Do religous people have a higher / lesser I.Q.than non religous people ? Or vice-versa. Or is it irrelevant..

by smiddy 14 Replies latest jw friends

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  Bugbear

  The question is quite tricky to answer. Of course there are quite smart JW or other sorts of religious persons with an IQ above the average. They often have very complex reasons for believing or (acting as believers).

  There are a numerous investigations made by sociologist and other researchers, on the subject, many of these essays can be questioned. But in Scandinavia a large group of conscientious objectors, (mostly men), had to make a IQ test, before released from military service.

  They scored 5 to 10 points lower than a control group.

  Richard Dawkins claims in his well known book, “The illusion of God”, that almost 98% of the nobel prize winners were atheists.

  In the congs. I have been, as an elder, sometimes I have found that a large numbers of those I was ordered to take care of in the theocratic school, had great difficulties in just reading. They could not understand what they red.

  Of course dumb people are easier to control, from the society’s point of view. They are just told what they should believe, and has no capacities to check out the actual truth in the premises.

  So Yes, I think there are more stupid people amongst JW,s , but this is of course just a personal observation, not a scientific essay.

  Bugbear
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  Simon Templar

  I find that religion in general has little or nothing to do with intelligence. Religion is emotionally centered, not intellectually centered. People join and stay in a religion based on how they feel, not on how others may perceive it.
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  jgnat

  I think higher education puts a damper on fundamentalism. Critical thinking kills dogmatism.

  That being said, intelligent people are just as vulnerable to becoming ensnared. They're simply better at coming up with excuses for their irrational choices. I met a former stockbroker, burnt-out, and a study when I met him. He was brilliant, but broken. A golden child on the circuit. I still worry about him, because all the lovely attention he was getting would evaporate after baptism.

  I recently learned a new term, WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic). WEIRD people think differently than the rest of the world. Happy reading. http://experimentaltheology.blogspot.ca/2010/08/weird-western-educated-industrialized.html

  So I don't think Witnesses are stupider than regular folk. They're less educated, which makes them vulnerable to black and white thinking.
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  Xanthippe

  My mother had a JW friend who was a doctor. She was converted after working as a General Practitioner for many years. All those years of scientifically based training and she joins a cult! Why?
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  DATA-DOG

  I agree with Simon Templar. There are some very intelligent dubs. As far as I know, just having a higher I.Q doesn't help much if you cannot reason. Emotion clouds reason too often. Having a high I.Q but failing to reason is like being a naturally strong human, but never training for a sport.

  Let's say you put 2 guy in a boxing ring. One is highly trained, but of average strength. The other is naturally gifted, but has zero ability and training. My money is on the experienced, but physically weaker opponent. The same holds true IMO, when it comes to I.Q and religion. A person with a lower I.Q who is emotionally and mentally stable, is less likely to be duped by a religious charlatan. A person with a naturally high I.Q may fall prey to a cult because of an emotional issue, or a mental issue like an OCD.

  As a born-in, I had no choice. I was raised as a dub. I made my decisions based on the limited information I was allowed to have. Does that mean I have a low I.Q? I don't know.

  HIGHEST I.Q IN NORTH KOREA

  DD