...think that there is a strong positive correlation between how religious a person is (no matter what their religion is) and how...unintelligent they are?
2006-12-11 20:15:42 · 8 answers · asked by Aidan Jay 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
comment: Obviously I am asking because this is how I have felt for quite some time - without even giving much thought to it. I just wanted to know if and why others have felt the same way. I am not here to put anyone down personally. If anyone takes this as such, then imagine how many times I have been told that I am "not saved" and "going to hell" for my beliefs - if I actually believed in hell, I'd be quite insulted. So, please do take that into account.
I personally have noticed that of all the people I have met in life - the purest, most nonjudgemental and intelligent beings have been either atheists, agnostics or have subscirbed to some parts of buddhism, hinduism etc.
If anyone is curious, I am an agnostic and some days I wish I was religious - It would be nice to believe in something completely. What can you do - thanks for all of your responses. Most have been quite constructive and funny.
notable quote:
The dude: "Yeah, imagine asking for funding for that survey."
2006-12-11 23:59:29 · update #1
I asked a question about this a long time ago... I directed people to an online IQ test. We all had to take the same test, otherwise no comparison could be made.
I knew how high the test goes. The people who classified themselves as religious lied a lot... They were saying they scored like 30 more than the highest the test can go....
My question gave a result, even if the numbers were false. The result was that the religious people were either insecure about the score they got, meaning that they scored low, or that they are not as pious as their religion tells them to be.
2006-12-11 20:25:29 · answer #1 · answered by RED MIST! 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
I am a hardcore indulger of being Chaotic Pagan, and am proud to say so. That does not mean that I have already studied everything I need to know to back up my decision, but I made that choice and now I'm happy.
I don't think I'm dumb, though. How many people do you know have the ability to tell you about the history of the two most conflicted religions (christian and Pagan) as well as practice every day of their life? Not too many, I would assume safely. So, with that having been said, let's look at all the people who don't take all the different options into account because of their narrow-minded behaviors. People have told me time and time again that evolution is wrong. I have asked them about information to back up their theory, and they can't tell me unless they look it up on the wikipedia links, which proves peoples' ignorance to accountable information, properly studied hypotheses...
Ask yourself the question; Are religious people intelligent too?
And you'll get your answer.
2006-12-12 04:39:19 · answer #2 · answered by Cold Fart 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
So the only way to try and refute our beliefs is to attack our intelligence? I am religious and very intelligent, I may or may not be as smart as you are or as smart as the next human being. However because I am a spiritual person I can accept that fact, and I don't have to come to this forum in seek of someone to put down, or be superior to.
I take it you have never read a book written by someone who is religious and happens to be intelligent? Rick Warren, TD Jakes, Juanita Bynum, or Donald Trump just to name a few... May be people who ask questions such as this one should research them first?
I guest Atheism is a direct result of Eve eating from the tree of knowledge?
2006-12-12 04:47:30 · answer #3 · answered by Alicia S 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Well, I have an uncle who has an IQ of about 165 or more. He's brilliant. Neat eh. But he's sitting in a penitentiary right this moment because he's a murderer. A murder over and over again. My point? Sometimes people can be so smart that they can't feel. It's hard for them to even entertain the idea that something may be smarter than them. I believe religion and intelligence can go hand in hand. After all, God was the first scientist.
2006-12-12 04:21:01 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
Yeah, imagine asking for funding for that survey.
No, but the National Academy of Sciences is 93% atheist. Also, something like half of all scientists are atheist -- I don't recall exactly. The statistic is in Letter to a Christian Nation.
2006-12-12 04:20:08 · answer #5 · answered by STFU Dude 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, I figured the more religious a person is, the more unintelligent he is. But that depends on which religion he's in. If he's into Christianity and Islam, then you'll see the positive correlation. Or else, if it's Buddhism, Taoism or Zen, then you'll see the negative correlation.
2006-12-12 04:20:31 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
I'm sure that the average IQ is lower for theists. That is not to say that you have to be dumb to believe in God. Personally, I've met a lot of dumb religious people, but I've never met a dumb atheist. I suppose that might be because people who actually step back and look at the idea of God, evaluate it, and determine that God does not exist aren't unintelligent.
2006-12-12 04:57:35 · answer #7 · answered by Derek 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Well, this is what you believe. To me it is the other way round.
There will come a day when we know everything for sure. Till that day comes, ...
Peace
2006-12-12 04:29:30 · answer #8 · answered by daliaadel 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋