Religious people are less intelligent than non-believers

Truth of Reality:

Everything is a religion if you really wanna boil it down.

Does that mean everyone is stupid?
Probably.

reply to post by predator0187


I don't think it's a case of religious people being less or even more intelligent than those who don't follow particular religions, as people, religious or not are varied and you'll find a mix of intelligent versus not so bright in both categories, but it's (imho) more a case of gullibility, and perhaps a lack of, or lower levels of sharp or analytical thinking skills (or willingness to use the same).

Whether or not being gullible (unquestioningly believing what you're routinely told to believe basically) or low-grade analytical skills or awareness is equal to a low IQ is probably debatable, but it's somewhat of a stretch to claim that 'believers' and followers of a religion - any religion, are generally denser than their non-religious counterparts..but as i say, both camps would do better to start seriously questioning or scrutinising their lives and what is happening that influences their lives coming from the top down in our respective homelands, including religious beliefs or lack thereof.

It's good to question what others are expecting us to believe..why wouldn't it be?

If the religious belief, or the latest government edict is of sound footing and made sense in reality, the idea or philosophy of the topic will stand up to scrutiny admirably...if it isn't, it will fail and fall away from popular culture or the political dogma, as it should do.

So i would say to everyone, religious or not...question everything that has a major effect on your or your family's life and future. If you fear the answers to deep and penetrating questions will reveal that which you believe in to be lacking in substance or even bogus...then perhaps you should not be blindly or unquestioningly believing in that thing at all?

Atheist always doubt or guess.

But they try hard to get others to share their doubts.

IMO , the least intelligence tells people that they should be ready for some unseen event which common sense says it is necessary , in other words Justice.

+Many people warned us and they had proof that creator has sent them.

So , ignoring the probable danger is not wise.

No matter how scientists try to put it in your minds.

And no matter how many times people like you brings these conversation on.

reply to post by predator0187


My I.Q. is 151 +/- 4.

So what do you think it was before I believed in Christ? Like maybe 160-190?

lol....sigh....look at us.

Reduced to squabbling over who is the smartest...

We are so much better than this.



Ro.

reply to post by predator0187


Personally, I want to see a different comparison study first. I would want to view the data on whether or not those of higher intelligence have higher rates of mental disorders before we throw anything else into the mix. Once that's done, separate them out and perform the study over again. That would make for more interesting results.

I guess I can believe a bit of what the research says.
Although, there are MANY atheists that are just plainly ignorant. Especially the ones that devote SO MUCH time into trying to disprove God. Just makes you look stupid in my opinion, stupid and obsessed.

There are and were MANY highly intelligent individuals whom stated their belief in God. (Sir Francis Bacon, Galileo Galilei, Rene Descartes, Isaac Newton, even Einstein).

I use to hang out with my Grandfather quite a bit when I was younger. He had many patents as an engineer. I use to watch Jeopardy with him very often. Even though this was just a trivia game, it always amazed me that he could nearly answer EVERY question that was thrown out there. (I always wanted one day to beat him at it but he passed away before I even made it to high school). He never believed in God. And my Grandmother (whom is one of the best women I have ever met in this world) devoted much of her time to the church. It was an odd mix. My atheist VERY INTELLIGENT Grandfather and my Loving Christian Grandmother.

reply to post by benrl


I don't have a whole lot to add, unfortunately. Like several people said, the study is most likely flawed.

I just wanted to point out how ironic it is that you are espousing how smart you are, while saying could of and shouldn't of.

Could've is not the same as could of, it's could have. Shouldn't of is in the same vein, should be shouldn't have. Ok, sorry, done pointing out my ironies for the day.

I would not say they are less intelligent, they have the potential, but they also have obstacles blocking them from reaching that potential.... obstacles like magic and miracles.

Atheist do not have that obstacles and looks the world for its reality.

reply to post by Pimpish



Dat NAME.....
DAT NAME MAN....


Pimpish.

Oh, and the wisdom of King Solomon?

Even a fool when he holdeth his peace is reckoned wise, [and] he that shutteth his lips, intelligent. Proverbs 17:28

Oops, i am bible bashing, again!

I am no genius, but i am not unintelligent either. I don't mind to be seen as less intelligent because i am religious. My knowledge of my flesh definitely fails, but my Father doesn't fail me.

reply to post by predator0187


Personally, I don't believe that Religious people are less intelligent than non believers, is just that they tend to apply their religious believe over facts in order to keep their faith alive, this tends to be view as lack of intelligence by some, specially those that are rely on facts.

I basically see three tiers from low to high (intelligence); first, are the low intelligence, very suggestible people who "believe" because they are told to do so and accept religious tenets (even contradictory ones) at face value. Then there are the ones that are of above intelligence who question religion based on inconsistencies, etc and become doubts if not unbelievers. And finally there are those who are super-intelligent and who (while not necessarily "religious" per se) see the hand of a Supreme Creator in nature and in the lives of Man.

Originally posted by muzzleflash
Truth of Reality:

Everything is a religion if you really wanna boil it down.

Does that mean everyone is stupid?
Probably.

Wow that's deep man.

Except of course it isn't, and we have the word (religion) for a reason....

Originally posted by Rosha
lol....sigh....look at us.

Reduced to squabbling over who is the smartest...

We are so much better than this.



Ro.

No we're not...............

This is precisely what ATS about. Squabbling over politics, squabbling over the extencence of UFOs, Ghosts, MIBs, Santa Clause, reincarnation, NWO, illuminati, etc.

Post ANYTHING and the squabbling commences right away with someone taking the opposite position.

And actually that's a good thing if you are capable of logical thought and seeing that other possibilities just might possibility exist and actually "denying ignorance"

But my perception is that the current trend is to try and solidify an agenda, cosmology or political position, as aggressively as possible with insults and snarky comments in the never ending quest for flags, stars and "attaboys"

Originally posted by NOTurTypical
reply to post by predator0187

 

My I.Q. is 151 +/- 4.

So what do you think it was before I believed in Christ? Like maybe 160-190?

You do understand how the conclusion was determined right?

Or are you attempting to demonstrate its accuracy?

reply to post by predator0187


I don't agree at all with the findings. Even if they reworded it to be "knowledgeable" I'd still have a problem with it. Besides, this gets passed around every now and then, almost as much as the "liberals are more intelligent than republicans" and "republicans are more intelligent that liberals" blah blah blah

When it comes to science, I find it's the creationists who are less knowledgeable than others because they don't understand, and refuse to educate themselves, on the science they are trying to disprove.

Originally posted by muzzleflash
Truth of Reality:

Everything is a religion if you really wanna boil it down.

Does that mean everyone is stupid?
Probably.

I always thought the same thing myself that life is a spiritual journey.

How do you measure intelligence, some people have gifts others do not, you can have a high IQ but not a lick of common sense.

Why is it my friends that are college educated professionals always come to me, the dummy, for advice.

Evolutionary origin of religions

Setting the stage for human religion
Increased brain size

In this set of theories, the religious mind is one consequence of a brain that is large enough to formulate religious and philosophical ideas.[6] During human evolution, the hominid brain tripled in size, peaking 500,000 years ago. Much of the brain's expansion took place in the neocortex. This part of the brain is involved in processing higher order cognitive functions that are connected with human religiosity. The neocortex is associated with self-consciousness, language and emotion[citation needed]. According to Dunbar's theory, the relative neocortex size of any species correlates with the level of social complexity of the particular species. The neocortex size correlates with a number of social variables that include social group size and complexity of mating behaviors. In chimpanzees the neocortex occupies 50% of the brain, whereas in modern humans it occupies 80% of the brain.
en.wikipedia.org...
Robin Dunbar argues that the critical event in the evolution of the neocortex took place at the speciation of archaic homo sapiens about 500,000 years ago. His study indicates that only after the speciation event is the neocortex large enough to process complex social phenomena such as language and religion. The study is based on a regression analysis of neocortex size plotted against a number of social behaviors of living and extinct hominids.[7]

Stephen Jay Gould suggests that religion may have grown out of evolutionary changes which favored larger brains as a means of cementing group coherence among savannah hunters, after that larger brain enabled reflection on the inevitability of personal mortality.[8]

Perhaps lack of religious thought is setting us backwards, everyone keeps complaining people are dumbed down.

If Modern Humans Are So Smart, Why Are Our Brains Shrinking?
Here are some leading theories about the why the human brain has been getting smaller since the Stone Age.
discovermagazine.com...

“You may not want to hear this,” says cognitive scientist David Geary of the University of Missouri, “but I think the best explanation for the decline in our brain size is the idiocracy theory.” Geary is referring to the eponymous 2006 film by Mike Judge about an ordinary guy who becomes involved in a hibernation experiment at the dawn of the 21st century. When he wakes up 500 years later, he is easily the smartest person on the dumbed-down planet. “I think something a little bit like that happened to us,” Geary says. In other words, idiocracy is where we are now.

Personally I believe it is because we have lost so many of our survival instincts that helped propel us into civilization.

Civilization now there's a word.

WE don't have to think anymore.

Bailey and Geary found population density did indeed track closely with brain size, but in a surprising way. When population numbers were low, as was the case for most of our evolution, the cranium kept getting bigger. But as population went from sparse to dense in a given area, cranial size declined, highlighted by a sudden 3 to 4 percent drop in EQ starting around 15,000 to 10,000 years ago. “We saw that trend in Europe, China, Africa, Malaysia—everywhere we looked,” Geary says.

The observation led the researchers to a radical conclusion: As complex societies emerged, the brain became smaller because people did not have to be as smart to stay alive. As Geary explains, individuals who would not have been able to survive by their wits alone could scrape by with the help of others—supported, as it were, by the first social safety nets.

Have you ever read a book from centuries past?

You will certainly see the difference.