Coming out of nowhere, seemingly...

I've been thinking about how to reconcile being an atheist with not wanting to think the majority of humankind are idiots.

Religion, or lack thereof, is a choice. The choice can be personal or cultural, but someone made a choice somewhere along the way. Of course those who truly Believe don't see it that way -- they think their Belief is the only correct interpretation. But how do they know they're correct? They don't. They have Faith, which trumps knowledge in their book. They choose where to place their faith, and they choose to place faith above proof. These are all choices. Even if you don't make the choice for yourself, someone makes it for you. Your parents, your community, your government. You're never entirely free of responsibility, though. Even when coerced, you make the choice -- to go along or not. To question or not.

So when I meet someone who's obviously religious, I know they've made a choice to be that way. But that choice doesn't automatically mean they've lost my respect. There are a hell of a lot of reasons to choose to be religious, some of them certainly idiotic, but some of them make at least some sense. I'm sure many people choose religion because it comforts them. I'll admit that, where this is the case, I believe there's at least some amount of self-delusion involved. But we all delude ourselves to some extent. We all tell ourselves little lies in order to keep ourselves happy. In moderation, I don't see a problem with this. If the lies aren't used to inflict negativity on anyone else.

So yes, I do think some religious people choose to Believe for stupid reasons, and I also think some religious people are just plain stupid. But the two don't always converge. Stupidity and making stupid choices certainly aren't exclusive to the realm of religion.