Your perception of theists

[Angrboda]

I think it's a myth that theists are irrational about their theism. I think our brain is constructed to always choose what it thinks is the best. You may believe that there are other ways of arriving at the truth than rationality. If you believe that, then it is rational not to put one's eggs in the basket marked rationality (just as a for example). I think people arrive at the conclusions they are destined to arrive at, independent of how rational or intelligent or educated they are, so no, I don't think any less of theists than non-theists. Even creationists have reasons for believing what they do. People don't intentionally come to flawed conclusions and I think the intuition that some are either crazy, dishonest, or stupid is simply an artifact of disagreeing with people with very different beliefs. I think that intuition can, however, color how we approach people with greatly different beliefs such that there is a tendency to be on one's guard when dealing with those people. So my answer is, no, but with reservations. I don't think people are really in control of what they believe, so I try not to judge.

[Pyrrho]

If you know that a person is irrational about at least one thing, and that is all you know about the person, does that affect your opinion of the person?  Well, it should.

How many people do you figure aren't irrational about at least one thing?  You show me a person who thinks they're rational about everything, and I'll show you someone who is probably wrong.

That is irrelevant to the point.  If all you know is that someone is irrational about one thing (theism, in this example), you don't know what other things the person is rational about and what other things the person is irrational about.  But you do know that the person is irrational about that one thing.  So you have reason to have a negative opinion insofar as that one thing is concerned.

In the case of someone about whom you know nothing, then you don't know anything about their level of rationality.  So you have no reason to have a negative opinion about the person at all.  Of course, you have no reason to have a positive opinion of the person either, but that applies to the case of the known theist as well.

[Pyrrho]

I think it's a myth that theists are irrational about their theism. ...

Have you never heard any of the fallacious arguments that theists commonly give for their theism? Reasoning fallaciously is, by definition, irrational.

[Angrboda]

I think it's a myth that theists are irrational about their theism.  ...

Have you never heard any of the fallacious arguments that theists commonly give for their theism?  Reasoning fallaciously is, by definition, irrational.

We reason fallaciously in many instances by design; it's called bias. To call these behaviors 'irrational' is I think to reflect an unnecessarily idealistic view of the way the brain arrives at solutions to problems; it's a value judgement, not an objective characterization of the ways in which people differ. Moreover, I don't see that much "fallacious reasoning" in theists; it's a difference of perspective I suppose. That you see their reasoning as flawed along the one dimension over which you differ is almost laughably stereotypical.

Would you like to provide an example of a fallacious theist argument that implies "fallacious reasoning" so that I can see what you're talking about?

I suspect you and I see rationality very differently. I wouldn't agree with a definition of reason which includes an absence of fallacies as a requirement. We recognize fallacies as fallacies because they are so common in people's thinking. If that is the bar for rationality than I'd say it's one that's ill met in the majority of cases, theist or no, so I would have no reason for having a preferential opinion of theists for their 'irrationality' in any case.

Irrational, adj.
: not rational: as
a (1) : not endowed with reason or understanding (2) : lacking usual or normal mental clarity or coherence

[Salacious B. Crumb]

Initially, in my mind, I say, “Great..” That’s mostly because I’ve been judged in my life for possessing different views, after telling some members of my family that I’m non-religious. They want to hear why, but they really don’t. As soon as they hear people dismantling their religion, no matter how kindly it’s worded, many of them love to lash out, because I use my brain. It’s so offensive to them, because I simply don’t agree with them. Those experiences in my life have led me to be slightly more judgmental when dealing with religious people, but I’m trying to work on that. I basically always give a person a fair chance, but will lose respect for them because of some of the morals they have adopted from their religion. If they think gay marriage is wrong, I immediately lose some respect for them. If they deny evolution is true, I lose more respect for them. If they believe everything that god does in the bible is moral, I lose practically all respect for them. It isn’t the fact that they are religious necessarily, it’s just who they are as a person, and many of these people can’t think for themselves, and have to be told what to believe in a disgusting, immoral book.

It’s easier for me to be around free-thinkers, because the conversation is much more interesting and diverse. Most of these free-thinkers are atheists. They are much more open to ideas and stimulating conversation. There is nothing interesting anymore to me, listening to a christian, mindlessly repeating what they believe over and over again. Every time you try to get them to think, a bible verse is always quoted. I prefer to be around non-religious people, it saves me from having to get into debates. However, if religion is never brought up, then I don’t really care what you believe, just what kind of a person you are. I prefer being around people with similar interests, and similar morals, although I love listening to other viewpoints. It helps me decide where I stand on issues. When I learn more and more how people think, I use this, and it helps me figure out what makes the most sense. However, I’m done listening to religious apologetics, because I have heard all of the pathetic arguments a hundred times, and they drive me up the wall, because almost every argument is highly irrational. They all cater to logical fallacies, circular reasoning, and unjustified faith, and I’ll take logic based on actual evidence any day, over that nonsense.