I am a thorough going atheist , however I do recognize that I am extremely fortunate to have had the oppertunity of experiencing a sufficient level of education that allowed me to come to that conclusion.
If I had been left to my own device I would probably be praying to a rock at this very moment.
Even the smartest of us has had to "stand on the shoulders' of giants" to see as far as we can.
In fact, in my experience, the more knowledgeable a person is the less condescending they are probably because they,more than anyone, are acutely aware of that fact.