RYL Forums - View Single Post - Intelligent people less likely to believe in God

Dreaming. · 04-09-2009, 01:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Heidi Tiger

I personally don't beleive in God, but I would never dare to suggest that those who do are less intelligent than I am. I might believe they are deluded/brainwashed on a number of issues (not all religious people, but some fundamentalist fanatics generally!) but that doesn't mean I'm going to make disparaging remarks about their intellect. This research smacks of petty name-calling to me and I find it distasteful, there was uproar when research was published on people's race and their intelligence, why should it be ok to conduct research on people's religion and their IQ?

Yess.
Apart from the last point - religion is a choice, whereby race is biological - this new study seems to be more of a sociological observation of the types of people who are religious and their intelligence, whereas I think that race is slightly different.
TBH. though, I find it strange when people go all up-in-arms about studies like this; it's an association-based relationship. It's not saying that everybody who is religious is thick, or anybody who is an atheist is somehow more intelligent, and I don't think it's necessarily a comment about religion itself - but more a study, with the results published. Take it to mean what you will.

04-09-2009, 01:03 PM	#5
Dreaming. You are free. Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: England. I am currently:	Quote: Originally Posted by Heidi Tiger I personally don't beleive in God, but I would never dare to suggest that those who do are less intelligent than I am. I might believe they are deluded/brainwashed on a number of issues (not all religious people, but some fundamentalist fanatics generally!) but that doesn't mean I'm going to make disparaging remarks about their intellect. This research smacks of petty name-calling to me and I find it distasteful, there was uproar when research was published on people's race and their intelligence, why should it be ok to conduct research on people's religion and their IQ? Yess. Apart from the last point - religion is a choice, whereby race is biological - this new study seems to be more of a sociological observation of the types of people who are religious and their intelligence, whereas I think that race is slightly different. TBH. though, I find it strange when people go all up-in-arms about studies like this; it's an association-based relationship. It's not saying that everybody who is religious is thick, or anybody who is an atheist is somehow more intelligent, and I don't think it's necessarily a comment about religion itself - but more a study, with the results published. Take it to mean what you will. Last edited by Dreaming. : 04-09-2009 at 02:56 PM.