Atheists are losers?

Yeah, I'm a pretty big loser. Can't contradict that stereotype.

I can see no rationale at all for that arbitrary formula that combines IQ and income.

Anytime an arbitrary formula is used in a paper, one must be suspicious, and one as capricious as that is off the charts.

I'm a cynical, single white woman who lives in a house in a residential area, works at a sofware company with at least one other atheist (the CEO!), and doesn't watch tv.

Could it be that a disinclination to be traditionally religious is also highly correlated with a disinclination to be in a traditional relationship? (And/or adherence to traditional patriarchal religion indicates a similar willingness to adhere to traditional patriarchal living arrangements?) I really don't want to get heterosexually, monogamously pair-bonded and have 2.5 kids and a white picket fence. Yagh.

I think we're seeing a correlation/causation FAIL...

Oh, dear. I live alone and I am socially marginalized. Boo hoo! I can pass for white, too, but my residence is a house rather than an apartment and I work for a school rather than a used-record store. I must admit, though, that I like George Carlin.

What the heck is Adult Swim?

Zeno! How can you not know Adult Swim? It's a block of animated shows for adults on the Cartoon Network... some anime (ghost in the shell, for instance) and some American stuff (sealab 2021, robot chicken)...

Well, I don't watch Adult Swim, I'm married with children and have zero belief in any deity. What does that mean? Oh, yeah, I've got it, generalizations are often wrong....

My situation is the same as Interrobang, except I'm a dude. I also don't know what religion my co-workers follow, except for one who told me he was a universalist (I don't think he's an actual church member, but more of a fellow-traveler). It's not the "traditional" part of a traditional relationship I have any issue with (I'm bourgeois to the bone), I'm just not a people person (come to think of it, I don't think I'm competent to own a pet either).

I find a lot of geek culture annoying or repulsive, and that can include Adult Swim. I don't really watch tv anymore though so it's entirely possible that it has gotten much better.

In most of the world, excepting a few little social circles which probably think they're a lot bigger and more important than they really are, atheism is considered downright evil. I would guess that those who hold "evil" beliefs in general, rather than just getting along and honoring society's taboos, would underperform.

Good grief! I thought this was a biology site. Anyone here know someone called Darwin? It's all about differential reproduction. Atheists and agnostics on average (which is what counts) have fewer children than socially conservative believers. Who do you think wins in the long run. You might want to visit Vox Popoli from time to time for another viewpoint.

I have Vox Day on my blogroll, though I don't visit as much as I used to.

Ha, I think he is describing Comic Book Guy from the Simpsons. Someone that works at a used record store past college -- excluding owners -- would probably be living below the poverty line, so that can't typify atheists. Only 20% of atheists earn less than $30k a year, compared with 31% of all Americans. Meanwhile, 28% of atheists earn more than $100k compared with 19% of all Americans. So the modal atheist is still earning more than other Americans, just not as much as other smart people.

When I think of atheists I usually think of academia -- professors, scientists, etc. -- or artists (musicians, writers, painters, photographers, actors, etc). It's easy to see how both are earning a lot less than what they "could be" earning, but whether or not that means lower social position depends on your perspective.

Highly educated people like scientists probably eventually pair up at a greater rate than general, but you have to look at them a little later in life. (averaging all ages would reduce the figure)

Artists probably pair off less than average for a variety of reasons. They are less traditional, more happily promiscuous, and, yes, sometimes just don't get along well with others.

The used record store is a snide way of insinuating they often seem to be cognitively over qualified for the positions they hold.

It didn't mean to come off as disdainful. The stereotype halfway applies to myself as well. But I have the very general sense that atheists tend not to be as interested in starting a family and climbing the corporate ladder as at least superficially religious people of the comparable intelligence are.

Adam Carolla and Ricky Gervais are two amusing atheists...

My experience jibes with Razib. Part of this might be the high-functioning semi-Aspbergers types. These are people with a high IQ and who are willing to publicly state socially unacceptable beliefs. In my experience those types of guys kinda repel women. They don't go along to get along.

A high IQ, socially smart guy will just ignore religion, but not be publicly atheistic (unless of very high social status otherwise). In my experience most women have a pretty large # of magical, supernatural beliefs. It might be Christianity, or astrology, or belief in fate, or energies, or whatever. Pointing out how silly the beliefs are .. not so helpful in the dating dept.

(That said, if the guy has high enough social status he can say anything he wants and still attract women.)

A simple example. In America, nobody wants to live in a poor black neighborhood (including poor blacks!). Among white suburbanites it is taboo to mention this. The high IQ, socially inept guy will be honest about why a certain neighborhood is unacceptable (too many poor blacks) and say it out loud ... and suburbanite women will think he is racist (even though they avoid the neighborhood for the same reason.)

The high IQ socially smooth guy simply buys a house in the nicer, richer neighborhood. His wife/girlfriend is happy. Everybody gets to pretend its just about schools or commute and that they'd be happy to live in a poor, black neighborhood.

There is little benefit to exposing the little lies that smooth over the uglier aspects of society.

The public atheist is more likely to be the type that just blunders through society's lies - either because he doesn't care or isn't aware enough to see them.

Hrm, I'm cynical, I like George Carlin and I did used to work in a record store. And I'm white. But I'm married with several kids and own a home. And that goes for pretty much all the non-believers that I personally know as well. I've only ever encountered a handful of the stereotype ones.

It's the genetic 10% rule. You could start out with 100% religious couples and, in a few hundred years, you would have 10% atheist/agnostics again as well as 10% gays, 10% bisexuals, 10% neonazis...... It has nothing to do with whether atheists/agnostics get along with others well. (BTW, those 10% groupings are not mutually exclusive.)

"...This does little to dispel stereotype I hold of atheists as cynical, single white guys who ...."
.....are members of the National Academy of Sciences; see
'Leading scientists still reject God' Nature, Vol. 394, No. 6691, p. 313 (1998)
http://www.stephenjaygould.org/ctrl/news/file002.html
(Actually, those members of the NAS I am aware of are well-adjusted and married, and even women!)
Sam Harris observations on the myths that prevent atheists from being more socially accepted and 'from playing a larger role in our national discourse' are worth repeating, see
http://www.edge.org/3rd_culture/harris06/harris06_index.html

Well, I'm Christian, my wife is pagan, I respect an American athiest's right to spout their desposition(no matter how harmful they may be to my religion) and I watch Adult Swim...now what?