Without evidence, just as a hunch, many of us suspect that religious doubters are more intelligent than religious believers. Now, actual proof supports that assumption.
Some sixty-three different psychological research reports were analyzed in the scientific journal Personality and Social Psychology Review. Authors concluded that the studies “showed a significant negative association between intelligence and religiosity.”
In other words, supernatural believers have lower IQs. Perhaps it means that a higher IQ can stand for “I Question.” Doubters who question supernatural claims are smarter.
The researchers contend that average minds, operating mostly on thoughtless instinct, accept the invisible gods proclaimed by their surrounding culture—but brighter minds, impelled by scientific curiosity, have doubts. Perhaps the skeptics who called themselves “brights” were onto something.
Similar findings were reported in another journal, Evolutionary Psychological Science, by Edward Dutton of the Ulster Institute for Social Research and Dimitri Van der Linden of Rotterdam University. They pointed out that in Ancient Greece, skeptics often were called “wise” and religious believers called “fools.” Their study was cited in the May 18 Newsweek, which said: “Atheists tend to be more intelligent than religious people because they are able to rise above the natural instinct to believe in a god or gods. . . . Having a higher intelligence, [the researchers] say, allows people to override these instincts and engage in more rational, and therefore enhanced, problem-solving behavior.”
Newsweek quotes Dr. Dutton: “I think most people think it is rational to be an atheist.”
Controversial British-Irish psychologist Richard Lynn wrote in the journal Intelligence that skeptics are smarter. He noted that university professors and top figures in scientific societies generally doubt the supernatural. He told Times Higher Educationmagazine: “Why should fewer academics believe in God than the general population? I believe it is simply a matter of the I.Q. Academics have higher I.Q.s than the general population. Several Gallup poll studies of the general population have shown that those with higher I.Q.s tend not to believe in God.”
He said most primary school children believe in God—but he said their intelligence increases in adolescence and many develop religious doubts.
Some fellow scholars branded Lynn’s report as “simplistic” and “anti-religious.”
Psychology Today published a report titled “Why Atheists Are More Intelligent than the Religious.” It said:
Analyses of large representative samples from both the United States and the United Kingdom support this prediction … that more intelligent individuals are more likely to be atheistic than less-intelligent individuals. For example, among the American sample, those who identify themselves as “not at all religious” in early adulthood have a mean childhood I.Q. of 103, whereas those who identify themselves as “very religious” in early adulthood have a mean childhood I.Q. of 97.
Well, six points of intelligence isn’t huge, but it’s a gap.
Stop and think: What kind of people would believe that an invisible Shiva wants people to pray over models of his erect penis, or that mass-murdering “martyrs” will be rewarded by dark-eyed virgins in heaven, or that the “Rapture” soon will pit armies of Satan against armies of Jesus, or that an angel named Moroni revealed golden plates to Mormon church founder Joseph Smith in New York and then took them back to heaven?
Supernatural claims of religion hardly suit intelligent people.
Further Reading
- Attwood, R. 2008. “High I.Q. Turns Academics into Atheists.” Times Higher Education (June 12).
- Dutton, E., and D. Van der Linden. 2017. “Why is Intelligence Negatively Associated with Religiousness?” Evolutionary Psychological Science (May 16): 1–12.
- Kanazawa, S. 2010. “Why Atheists Are More Intelligent Than the Religious.” Psychology Today (April 12).
- Lynn, R. 2008. “The decline of the world’s IQ.” Intelligence 36: 112–120.
- Osborne, H. 2017. “Atheists More Intelligent Because They Can Override ‘Instinctive’ Religious Beliefs—But it Will Be Their Downfall.” Newsweek (May 18).
- Zuckerman, M., J. Silberman, and J. Hall. 2013. “The Relation Between Intelligence and Religiosity.” Personality and Social Psychology Review 17, no 4 (August 6): 325–354.