How can I ask this question without sounding rude or condescending?

Question

I'll start by admitting I know nothing about anything, so hurl away with the insults should you feel compelled.

But it's been proven, at least by correlational data, that the more educated a population is, the less likely it adheres to religious beliefs. Yet, the United States, the most powerful (and, in my opinion, greatest) country in the world is deeply religious.

Question: Is the population of the United States well educated?

Answer 1

your question has some generalizations in it, but your main point seems to be that given the inverse correlation between education and traditional religious beliefs, can we draw a conclusion about a population that seems to be religious? only if the correlation runs in that direction. in other words, its not always the case that if A, then B means if B then A. Sometimes its a more complicated path backward.

if you had data that said the more religious a person is, the less likely they are to be well educated, then you might be able to draw the inference you are asking about.

The data I saw on this was not education, but intelligence, as traditionally measured. What I thought was interesting about that is the challenge with defining and measuring intelligence.

I think we can assume that there are forms of intelligence we have yet to discover in the scientific sense, and that its possible that religious people might have a greater share of that kind of intelligence, but are unable to explain or express it to others.

I am agnostic, and I continue to be suprised that everyone else isn't too. Yet clearly, there are people who seem intelligent enough, but hold fast to belief in God. Its tempting to dismiss them as being brainwashed, but yet you do wonder, if there aren't some insights that some people have that are just very difficult to explain in conventional terms.

Its especially hard to keep an open mind about religion when you see how its been corrupted by people with bad intent, or how the power that comes from religious organizations can corrupt individuals. this is not to say religion itself is corrupt, just that individuals remain susceptible to being seduced and corrupted by power.

Its all very interesting, and no doubt we will learn more as time goes on. Congratulations to you for thinking critically about it.

Answer 2

Most Educated Countries
Rank Country Percentage of population aged 25-64 that have attained a tertiary level of education (OECD Countries)
1 Canada 44.0
2 United States 38.4
3 Japan 37.4
4 Sweden 33.4
5 Finland 33.3
6 Denmark 31.9
7 Australia 31.3
8 Norway 31.0
9 New Zealand 30.9
10 Korea, South 29.5
11 Belgium 29.0
12 United Kingdom 28.0
13 Switzerland 27.0
14 Ireland 26.3
15 Iceland 26.3
16 Spain 25.2
17 Netherlands 24.4
18 Germany 24.0
19 France 23.4
20 Greece 18.3
21 Hungary 15.4
22 Mexico 15.4
23 Luxembourg 14.9
24 Austria 14.5
25 Poland 14.2
26 Czech Republic 12.0
27 Slovakia 11.8
28 Portugal 10.8
29 Italy 10.4
30 Turkey 9.7

Answer 3

That's OK, we get so many outright rude and condescending questions on here that it doesn't matter. But thanks for trying to put it delicately.

I think it's a good question, as to to what extent education levels have on religious fervor. For example, is there a direct correlation, or is the education level an indirect measurement proportional to poverty level, etc.?

I do think the math and science programs here in the US, at least in the public schools, are notably behind other countries. So in that sense I'd say we're undereducated. We're not teaching critical thinking skills; students just learn how to regurgitate data and copy off each other's lab reports. I don't think this is the only reason though why we have a disproportionate amount of religious zealots.

As for IQ, Michael Shermer, in his book "Why People Believe Weird Things", pointed out that IQs among zealots tend to be higher, not lower. This is because they're better at rationalizing away contradictions that challenge a fundamental belief that they guard.

Answer 4

Then US is ranked last among the industrialized first world countries it so proudly leads! In general terms the US ranks among the very last countries in overall intelligence, culture and social grace. At least a third of the US population cannot point out the US on an unmarked mapa mundi, let alone any other country! The bulk of the professional athletes in the US (98% are college graduates) don't know how many quarts in a gallon, how many states are in the Union, or who Mark Twain was, let alone anything about world history, geography or anything else, for that matter!

We are a nation who believes the findings of the 9/11 commission which bears discrepancies that even grade schools have pointed out. Your assertion is quite correct! The more ignorant you are or purposely let yourself become, the easier it is to cajole, coerce, confuse and lie to you! Considering that religion is a set of rules based on an ancient desire to control the 'morality' of a decadent society, one can easily see that it has turned into a very lucrative and indispensable tool of mass control and class manipulation. It takes but a brief look at some of the question and answers on YA to illustrate my point!

Answer 5

There are a lot of points to which one might respond in your question, and I think the answer would depend on how we look at the american population. There are LOT of VERY educated americans, and lots of extremely uneducated americans. The study to which you are referring really does not exactly apply in this context however. The study seems to support that superstition and blind religious adherence declines with education level. This, I believe is quite true, but in my personal experience american religion (If you can even speak of a country's religion as a whole as a single entity) is a vestige of older times. There is an extreme duplicity, especially in the christian traditions. Many people refer to the phenomenon as "putting god in a box." They attend church on Sundays, maybe tithe, and own a bible, but the rest of the week, in general their behaviors are really not determined by their religion. They don't have the real superstition that is expected to go along with religious adherance.

Education levels are improving, but it is not uncommon to find a breach in logic between the higher education levels of religious people and their theology. It's pandemic in major conservative religions across the globe. It's like the logical brain turns off when some people walk into a mosque, church, or synagogue. Traditions, and the faiths of our parents tend to over ride the thinking and reasoning parts of our psyche.

And I think that you WILL find that religious adherence is waivering in the United States as well as many other countries. The defection of people from religion is becoming much more commong, but the phenomenon is lagging a generation or two behind the levels of education as parents raise their children to think for themselves.

Answer 6

This is only my opinion - When people are focused on material things, like the US is, then there is not much room for a spiritual life at all. This doesnt mean that you can't be highly educated and still be religious..but it seems as though when you go for a career, a house, etc. you have enough to worry about as it is, without throwing God into the mix - because "he will always be there..."

I struggle with this too.. how to balance spirituality with materiality (materiality in the sense of career, owning a home, family, etc.)

So, I think its not as much as education, although its been proven - but moreso how focused a country or people are on thier possessions, etc.

Answer 7

I wouldn't say that the US has the worst educational system in the world.

Possibly the worst in the industrialized world, but I'm sure it compares favourably to the educational system in Chad, Gabon or most of Micronesia.

Interestingly enough, it's also been shown that nations with the highest proportions of religious belief (i.e. US, Spain, Portugal) also have the highest levels of murder, violent crime, divorce and more abortions per capita than non-religious countries. The lowest rates are in those countries with the highest proportions of atheists (Japan, Sweden, Iceland).

Kinda makes you wonder about that whole atheists=immoral thing that the religious folk keep going on about.

Answer 8

Yes. the whole education increases, religiousness decreases is within a population. So if you have a very religious population (ie the US), the more educated are usually less religious. If you have a very weak religious society, the same is true. It is relative to the population you are looking at.

Answer 9

In the south, no. Take away the entire southern belt of the U.S and you get a stable number of people actually looking to learn something. Unfortunately, the U.S also tends to have more MONEY than anyone else, because of this, too much is just 'handed' to the next generation. I'm still in highschool, I'm trying to learn as much in those four years as possible. Not to take on a specific career in English or Biology (Two of my favorite subjects, despite my horrid spelling), but because I'm actually interested in the subjects. On the whole, the U.S School system is god-aweful. We by far have the wors school system on earth. I pretty much abandoned hope in school, I now learn for myself my doing research online and pretending school is teaching me anything at all. In most cases, in the U.S...Students are not required to do work CORRECTLY, as long as it's done. You're graded on how much you turn in, not on how much you got correct. What's wrong with the world today?!

Antdak; You're very misinformed. England and China are two of the most popularly secular countries there are.

Answer 10

We have lost the art of critical thinking...it was exchanged for mass education to support the military and economic machine post civil war. Read about the Prussian education system that was the model for our present public education system...our society stopped trying to make independent thinkers a hundred years ago....and that's why our population is much more interested in Brittany and Paris than they are in what's going on in the world economically or politically.