IQ and Religion

This graph might tempt you to believe lower IQ implies higher religiosity. In reality it's much more likely that poverty leads to both lower IQ [1] and higher religiosity [2].

Correlation does not imply causation.

[1]: http://scienceblogs.com/cortex/2008/11/06/poverty-and-the-br... [2]: http://www.gallup.com/poll/142727/religiosity-highest-world-...

Re: IQ and Religion

#6

Post by digitalengineer » Wed, Oct 17, 2012, 8:05 AM UTC

At first sight it looks like "More religious = Less IQ". Somehow I doubt that. Religion is not one value. Some religions are anti-knowledge (at least for woman and specific minorities). In Western Europe religious schools (Catholic, Protestant etc) are known to teach at a higher level. In my area they are in high demand due to the quality of their education, even for non-religious parents. (The level of "fanatic" religion is not high here).

Re: IQ and Religion

#7

Post by b3tta » Wed, Oct 17, 2012, 8:06 AM UTC

I don't seem to understand why anybody would make such a correlation. I think the avarage IQ depends on how wealth and how well developed your country is, and not how many believe in religious stuff.

Re: IQ and Religion

#8

Post by gojomo » Wed, Oct 17, 2012, 8:06 AM UTC

Per this analysis, the US manages to be more intelligent than any other equally- or more-religious country, and more religious than any other equally- or more-intelligent country. Perhaps the US national motto (adopted 1956) should be extended by a few words: "In God we trust but also verify".

Re: IQ and Religion

#9

Post by tankbot » Wed, Oct 17, 2012, 8:11 AM UTC

molf wrote: post #5

This graph might tempt you to believe lower IQ implies higher religiosity. In reality it's much more likely that poverty leads to both lower IQ [1] and higher religiosity [2]. Correlation does not imply causation. [1]: http://scienceblogs.com/cortex/2008/11/06/poverty-and-the-br... [2]: http://www.gallup.com/poll/142727/religiosity-highest-world-...

Although I agree with you, this is not evident from the graph. There are some really poor countries on there with good IQ and low religiosity.

Re: IQ and Religion

#10

Post by mrspeaker » Wed, Oct 17, 2012, 8:13 AM UTC

tankbot wrote: post #4

pajju wrote: post #3

what pattern does this study tell? I couldn't make much sense. Being more religious means you move towards lesser IQ?

I hope you're joking. Anyway, for me this stokes my confirmation bias that the stupider a person is, the more likely they are to believe in ridiculous nonsense. It also shows that the U.S. is sorta smart for how religious they are.

Soooo then it goes against your confirmation bias, right?