Richard Dawkins assertion in “The New Atheism” (Wired 14.11) that:
"Highly intelligent people are mostly atheists," . . . "Not a single member of either house of Congress admits to being an atheist. It just doesn't add up. Either they're stupid, or they're lying. And have they got a motive for lying? Of course they've got a motive! Everybody knows that an atheist can't get elected."
Is certainly maddening but it is far from reasonable. It is the sort of circular logic I would expect from a high school debate team, not an Oxford professor. Using the same rhetoric one could just as easily argue that most Americans eat meat, whereas most Indians do not. Therefore if you’re an omnivore, you are obviously an American, if you are a vegetarian then clearly you must be Indian.
There are approximately 80 million registered voters in American, the majority of whom profess some faith in a higher power. If Mr. Dawkins claim to 30 million American atheists is correct, I would conclude that the reason Congress will not renounce God has less to do with intelligence and more to do with mathematics.
John David Short
