Science What Religion Has The Highest IQ? - Wait, atheists are smarter than the religious? Who knew?

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When it comes to the factors that may affect your intelligence, we first think of the environment, education, genetics, etc. But have you ever thought about less-mentioned factors like religion?

I heard someone claiming the other day that a specific religion has the highest IQ. Although the claim was not supported by any scientific fact or source, I couldn’t stop thinking about what he said.

Can religion and your beliefs actually affect your IQ? Which religion has the highest IQ, and what does that mean exactly?

I had so many questions and needed clarification. That’s when I started gathering information on the connection between religion and intelligence. If you are curious about whether or not fundamental beliefs could affect your intelligence or if comparing each religion’s IQ level is the right way to find that out, you have come to the right place.

In today’s blog, we are going to discuss what religion has the highest IQ and find the link between IQ and religion through it. By the end of this article, all your questions on this topic will be answered. Keep reading!

What Religion Has The Highest IQ?

Helmuth Nyborg and Richard Lynn conducted a massive study to determine whether IQ is connected to religion. One of the things they realized was that atheists’ average IQ was six points higher than others.

You probably expected this answer to be enough, right? But the answer to this question is the beginning of thousands of other questions that tend to tickle our minds.

Why Are Atheists Smarter Than Non-atheists?

Of course, we can argue about how studies like this were taken, but let’s assume that this test is entirely accurate and what they indicated was the truth: atheists are more brilliant than non-atheists, and there is a difference in IQ in these two groups.

Now, a fundamental question arises: Is this because people who have high IQ scores understand both claims of Christianity (or other religions that believe in God) and atheism, and thanks to their investigative minds, they can see things more clearly? Are they atheists because they are smart enough to know God doesn’t exist?

Or, is there something else correlated to intelligence that could be why they don’t accept the existence of God? Is intelligence what leads people to atheism, or is there something else that comes along with a sense of cleverness that does that?

Here are some very notable facts you should keep in mind before answering these questions:

  • Some studies claimed that prime analytical thought lowers the chances of one being religious, and it could also, in some cases, increase your intrinsic religiosity.
  • The result of every research only applies to the population. We are talking about a group of people and not specific individuals. Research like this is being conducted daily to give us an idea of which group is more intelligent on average.
  • So many bright and intelligent people simply do not accept the existence of God because they don’t want to be accused of being naive.
See, intelligent people always rely on facts and science. So, it is a little hard for them to admit there might be another side of this story that science can’t explain. So, they stay in their safe zone before even trying to understand what believers say.

  • The difference between people who believe in God and those who don’t is not about intelligence. It is about the environment in which you grew up and what you have been exposed to as a child and an adult.

Atheism And IQ: Correlation Link Or Causation?

So many people mistake correlation for causation. For instance, we can talk about religious ideology. Believers claim a divine force created the universe and controls all of us. They are constantly accused of not being smart enough to see the shreds of evidence that deny the existence of God, which requires less intelligence from the average person to hold their religious beliefs.

A study from 2016 demonstrated the average need for cognition is lower when one holds to the most prominent religion of a society. When most members of the community accept your beliefs, there is less of a need to develop one’s crystal intelligence to justify your beliefs.

How Could Religious People Be Smarter Than Atheists?


It has been proven that intrinsic religiosity has a positive connection to self-control. Since intrinsically religious people have been shown to have more self-control if they willingly choose to believe in God and not just because more than half of the world considered this a popular idea, but because they sincerely believe so, they are in a position that requires more analytical and intellectual thinking to prove to themselves what they believe in. Therefore, self-motivated religious people are indeed very brilliant.

Why, in some nations, do atheists exhibit higher levels of analytical thinking?

Most people with low IQs just accept whatever the majority of people believe in. They just go with the flow without ever asking where it is taking them. So, when the belief in the existence of God is what we consider normal and usual comes on, these people just simply accept it.

Those with high IQ analyze and investigate the idea before accepting it.
 
My personal theory is that people with higher IQ are more reflective and more likely to question how they were brought up. I suspect that in a highly atheistic country, you'd see the opposite effect, with a higher than usual religiosity associated with high IQ.
 
My personal theory is that people with higher IQ are more reflective and more likely to question how they were brought up. I suspect that in a highly atheistic country, you'd see the opposite effect, with a higher than usual religiosity associated with high IQ.
You can look to East Asia and see that wouldn't be true tbh
 
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Yeah these guys seem really cool and smart.
 
Denominations like Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy have a heavy intellectual tradition and I wouldn't call someone like Thomas Aquinas or Gregory Palamas low IQ. Hell, if you look at Christian history that includes Johannes Kepler, Francis Bacon, Blaise Pascal, Willhelm Liebnitz, Bernhard Riemann, Karl Gauss, Georg Riemann, and Leonhard Euler building most of our modern mathematics. Meanwhile in the literary world men like J.RR Tolkien and C.S Lewis exist. The real issue with Christianity is

1. This IQ would include the demographics of Africa which just has a lower average IQ (Though low time preference systems like Christianity will slowly shift the IQ over time)
and
2. low church protestantism being so wide scale which is more anti-intellectual than high church or Catholic/Orthodox traditions.
 
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We've seen that to be simply untrue time and time again
Yeah, that is something unintelligent people would say.

Similar to how stupid people like Patrick Tomlinson think that because leftism is the predominant ideology in academia, leftism is rational or more intelligent than conservatism.
 
Ever since the Western world took up atheism, shit has been an unending horror show getting worse and worse.
What the fuck kind of religion do you think the 99 gender crowd subscribe to? Zoroastrianism?
What about the commies?
 
This article didn't even answer the questioned it posed. I don't think atheists would like to be considered an religious group despite having absolutely euphoric members. Now, I'm genuinely curious. There have been a lot of famous Hindu scientists but I'm sure the ghettos full of Indians would bring down the IQ rate.
 
Hindus and Muslims are all dumb fuckers, sure, but the average Christian I meet is far smarter than the average atheist. Also I’m lazy and I don’t wanna read this article word for word, so how was the IQ measured? What, did the atheists all say they were super big brained thinkers dood!? Also lol, OP is a massive libshit atheist so I’m not shocked in the slightest.
 
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