A new review of 63 scientific studies stretching back over decades has concluded that religious people are less intelligent than non-believers.
A piece of University of Rochester analysis, led by Professor Miron Zuckerman, found “a reliable negative relation between intelligence and religiosity” in 53 out of 63 studies.
According to the study entitled, 'The Relation Between Intelligence and Religiosity: A Meta-Analysis and Some Proposed Explanations', published in the 'Personality and Social Psychology Review', even during early years the more intelligent a child is the more likely it would be to turn away from religion.
In old age above average intelligence people are less likely to believe, the researchers also found.
The authors of the review looked at each study independently, taking into account the quality of data collection, the size of the sample and the analysis methods used.
The three psychologists carrying out the review defined intelligence as the “ability to reason, plan, solve problems, think abstractly, comprehend complex ideas, learn quickly, and learn from experience”.
Religiosity is defined by the psychologists as involvement in some (or all) facets of religion.
According to the review, other factors - such as gender or education - did not make any difference to the correlation between intelligence and religious belief.
Okay now this is the kind of thing that always gets me into trouble. And usually results in my being labeled "arrogant."
So to prevent that I am not going to start whipping out the "I told you so's" or start acting all vindicated, or cocky, or anything.
I mean yes I am currently doing the snoopy dance in between paragraphs, but you really cannot blame me for that. Right?
To be serious for a moment, here is the part that really speaks to me, " Even during early years the more intelligent a child is the more likely it would be to turn away from religion."
Reading that makes me wish that I could go back to the seven year old me, when I felt the loneliest and the most isolated, and just tell him to hang in there and that someday there would be thousands more just like him who would be willing to openly discuss their lack of faith, and to do so without fear of being ostracized or ridiculed.
I think he would have really appreciated the heads up.
Can we also make a correlation between this study and the "religious conservatives" in the GOP? That would explain a lot of the stupid and bigoted statements coming out of their mouths.
ReplyDeleteAnyone who hasn't applied some critical thinking to the whole Adam and Eve and incest stuff or tried to figure out how Noah managed to get all the creatures on earth on that boat, feed them and clean up their crap doesn't have a ton of smarts. Unless of course you think the bible is about as real as Grimm's Fairy tales. Bunch of campfire stories. No TV, no google, no twitter or FB, what the hell else were they going to do at night?
ReplyDeleteWe have one of those 'pimpers' in Anchorage, AK by the name of Jerry Prevo who is the head of a Baptist gathering in Anchorage. I don't find him particularly smart! He is a man that has a difficult time separating church and state and to my way of thinking, should NOT carry the tax exempt status for his many properties that he, his church, 'teachers' and ministers own within the city limits of Anchorage. He and 'the Baptist Temple' are a rip off to the rest of the taxpayers!
ReplyDeleteHe has (for years) kept himself and his congregation involved in governmental affairs specific to Alaska and/or Anchorage topics of interest. Example: gay issues which he opposed based on his interpretation of his bible!
And, guess what! He is a registered Republican in the corrupt governmental affairs of Alaska and Anchorage! He pushed his congregation 'out' in mass in 'red' T-shirts when appearing before Assembly meetings - opposing gay rights issues a number of years ago as to people in the city of Anchorage.
America is becoming less and less 'Christian' and it is because of folks like Prevo! I have to say I detest him and his ilk mainly because of the way they push their faith on others and make (and take!) millions from the folks that fall for their line hook, line and sinker! I wonder what kinds of IQs they have!!!?? I must admit that mine is quite high. I questioned religion(s) back in my teens (and I'm in my 70's today!). I visited many churches - asked many questions - read many things - to include the Bible! And, I call myself agnostic!
Pay attention folks as to a religion! It's almost like voting - you need to study and research each group out there! Especially when you see a church, minister and congregation so involved in governmental affairs! It should Not be mixed as a whole!
Once again, I find myself wondering why the brilliant Andrew Sullivan STILL believes in god and the "wondrous" possibility of a Catholic turnaround with the "new" pope. I cannot read his Sunday postings anymore -- endless faith-based gooey claptrap.
ReplyDeleteHe nibbles around the edges of disbelief -- calling hypocritical Christians Christianists (as in terrorists) -- but he can't see the bigger picture
-- there is no big daddy up there that needs an inerrant dogmatic corrupt organization that spouts a LITERAL translation of a metaphorically-written book to brainwash people.
I am beginning to lose my respect for him, I am ashamed to say. He will call the old Pope evil for condoning/even abetting pedophilia, but seems to need, desperately, to believe in god. Odd, very, very odd. And he's such a humanist in every other regard... I just don't get it.
Does anybody else feel this way or am I being churlish? judgemental? what does it really matter? Live and let live? Just saying -- re the intelligence = atheist report posted above...
anon@ 4:04... you are not being churlish! I agree with you. All I can say is that the "religion gene" is strong in Mr. Sullivan, especially in light of his extended discussions and friendship with Christopher Hitchens. I just do not get it from a logical, rational point of view.
DeleteReligious people were raised religious. To those of us that never had any god in our lives it seems that they are just a bunch of superstitious idiots but many of these people had their heads crammed full of religious junk when they were within their most formative years. I find it sad, and yes, I question the intelligence of anyone who can believe any of these stories, but as long as they burden me with their bullcrap then they can just go about their lives as they wish, believing in fairy tales.
ReplyDeleteKeep it to yourself, is all I ask, but please, don't deny your children the availability of scientific literature that actually explains their being and the physics behind our universe.
I remember questioning the "Adam and Eve"=all of humanity when I was about 6 or 7 y.o.; no good answer then, either!
ReplyDeleteFairy tales shouldn't equal public policy.
And religious groups should pay taxes on everything except the actual church building.
Oops, no Hooters for Bobby!
ReplyDeletehttp://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/san-diego-hooters-refuse-to-serve-mayor-bob?ref=fpb
Missouri State Fair Clown Tuffy Gessling Gets Huge Online Following After Obama Mask Stunt
ReplyDeletehttp://blogs.riverfronttimes.com/dailyrft/2013/08/missouri_state_fair_clown_tuffy_gessling_supporters.php
Steamrolled Over Alaska
ReplyDeleteYou may have noticed we haven't heard much talk about opening the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge recently.
For decades, America debated whether to open up federally protected land that is said to contain lots and lots of oil (though exact estimates are plagued by uncertainty).
What happened? "Saudi" America.
Everyone — including drillers — has now shifted their focus to the lower-48 state's midsection, where oil and gas are now being pumped out like crazy thanks to the boom in shale production.
As a result, Alaska is in big economic trouble.
http://www.businessinsider.com/major-decline-in-alaska-oil-production-2013-8
Might it also have something to do with the thawing of the permafrost, leaving the always difficult Ice Road, increasingly unstable?
DeleteI would think so.
These global giants are acutely aware of the changes in the Arctic. Of that there is no doubt, no matter how much their representatives officially negate the notion of climate change.
ReplyDeleteThe first skeptical thoughts that I can remember during church were at age five. The only good thing that I can say about thinking that I was the only one in the world who didn't believe the fantastical stories that were preached to me every weekend is that I have deep empathy for gays. I can totally relate to being in The Closet!
Not the same closet, but from what I've read, my disbelief in an invisible magician in the sky is apparently even more reviled than same-sex attraction.
At age 12, I told my best friend that I was an atheist. Her reaction was so extreme that I quickly claimed to be joking and jumped back into that closet. I started slowly coming out in my twenties and thirties, by age 45 was about 75% out. Still don't let the more religious family members know what I really think, and avoid telling religious zealots in general due to my fear of having my children's friendships and careers adversely affected due to me.
But yeah, in the scheme of things, it's much better than it was fifty years ago, that's for sure. Back then, I thought that I was the only one.............now I probably personally know a couple of dozen atheists. And my atheist children? I'd say that a good 40% of their friends are atheists. In fact, my daughter told a friend, who is herself a secret atheist growing up in a religious family, about my childhood. I was so happy that the fact that I endured The Closet and ended up with a happy life was able to make this girl feel better about her situation. Things are definitely looking up, and it's only going to get better as more and more of us speak up.
Thank you Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, Sam Harris! You are my heroes! And thanks to the two local atheists who used to write Letters to the Editor about their non-belief. As a 17 year old, it made me feel so good to know that in all of Alaska, there were at least three of us!
Noah must have had a good time with turtles too.
ReplyDeleteThey use both the sea and land in a coordinated effort to multiply.
If there was no land, no turtle eggs would have been laid.
If they were on a boat, how did they swim to find food or lay eggs on a beach?
Crabs and some other animals have similar traits.
And can you imagine a boat with anteaters and ant hills?
There are MadTV episodes written better than this.
I just want to know why he didn't swat those two damn mosquitoes!
DeleteSomewhat O/T but why has there been so little reaction to the Obama administration's amicus brief to the Supreme Court in support of legislative prayer? IMO, this is opening the door to the christianist extremists.
ReplyDeleteYour title is wrong. As is the first line of the Independent's article, and the definition used by the psychologists. The study was about "religiosity" not "religion" in general. Many very brilliant people have been religious. Religiosity is an extreme form of belief and practice, and is not the same as religion. Princeton University's worldnetweb definition defines religiosity as "exaggerated or affected piety and religious zeal."
ReplyDeleteBIG difference... Just so you know....
Princeton University's worldnetweb definition defines religiosity as "exaggerated or affected piety and religious zeal."
DeleteThat's nice.
But that's not the characterization that the people carrying out the study used. The characterization they used, for the purposes of the study was "involvement in some (or all) facets of religion." It was using that characterization which led them to the quoted conclusions.
If they used the meaning that you clearly favour, they would likely have arrived at even stronger conclusions.
Y'know, this would all have a tad more impact if y'all WEREN'T so arrogant about it. One of my biggest problems with the overly religious is THEIR arrogance ... don't feel the need to compound the felony with my own sense of smug.
ReplyDeleteDon't get me wrong: there are certainly some religious "leaders" out there who need to be bitch-slapped on a daily basis. But a lot--a LOT--of people in this country were raised with religion as a background to their entire lives. Religious groups--whether they're Southern Baptists, Hasidic Jews, Seventh-day Adventists or whatever--are CULTURES as much as they are religions. Not saying that is right or wrong, just saying it is. It's part of their history, part of their tradition. Ask them questions, they spout off the automatic answers THEY learned from their parents, who learned it from their parents, and so on.
Are they stopping to actually THINK about it? No ... it's accepted, the same way they go to the movies and just accept that a moon-sized space station could travel through hyperspace, then cross half a galaxy in 15 minutes, get close enough to blow up a planet and not have the planet be blown out of orbit by the stress. It makes for a good movie ... let it alone.
Are they wrong to "believe"? I dunno. You don't either. While we may intelligently shun any literal-type of translation of, say, the Bible (and yes, I have read it. Cover to cover. Twice.), we would be equally stupid to accept at face value the current "scientific" explanations for why we are here and how we got here ... there are holes in our science big enough to shove the Crystal Cathedral through. In reality, we don't really KNOW for certain that only TRUE deity isn't Blarrgh the Worm God who hasn't been worshiped by ANYone in 3000 years and who is getting really, REALLY pissed off ...
So are we smarter than the believers? If standard testing is to be believed, yeah, I am. Am I happier than they are? Be hard to argue that one. In fact, I QUIT arguing with those who try to "convert" me for the simple reason that it DOESN'T work: my arguments are stronger. So at best they end up writing me off as a heathen; at worst, I shake THEIR faith, and cause them to doubt and stress them out over things that--as you point out here--they may not be intelligent enough to really work through. Who benefits in THAT?
Which I guess is my over-reaching message here: are we wanting people to chuck their faith because they'll be better off? Or is it just to prove we're "right"? Sure, there are zealots out there causing harm ... but there are probably MORE good-hearted people who take comfort in believing in their god.
Let'em believe, I say: some of them are doing more good in the world than I am, that's for sure.
$.02 contributed.