Do atheists have more education?

Question

I'm not asking if atheists are smarter, but are there any statistics on education levels of atheists versus persons of other beliefs?

Again I'm not putting anyone down, so don't freak out at me, it's just a question. And I mean education, as in schooling, not smarts as in IQ, as I fundamentally do not think most humans are that different in IQ.

Answer 1

Well, as far as education look at it this way:

Athiests aren't more likely to be higher educated than Religious people- BUT....

The more education someone has, the more likely they will be athiest.

Answer 2

That's a varied and interesting question. Considering that atheists only make up around five percent of the population, it would be difficult to cull that answer. That being said, atheists, like their fundamentalist counterparts, have a wide array of educational backgrounds. Richard Dawkins, for example, is an evolutionary biologist who obtained a PhD early on in his career. Julia Sweeney has a Bachelors degree in Accounting. Penn & Teller don't have any college or university credits between the two of them.

Answer 3

Yes, there is a correlation between higher education and atheism. For example:

Professors are most likely to be atheists or agnostics at elite doctoral institutions (37 percent) and less likely to be non-believers at community colleges (15 percent).

Although higher education does not mean you are automatically an atheist, the percentage of atheists with higher education is greater than that of the general population.

Answer 4

NO - just a different belief system.
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AnIqV5.KEzI3mOPN9DDVD0Hsy6IX?qid=20070404100411AAAhqvZ

Atheist Criticisms of Religion

The bad

Not all atheists are hostile to religion, but many do think that religion is bad. Here are some of their reasons:

Religion gets people to believe something untrue.
Religion makes people base the way they run their lives on a falsehood.
Religion stops people thinking in a rational and objective way.
Religion forces people to rely on outside authority, rather than becoming self-reliant.
Religion imposes irrational rules of good and bad behaviour.
Religion divides people, and is a cause of conflict and war.
The hierarchical structure of most religions is anti-democratic, and thus offends basic human rights.
Religion doesn't give equal treatment to women and gay people, and thus offends basic human rights.
Religion obstructs scientific research.
Religion wastes time and money.

The good

Most atheists willingly concede there are some good things about religion, such as:

Religious art and music.
Religious charities and good works.
Much religious wisdom and scripture.
Human fellowship and togetherness.

Answer 5

I have a Bachelors of Science Degree. My best friend who is Catholic had 3 of them. I really don't see the connection. However I think there might be a difference between Fundementalist education levels vs. Moderate and Atheist

Answer 6

There is a direct correlation between religiousness and the level of education a person has.
The higher the education and IQ, the less their tolerance will be for such childish notions as religion.

Answer 7

''i'm Russian and that i lived interior the organic atheistic united states of america , the U.S.'' u.s. does not exist anymore and Russia isn't an atheistic united states of america. FAIL count style: a million. ''This united states of america replaced into created by the main great atheist of the international,Vladimir Lenin'' Lenin replaced into never a ''great atheist''. Atheists never see him that way. He replaced right into a mass-assassin, a tyrannical ruler, a corrupt dictator. FAIL count style: 2 ''Darwin`s evolution had lots of holes based on the micro evolution which we already had.'' Bullsh!t allegation which you probably did no longer back up. FAIL count style: 3 ''additionally I quite have got here upon that Albert Einstein never replaced into an atheist, he replaced right into a deist'' quite? ''The word God is for me no longer something extra desirable than the expression and manufactured from human weak point, the Bible a number of of honorable, yet nevertheless only primitive, legends that are nonetheless notably infantile'' = Einstein. Its honest to declare Einstein replaced into an agnostic. FAIL count style: 4 ''and that i think of that soul is definitely one of those capability which the technology nevertheless isn't waiting to degree'' we don't provide a rat's @ss to what you ''think of''. FAIL count style: 5 ''permit you examine the 1st regulation of thermodynamics(the regulation of conservation of capability ). ANY capability isn't waiting to vanish or to die !'' sure. capability can't be created nor destroyed. yet this does not help in any way in spite of argument you try to kick up. FAIL count style: 6 ''what preparation do you have ?'' i'm a oftentimes happening twelve months pupil at severe college. thank you for enjoying. yet you FAIL.

Answer 8

According to a Gallup Poll conducted in 2005 regarding religiosity world-wide, 66% of people across the globe consider themselves to be religious. 71% of North Americans consider themselves religious, and only 1% of North Americans identify themselves as convinced atheists.

When you break it down by education, amongst people who have a high level education (at least some post-secondary schooling), 64% identify themselves as religious, 27% define themselves as non-religious but also not atheists (agnostics, I guess), and 7% identify themselves as convinced atheists (2% chose not to answer). Amongst people who have no education or only primary schooling, 76% identify themselves as religious, 18% define themselves as non-religious but non-atheist, and only 3% say they are convinced atheists (3% chose not to answer).

So yes, it would appear that the more education you have, the less likely you are to be religious.

The full poll results are linked to in the sources section.

Answer 9

Looked at worldwide and including all religions then the answer has to be yes. The percentage of people with college degrees among the entire religious population is lower than the percentage of atheists with college degrees.

Answer 10

Atheists are sometimes smarter considering what they know to certain lengths.I know several Atheists(a few of my close friends and a cousin of mine)and they are smarter than me with all the everyday things but I am much smarter Spiritually with who I am and what I know for the type of things I'm into, all the subjects that go along with what I believe is way over their heads!

Answer 11

I think the proper answer to that is that more athiest are made in our college system that anywhere else. Our universities tend to hire secular huminists for professors, which really is a religion in itself. They ignore a lot of evidence and truth to indoctrinate young minds that wanted to get an education.