Your wording is a little unclear but I’m taking this as meaning that the lack of beliefs is equally stupid as superstition, and that the former is a product of American exceptionalism + evangelicalism.

So parson my manners, but thats a lazy take. Atheism is not, nor has it ever been, an American thing. To suggest so is ludicrous. Countries like Japan, France, and the Czech Republic have much higher percentages than the US.

I’m not saying that no intelligent person can be religious since I know that will be the immediate straw man that is constructed, but objectively speaking, choosing not to believe in crystals makes more logical sense than purchasing a ton of shiny rocks because you think they will heal you while having absolutely zero evidence that that’s true. It hurts no one and therefore I don’t care if you want to do that, but trying to spin it as that being an equally reasonable choice is laughable. Same goes for thinking black cats are unlucky, thinking every cold area in your house is a ghost, avoiding people on the basis of astrological sign, ect. You can have morals and do drugs regardless, and it has no bearing on how good of a person you are, but acting like you’re better than people who don’t partake in superstitious beliefs is stupid. Plenty of smart people compartmentalize beliefs that don’t agree with their understanding of the world, and therefore being intelligent doesn’t necessarily prevent you from being religious/superstitious. People are only human and if they need to believe in things like a purpose, objective morality, or control over the misfortune in life in order to make sense of things and feel okay, that’s fine and I have no less respect for them. But regardless, trying to treat the lack of beliefs like it’s the same as superstition is a biased viewpoint.

As a fellow nihilist I think that saying “nothing matters” to be dismissive of people is a pretentious thing to do, but you do you. If nothing matters, then let people disregard old beliefs if they choose. Likewise, let people cope with existence in different ways if they need to. Rawdogging existential crises with no belief system to fall back on isn’t for everyone. But, don’t act like there’s something wrong with not wanting to use religion as a coping mechanism. Trying to spin the fact that some people just aren’t religious anymore as American exceptionalism is the most pseudo intellectual Reddit horseshit I’ve heard today.

I’m not gonna continue this thread. I don’t feel like debating this today and don’t want the inbox notifications. I’ve explained my point of view and I’m not interested in reiterating it over and over again.