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Friday, August 21st, 2020

The Relation Between Intelligence and Religiosity: A Meta-Analysis and Some Proposed Explanations

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Link: The Relation Between Intelligence and Religiosity: A Meta-Analysis and Some Proposed Explanations
Stephan:   Discussing the psychophysical aspects of American politics is a taboo subject. But taboo or not this neuroscience is actually one of the most important explanations of why we as a population are the way we are, and face the Great Schism. There are two particularly relevant aspects to this; First, about 27 percent of us have over-active right amygdalas, the little almond sized structure in our brains that correlates with fear and flight or flight. It correlates strongly with conservative religiosity and conservative politics. Second, and this is the real taboo since most people don't know what the amygdala is, or what it does, intelligence itself. And, once again lower intelligence correlates with conservative religiosity and politics. Here is the powerful scientific evidence for this from not one but many studies. Citation: Personality and Social Psychology Review 17(4) 325–354 © 2013 by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology DOI: 10.1177/1088868313497266
Christofascists and their leader Credit: npr

A meta-analysis of 63 studies showed a significant negative association between intelligence and religiosity. The association was stronger for college students and the general population than for participants younger than college age; it was also stronger for religious beliefs than religious behavior. For college students and the general population, means of weighted and unweighted correlations between intelligence and the strength of religious beliefs ranged from −.20 to −.25 (mean r −.24). Three possible interpretations were discussed. 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.

Conclusion

The present work comprises two parts. The first part was a
meta-analysis of the relation between intelligence and religiosity. The second part examined possible explanations for
the relation that was observed.
Results of the meta-analysis […]

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3 Comments

  1. Will on Friday, August 21, 2020 at 6:30 am

    I was called out by a commenter here regarding positive comments about Jill and Joe Biden. The inference I took from it was how could I be so shallow/dumb to buy into a puff piece of MSM journalism.

    While my level of intelligence may be questionable, how would I know, my heart tells me that Joe and Jill are decent, caring, deeply experienced human beings who can help to begin the healing and reform that this country needs. I think there is so much momentum for reform that the establishment structures will have to change or be swept away. Evolution or revolution times are not at all what they have been.

  2. Gus diZerega on Saturday, August 22, 2020 at 4:24 pm

    “Religion” is a very broad category and the characteristics of one religion can be polar opposites of another. Think Wicca and Evangelical Christianity. The study seems to be unaware of how this might be important. Therefore, without breaking ‘religion’ down into significantly different sub-groups, this finding doesn’t mean much, except for village atheists.

    • Stephan Schwartz on Saturday, August 22, 2020 at 5:23 pm

      Gus —

      I am afraid I do not agree with you. The point of these studies is not what you believe, but whether you are strongly committed to a religious worldview, whatever that means to you.
      — Stephan