I don't think we actually need to worry. It's way more likely that any "research" you may find stating that religions are on the rise are very likely to be propaganda, put out to discourage more people from wanting answers that can be verified as true, and therefore discovering alternative viewpoints. Secularisation has been steadily happening for years now...
sounds to me like these so called studies aren't taking into consideration that 90% of the world's greatest inventors, scientists, astronomers, physicists, mathematicians, philosophers, artists, composers, etc. in the last thousand years are/were "religious"
Atheists think religion and science are mutually exclusive, therefore are naturally closed minded
"Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind" - Albert Einstein (someone much smarter, with a higher IQ than any atheist...)
@Success How about Max Planck? (father of theoretical physics & quantum physics)
"Anybody who has been seriously engaged in scientific work of any kind realized that over the entrance to the gates of the temple of science are written the words ;ye must have faith" - Max Planck
Or how about Galileo Galilei? (father of modern physics & observational astronomy)
"I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use" - Galileo Galilei
Or Francis Bacon perhaps? (father of empiricism & scientific method)
"A little philosophy inclineth man's mind to atheism, but a depth in philosophy bringeth men's minds about to religion" - Francis Bacon
How about Adam Sedgwick (father of modern geology; his students included Charles Darwin)
"From first to last it is a dish of rank materialism cleverly cooked up ... . And why is this done? For no other reason, I am sure, except to make us independent of a Creator." - Adam Sedgwick
I could go on and on, but basically, the science used by atheists to attempt to "disprove" God are all fields discovered and/or pioneered by believers/Christians... 🤔
@suchaslife I respect the opinions of others only if it's an actual opinion based on personal belief, research, experience, etc.
I detest people who are unable to form their own opinions, instead relying on the opinions of others based on socio-political trends/fads (believing something just because it's popular at the time or fits the status quo isn't an opinion at all)
I'll listen to "pro-choicers", but the topic tends to turn sour after I serve them up a dish of pragmatism and reverse psychology...🤔
@wildbill83 That's right. I personally find value in differences between learning, interpreting and overall opinions. I understand what you're saying 100% Wish can give you best answer twice 🤭
SW-User
I don't think religion has anything to do with people's stupidity
I've seen studies to that effect. However I think that the correlation between IQ and religious beliefs may have to do with personality and circumstance.
The writer actually goes full circle and turns the premise around in a thought provoking way. He points out that there is a certain rigidity in atheism that is not unlike the rigidity in religiosity.
[quote]In that sense, hardcore atheism and agnosticism are as symptomatic of rigidity and narrow-mindedness as extreme religiosity, and highlight an inability to understand alternative Weltanschauungen or opposite systems of values. In any event, associations between IQ and religiosity are at least in part determined by personality traits and values. And let's not forget that there are plenty of people who are both smart and religious - as well as many individuals who are agnostic and dim.[/quote]
I think it makes sense that the closed-minded would be less intelligent than the open-minded, because they wouldn’t be as driven to dig for answers if they think they have them all already. I know it’s not quite what you’re asking here, but I thought the article and observations were interesting enough to post.
No! Christians have higher intelligence, win more Nobel prizes, have better jobs, and make more money! I went to a public university and my logic professor said that I was above all her classes in intelligence and logic. I have a very strong curiosity to find all answers to life's questions, but my faith is based on Gods Grace.
It amazes me that supposedly intelligent people believe that a single entity they call "God" came to a reasoning a long time ago and decided to "Create" a Universe full of Billions and Billions of Stars and Planets, then decided only one of those Planets will have Beings created "In His Image" I am forever shaking my head at this. Yes,I agree that Mankind is going backwards with "Religion" brainwashing huge numbers of "Lost" Souls
@suchaslife Seeing as I do not believe in "God," and as Science has unsatisfactorily explained the origins of the Earth. I am more inclined to go with the Scientists than some "Omnipotent Being"
Im not sure where you are getting your numbers from. But I'm pretty sure that globally that isnt the case.. However, religious belief has been know to fluctuate , rising in bad times and falling away in good. A variation on the "No Atheists in Fox Holes" idea. I have been known to offer God a deal myself in times of great stress.
@whowasthatmaskedman Agree about not forcing anyone beliefs to the other. What I meant by extremely religious is that nothing can change my my faith that's all. Some people do loose faith or change what I am saying is that mine will never change. However I very very much respect science and everyone right to believe what they choose to
@suchaslife Maybe I should put it better. I think there are atheists that are dogmatic and dig their heels in but so do religious people. I think on average the world is becoming less intelligent and I don't think it has to do with either religion or lack thereof. The movie idiocracy is a good movie to watch on how natural selection is starting to select for breeding ability rather than intelligence now.
That's a very interesting post and I can see why the two things are connected but I don't see any contradiction in belief in God and high levels of intelligence. As Heisenberg said, “The first gulp from the glass of natural sciences will turn you into an atheist, but at the bottom of the glass God is waiting for you”.
I am an atheist personally but I have many friends who are committed Christians, including a former Pastor of MENSA intelligence. As a former Sociology student I would not trust any study which claims to correlate faith and IQ.
It's not that their dumb, it's just that many have confirmation biases. Evolution is about survival mainly.
Because of the above, it's my belief that we weren't born knowing logic. If we were born in the wild, it would be about surviving. So logic is something we have to teach ourselves.
I find that there's a huge difference between people who have learned logic even being kind of spiritual and those that have not and are religious.
PBS series 'Closer To Truth', is the definitive source for Cosmos, Consciousness, and Meaning, the greatest thinkers discussing the deepest questions focused on intelligent conversations about life's most essential topics and encourages the discussion to continue.
I know firsthand some very intelligent people who have religious beliefs. But the thing that the people I know have in common is a way of combining their faith with an understanding of science that makes both schools of thought compatible.
SW-User
Even though I’m agnostic, I’ve often seen religion as attempting to answer the “why?” questions while science focuses more on the “how?” questions. I know that’s overly simplistic, but I’ve viewed that as a rough way of delineating between the two in a manner that gives each some unique space in a Venn diagram sort of way, if that makes sense. @bijouxbroussard
Let's not go there, and you can forget those unreliable PEW projections too. It can now be perfectly reasoned that nature alone provides eternal life. This is the future of belief, and it represents a new order of religion: magic-free.
@Success Then why do people die if nature provides eternal life? We should never die, if that is the case. Sin brings death with it. Physically and spiritually.
I don't believe there's correlation between intellect and a person's belief system. The proportion of those who consider themselves religious is falling not rising. That's certainly the trend down here anyway
Smartness is way different from reasoning skills .. Fanaticism won't last ling.. for even an atheist fanatic will go through hardship if he does not have reasoning power. So what can be expected is an imtellectual war and there would be a lot of turmoil in the religion front.
I predict that all of the ancient religions would perish givung way to newer non-theistic religions..
I don't know both sides can be Stupid & Smart You Have Smart Christians & You Have Dumb Christians You Have Smart Atheists & You Have Dumb Atheists lol
Thank you for calling me average 😂 I like being called average, below average, dumb. I don't care about who is the smartest guy because he also doesn't know what is the actual age of Sun and me neither. 😂
If we burned all the books to do with science and religion, ignored them for 500 years, then wrote them again, the science books would all say the exact same things they do now. The religous texts, not so sure... lol
I’ve never considered people believing in an afterlife or not as something that would be a reflection of their intelligence. But then again I’m not the smartest person myself.
