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In reply to the discussion: New meta-analysis checks the correlation between intelligence and faith [View all]muriel_volestrangler
(101,316 posts)13. The graph is just one of the 63 studies
and the Ars Technica article says about that study "the study came under criticism from Gordon Lynch of Birkbeck College, because it did not account for complex social, economical, and historical factors."
I would say the crucial summary of the article is:
Out of 63 studies, 53 showed a negative correlation between intelligence and religiosity, while 10 showed a positive one. Significant negative correlations were seen in 35 studies, whereas only two studies showed significant positive correlations.
And the "more than 87% were from US, Canada, UK" does mean it's really restricted to those 3 countries (and the studies go back a long way, so many of the UK studies may also have been in a significant Christian majority country. So the 'more intelligent = less likely to conform' hypothesis might explain a lot of it.
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I guess the rest of the world is the opposite of Lake Woebegone; no one is above average. n/t
lumberjack_jeff
Aug 2013
#8
It appears that only about 13 out of 137 countries are of average or above intelligence ...
Jim__
Aug 2013
#3
And from what I did see, the bulk of those studied (87%) were from western countries.
cbayer
Aug 2013
#7
A meta study is defiend as 'looking at other studies and not doing their own'
muriel_volestrangler
Aug 2013
#19
Mensa members are supposed to be very intelligent so I decided to see how many are religious. ...
spin
Aug 2013
#5