Is there a correlation between religion and intelligence/lack of intelligence?

Question

I believe that the majority of athiests are high level thinking, intelligent people. Im not saying that religious people are dumb, im saying that many 'dumb' people are religious. Is this valid?

Please note that i am not insulting ANYONE. I am merely looking for opinions, so if you do not agree, state your justification, but please do not attack me. I meant no offense

Answer 1

You are grossly mislead. There is absolutely no correlation between IQ and religion. There may be one between how smart someone thinks they are (pride) and atheism though.

Answer 2

I've HEARD that there is an inverse relationship between intelligence and "religiosity". Personally, I'm very skeptical about this. There's no universally-accepted definition of intelligence (or religiosity, for that matter); it's a nebulous concept, and there's no good reason to assume that people should be ranked on a linear scale. Of course, there are well-defined indicators such as IQ and religious self-identification, but you rarely hear these terms; instead, it's typically just "intelligence" and "religiosity". Furthermore, people have a bad track record when it comes to justifying prejudices with specious claims about intelligence (remember the James Watson scandal?).

What I HAVE read, from one source, is that atheists are more educated (that is, have had more years of education) than people of faith (although this is a bold statement, given the sample size). I read this in a study called, simply, "Atheists" (see sources). It was a good read and the methodology was sound. The authors had very humble ambitions, which is refreshing when all the bookstores are crammed with books proclaiming revolutionary perspectives. No, the sample size was infinitesimal: a couple atheist clubs in the US, and parents of students taking the authors' classes in Canada. They make no bones about the fact that the study is essentially just a novelty and doesn't represent the entire human population.

Unfortunately, I think we are all born with this tendency to think our group is smarter, funnier, more physically attractive, etc. than all the other groups. This lensing effect could be responsible for tribalism, racism, sexism, even patriotism and school spirit. Armed with nothing more than a handful of personal experiences and a hunch, I think any extrapolation to the world as a whole is going to be problematic.

Answer 3

well both my husband and I are believers and he has a genius IQ, was in gifted and talented classes and all honors classes in high school, is highly respeccted at work because of his intelligence and leadership skills.
I was in honors math and English, gifted and talented classes and graduated with a 4.0 average, my IQ test guaged me at just under genius IQ and I passed a Mensa test, though never joined. I am a stay at home mom who homeschools her children.
Most Christians, that I know , anyway, are very intelligent, very well studied, can hold their own in any intellectual conversation and I seriously doubt anyone would call them even close to dumb.
Though I know many very intelligent athiests, I know quite a few who answer questions about things they have no knowledge about, who have no interest in learning new things, cannot have an intelligent conversation to save their life, and the list goes on.
Just because someone does not agree with your ideas and beliefs does not make them dumb. Your theory is quite flawed.
I wonder about the intelligence of those that would ask questions like this with no real data to support their stereotypical, prideful thinking.

Answer 4

Well many distinguished minds will say that because there are more people in the country who have faith in a higher power it is more likely that people who believe in God are the majority in most categories. Faith in God has nothing to do with education or level of intelligence. It depends on how you were raised and many other hosting factors. Many educated people and people who are considered intelligent differ in religious and spiritual beliefs. Intelligence doesn't make a person question Gods existence, that is something that resides in the inquiring mind.

Answer 5

Yes.

http://kspark.kaist.ac.kr/Jesus/Intelligence%20&%20religion.htm

CD

Answer 6

I bet you're one of those super intelligent atheist, aren't you?
I see a lot of people who think their smart. Having conversations about how smart they are with other smart people all talking about how much smarter they are than other people.
Here's a fact, Darwin (the leader of the ultra intelligent atheist religion) believes in God now. He doesn't think he is so smart now.
I know you think you're smarter than me ( maybe you are, in book smart anyway) but most of you are wise in your own eyes.
If you take the wisdom of all the wisest people ever in the world combined it would fit on the head of a pin, in comparison Gods wisdom would surpass the universe.
There is a God and your not him.
P.S.
You're pretty full of yourself aren't you?
Just because you act smart, talk smart and look down on people who don't think like you and agree with everything you say doesn't make you smart.
You meant no offense, give me a break. You really do think I'm stupid.
Here's more proof you are misled.
Recently a perfect score on the sat/act exam. By a Christian girl home schooled in a Christian home.
Check the scores across the board for home schooled Christians to those of atheist in the super intelligent gene pool. How did your kids score genius? By the way you never answered any of my questions. Were they too difficult for you?

Answer 7

Many intelligent people have no common sense either....
Harvard and Yale were founded on Christianity so if the graduates from there are dumb you have your answer.

Answer 8

Yes -

I know many "smart" people and they are 50/50 religious and not...

But the ignorant people I know are almost always stricken with dogmatic religious thinking...

Buddhism is a religion too... and it focuses primarily on concentration, ascending and enlightenment...
So to say that religious people are dumb wouldn't exactly cut it...
That's like saying that scientists are all smart... which is obviously not the case since there is no cure for cancer or AIDS yet...

Answer 9

Actually, many of the highly religious people tend to have high IQs. It's just that they use their brain to stretch and rationalize away any opposing arguments towards their deeply-held, central religious beliefs.

Answer 10

I think people stereotype religious people. They are from the South, poor and ignorant. However, many people who believe in God are both excellent in spirit and mind. As a matter of fact, many of the classics were written by people who had strong beliefs in God. It's even been said that in order to understand them you have to have read the Bible. So I do not believe there's a correlation.

Answer 11

Studies consistently show a strong correlation between extremely high IQ and lack of belief. They also show a strong correlation between extremely low IQ and lack of belief.