Religious belief associated with being dumber?

_{Denyse O'Leary

May 18, 2014

News, Psychology}

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A well-replicated finding in the psychological literature is the negative correlation between religiosity and intelligence. However, several studies also conclude that one form of religiosity, church attendance, is protective against later-life cognitive decline. No effects of religious belief per se on cognitive decline have been found, potentially due to the restricted measures of belief used in previous studies. Here, we examined the associations between religiosity, intelligence, and cognitive change in a cohort of individuals (initial n = 550) with high-quality measures of religious belief taken at age 83 and multiple cognitive measures taken in childhood and at four waves between age 79 and 90. We found that religious belief, but not attendance, was negatively related to intelligence. The effect size was smaller than in previous studies of younger participants. Longitudinal analyses showed no effect of either religious belief or attendance on cognitive change either from childhood to old age, or across the ninth decade of life. We discuss differences between our cohort and those in previous studies – including in age and location – that may have led to our non-replication of the association between religious attendance and cognitive decline. More.

One hopes the ability to actually get to a place of worship in old age will be taken into account.

Comments

Nice work, BA. Yes, their activists are inveterate liars. Here are some more articles giving the lie to the atheists' risible fantasies: http://www.nbcnews.com/id/8318894/http://www.intelligentdesignnetwork.org/Atheism_a_Stealth_Religion.pdf http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2011/jan/08/religion-human-nature-religiosity-evolutionary-advantage?showallcomments=true#end-of-comments http://www.simpletoremember.com/articles/a/atheism-in-decline-worldwide/ http://www.classicalconversations.com/easyblog/entry/creationsmodernbio?format=html&team=1 http://www.algemeiner.com/2011/08/17/scientists-prove-again-that-life-is-the-result-of-intelligent-design/ http://ministryvalues.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=711&Itemid=359Axel_{May 18, 2014
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Acartia_bogart wrote: "" If the audience seen in attendance at many televangelist shows is representative of religiosity in general, then this article only demonstrates the obvious. But seriously, I don’t think that this should surprise anyone, keeping in mind that we are talking about an average with a large spread. Religion, by its nature, provides comfort, and churches provide a safe have. To people of lower intelligence, who generally have a more difficult time and fewer opportunities, religion would be very attractive. And the promise of a paradise in the afterlife, only sweetens the pot."" Nice fallacious argument Acartia, but lets take into account the corellation between spotting purpose and having common sense (as well as wisdom) in atheism compared to normally wired people shall we? http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/2010/05/29/people-with-aspergers-less-likely-to-see-purpose-behind-the-events-in-their-lives/ In a second experiment, Heywood and Bering compared 27 people with Asperger’s with 34 neurotypical people who are atheists. The atheists, as expected, often invoked anti-teleological responses such as “there is no reason why; things just happen.” The people with Asperger’s were significantly less likely to offer such anti-teleological explanations than the atheists, indicating they were not engaged in teleological thinking at all. (The atheists, in contrast, revealed themselves to be reasoning teleologically, but then they rejected those thoughts.) Meaning Atheists might be great at sitting behind a microscope in a laboratory but when it comes to teleological reasoning they seem to have a hard time grasping the concept of purpose. Granted this is very new research but it seems to fit with what I have seen with them. You cant teach wisdomwallstreeter43_{May 18, 2014
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Spot on, KF. Sometimes, the awed tones in which a person's high worldly intelligence is spoken of, after discussing a notable character defect of theirs, one could be forgiven for wondering whether it is perhaps held to be the highest Christian virtue. It reminds me of some of our more 'louche' judges, sentencing a rapist to a 'slap on the wrist', on the grounds that his commanding officer had attested that he had a promising career ahead of him.Axel_{May 18, 2014
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If the audience seen in attendance at many televangelist shows is representative of religiosity in general, then this article only demonstrates the obvious. But seriously, I don't think that this should surprise anyone, keeping in mind that we are talking about an average with a large spread. Religion, by its nature, provides comfort, and churches provide a safe have. To people of lower intelligence, who generally have a more difficult time and fewer opportunities, religion would be very attractive. And the promise of a paradise in the afterlife, only sweetens the pot.Acartia_bogart_{May 18, 2014
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as to this claim:
A well-replicated finding in the psychological literature is the negative correlation between religiosity and intelligence.
Which is interesting claim to make since, as you yourself noted News, the findings were far from conclusive. Here is a critique, by two different atheists, of a 2013 meta-study that purported to show that atheists are smarter than Christian
Fearless scholar Frank Furedi takes on claims that religious people are less intelligent than atheists - August 18, 2013 Excerpt: At most, this analysis shows that because smart people spend more time in education and because universities tend to be secular institutions, they will produce proportionally more atheists. https://uncommondescent.com/religion/fearless-scholar-frank-furedi-takes-on-claims-that-religious-people-are-less-intelligent-than-atheists/ Before We Make Too Much of the Intelligence and Religiosity Study - August 2013 Excerpt: From what I have read so far, these include but are not limited to the narrow definition of intelligence used by the authors,,, and the inclusion of studies that have been criticized by other researchers in the data set. https://uncommondescent.com/religion/fearless-scholar-frank-furedi-takes-on-claims-that-religious-people-are-less-intelligent-than-atheists/#comment-468501
Moreover, I have a far more robust data set pointing to the opposite conclusion. The last graph on the following site shows that the SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) scores for American students showed a steady decline, for seventeen years from the top spot or near the top spot in the world, after the removal of prayer from the public classroom by the Supreme Court, not by public decree, in 1963.
AMERICA: To Pray Or Not To Pray - David Barton - graphs corrected for population growth http://www.whatyouknowmightnotbeso.com/graphs.html
Moreover, where the SAT scores for public schools have dropped with the removal of prayer from school, on the other hand, SAT scores for private Christian schools have consistently remained at the top, or near the top, spot in the world. You can see the dramatic difference, of the SAT scores for private Christian schools compared to public schools, at this following site;
Aliso Viejo Christian School – SAT 10 Comparison Report http://www.alisoviejochristianschool.org/sat_10.html
Of note, Finland now has the best education system in the world, and, not so surprisingly, Finland also has a very strong prayer ethic,,,
Finland is much more: Excerpt: The main Lutheran and Orthodox churches are constitutional national churches of Finland with special roles in ceremonies and often in school morning prayers.,,, Over half of Finns say they pray at least once a month, the highest proportion in Nordics,,, http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=214&topic_id=170263&mesg_id=170358
Of related note:
Bruce Charlton's Miscellany - October 2011 Excerpt: I had discovered that over the same period of the twentieth century that the US had risen to scientific eminence it had undergone a significant Christian revival. ,,,The point I put to (Richard) Dawkins was that the USA was simultaneously by-far the most dominant scientific nation in the world (I knew this from various scientometic studies I was doing at the time) and by-far the most religious (Christian) nation in the world. How, I asked, could this be - if Christianity was culturally inimical to science? http://charltonteaching.blogspot.com/2011/10/meeting-richard-dawkins-and-his-wife.html The History of Christian Education in America Excerpt: The first colleges in America were founded by Christians and approximately 106 out of the first 108 colleges were Christian colleges. In fact, Harvard University, which is considered today as one of the leading universities in America and the world was founded by Christians. One of the original precepts of the then Harvard College stated that students should be instructed in knowing God and that Christ is the only foundation of all "sound knowledge and learning." http://www.ehow.com/about_6544422_history-christian-education-america.html
Also of note, scientists are 'surprisingly similar' to Americans in general in their religious makeup:
Misconceptions of science and religion found in new study - David Ruth – February 16, 2014 Excerpt: The public’s view that science and religion can’t work in collaboration is a misconception that stunts progress, according to a new survey of more than 10,000 Americans, scientists and evangelical Protestants. The study by Rice University also found that scientists and the general public are surprisingly similar in their religious practices.,, The study also found that 18 percent of scientists attended weekly religious services, compared with 20 percent of the general U.S. population; 15 percent consider themselves very religious (versus 19 percent of the general U.S. population); 13.5 percent read religious texts weekly (compared with 17 percent of the U.S. population); and 19 percent pray several times a day (versus 26 percent of the U.S. population). ,,, ,,,Nearly 36 percent of scientists have no doubt about God’s existence. http://news.rice.edu/2014/02/16/misconceptions-of-science-and-religion-found-in-new-study/
Which was surprising to find out since atheists are fond of saying 95% of scientists are atheists. The root of the false myth that 95% of scientists don’t believe in God, was also based on a severely biased study, and is exposed here:
More Scientists Believe In God Than Atheists Want (You) to Think http://christiancadre.blogspot.com/2011/10/more-scientists-beleieve-in-god-than.html
Thus, as with practically every other claim from atheists, we find the truth is actually the opposite of what they tell us:bornagain77_{May 18, 2014
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F/N: Some perhaps relevant reading: >> 1 Cor 1:18 For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and I will thwart the cleverness of the intelligent.” 20 Where is the wise man? Where is the expert in the Mosaic law? Where is the debater of this age? Has God not made the wisdom of the world foolish? 21 For since in the wisdom of God the world by its wisdom did not know God, God was pleased to save those who believe by the foolishness of preaching. 22 For Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks ask for wisdom, 23 but we preach about a crucified Christ, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles. 24 But to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength. 26 Think about the circumstances of your call, brothers and sisters. Not many were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were born to a privileged position. 27 But God chose what the world thinks foolish to shame the wise, and God chose what the world thinks weak to shame the strong. 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, what is regarded as nothing, to set aside what is regarded as something, 29 so that no one can boast in his presence. 30 He is the reason you have a relationship with Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31 so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” [ESV] >> Food for thought in an era where we tend to put intelligence rather than humble wisdom, on a pedestal. KF PS: On that "foolishness.kairosfocus_{May 18, 2014
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