Is Intelligence Negatively Correlated With Religious Belief?

Check out this answer from Consensus:

The body of research reviewed here consistently supports a negative correlation between intelligence and religious belief. This relationship is observed across different populations, cultural contexts, and types of intelligence. While various theories have been proposed to explain this correlation, further empirical and theoretical work is needed to fully understand the underlying mechanisms.

The relationship between intelligence and religious belief has been a topic of considerable academic interest. Numerous studies have explored whether higher intelligence is associated with lower levels of religiosity. This article aims to synthesize findings from various research papers to provide a comprehensive understanding of this relationship.

Meta-Analyses and General Findings

Several meta-analyses have consistently shown a negative correlation between intelligence and religiosity. A meta-analysis of 63 studies found a significant negative association, with correlations ranging from -0.20 to -0.25 for college students and the general population1. This negative correlation was confirmed by a subsequent meta-analysis of 83 studies, which reported similar correlation ranges and highlighted the role of analytic cognitive style as a partial mediator2. Another comprehensive meta-analysis involving 89 studies also found a small but robust negative association (r = -0.14) between intelligence and religiosity, with stronger effects observed for psychometric intelligence tests compared to proxy measures like grade point averages4.

National and Cross-Cultural Studies

The negative relationship between intelligence and religious belief extends beyond individual studies to cross-national analyses. For instance, a study examining 137 countries found a correlation of 0.60 between national IQ and disbelief in God, suggesting that more intelligent nations tend to have higher rates of atheism3. This finding underscores the robustness of the negative correlation across different cultural contexts.

Theoretical Explanations

Several theories have been proposed to explain the negative correlation between intelligence and religiosity. One theory suggests that intelligent individuals are less likely to conform and are more likely to resist religious dogma1. Another theory posits that intelligent people tend to adopt an analytic thinking style, which undermines religious beliefs2. Additionally, intelligence may provide functions such as compensatory control, self-regulation, and secure attachment, reducing the need for religious beliefs and practices1.

Emotional Intelligence and Religiosity

While most studies focus on cognitive intelligence, some research has explored the relationship between emotional intelligence (EI) and religiosity. One study found that ability EI was positively associated with general levels of religious belief, although both trait and ability EI were negatively correlated with extrinsic religious orientation and negative religious coping5. This suggests that different dimensions of intelligence may have varying relationships with religiosity.

Specialized Cognitive Abilities and Autism Spectrum Traits

Some researchers argue that the negative correlation between religiosity and IQ is not necessarily related to general intelligence (g) but rather to specialized cognitive abilities. For example, higher IQ scores may be associated with autism spectrum traits, which are negatively correlated with religiosity6. This perspective challenges the notion that the negative correlation is solely due to general intelligence.

Gender Differences and Intelligence Profiles

Gender differences in religiosity and intelligence profiles have also been examined. Studies have found that females are generally more religious than males and that religiousness is associated with a more stereotypically female intelligence profile7. This raises intriguing questions about the interplay between gender, intelligence, and religiosity.

Education and Religious Background

The role of education in mediating the relationship between intelligence and religiosity has been debated. Some studies suggest that education does not mediate this relationship, although it may have varying effects depending on the strength of one’s religious background9. This indicates that the relationship between intelligence and religiosity is complex and influenced by multiple factors.

Is intelligence negatively correlated with religious belief?

Ian Silver has answered Likely

An expert from University of Cincinnati in Intelligence, Behavioural Science, Social Sciences

Generally, the evidence suggests that lower intelligence is correlated with higher religiosity. These findings, however, should not be mistaken for a causal association between intelligence and religiosity. Correlates of intelligence, such as interest in reading or the willingness to accept new information, could be the mechanisms resulting in the observed correlation between intelligence and religiosity. Furthermore, family and household factors have been shown to influence involvement in religious activities. Considering this, it is important to always remember that correlation is not causation. Until additional research is completed, we can only state that intelligence and religiosity have a slight negative correlation.

Is intelligence negatively correlated with religious belief?

Guy Madison has answered Uncertain

An expert from Umeå university in Psychology

There is an overall negative correlation at about -0.2, but that does not tell us what it means. For example, it might reflect that more intelligent people (1) understand the world sufficiently well that they do not need supernatural explanations, (2) see through the inconsistencies of religious scripture, (3) require proof before they believe in something, or (4) realise that they are socially better off to join the majority that drive secularisation in the West. Also, we don’t know to what extent different groups or parts of the IQ distribution drive this correlation. For example, it might reflect a strong correlation among protestants in combination with a naught correlation among jews, or a strong correlation among those with low IQ in combination with a naught correlation among those with high IQ. Religious leaders tend for example to be more intelligent than the average person. We don’t know. A comprehensive review of this question is found in Dutton (2014).

An interesting perspective is that humans have an evolved instinct to practice religion, and that individuals with higher intelligence may be less prone to act on their instincts (Dutton & van der Linden, 2017), which may also be associated with the level of mutation load (Dutton, Madison, & Dunkel, 2017). Also, a recent study argued that the negative correlation is not on general intelligence (g) but on specialised cognitive abilities (Dutton, te Nijenhuis, Metzen, van der Linden, & Madison, 2019).

References

Dutton, E. (2014). Religion and intelligence. London, UK: Ulster Institute for Social Research.

Dutton, E., Madison, G., & Dunkel, C. S. (2017). The mutant says in his heart, “There is no God”: The rejection of collective religiosity centred around the worship of moral gods is associated with high mutational load. Evolutionary Psychological Science, 4, 233-244.

Dutton, E., te Nijenhuis, J., Metzen, D., van der Linden, D., & Madison, G. (2019). The myth of the stupid believer: The negative religiousness-IQ nexus is not on general intelligence (g). Journal of Religion and Health.

Dutton, E. & van der Linden, D. (2017). Why is intelligence negatively associated with religiousness? Evolutionary Psychological Science, 1-12.