatia of Alexandria as proof that the Christian church is an evil force opposed to science. It doesn't matter how many times people post the facts and show those myths to be false, the beliefs persist. 

You're certainly correct that a person's ideology or desires about what the truth is can block real understanding.

There you go, Northern Skies, Belacqua is a perfect example of willful ignorance. How do you combat him and the lies he just said?

There is a growing cult of ignorance at the moment, flat Earthers, Moon landing deniers, Chemtrail believers and others. (And of course theists of all kinds)

Don't even try. It's a mug's game, foredoomed to failure.

Boru

Welcome, Northern Skies! I'm not sure how to advise you, the psychology involved is complex and rarely something that can be overcome over the interwebz. Have you made an introduction thread? I'd love to hear more about you.

^Not only that, but it’s just as difficult IRL. Ignorance is easily combated via education and opportunities for education.

However, the problem with willful ignorance is that it’s willful.  I don’t see how it’s possible to educate someone who resists education, is afraid of facts, and has ignorance as a comfort zone.

Boru