RELIGOUS PEOPLE! Explain why you think iq and religion are negatively correlated?

Question

Several studies have investigated the relationship between intelligence and the degree of religious belief (excluding humanism), with most showing that intelligence averages decrease significantly with the "importance of religion" an IQ testee rates as apt. But most studies chiefly show that people with religious beliefs have lower IQ's and tend to be less educated.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/iq#religios...
Before you give a list people who were smart and had religion, let me give one that didn't. Albert Einstein! he quotes-
"It was, of course, a lie what you read about my religious convictions, a lie which is being systematically repeated. I do not believe in a personal God and I have never denied this but have expressed it clearly."
I know nothing except the fact of my ignorance.-Socrates(The Original Agnostic)
This is not a strong enough argument to prove religion to be false but it is an intresting phenomena.

If you are not convice by my source, then just type "religion correlation" in any search engine.

Answer 1

A few questions for the inquiring mind who thought this one up...

Have you done your own research on the topic or did you get all of your information on the topic from Wikipedia? Have you actually read the studies yourself and evaluated their methodologies, statistical analysis, etc.? Are you an atheist who just wants to piss people off or are you really seeking what is true, no matter where it leads?

I'll just let you guess what my religious convictions are...

Answer 2

There is a very simple explanation for these studies. Most of the studies that form this "trend" that religious people have lower IQ's then non-religious used younger people, mostly college age people for their sample.

The wikipedia article you a referencing is far less extensive on this topic then this one http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religiosity_and_intelligence

the above article points out that the rate of "religiousness" increases dramatically among people 30 and over.

So the explanation I have is that most people under 30 who do follow a religion follow the one they were raised with or exposed to at a young age. People less intelligent or more likely to stick with a religion just because influential people in their lives told the it's true.

More intelligent people are likely question what others tell them and think about things for themselves. Religion, being such a complex issue takes a lot of life experience to draw one's own conclusions. So while these more intelligent people are "gather data" to make their own choice about what they believe, they consider them selves "non-religious".

While the less intelligent younger people don't think deep enough to question what they were taught at a young age.

When these people at college age who say they are not religious get older they begin to feel they have enough experience in life to make an informed decision on the subject of religion. At that point the pick their own religion.

If I could find a number of studies that show this same trend among a proportional demographic sampling then I might change my opinion.

Until then I will rely on my own understanding that there are idiots and smart people on all sides of most arguments. Although without further studies my theory can't be proven it is certainly not refuted by facts and is supported by some of them.

Answer 3

Gee, I just answered a similar question here! You might want to examine The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, aka the Mormons. Unlike many other religions, there is a strong positive correlation between years of formal education and church attendance. About half of the members who have 8 to 12 years of formal education attend our church services regularly. For those with some college, the average is between 65 and 70%. The rate goes to about 75% for those with college degrees, and nears 80% for those with graduate school education. I baptized a friend recently, who may not have been as charitable as he should have been to his previous allegiance when he said, “It's wonderful not to have to check your mind at the chapel door.”

Answer 4

Since it was 'monkeys' that thought up the 'monkey tests' you refer to it stands to reason that only monkeys are able to pass said tests with flying colors. Just because we don't choose to believe everything that secular education rams down our throats doesn't mean we are not intelligent. On the contrary, we are smart enough to know the Truth when we read and hear it.

Answer 5

People who do not believe what they cannot see come to their own conclusions about those of us who choose to live by faith and the powerful presence of the Lord. A large percent of the adults in my church have college degrees and great jobs. Their faith has nothing to do with intelligence.

Answer 6

Guess what I'm Cena?



1Co 1:27 ... God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty.

Look's as though it is working with you. That is if you are wise. Are you?

Answer 7

Well really think about it. When one gives oneself to a Belief Structure and uses that Belief to answer all questions, one cannot think for oneself. Since an IQ test measures our ability to learn, one who learns from one source has a stunted ability.

Answer 8

It said the exact opposite yesterday.

Answer 9

The only part you left out was:

Where in the bible does it say to enter Heaven, IQ must be 200 or higher?

Oh...I know...no where. So, it doesn't matter who is smarter than I am, won't change the fact of my getting into Heaven. That is up to me and my choices, not my IQ!!

Answer 10

Who cares? What does it matter? For those who believe, I'm happy for them. For those that don't..they can think and feel anyway they want.