Do you believe that IQ and Eductional level have an impact on beliefs in a personal god?

Question

In the leading journal 'Nature' by Larson and Witham in 1998 a study showed only 7% of the members of the National Academy of Sciences (U.S) believed in a personal god. Of the 1,074 members of the Fellows of the Royal Society (U.K) a similar study was done showing that only 3.3% believed. Mensa (the society for individuals with high IQ) which publishes Mensa magazine, in 2002, had an article published by Paul Bell that concluded that of 43 separate studies carried out since 1927 on the relationship between religious belief and one's IQ and/or educational level, all but four found an inverse connection. That is, the higher one's intelligence or education level the less one is likely to be religious or hold 'supernatural beliefs" of any kind.

I do not assume that all believers are stupid. This question merely states certain facts and asks for responses.

I WILL pick a best answer and I will not base it on my own beliefs. Rudeness and stupidity will not win you ANY points here...

Answer 1

There have been further studies that back your claim - IQ & the "religiosity index" are negatively related. But first keep in mind this reflects a statistical tendency based on very narrow parameters. As an atheist I've had the privilege of knowing brilliant religious people in the sciences. (Mary Schweitzer, the eminent, paleontolgist springs to mind as a great example.) In other words, what you say is true, but it is an unreliable indicator of the intelligence of the person right in front of you.

I would also suggest that while IQ testing may have its perfectly appropriate uses, many of us have suspected that, whatever it measures, it is likely to err in the calculations of certain types of "intelligence" that can't be sussed out via that kind of testing.

In summary: By and large the relation you point to is correct. But it does not identify individuals, and it may not account for all forms of human intelligence. Consider, for example, that in at least one study, eminent mathematicians are 4 times as likely as eminent biologists to be theistic. (Even though the vast majority of said mathematicians are atheists.)

Answer 2

The "leading Journal nature" is only some opinions of some studies that were done on a very small percentage of people.
There is no connection to IQ or education and no "facts" that these studies and opinions are true. You would have to ask the entire population to determine a more accurate answer not just a small percentage and I am sure the outcome would be more factual and proven otherwise.
My only other comment on education and beliefs with any connecton to it would be a person that could not read and therefore could not access the bible like you or I who can read. They would not to know how to read it or one who was retarded and could not connect events. However, the same could feel the power of God and still pray and go to chruch and live a Godly life..
To believe statistics in one study is not factual nor is it respectful to even insinuate one to not be as intelligent for being a christian.
Scientist tend to not believe in God anyways for mere fact that they have to have a reason for everything and an answer of the how and why. God does not dispay worldy all the answers that scientists want on that subject. God is beyond any science of this world and that is why they still search. Perhaps christians have all the answers they need and do not feel the need to continue the search not being a scientist. All christians that I know have high degrees in education and are successful including myself and therefore there is not any connection or facts to think otherwise.

Answer 3

I do believe that many people with higher education are more likely to question or not believe in a God. This is typically because we are taught to question everything and without substantiating documentation/proof something cannot be (you would do poorly in school if you prepared your work based on faith alone). Additionally, the further one goes in education the more likely those people are to think they are more intelligent and thus only want to rely on what they know as fact.

As to IQ, you often have the same problem. People with high IQs are generally more critical and more doubtful of unsubstantiated ideas or beliefs. They generally have a harder time fitting into society and are often loners (more so with the real high IQs). This is why most serial killers have extremely high IQs, because they think they can outwit society. It takes extreme ability to be able to control one's mind.

Lastly, many people who take IQs are people who are involved with education and who already believe they are smart, thus being less likely to believe in religion and more likely to have a high IQ. Success or belief in a God does not require education or a high IQ and is open to all, therefore you get the whole span of individuals being a part of it. I have taken tests before, but also refused an IQ test when offered by a professor because it was for their benefit alone.

Anyone can do anything if they desire it.

Answer 4

I have met a number of scientists and other highly educated individuals who are believers; however, I also know quite a few atheists in that category. Personally, I come from a family which puts great stress upon higher education. I've attended private schools all my life, maintained top grades, and yes--I attend church. I find religion fascinating, and not just my own religion, either. I have many brilliant atheist friends, but also number quite a few highly educated believers among my friends and family. It would, I suspect, depend upon the individual in question. There are so many additional factors to consider (did the people in the studies come from religious or non-religious backgrounds, for example) that one is left unsure of why the study came out the way it did. However, I would resist the urge to use the study as a blanket categorization that all believers are somehow lacking in intelligence.

Answer 5

The present educational paradigm, in North America in particular, certainly plays a role in influencing minds. If you grow up in an educational system that attached little or no weight to theological concerns and instead focuses on hard science, rationalism and humanistic philosophies... then it's pretty likely that students coming out of that system are going to examine life based on the prerequisite standard of evidence they've been taught to rely on.

The problem with that, of course, is that the human experience exceeds that standard. Objective evidence is only meaningful through a subjective lense. Nothing objective can be processed in any way, meaningful or otherwise, unless it is subjectified in our consciousness.

And why is that?

This reply barely scratches the surface of the question, but it does point to a few more questions. And that's really what it's about; the questions. Never be satisfied with the conclusions. They're just symbols pointing to deeper symbols, in a universe where absolutely nothing is as it seems.

Answer 6

You are correct that one can find any number of studies ( I have seen over 20 ) indicating a correlation between education or IQ and lack of religious belief. However like most correlations it is more difficult to say whether one characteristic influences the other, vice versa, or whether both are influenced by some third characteristic. People with high IQs tend to be less willing to just accept statements by those they consider to be intellectually inferior based on faith. It shouldn't be at all surprising that highly educated or intelligent people tend to be skeptics, but determining the nature of the corrolation is not quite so easy. In other words, you could argue that religious beliefs cause low IQ, just as easily as you could argue low IQ causes religious belief.

Answer 7

I believe the higher the educational level, the more skeptical one will be about supernatural things. People with higher IQ's are less likely to believe something simply because someone says it's in a book or because it's a held tradition to believe such things.

I'm glad to see some don't assume that all believers are stupid (though there are times where even I wonder about some people). Just because one does believe in a higher power, doesn't make the person stupid. Though one that believes in Everything within their given religion do tend to be gullible.

Answer 8

This is an excellent question. I believe IQ has little to do with religion. You do not have to be moronic to be misinformed. Education, however, is probably much closer related. Perhaps this is because people who continue in school have a desire for information to fill in gaps where others place God. Or perhaps people who think in the way necessary to be successful within academia are less likely to rely on faith without logic.
I do wonder, however, if it has more to do with a person's Emotional Quotient rather than Intellect.

Answer 9

I sure do.

Read your Bible. After you've read it, consider yourself educated. If you tally up God's actions, you'll see that usually, He acted at the level of Nations. He rarely interacted with individuals, and when He did, it was only the highest of priests who were waving around bits of beef and sprinkling blood on leather seats. So -- to most people in the Bible, God was not a "personal god." An educated and intelligent person would not believe that God has changed, and would therefore believe that God is still not a "personal god."

To put it rudely, has God interacted with you directly, during your lifetime? Are you sure?

Answer 10

Hmm... I had heard these studies were flawed. I'll have to do more research. From my own observation (and I used to be a member of Mensa), there are a lot of intelligent believers. I think sometimes education can lead to a belief in one's own superiority and, to some extent, to a belief in the superiority and self-sufficiency of human beings.