are uneducated people more religious than educated people?

Question

are uneducated people more religious than educated people? to me it would seem so. it you clearly think about it ... religion convinces people that there is an invisible man, who they never met, who watches every action they do at all times and in all places.

Answer 1

well, the scientifically educated seem to be less religious

Answer 2

No need to look that up, I already know. Yes, the more educated a person is, usually the less likely that person will become a believer. Although, the level of education is not 100% the reason for this, but it is one reason for it. Some persons I have met have little more than about a 4th grade education, but they know things that some others I have met having Ph.D.s do not even begin to understand. It is true, there are many truly ignorant educated persons. My Grand-dad had a definition for such educated-not-so-smart-persons; he would sometimes say; "there goes another educated fool" The thing about education, it can allow a person to research more and therefore learn from research what the truth is instead of sitting in a smelly church, like one person we all now hear about everyday, and listening to some preacher who knows he/she is telling lies for money or if they do not know that they are telling lies then they are just plain stupid. But what does that make those who sit and listening and accept that BS for over 20 years. It makes such persons not so well fit for anything at all, and surely there has to be a lose screw in their make-up.

Answer 3

The assumption that all religious people are less educated is definitely not accurate, however, there are statistics that will clearly show that uneducated people are >> generally, typically, more often, more likely to be, as a rule, whatever you want to call it, << more religious than educated people. Of course, this is not an absolute rule and there are many exceptions to this in both directions, so claims of personal variations from this norm, such as ones mentioned here by other answerers, are quite meaningless.

Answer 4

There have been studies that seem to bear out that more uneducated people tend to be religious, while the higher one goes up the educational ladder, the less religious one tends to become. Obviously this is not true in all cases, but it has been observed in a study. I'll find the citation and post it here soon.

"The more educated I become - the more ridiculous I think it is to believe in "life by accidental random chance"."

I agree with you! Good thing atheism doesn't advocate believing in "life by accidental random chance."

"Not so sure. Dr. Michael Behe, prominent ID supporter has a Ph.D. from a very good university.

This is no way is meant to be a slight against the gentleman, though I do differ with him regarding evolution."

LOL - Behe is just proof that you can hold a high degree and still be a moron. A biology 101 student in a community college can understand why the bacterial flagellum motor is not irreducibly complex. Why can't Behe?

Answer 5

Religion and spirituality of all kinds, tend to decrease with the overall advance of a culture. A poor culture, tends to see gods, and forces beyond their comprehension for things they don't understand. So an educated culture understands why rains come, primitive ones don't....so they tend more to thank the good gods...and hate the bad ones.

However, big however here, and it is an undeniable truth that...in the US of A...Christians..(and be careful here, because this is not universal to religions , or religiosity overall) tend to be far more educated than the average american and far more wealthy.

So..there are really 2 answers, and both are undeniable when examined by an open mind.

As cultures advance, adherence to religion becomes less important...not necessarily belief..just adherence and practice.

However, in the US, Christians are more educated, on average than any other group with the same demographics otherwise.

Hope it helps..

Answer 6

I think the answer really depends. First of all, what do you mean by educated? Formal edcuaton? Life of hard knocks? Upbringing? You have to remember, a lot of people view being 'religious' and being 'spiritual' as two different things. While some find their spirituality through being Catholic, Baptist, Buddhist, etc...others feel they can be very religious and spiritual, but do not need to go to church every Sunday in order to prove this point. Being spiritual...a good person, believing in a higher power and the like doesn't require any specific religion. Religion was created for people to gather and learn, give tithes to the Church...but religion offers people a sense of commonality, knowing they are not alone in their beliefs, a community source of believing. So, back to my original statement, it really depends. Lots of educated people consider themselves religious/spiritual, but so do a lot of people some would consider to be uneducated. Toss the coin, see where it falls.

Answer 7

Are uneducated people more religious than educated people? As a general rule, my personal belief is that this is the case.
Highly educated people tend to be more spiritual than religious, accepting that there are good insights, as well as flaws, to every religion.

I think faith is a wonderful thing - belief that there is a greater meaning, something more than the life we are currently living. It's organized religion I have a problem with - shoving their ideas and beliefs down peoples throats, trying to make political policy to conform to their ideals (Stem cells, Abortion, Gay Marraige, etc).

Answer 8

Well first, I know people on both ends. Highly educated, as well as not highly educated.

Though it is probably true, for this reason.

God works on faith, and the very (biblical) definition of faith is prof in what you cannot see.

scientists, however, revolve their lives around what can be explained. God cannot be proved without faith.



Furthermore, Faith and science do work together. It is amazing how many things in the bible line up perfectly with scientific facts.

Some scientists have found what they call "missing time" in star time. Approx. one day and one hour. In the old testament there is a time when God held time back time for one hour, also another time when God did something with one day. I do not recall exactly where, but if asked I will be happy to find those scriptures!

Answer 9

Yes, uneducated people are more religious--specifically more conservatively religious (i.e. hold very traditional beliefs such as creationism as the absolute truth; Bible as the absolute truth taken literally etc.) than educated people, who are more accepting of science, logic etc. due to better educational opportunities (and if they are still religious, they tend to be more left-wing than their conservative, uneducated counterparts). It also makes sense because uneducated people tend to be poorer, giving them more social and economic hardships that give them more reason/need to seek comfort in a god or religious system (God is the source of absolute morality in an immoral world; at least they'll have a pleasant afterlife despite suffering on this Earth, for examples). This is the main explanation for why the majority of people who believe the televangelists and fundamental groups are poor people from the Southern US.

EDIT: I agree wholeheartedly with CC (below). You cannot attempt to disprove statistics of an entire population via your personal anecdotes i.e. "My family is highly educated AND religious SO that statement is wrong." It is the TENDENCY for the MAJORITY of uneduated people to be conservatively religious. We are not saying that every educated person is not religious. It's the way statistics and "social trends" work, people.

Answer 10

No, there are lots of people educated in Bible history etc., there are people who are available for language studies to help better interpret what is written, there are archaeologists who can prove that some of these people and places actually existed and fill in all the details that aren't included in the people. Enlightenment is something different than education. It's about what works as experienced throughout the world and throughout history. It's not for everyone.

Answer 11

I would suspect that there might be an inverse relationship between one's IQ and their belief in religion. This of course is not the rule, but I believe that there is some correlation between a higher IQ and atheism. I can think of many examples of people I know personally that show this relationship, and I can think of some people that do not. I've also tended to notice that women seem to be more religious than men are. I prefer logic and to deduce things for myself than to believe in a book written long ago.