Argumentum ad Populum, Latin for “argument to the people,” is a logical fallacy also known as “bandwagon argument,” or many other names. The argument essentially reads that since a majority (or indeed even all) of the people believe something to be true, therefore it is true, or likely to be true. A good example of the flaw of an argument of this type is the belief in a flat Earth. Many cultures, generally until Ancient Greece, and some cultures for a time after that, thought that the Earth was flat. The general majority of people in many cultures believed this, and later on the idea that the Earth was a sphere was proven. Sometimes a theist will answer, when defending the existence of God, that so many people believe in God – indeed a good deal of the world believes in the monotheistic, even Abrahamic God – that therefore his/her belief is justified. Put another way, “so many people in human history have believed in God, and even to this day! They can’t all be wrong!”
Counter-Apologetics Series Part II: Bandwagon argument / Argumentum ad populum | An American Atheist
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