IQ has nothing to do with belief in God or otherwise. It's just a test of certain types of intelligence, and also (as you pointed out) a test of how good you are at taking tests of this type. I can also get a pretty high score on an IQ test (around 150) but I'm not more intelligent than other people - I just happen to think in the right kind of way for the questions that are asked.
Belief is more personal, based on faith rather than logic (although in my view it's much more logical to believe in God than to believe everything happened by chance). But some intelligent types who don't believe in God try to poke fun at those of us who do - possibly because they actually feel a bit insecure about their lack of belief. Insulting Christians' intelligence probably makes them feel better.
2007-12-18 05:12:43
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answer #1
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answered by Kukana 7
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I'll give you a serious answer, as you probably won't get many.
No, I don't think there's a direct correlation between IQ and religious belief. There are mentally retarded people who follow religions, and believe what they teach, as well as MENSA members. There are also atheists at both ends of the intellect scale.
What a high IQ offers you is the ability to learn quickly and make good use of the information you collect as a result. So, it stands to reason that intelligent young people read more, and have more choices open to them, with regards to religion.
What I have noticed is that people with high IQ's are more likely to question what they were taught as children, and go on to find their own way, religiously, rather than just following the beliefs of their forefathers. This may mean they switch from "believing" to atheist, or vice versa, OR, and this seems to be the most common decision, to follow a DIFFERENT religion than their parents, or a different version thereof.
The example that springs to mind first is the number of intelligent young people raised in a Fundamentalist religion who with education and careful consideration, move to a more liberal stance. There are also a good number of brighter young people who move from dogmatic religions to freer ones, such as Neo-Paganism. Intelligence allows one to be a "freethinker", and no examine doctrine carefully rather than taking it with "blind faith".
2007-12-18 05:19:01
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answer #2
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answered by Anonymous
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Look up a list of famous historical figures who are known for having great minds. There have been a few studies and experiments to determine their IQs. Then look up the religious beliefs on those people. They come in all shades.
A lot of people here will claim that the more intelligent you are, the less you are likely to be a theist. The way I see it, we can only be individual examples. I don't need some stat or number to validate my intelligence, nor my belief in God. I'm just me.
2007-12-18 05:13:03
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answer #3
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answered by Rachel loves lasagna 4
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There is only one reason that a theist would score as high on a test as an agnostic:
The test has a Judeo-Christian bias. There is no way to make an unbiased IQ test. This has been proven by numerous studies.
As a test, we should give the test to a terrorist (Islamic fundamentalist and theist, BTW) who has a reputation of being intelligent, like bin Laden. These guys are RETARDS by your biased tests. Turns out they really are retards, but that's not the point. The point is that YOU really are retarded, and to prove it, I suggest you take their retard's test (an Islamic biased IQ test). My guess is that your IQ on that would be around 42. Good luck! your test begins now...
2007-12-18 05:58:18
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answer #4
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answered by Anonymous
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Just looking at some of the influential scientists who believed in God, I don't think theism is a reflection of low IQ.
Nicholas Copernicus
Sir Francis Bacon
"It is true, that a little philosophy inclineth man’s mind to atheism, but depth in philosophy bringeth men's minds about to religion; for while the mind of man looketh upon second causes scattered, it may sometimes rest in them, and go no further; but when it beholdeth the chain of them confederate, and linked together, it must needs fly to Providence and Deity."
Johannes Kepler
Rene Descartes
Isaac Newton
"The most beautiful system of the sun, planets, and comets, could only proceed from the counsel and dominion on an intelligent and powerful Being."
Robert Boyle
Michael Faraday
Brother Gregor Mendel
William Thomson Kelvin
Louis Pasteur
Max Planck
Albert Einstein
"Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind."
2007-12-18 05:24:03
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answer #5
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answered by Anonymous
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I don't think it's necessarily the IQ that indicates how much you believe in God. I think the argument is that people with higher IQ's are more likely to learn more things, more likely to be exposed to education and therefore more likely to think independnently about things, so they might second guess religion... not necessarily God. They might question th reasons for certain practices and the paths that different religions follow
Sometimes this naturally follows with the questioning of the existence of God by exploring the philosophical side of God, but it doesn't necessarily have to rock your belief. It just means you're less likely to take what's spoon fed to you without thinking independently about it and making sure that's the direction you want to follow in your life.
2007-12-18 05:11:50
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answer #6
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answered by GreenIYD 5
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First of all, did you take a *real* IQ test or pop-psych one? Because the real ones take at least an hour for the shortest one, and have to be administered by a licensed psychologist... And they take hundreds of dollars to administer.
But there are plenty of pop tests floating around.
Anyway, I'm not convinced intelligence influences mere theism that much. A lot of very smart people are pantheistic or deistic. But I don't see that as religion.
2007-12-18 05:10:39
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answer #7
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answered by STFU Dude 6
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As I said when this was posted earlier, there have been studies done that show a correlation between IQ and strength of theistic belief. In general, the higher your IQ, the less likely you are to believe in a personal god. This does not mean that having a high IQ will result in atheism, nor does it mean that a lower IQ will result in strong theism. There is simply a correlation.
2007-12-18 05:13:48
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answer #8
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answered by Anonymous
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IQ, high or low has no statistical influence on your religion or lack thereof. I believe pagans and occultists are smart people, (Crowley, Jack Parsons, WB Yeats) and I'm sure Catholics point to people like Pierre Telhaird de Chardin, and Jews to Freud and Einstein, and Atheists to Neitche... but when it comes down to it, we can all point to genius' within our own communities, so IQ must not designate a faith or lack thereof.
2007-12-18 05:16:04
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answer #9
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answered by Anonymous
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i don't think of that this would be a superb assumption to make whilst evaluating the assertion you made to the hyperlink which you revealed. perception in God would not decrease intelligence. even inspite of the undeniable fact that, I do think of that atheists in all probability have severe ordinary intelligence because of the fact international locations severe on the social progression scare at those that enable human beings to have arguable man or woman ideals.
2016-10-02 01:29:41
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answer #10
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answered by chappel 4
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