What we knew all along: Study finds atheists smarter than believers.

http://news.yahoo.com/religious-people-are-less-intelligent-than-atheists--study-finds--113350723.html#upCr47

This should come as no surprise. Intelligent people are more apt to question what they're told to believe. Less-intelligent people are more apt to believe without questioning.

 

Atheists are complacent with "I don't know".

Theists pretend to know the answers and claim that God loves them more than the atheists.

Arrogance?

 

Although its a meta study and I love me some meta studies, there's a lot of qualifiers that even Zuckerman himself notes: the study is mainly about Western protestants. And the problem of how to measure intelligence remains: some of them use IQ, which is also quite flawed.

In all, it's encouraging but hardly conclusive.

 

Arrogance + ignorance = inanity.

- - - Updated - - -

I've got reams of empirical data...

 

Most atheist are evolved theist

 

And I read a study last week that showed that educated people are more likely to go to church. It all depends on how the study population is set up.

The main study mentioned as part of the group of studies examined, Terman's, is hardly applicable to the population as a whole:

 

I'm assuming then you at least questioned this study and how it was conducted right? It seem pretty silly to just accept it at face value.

 

Of course. I found its methods credible.

- - - Updated - - -

Of course. I found its methods credible.

 

Well that's good enough for me.

 

I tend to look at studies like this very, very suspiciously. Measuring intelligence is still a very imprecise science, and the most popular measure, IQ, is heavily flawed. I wouldn't take this as anything even remotely important. Doesn't even really have much impact on, well, anything.

 

Hard to buy such a conclusion. Orthodox Jewish method of teaching includes the word "why" very often when someone is telling him something.

Example:

You said that you are very intelligent, and have a good career and income, that you travel around the world, and expect to be more richer in the next few years.

The Orthodox Jewish guy will ask to himself, "Why this dude is telling me all that crap?"

 

Sounds like a hasty conclusion. Which is the causation and how do you determine that?

This study sounds counter productive and useless.

 

I don't know that the study concerned causation--only correlation.

 

There is some passage in the bible about camels and needles and rich people that applies pretty well actually. I think it mostly has to do with "needing" religion. If you are intelligent that means that you are more than likely successful in life and have a full belly and a home etc. When all your needs are met and you are satisfied there is no need to pray to any deity for food or protection or any of that other stuff. And since more than likely you worked to get those items you are going to attribute acquiring them as a result of your own efforts instead of some god of some kind.

 

A person can have all kinds of things that appear to give him comfort and security but they can all be gone in less than 2 seconds. Never assume that you are immune to disaster and ruination.

 

That makes sense to some extents. There's definitely some spiritual triage gone into it, else God would have given me the winning Powerball numbers already.

 

As pointed out in astute replies to the OP, material success reinforces smugness. It further reinforces the notion that this world and this one life is all there is and all that matters. Thus the smartest and most ruthless sociopaths end up running the world. Their priority is to overprivilege themselves at the expense of the rest, and then they have nothing better to do than seek glory in manipulating us and in trying to be king of the hill amongst themselves. Because of them, we aren't getting the kind of better future that we should get. Harm is done before they realize that the pinnacle of materialism is no ultimate fulfillment as it still leaves something to be desired, something that is an extension from within and reaches far outside of themselves.

 

I'm not sure this study was of people who "run the world".

 

I don't believe atheists are complacent with "I don't know"... If this were true, no scientific progress would be made.
Do you believe science has not progressed in the last 200 (or even 20) years?

 

A thinking creationist-if there were such a thing- would ask itself
why creationism correlates with low iq / socioeconomic status.

And, how anyone could think that the snowfall in one area of greenland
proves that ice core dating is fake-o (and them dumb scientists dont realize it, continue to spend millions of ice coring)

And how deluded anyone would have to be to think that they know
more physics, geology and biology than any / all scientists on earth.

Maybe there is an atheist who thinks this of himself.

The religious who think this way exist in vast swarms.

 

Ever hear of a Strawman Argument?

Refrain from replying to my posts until you are familiar with the Strawman Argument.

 

I am very familiar with the strawman. Please illustrate how my response qualifies.

Are you familiar with the 'hasty generalization'?
Refrain from posting until you are familiar with Hasty Generalization.

 

Check this out for a first hand account, at the beginning (0-7:30 minutes) and near the end (52-53:18 minutes).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSYXrWIA618

 

Orthodoxy is the enemy of knowledge.

- - - Updated - - -

That's probably true.

 

I tried to find out what they really studied - it was impossible for me - but maybe I'm an idiot because I'm a Christian. Neverthelless: Why did they not just simple make an IQ-Test and a test about spirituality in the same group of people and compared the results? Why so complicate?



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKW3iKYzVk0