Does anyone agree that people who believe in a "God" have lower intelligence than atheists?

Question

I'm not trying to cause an argument but most people I know who have a deep religious belief seem to generally have very low intelligence.

Answer 1

To me, it seems to be that those who are deeply religious lose the ability to think for themselves, which is sad.

Answer 2

You are acting like evolution is some sort of creature out there. It is not. It is a biological mechanism. Do you think that pregnancy has a conscience and can think? Evolution is very simple. There is nothing out there making a conscience decision that a creature will get a certain adaptation or not. It comes down to mutation. We all have mutations. You cannot get thru a day without getting a new one of some sort. They are very insignificant and usually mean nothing. Most mutated cells die quickly. However some mutations can give the animal an advantage. Lets say there is a group of animals. They feast on leaves. In the spring, the leaves on the trees are abundant. The animals feed like crazy. However, as spring passes and summer starts the reachable leaves on the trees are soon eaten. The only stuff left are the leaves further up the tree. The animals in the group that are taller than the others will have an advantage and can eat these leaves. They have a better chance of keeping nourished and have a better chance to keep on living. This means that there will be a better chance that their genes (including the genes that dictate how tall they were) will be passed on. The other animals without the tall gene will probably survive but with smaller odds. They have a smaller chance of passing on their genes. Given enough time, more and more animals of the population will be taller because the tall gene will have a better chance of being passes on. Lets say that an animal in the group has a mutation that gives a slightly longer neck. This gives that animal even more of an edge and a better chance of survival. Once again, the mutated gene that caused the longer neck has a better chance to be passed on. Given enough time, the gene will make it into the population and more animals will have the longer neck. The animals without the gene will have to compete with those that do. The ones with the gene have a better chance of surviving and passing on the gene. Now, multiply this scenario a million times. The animals will change slightly with each generation. In any single generation, the change might not be too noticable but over multiple generations, the change is noticable. Over millenia, the animals would be very different. Evolution works because it is giving the animals a better chance of survival. If it did as you suggest, gave the animals a smaller chance of survival, then the genes that were changed would result in more and more animals dying. Those that had the genes would be more likely to die and if they can pass on the genes, then those offspring would have a better chance of dying. This would result in the extinction of animals. That will not work. There is no evidence to suggest that there is a conscience behind evolution. Your reasoning is based on a leap of logic. "Evolution appears to be ordered therefore there is a conscienceness behind it" is a leap of logic. There is no evidence to support it.

Answer 3

Hmmm....I believe in God, I have a Bachelor's Degree, work at a health clinic and am quite intelligent. My niece is a very successful doctor and she is a Christian. My sister is also a Christian and she is a nurse. I have a nephew who is a police officer and he is also a Christian. My cousins are all Christians who make 6-figure salaries - one would think if they were not very intelligent, they would not be able to be so financially successful. When my parents were alive, my mother, a Christian, was an accountant and my father, also a Christian, was a civil engineer. It's not easy to have such careers if one is not very intelligent. Let's not forget the countless scientists, teachers, doctors and intellectual scholars who also believe in God. Just because the people you associate with who happen to believe in God may have a more simplistic way of speaking or acting, does not make them less intelligent, nor is there any correlation between their belief in God and their level of intelligence. Perhaps you need to broaden your horizons a bit. Set foot in many churches and you will find people with PhD's, MD's, teachers, scholars, plumbers, housewives and people from all walks of life - all people who believe in God.

Answer 4

Studies have shown that, on average, theists have lower IQ and are less educated than atheists.

http://kspark.kaist.ac.kr/Jesus/Intelligence%20&%20religion.htm
http://www.vexen.co.uk/religion/intelligence.html
http://www.huppi.com/kangaroo/L-thinkingchristians.htm

I also think that it is common sense that simply having faith in an idea does not require much intelligence. It requires conviction, but blocking all doubt out of your mind to achieve that 100% certainty doesn't really allow for a rational thought process. Having an idea and then systematically proving it to be true requires more intelligence than faith.

Answer 5

You asking this question lowers your own intelligence. I mean, look how you ask this........'I'm not trying to cause an argument......, c'mon. No, I have not found your theory true. I find closed minded people in general of low intelligence. You, my friend, are on my prayer list

Answer 6

Not necessarly, although my experience has been similar to yours. But I have known people who are highly intelligent and also are believers. I think belief in god requires a high capacity for self-deception and denial that is often, but not always related to lack of intelligence.

Answer 7

I know that I am not that intelligent, but I am happy with who I am, knowing Jesus. He makes up for all that I don't have in the brain area! If having lower intelligence makes for a deeper religious belief sign me up.

Answer 8

That's an easy excuse. Sounds like a mocked up argument for giving atheists a foundation for respectability, which is what they're always fighting to achieve. The tough part about atheism is that it's based on zero...which is why people will always race towards the substance that Christ offers.

Answer 9

No.
Go ahead look at the website Phoenix Gave you it proves nothing. In fact true intelligence cannot be accurately measured.
The only use of the current tests is to pre-determine if you would be successful on a game show. Example: trivial pursuit.

Answer 10

I would disagree: there seem to be people on both sides of the issue who are intelligent and idiots. Rather, I believe it is an issue of comfort, fear, and group psychology as well as indoctrination.

Answer 11

I believe they have a lower "Logic Quotient" . I also belive they profess their faith as a result of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder usually a result of brainwashing during childhood .