US study says Atheists 'have higher IQs'

[pwaldo]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...cientific.html

Atheists tend to be more intelligent than religious people, according to a US study.

Researchers found that those with high IQs had greater self-control and were able to do more for themselves - so did not need the benefits that religion provides.

They also have better self esteem and built more supportive relationships, the study authors said.

The conclusions were the result of a review of 63 scientific studies about religion and intelligence dating between 1928 and last year.

In 53 of these there was a ‘reliable negative relation between intelligence and religiosity’.

In just 10 was that relationship positive.

Even among children, the more intelligent a child was the more probable it was that they would shun the church.

In old age the same trend persisted as well, the research showed.

The University of Rochester psychologists behind the study defined religion as involvement in some or all parts of a belief.

They defined intelligence as the ‘ability to reason, plan, solve problems, think abstractly, comprehend complex ideas, learn quickly, and learn from experience’.

In their conclusions, they said: ‘Most extant explanations (of a negative relation) share one central theme - the premise that religious beliefs are irrational, not anchored in science, not testable and, therefore, unappealing to intelligent people who ‘know better’.

‘Intelligent people typically spend more time in school - a form of self-regulation that may yield long-term benefits.

‘More intelligent people getting higher level jobs and better employment and higher salary may lead to higher self-esteem, and encourage personal control beliefs.’

[JustAlex]

I saw this same article on another forum I visit daily and I will say the same exact thing I said there.

I believe religious people to some effect have a hard time getting out of their comfort zone when it comes to certain aspects of belief.

I should know, I was very religious when I was younger.

And my transition from Christian to Atheist was a very hard one.....mostly because I was told for so long that X was true without a shadow of a doubt and I should not even question X because doing so was sinful.

And that's one of the biggest problems with SOME (not all, but SOME) religious people.

They don't dare to question their beliefs, they don't dare to do the research or even try to understand opposing beliefs.

Personally, I do NOT believe I am smarter than any religious person in general, I do however believe that I am more open minded than many of them (not all of course) and I allow logic and reason to be my guide instead of "god".

[Wickabee]

I think, as a generalization, atheists have some wacky ideas about what faith is.

[habsheaven]

Doesn't surprise me at all. Didn't we all know this already?

[centrehice]

Indoctrination of a child is one of the most serious of human mistakes. We hold ourselves to a standard of teaching our children, that the Animal World would never consider.

Animals prepare their young for the harsh World of survival. We prepare ours by instilling fear, paranoia, and by brainwashing them. Nice tools for the future.

[Star_Cards]

I think, as a generalization, atheists have some wacky ideas about what faith is.

there are some very wacky people of faith out there as well. :)

[Wickabee]

Doesn't surprise me at all. Didn't we all know this already?

Yes, it's been posted several times over. For some reason many atheists have to post this here repeatedly. Must be low self esteem.

[Wickabee]

there are some very wacky people of faith out there as well. :)

Generally speaking, those of faith have some wacky ideas about what atheism is.
Generally speaking, so do atheists.

[centrehice]

I am still waiting for answers from either Jewish or Christian, about the book of Genesis, where the collective Elohim, (gods) in plural became the accepted Christian singular Yaweh.

I get nothing.

I only ask when anomalies appear, you know, like living 400 and 700 plus years. My whackiness is limited to fact. Call me a garden variety whacko I guess.

[Wickabee]

I'm still waiting to find out how someone can call themselves atheist while still remaining agnostic. Hyphens don't change word meanings.