The study of religiosity and intelligence explores the link between religiosity and intelligence or educational level (by country and on the individual level). Religiosity and intelligence are both complex topics that include diverse variables, and the interactions among those variables are not always well understood. For instance, intelligence is often defined differently by different researchers;[1] also, all scores from intelligence tests are only estimates of intelligence, because one cannot achieve concrete measurements of intelligence (as one would of mass or distance) due to the concept’s abstract nature.[2] Religiosity is also complex, in that it involves wide variations of interactions of religious beliefs, practices, behaviors, and affiliations, across a diverse array of cultures.[3]
A meta-analysis and an updated analysis by the same research group have found a measurable negative correlation between intelligence quotient (IQ) and religiosity.[4] The correlation was suggested to be a result of nonconformity, more cognitive and less intuitive thinking styles among the less religious, and less of a need for religion as a coping mechanism.[5] Another study showed a correlation between national average IQ and levels of atheism in society.[6] However, other studies have questioned these explanations and correlations[7][8] and have countered that any correlations are due to a complex range of social, economic, educational and historical factors, which interact with religion and IQ in different ways.[9][10][11] Less developed and poorer countries tend to be more religious, perhaps because religions play a more active social, moral and cultural role in those countries.[12]
One study suggests that intuitive thinking may be one out of many sources that affect levels of religiosity and that analytical thinking may be one out of many sources that affect disbelief.[13] However, others who have reviewed studies on analytic thinking and nonbelievers suggest that analytical thinking does not imply better reflection on religious matters or disbelief.[14]
A global study on educational attainment found that Jews, Christians, religiously unaffiliated persons, and Buddhists have, on average, higher levels of education than the global average.[15] Numerous factors affect both educational attainment and religiosity.
^Cite error: The named reference Neisser1998 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Haier, Richard (2016-12-28). The Neuroscience of Intelligence. Cambridge University Press. pp. 18–19. ISBN 9781107461437.
^Cite error: The named reference what is religiosity was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Zuckerman, Miron; Li, Chen; Lin, Shengxin; Hall, Judith A. (15 October 2019). "The Negative Intelligence–Religiosity Relation: New and Confirming Evidence". Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. 46 (6): 856–868. doi:10.1177/0146167219879122. PMID 31610740. S2CID 204702114.
^Zuckerman, Miron; Silberman, Jordan; Hall, Judith A. (2013). "The Relation Between Intelligence and Religiosity: A Meta-Analysis and Some Proposed Explanations". Personality and Social Psychology Review. 17 (4): 325–354. doi:10.1177/1088868313497266. PMID 23921675. S2CID 2815223.
^Lynn, Richard; John Harvey; Helmuth Nyborg (2009). "Average intelligence predicts atheism rates across 137 nations". Intelligence. 37: 11–15. doi:10.1016/j.intell.2008.03.004.
^Cite error: The named reference Dutton was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference Webster was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference tele was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Barber, Nigel (May 4, 2010). "The Real Reason Atheists Have Higher IQs: Is Atheism a Sign of Intelligence?". Psychology Today.
^Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference Gallup-Poll-Emotional-Religion was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference Gervais was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference Farias was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^"Religion and Education Around the World" (PDF). Pew Research Center. December 13, 2016. p. 5.
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