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POLL Study of religious beliefs vs intelligence

This study suggests three different reasons for the inverse relationship between religious beliefs and intelligence... can you identify with one of them?

[journals.sagepub.com]

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camne 7 July 15
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11 comments

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1

religious people do not have to be stupid. being brainwashed and having low intelligence are not the same thing, and even intelligent people can be brainwashed and may need deprogramming. people DO compartmentalize, you know. it is possible that more intelligent people have a better chance of resisting the tug of conformity in terms of religion but chance is chance, and it's not a given. i wouldn't just paint all religious people as stupid. intelligent people do stupid things. some people are smart about this and stupid about that. i give you frank zappa as an example: he was brilliant, undeniably brilliant. there is no one in the world who can accurately paint that man as stupid, and it might be more accurate to call him a genius. but he was an IDIOT when it came to tobacco. he was totally convinced it was harmless, right up to the day it killed him. so he was stupid. does that stupidity invalidate his genius? it can't. how do you account for this? only compartmentalization can explain it, or you can call it people's having blind spots, or both. it doesn't just apply to intelligence either. it applies to who we call a good or a bad person. look at thomas jefferson. his achievements were amazing, he loved this country, he cared deeply about science, and he had children with a slave of his who, whether or not she loved him, had no choice in the matter. then there is the fact that he even HAD slaves. how to you hold both thomas jeffersons in your mind? granted some folks are more complex than others (i can't think of any redeeming qualities in the white house's current resident) but we should not rush to judge people on one thing alone, unless it's... you now, like timothy mcveigh might have liked butterflies or been kind to little old ladies or something (i'm not saying he did or was) but i think we can judge him without considering it a rush!

g

1

Basically, you can't be that smart if you believe that nonsense.

Carin Level 8 July 23, 2018

heyyy, I believed that nonsense until I started thinking!

2

Likely a combination, all the above perhaps?!

2

I expect that anylitic thinking skills prevent one from conforming to the all too common authoritarian indoctrination ideals that become popular, and pop culture interests. I also do not believe that we have enough data on intellegence capacity and analytic thinking style. My great question, in trying to identify a solution to most social problems, is why do some people develop into analytic thinkers and others are impressionable. Is it nature or nurture, or something else?

nomyth Level 3 July 15, 2018

Most the atheists I know, grew up submersed in christian culture, although not all of them...?

2

I’m unable to access the full article. I was curious as to how the intelligence of those polled was determined. Was it IQ? If so, seems like that might be hard to find out with any certainty. Besides that, IQ does not tell the whole story when it comes to intelligence.

What is the point? If the findings are true does that prove or disprove anything about religion or religious belief? Is it an exercise in ego?

2

Is it really less intelligence, or less education in science, logic, etc?

Or a bit of both?

0

Anyone know what the article concluded?

"First, intelligent people are less likely to conform and, thus, are more likely to resist religious dogma. Second, intelligent people tend to adopt an analytic (as opposed to intuitive) thinking style, which has been shown to undermine religious beliefs. Third, several functions of religiosity, including compensatory control, self-regulation, self-enhancement, and secure attachment, are also conferred by intelligence. Intelligent people may therefore have less need for religious beliefs and practices." …..I can buy that.

0

I think I might fit all three categories.

1

I agree, I would have chosen all three if I could.

1

I think all three factors apply in my case.

4

Not taking everything at face value would be one of the reasons.

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