Do you believe it's true that the more educated a person becomes, the less important religion is?

Question

I truely believe this. Less educated people tend to hold on to religion and tradition, but when a person becomes educated, they are able to look at issues in different ways and see issues from other people's points-of-view.

For example, look at the Sunnis and Shiites in Iraq killing each other. You think they are educated? No way. The educated ones are the ones who realize that the fighting doesn't solve anything.

Answer 1

Hello Tim.. :)

No..I do not..for being educated has Nothing to do with Faith..

Are these below uneducated people..

Christian Doctors: in Rochester, NY..

"Anesthesia"
Dr. Scott Berry
Dr. Paul Cross
Dr. Mary Cheeran
Dr. David Francisco
Dr. Ellen Iannoli
Dr. Michael Villareale

"Dentistry"
Dr. Ronald Daymon
Dr. Brad Emery
Dr. Jan Piper-Glasgow
Dr. Wayne Jarvis
Dr. Carol Scuro

"Dermatology"
Dr. Walter Brooks
Dr. Elizabeth Francis
Dr. Steve Pelton
Dr. Helen Strapko

"Emergency Medicine"
Dr. Robert Giambrone - Med/Ped
Dr. Bruce Thompson

"Family Practice"
Dr. Vidush Athyal
Dr. William Bayer
Dr. Christine Borghi-Cavallaro
Dr. Eric Cederstrom
Dr. Michael Foster
Dr. Jeff Harp
Dr. David Holmes
Dr. Linda Lee
Dr. Matthew Mack
Dr. Kenya McIntosh
Dr. Michael McMullen
Dr. William Morehouse
Dr. David Ness
Dr. Mary Kay Ness
Dr. Hany Nissiem
Dr. Henry Paszko
Dr. Nicolas Venci
Dr. Norman Wetterau

==============================================

I do not believe in repaying evil for evil..but repaying evil with Love..


In Jesus Most Precious Name..
With Love..In Christ.. :)

Answer 2

It depends on the scope of the "education". Many people can have their heads crammed with knowledge, even "factual" knowledge, and still not be anywhere near "wisdom". Experience unfiltered by cultural bias can help round out one's understanding, but even that can be tricky. There are uneducated atheists, fueled strictly by blind rage, and religionists with PhDs, fully immersed in a fideistic fishbowl they can't perceive.

However, there seems to be a trend among those who study the widest aspects of their own belief systems, as well as something of the alternatives, to have a more nuanced view of their own faith. Atheists who study the great religions can develop an appreciation of the benefits of having a guiding myth. Religionists who investigate beyond the strictures of their creed can have insights into the advantages and flaws of their faith, as well as less stress about theological anomalies. Their scripture becomes more allegorical and more applicable to life than a literal interpretation could be.

The stereotype of a prelate warning his charges to avoid "unwholesome" literature has some validity. The more you know, the less "pure" your faith will be, but "pure" can simply mean "intolerant". There is "good" information and "bad" information out there, and no one agrees on which is which, only that both exist. One can obediently assign such a determination over to a religious authority, or one can try and figure it out for oneself. The latter takes critical thinking skills, which can only be developed through experience and a reasonable amount of exposure to different, incompatible ideas.

For years, I had the opinion that the richer one was, the less one needed religion. The poor look to religion to provide relief from their their misery and powerlessness. But the rich need it too, mainly to keep the poor believing. Maybe the same can be said for the intellectual argument.

Answer 3

The establishment of any religion is a part of "history". History is written by the victors and/or the dominant majority. However, Judaism was supplanted by Christianity yet both exist and Christains normally don't call Judaism mythology. Islam supplanted both Christianity and Judaism, yet all three exist and though the Jews and the Christains deny the validity of the Holy Qur'and and Mohammad as a prophet, Islam accepts both them and their scriptures as "ahl al kitab" (people of the book), their spiritual brothers and sisters (at least in theroy if not in practice). You are correct in that Christianity regulated the Norse, Greek, Roman, HIndu, Shinto, etc. beliefs to the catagory of myths. You are also correct that to those who hold to and/or practice these faiths, their beliefs are every much as valid as Christianity. For an intersting perspctive on this line of thought from the opposite view, learn about Japan, a "non-Christian" nation (with less than 2% of the populaton claiming to be Christian and even less claiming to be Muslim or Jewish). Buddhism and Shinto are the majority faiths and most persons in Japan believe that Christianity is mythology. All things depend on how one chooses to view them. May it all be well with you and this one thanks you for an original and thoughtful and thought provoking question.

Answer 4

Yes and no......

Rabbis are extremely educated. Their training is comparable to that of a Law Degree. Literally. It requires an astute mind, and volumnious study.

I know that many Islamic Mullahs are VERY well educated.

I know that many priests are extremely well educated.

I had a friend who had a Baptist Minister as a father...and he held a PHD....I assure you...he was among the brightest, and best educated men....I;ve ever known.

Most of the best Philosophers (or at least ones I dig and think make sense) were theologians.

On the other hand...there is no question that poor education, and poor economic conditions (they go hand in hand) lead to more fundamentalism and extremism. Take a look at the Islamic community. They have minimal success recruiting terrorists from inside Israel. Why? because they are well educated, and financially stable (at least compared to ones in...say...Lebanon).

There is NO question in my mind that the rise of fundamentalism in the US is closely tied to the increasing gap between the classes, the decline of the middle class, and the general failure of education in this nation.

Answer 5

Tim, you are just talking out your behind. There are very educated people who believe in religion and plenty of not -so-educated people who don't.

Take you for example. In fact look at your example -- the educated Sunnis and Shiites may think that violence won't solve problems (which I am not sure is itself true, and again you are just pulling your opinions from nowhere except your own bias and expectations), but they are still religious people.

Answer 6

Indeed. There are numerous studies that have correlated "more education" with "less religiosity." (If you look in my "answers" you will find at least 4 such studies.)
UPDATE: To "apmresearch".
You may indeed have all those credentials, but you seem to have skipped this area of research. The inverse relation between (both) intelligence and education relative to what's called the "religiosity index" has been established over, and over again..

And by the way, for those of you who feel compelled to mention how many educated people are religious; you;re missing the point. So instead of rattling of a bunch of Christian doctors, do the numbers and see how the distribution works out for doctors as a whole, or scientists, etc. No one is saying there aren't intelligent religions people. BUT THERE IS NO DOUBT THAT AS A WHOLE, WITH GREATER EDUCATION YOU ALSO GET LESS RELIGIOSITY - BY ANY MEASURE YOU WISH TO APPLY.

Answer 7

To an extent, you are right, the less educated the person, the more they will rely upon religious practices.

However, the Sunni's and Shiites are not using religious practice to kill each other; this is a cultural thing, not a religious one.

But I do get what you are saying.

Answer 8

I do believe that the more cluttered our minds become, the harder it is to feel Gods presence. A child who knew the presence of God before his mind became cluttered with worldly knowledge may struggle with faith issues during their life, but will always know God is out there. A child who grew up not knowing the presence of God, will have a very difficult time finding Him. There is so much clutter (knowledge) to sort through and they don't even know what they're looking for.

Answer 9

There are 6.5 billion people on Earth. There are only about 2% atheists. Do you think the rest of the people are uneducated? Do you think that believers can't see issues from another's point of view.

The people who are causing the problems in the world are the people who are mentally unstable, ignorant of spirituality, power happy, ruthless people who are using their understanding of God for their own selfish goals. Pathetic.

Answer 10

No! There is a difference between faith and blind faith. I have faith. What I mean by that is I have studied Christianity and have alot of evidence for what I believe. I don't just soak up anything that anybody tells me like a sponge.

Extra points to Loyal B!