High IQ turns academics into atheists (page 4)

treadnh2o

FS. I don't blame the dubs for everything. In fact, I probably live fairly close to you, have a great job, earn a very good living and am generally a happy person. I only blame myself for not having the nerve to separate myself from this group before it became too expensive both financially and personally.

VoidEater

I have a high IQ (a high test score). I find that there are plenty of people that might have a lower IQ that still can argue better, articulate better, succeed better in so many ways. I was born smart and all I got was this lousy number I can print on a t-shirt...! It's well debated just what an IQ test is actually measuring. Certainly not the value or impact of a person, and probably not how "smart" they are.

So many ways we label and measure ourselves...

I think I make more of an impact on the world when I'm being kind, as opposed to "smart".

I have experienced "something out there". Whether it's God or just some disowned part of my own psyche is something I'm not smart enough to figure out. They would both look the same to me.

So my mind knows there's no God, but my heart feels there is. I am content with the contradiction.

Deputy Dog

He said that most primary school children believed in God, but as they entered adolescence - and their intelligence increased - many began to have doubts and became agnostics.

He added that most Western countries had seen a decline of religious belief in the 20th century at the same time as their populations had become more intelligent.

Do these people know the difference between education and intelligence? Some very intelligent people have little education and some very educated people have little intelligence.

Galileo

I'm an atheist, but I agree with the poster that said this researcher is just a headline grabber. The poll that was referred to as an example (about how virtually all scientists at the top level are either atheists or agnostics) I have also cited many times. Yes they all have very high I.Q.s, but they are also a very unique sample set. They spend their lives examining the natural world and have learned or discovered a tremendous amount of information about how the world functions. They look at things many people consider proof of the existence of a creator and find naturalistic explanations where no creator is required. I believe that is one of the main reasons why they tend to be atheists, and of the remaining minority, those that aren't atheists tend to be agnostics.

On the other hand, a poll of the faculties at leading seminaries would also yield a sample set that have high I.Q.s, yet the results would be very different.

Freudian: You're young yet. Some day you'll quit being indecisive and come over to the dark side!

Galileo

Another reason I believe scientists tend to be atheists is that they have a very well developed reasoning abiltiy, much moreso than the population in general. Critical thinking is an absolute necessity to do science.

Incidentally, I think a poll of the members of this board would also be skewed, as I believe most here to have a higher I.Q. and better critical thinking ability than the population in general. We, after all, were members of a brainwashing cult and managed to reason our way out of it.

Seeker4

No surprise to me. Me = High IQ. Me = Atheist. Pretty obvious conclusion.

OK, no nasty responses. It's all true, but I'm yanking chains here.

But I think the critical thinking skills post offers a good reason for this correlation.

S4

hillary_step

Cog,

Maybe we should start a JWD "study" to test his hypothesis. Have people post their IQ's and also whether they believe in God or not?

Can one cut and paste an IQ?

I think the writer of the piece in the opening thread has stumbled upon a reality which he has chosen to defend by questionable means.

HS

cognizant dissident

Can one cut and paste an IQ?

LOL! Yes you may. I'm going to cut and paste Stephen Hawkings IQ as soon as I can find it on Wikipedia.

I find my own IQ to be quite fluid. It goes up about 10 points after my morning coffee and down 20 points after posting on a JWD fluff thread!

I think the writer of the piece in the opening thread has stumbled upon a reality which he has chosen to defend by questionable means

I agree. I think there is probably a greater correlation between level of education and atheism. Those who go on to seek higher education tend to be those with higher IQ's who were more successful in lower school. So, it's not a case of direct causation but rather one of co-morbidity. (I use this term because we atheists have all caught the diseased mind of Satan and are doomed to eternal destruction. )

Cog

Sirona

I wouldn't be surprised at such a correlation...

I am in Mensa whose requirement is an IQ within the top 2% of the population and within mensa there are special interest groups - many of which are religious (Christian, Pagan, Buddhist etc.)

It isn't a given that someone with a high IQ will be irreligious.

Sirona

FlyingHighNow

Sirona, I am curious, what IQ number is the bottom of the top 2%?

High IQ turns academics into atheists

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