Do Christians really tend to have higher IQs then the nonchristians?

Question

If so, why do you speculate this is the case?

based on research presented by the 700 club, Pat Robertsons organization. The study also says that Christians tend to be healthier and happier as well.

Answer 1

that makes no sense. i dont think you can put christianity and logic in the same sentence. what about those people like me who were born and raised catholic but got a little too smart and stopped believing?

Answer 2

Dude, i don't know if u've taken a good look around, but Robertson and his followers aren't anywhere near being scientists, or anything that requires the use of logic. If they say they employed whatever sorry excuse they have for research, u may well assume it's something meant to downgrade Non-Christians, and be totally biased. Biased often means incorrect, to answer the question.

All of u who say that the healthier,happier thing is true, I just gotta say that the right way of living can give anyone happiness and health. That way is seen and practiced in every religion known today, just not by everyone in the group.
Christianity is no exception to that.

Answer 3

No, this is not in any form true, and the research done by the 700 club was completely biased and not in any way a decent poll of the lifestyles of religious people. I know many non-christians who have a very high IQ, higher than many christians I know. I myself have a higher IQ than most people I know in general, I am a Wiccan Priest, I am happy and have a good lifestyle, I make decent money as a college professor, so yes I would have to say they are wrong. Most of my pagan friends have good lives and good jobs, and are happier with their lives than most non-pagans I know. Even many of the pagans I know who do not have decent jobs I think seem to be happier with their spirituality, partly because they are focused on their own beliefs and not what everyone else is doing out there. They accept that others believe differently than they do, and have no problem with it, unlike many non-pagans who are constantly obsessed with what other religions are doing and why other people choose to believe different things than they do.

Answer 4

There is no unbiased, scientific evidence that religion (or lack thereof) has any correlation with IQ whatsoever. You'll find stuff from the 700 Club that is obviously biased and lacking in validity, and I'm sure out there is an "Atheists are Smart Association" that will do some biased research that shows the opposite. In the end, individuals have IQs, and not groups. So who cares?

Answer 5

Do you really think a Christian based organization would publish a "study" that Christians had lower IQs, were less healthy, or less happy?

This is worse than using the bible to prove the bible so you can cite a source from the bible to prove something about the bible.

By the way, I'm Wiccan, and my IQ is in the top 2% of the world. 5 of my friends, all Pagan and Wiccan are just as smart as me, if not smarter.

Answer 6

I have seen legitimate research that Christians are happier in many cases, but this is also true af many delusional people. Not put Christians in the same category as the mentally ill, but Christians do have a different mindset that non-Christians that allows them to "leave everything in God's hands" and stop worrying.

Answer 7

Mensa's monthly magazine published an article examining some 40+ studies on the subject that have been conducted since 1927, and all but four of them found an INVERSE relationship between IQ and religiosity, or education and religiosity.

And for the bonus point -- name ONE Nobel Laureate in a scientific category who was a Christian fundamentalist.

Answer 8

I wouldnt doubt that they might be healthier and happier
social interaction is good for people and when theres nothing else...the believers go to church and are around other people..the false hopes about living forever are probably very soothing and can do good for the nerves

but higher iq? Ha! I've seen studies that say different

Answer 9

Alright, look at who is publishing the research...of course Pat Robertson would say that they are smarter, happier, and healthier. Why would anyone want to convert to something that is full of people who are dumb, depressed,and sick?

Answer 10

And you actually believe anything that comes out of the 700 club. That is a good indication that christians have seriously lower IQ's.

Answer 11

As a Christian myself I would be suspicious of such a claim.
In regards to being happier and healthier, Biblical living, when applied consistently across all areas of ones life will produce a happy and healthy person is so much as the flesh can be.