Internal vs External perspective

[Catholic_Lady]

I'm starting to see a pattern here between theists and atheists.

Theists are more likely to believe in an objective morality that exists external to themselves. Atheists are more likely to believe that morality derives from a set of evolved instincts and therefore comes from within.

On the thread 'Open discussion of the Christian Why We're Here thread' the theists were arguing that there is a meaning to life that exists beyond our own lives whereas the atheists were arguing that we each need to apply our own meaning to our own lives and not have it applied to us externally.

I also noticed that many of the atheists often had relatively low scores on the test in the 'Empathy Quotient' thread. Only one theist took the test so we can't make a comparison. Note that I am NOT saying that atheists lack empathy and theists have it in abundance, there are certainly some theists on this site that demonstrate otherwise. But I have noticed in the past that some people are more inward focused and wrapped up in their own thoughts, feelings and introspection whereas others are more focused on their external senses such as how they appear to others.

I am wondering if being more externally focused actually makes you more susceptible to a religious upbringing imposed on you externally because you will be more greatly aware of the effects of not conforming socially. Whereas those of a more introspective nature will be more keen to think things through themselves regardless of the social cost.

A difference in perspective, between inward and external, could be a common pattern differentiating keen theists and staunch atheists.

Actually introspection and empathy tend to go together. If you are self aware, good at being in tune with your thoughts, and have a good understanding of your feelings, chances are you'll be good at relating to, identifying, and empathizing with other people's thoughts and feelings. There's even a single term for this. It's called emotional intelligence, and it encompasses both introspection and empathy as part of the same thing. The more sociopathic a person is, the more they lack emotional intelligence.      

I don't think emotional intelligence plays a role in whether or not a person believes in God. A person can be incredibly in tune with themselves and still believe that morality is an objective thing, and that there's more out there beyond just the material.