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Post by Emperor AAdmin on Jun 12, 2008 23:40:20 GMT -5
Intelligent people are 'less likely to believe in God'
telegraph.co.uk — Professor Richard Lynn, emeritus professor of psychology at Ulster University, said many more members of the "intellectual elite" considered themselves atheists than the national average. A decline in religious observance over the last century was directly linked to a rise in average intelligence, he claimed. But it may not be that simple...
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Intelligent people 'less likely to believe in God'
By Graeme Paton, Education Editor Last Updated: 2:57PM BST 12/06/2008
People with higher IQs are less likely to believe in God, according to a new study.
AP Professor Lynn said religious belief had declined in the 20th century
Professor Richard Lynn, emeritus professor of psychology at Ulster University, said many more members of the "intellectual elite" considered themselves atheists than the national average.
A decline in religious observance over the last century was directly linked to a rise in average intelligence, he claimed.
But the conclusions - in a paper for the academic journal Intelligence - have been branded "simplistic" by critics.
Professor Lynn, who has provoked controversy in the past with research linking intelligence to race and sex, said university academics were less likely to believe in God than almost anyone else.
A survey of Royal Society fellows found that only 3.3 per cent believed in God - at a time when 68.5 per cent of the general UK population described themselves as believers.
A separate poll in the 90s found only seven per cent of members of the American National Academy of Sciences believed in God.
Professor Lynn said most primary school children believed in God, but as they entered adolescence - and their intelligence increased - many started to have doubts.
He told Times Higher Education magazine: "Why should fewer academics believe in God than the general population? I believe it is simply a matter of the IQ. Academics have higher IQs than the general population. Several Gallup poll studies of the general population have shown that those with higher IQs tend not to believe in God."
He said religious belief had declined across 137 developed nations in the 20th century at the same time as people became more intelligent.
But Professor Gordon Lynch, director of the Centre for Religion and Contemporary Society at Birkbeck College, London, said it failed to take account of a complex range of social, economic and historical factors.
"Linking religious belief and intelligence in this way could reflect a dangerous trend, developing a simplistic characterisation of religion as primitive, which - while we are trying to deal with very complex issues of religious and cultural pluralism - is perhaps not the most helpful response," he said.
Dr Alistair McFadyen, senior lecturer in Christian theology at Leeds University, said the conclusion had "a slight tinge of Western cultural imperialism as well as an anti-religious sentiment".
Dr David Hardman, principal lecturer in learning development at London Metropolitan University, said: "It is very difficult to conduct true experiments that would explicate a causal relationship between IQ and religious belief. Nonetheless, there is evidence from other domains that higher levels of intelligence are associated with a greater ability - or perhaps willingness - to question and overturn strongly felt institutions." www.telegraph.co.uk/
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Post by Emperor AAdmin on Jun 12, 2008 23:43:20 GMT -5
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Post by greek1234 on Jun 13, 2008 3:39:42 GMT -5
I voted 'Not exacly'
Well educated people tend to question more, but i know well educated people who are strict Christians.
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Post by Kastorianos on Jun 13, 2008 7:16:49 GMT -5
Intelligent humans ask questions...the more they do the more intelligent they are.....asking questions is a sign that you consciously want to sense your envrinonment...and thats only possible if you understand it...and vice versa....and this leads into asking questions. Since I believe that intelligence is inborn, I think strictly religious people, must have to suppress their intelligence....more or less vigorous..dependently on how intelligent they are.
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Post by Kastorianos on Jun 13, 2008 7:27:13 GMT -5
so I voted no, not at all.
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PARIS DIO_MYSUS!
Amicus
It's Nice to be Important but It's more Important to be Nice!
Posts: 3,681
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Post by PARIS DIO_MYSUS! on Jun 13, 2008 11:07:18 GMT -5
AAdmin: Incoherent ramblings edited out.
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Post by ILIRI I MADH on Jun 13, 2008 14:11:14 GMT -5
If you believe in God either;
you are stupid
you haven't really thought about it and you dont give a shizznit (ex: Leave me alone I got bills to pay)
you are agnostic (claiming to believe because you "simply dont know" whats in there but you don't follow or believe any thing in the book)
you believe in eveything including the book (because you are stupid)
My challenge: Find me a smart educated person very intelligent, that is in reality more then agnostic (ie that believes the whole book and doesnt doubt it a bit, but who has given deep thought about this subject)!
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PARIS DIO_MYSUS!
Amicus
It's Nice to be Important but It's more Important to be Nice!
Posts: 3,681
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Post by PARIS DIO_MYSUS! on Jun 13, 2008 14:35:36 GMT -5
Left blank ==========
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Post by fannoli on Jun 13, 2008 17:25:58 GMT -5
Intelligence is looking and understanding things from an impartial point of view. I would say some religious people are not very intelligent for the meere fact that they blindly follow their topic without questioning.
But then again there are exceptions. It seems that the Scientific Revolution was more agnostic based than religious. It was a break from the religious era where law was arbitrary and knowledge surpressed and confined to religious views.
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Post by jerryspringer on Jun 13, 2008 18:00:35 GMT -5
Mr. Aadmin, I see that you're excluding Mysia's poor replies in order to keep a good standard in this thread. I wonder, though: have you ever considered that some of us would want this kind of standard enforced in other threads?
As for this subject, I think that the critics are quite right. If you try to make a connection between religious people and lower intelligence, then the comparation should be performed on people that belong to the same demographics.
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Post by Teuta1975 on Jun 14, 2008 11:56:53 GMT -5
Adamin,
what do you mean by Faith? Is it religion?
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Post by Emperor AAdmin on Jun 14, 2008 12:07:46 GMT -5
I would say faith is here organized religion. Example is faith in so called 'holly books'. I fail to see what other faith can there possibly be there given that agnosticism ("agnosos"=without knowledge) is way to obscure to provide space for faith. Having faith implies (in my opinion) having some direction or clue (even if made initially by humans and later made look as if inspired by the devine) which agnosticism doesn't provide as it doesn't have it (since here human induced books are not sufficient to be passed as 'divine' or proof of existence of divine) . So answer is organized religion. Lets define faith Faith is a belief in the trustworthiness of an idea that one has not been proven formally and cannot prove formally. In short, it is belief in the absence of evidence. Formal usage of the word "faith" is largely reserved for concepts of religion, where it almost universally refers to a trusting belief in a transcendent reality (therefore spirituality and spiritual immortality), or else in a Supreme Being and their role as a guide for people moving into an experience of such reality.
Informal usage of the word "faith" can be quite broad, and may be used standardly in place of either as "trust," "belief," or "hope". For example, the word "faith" can refer to a religion itself or to religion in general. (For informal uses of the word "faith", see Faith (word)). As with "trust," faith involves a concept of future events or outcomes.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faith
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Post by jerryspringer on Jun 15, 2008 10:59:52 GMT -5
If the article would've wanted to link faith to organized religion, it would've specified so.
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Post by Emperor AAdmin on Jun 15, 2008 12:28:08 GMT -5
Organized religion or simply believing in God period (which again is an idea that is derived via organized religions), whichever it is I fail to see much difference as either one requires faith (believing in divine without proof).
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Post by jerryspringer on Jun 20, 2008 15:12:41 GMT -5
The idea cannot derive from organized religions because first comes the religion, then its organization.
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Post by yahadj on Jun 30, 2008 8:31:46 GMT -5
The intellectual potential of human beings is pretty much the same as it was some thousand years ago. Because the smart person is simply born smart. It is only in modern times that intelligence became more inclined to disbelief. Yet close to 40% of scientists are still believers.
Intelligence doesn't necessarily mean awareness about the unltimate truth. It tells us about the potential you have. But are you using it? That is a different issue.
As the science progressed more theories about the creation of Universe emerged. People got more options to consider. Intelligent man is more likely to reject the status quo. There is higher self esteem, more pride involved. Since the current trend is to praize human intellect, it is no surpise to witness emboldened geniuses. More distraction, more materialism and more pride led to more disbelief. Unfortunately the cause is not better comprehension of the Ultimate Truth. It is more about bold search for other explanations, because achievement to invent one would be a scientific phenomenon. Lot of research is just done for the sake of being first in discovery. Kind of simple selfish drive...
Many people forget that intelligence is not all about scientific knowledge in the textbooks. It is also about the ability to grasp the harmony of life and living in peace with it.
No scientific knowldge would make you immortal in this life. Thus, face the Truth and be prepared for it. Live a good life and make it better for others.
Also it is a good thing that faith is not intelligence dependant. If only the smart one were to be able to believe that wouldn't be fair at all. Every created soul is given a chance to reach the eternal happiness...
PEACE
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bato2
Moderator
Art Changed The World
Posts: 1,352
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Post by bato2 on May 22, 2009 5:18:36 GMT -5
Intelligent people are 'less likely to believe in God'
telegraph.co.uk — Professor Richard Lynn, emeritus professor of psychology at Ulster University, said many more members of the "intellectual elite" considered themselves atheists than the national average. A decline in religious observance over the last century was directly linked to a rise in average intelligence, he claimed. But it may not be that simple... 5 Most Religious Countries in the World 1- Egypt — 100 percent of residents said religion is an important part of their daily life 2 - Bangladesh — 99 percent said religion is an important part of their daily life 3 - Sri Lanka — 99 percent 4 - Indonesia — 98 percent 5 - Congo ( Kinshasa ) — 98 percent LINK www.usnews.com/articles/opinion/2009/02/10/5-most-religious-countries-in-the-world.htmlNo surprise all of the are part of third world And the least Religious Countries al of the af the highest living standarts in the world 1. Sweden (up to 85% non-believer, atheist, agnostic) 2. Vietnam 3. Denmark 4. Norway 5. Japan 6. Czech Republic 7. Finland 8. France 9. South Korea 10. Estonia (up to 49% non-believer, atheist, agnostic)' LINK www.gadling.com/2007/08/23/least-religious-countries/Poorest countries are the most religious A NEW poll confirms that religious belief is a factor in poor economic progress.The Gallup poll shows that Estonia, the least religious country in the world with a “believer index” of just 14 percent, became one of the world’s fast-growing economies after it gained its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. Near neighbour Sweden is the second least religious country, with only 17 percent claiming any form of religious conviction. Other neighboring countries Denmark and Norway are among the least religious countries, including Hong Kong, Japan and France. The US, according to this report, stands out as an exception from the religion=poverty rule. There, two-thirds of the respondents claimed that religion played a significant role in their lives. The poll reveals that religion is most important to people in poor countries. Of the 143 countries surveyed, Egypt came top, where 100 per cent of the respondents believe that religion was an important part of their everyday lives. This is followed by poor countries in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa LINK freethinker.co.uk/2009/02/18/poorest-countries-are-the-most-religious/
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Aris
Amicus
Greek Troll
Posts: 832
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Post by Aris on Jul 24, 2009 17:15:11 GMT -5
Yes , partly ! Intelligent people couldn't believe in God , but sometimes in difficult moments could happens to doing even more stupid mistakes that to believe in God !
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