D'Souza released a documentary last year called "2016" where he claimed Obama was going to make himself dictator of America and install a communist state. A lot of Americans saw it and believe it. I bow my head in shame that I share my country with those people.
Anyway, I was really referring to recorded history. Who knows what the Neanderthals believed. As for Buddhists, its true they don't focus on God because the Buddha himself said it is too complex of an issue. But some Buddhists seem to think of the Buddha as divine, like the Tibetan Buddhists. I've been to a local Tibetan museum and the artwork there seemed to indicate that the Buddha was more than just an enlightened human being.
We will never know exactly how many atheist have existed throughout history. I know Plato and Socrates may considered atheists, but I've also heard they believed in a Supreme Being and souls. Even Hypathia believed that because she followed neo-Platonism which discussed the soul.
I do agree that religion has been used to manipulate populations, and it is sad to know something that had good intentions become a tool of evil. Meaning, when Christianity first began, it was attractive to the poor and the sick, but later became this political, condemning force that turned the world upside down. Honestly, I feel embarrassed knowing Christianity led to the Crusades, anti-Semitism and the anilihation of Native Americans.
I know you never said theists are stupid, but plenty of other atheists have. Heck, they even call theists mentally ill for believing in God. Yeah, that's a really intelligent comment
And when I said evolved, yes I was referring in a non-biological sense and more of a mental/emotional sense. We're more aware of the mind these days than even 100 years ago, and we know someone who's had a manic episode is not possessed by the devil or someone who hears voices could be schizophrenic.
When you say educational, though, there are those with PhD who believe there is a God, though not in the Biblical sense. Those people will have a more "mature" view of God, as I like to put it. They don't see Him as an old man in the sky, but something more complex and even as an energy force. There was a book out some time ago that didn't get a lot of attention about how a neurologist thinks functions in the brain explain what God is. It came out 4 years ago, and I saw it in a bookstore but didn't buy it because I didn't have enough on me. Damn, if only I knew its title. Anyway, the author didn't write off theism as foolish or unintelligent, but agreed there must be something out there.