Is there a correlation between religious beliefs and intelligence?

[Beguile's Mistress]

Intelligence is something we are born possessing.  The measure of our intelligence is our ability to learn, comprehend and use information and knowledge gained from teachers, experience and exposure to various media.  Learning and comprehension require listening and being able to grasp the fact that unless you listen you have no idea what other people are saying.

Whether they are religious or not, whether they believe there is a god or not the intelligent person has some capacity to recognize the differences between their point of view and another and they should possess the curiosity to learn about the other point of view.  How well you do that and how well you manage to respect the views of others demonstrates your level of intelligence as does acknowledging that you must keep on listening and learning.

Do I agree with you?  Maybe; maybe not.
Do I respect your right to your opinion/belief/non-belief? Yes. 
Do I argue my point in opposition to you?  No. 
Why?  I respect your right to your opinion and I’m not seeking to convert you.
Why?  I want you to respect me whether you agree with me or not.

Having faith or belief in a higher power does not presuppose intelligence; neither does any form of atheism or agnosticism.  How someone handles their belief and that of others says much more about how intelligent a person is.  Look for facts, all the facts, any fact, every fact and I respect your intelligence.  Close yourself off to all that does not support your position and you lose credence. 

We don't create intelligence but we do create prejudice.  Enlightenment and intelligence should reduce the prejudice we feel not enhance. 

[vtboy]

Christians, for example, would have an average IQ about or over twenty points higher than the average Muslim, though that would more likely be attributed to the fact that Christianity is practiced in more developed nations.  However, one could flip that logic and say that those nations have progressed more because the dominant religion in those now-developed nations were more compatible with critical thought.

On what, if anything, do you base your assertion that "the average Muslim" would score twenty or more IQ points lower than the average among Christians? On what, if anything, do you base your view that the claimed disparity is attributable to Christianity being more compatible than Islam with "critical thought" (conspicuous in your post only by its absence)?

You may wish to consider, before further indulging your assumptions, that during the Dark Ages, when the "average" European Christian never travelled more than 5 miles from the spot he was born, and led a short and brutish life dominated by superstition, fear, and avoidance of reason, Muslims were governing far flung empires, enjoying the fruits of robust trade, inventing algebra, studying the classics, practicing medicine, and writing verse.

You may also wish to consider the effect on your conclusions of the stereotypes and prejudices to which you evidently subscribe. 

[kckolbe]

@vtboy: Please note that the claim of compatibility was not the one that I said would be more likely.  I said that the likely cause was that Christianity happened to be common in more developed countries.  As for evidence, I based it solely on average IQ by country.  So while the average Christian American and average Muslim American could have identical IQs, the truth is that the majority of Muslims live in nations with lower national IQs and the majority of Christians live in countries with higher IQs. 

I offered two separate, opposed conclusions to show that the evidence could be interpreted multiple ways, but the information did seem relevant to the discussion.

[Moraline]

Just because the reference above about IQ scores and regions of the world made me think of something else.

National IQ Scores Vs Average Penis Size:
http://www.targetmap.com/viewer.aspx?reportId=4923

Oh the crazy things that statisticians come up with.

[kckolbe]

So *that's* why women aren't fleeing the Congo, good to know.

[Mr Bigglesworth]

Just because the reference above about IQ scores and regions of the world made me think of something else.

National IQ Scores Vs Average Penis Size:
http://www.targetmap.com/viewer.aspx?reportId=4923

Oh the crazy things that statisticians come up with.

Yes, yes, a bit off topic I suppose - but I would think that that range of IQ scores tells more about possible cultural biases of the test than people's intelligence.  Just saying.

That and only Moraline would have links like this handy

[TaintedAndDelish]

How about Ashkenazi Jews?  They tend to score around 8-15% higher than average on the IQ scale and they are religious....


http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/4828
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashkenazi_Jewish_intelligence

[Moraline]

Yes, yes, a bit off topic I suppose - but I would think that that range of IQ scores tells more about possible cultural biases of the test than people's intelligence.  Just saying.

That and only Moraline would have links like this handy

Mr B, you are correct. Intelligence is unfortunately something that we have only weak means to measure and the tests are extremely biased, not just culturally but in a number of other ways. I won't get into it here but it's very psychosocial in nature.

[Oniya]

Does anyone remember the kerfuffle about ethnic differences on IQ tests, that were shown to have roots in the different levels of society that people lived in?  It was highlighted in a 'Very Special Episode' ^(TM) of Diff'rent Strokes.  ([noembed]Here's[/noembed] part one - they got uploaded in reverse order.)