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In reply to the discussion: New meta-analysis checks the correlation between intelligence and faith [View all]spin
(17,493 posts)27. The data on scientists closely matches members of Mensa. ...
NOVEMBER 5, 2009
Scientists and Belief
****snip***
A survey of scientists who are members of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, conducted by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press in May and June 2009, finds that members of this group are, on the whole, much less religious than the general public.1 Indeed, the survey shows that scientists are roughly half as likely as the general public to believe in God or a higher power. According to the poll, just over half of scientists (51%) believe in some form of deity or higher power; specifically, 33% of scientists say they believe in God, while 18% believe in a universal spirit or higher power. By contrast, 95% of Americans believe in some form of deity or higher power, according to a survey of the general public conducted by the Pew Research Center in July 2006. Specifically, more than eight-in-ten Americans (83%) say they believe in God and 12% believe in a universal spirit or higher power. Finally, the poll of scientists finds that four-in-ten scientists (41%) say they do not believe in God or a higher power, while the poll of the public finds that only 4% of Americans share this view.
http://www.pewforum.org/2009/11/05/scientists-and-belief/
But I was surprised to read this article:
Science and Religion Do Mix? Only 15 Percent of Scientists at Major Research Universities See Religion and Science Always in Conflict
Sep. 23, 2011 Throughout history, science and religion have appeared as being in perpetual conflict, but a new study by Rice University suggests that only a minority of scientists at major research universities see religion and science as requiring distinct boundaries.
"When it comes to questions about the meaning of life, ways of understanding reality, origins of Earth and how life developed on it, many have seen religion and science as being at odds and even in irreconcilable conflict," said Rice sociologist Elaine Howard Ecklund. But a majority of scientists interviewed by Ecklund and colleagues viewed both religion and science as "valid avenues of knowledge" that can bring broader understanding to important questions, she said.
***snip***
They interviewed a scientifically selected sample of 275 participants, pulled from a survey of 2,198 tenured and tenure-track faculty in the natural and social sciences at 21 elite U.S. research universities. Only 15 percent of those surveyed view religion and science as always in conflict. Another 15 percent say the two are never in conflict, and 70 percent believe religion and science are only sometimes in conflict. Approximately half of the original survey population expressed some form of religious identity, whereas the other half did not.
***snip***
Other findings:
*Scientists as a whole are substantially different from the American public in how they view teaching "intelligent design" in public schools. Nearly all of the scientists -- religious and nonreligious alike -- have a negative impression of the theory of intelligent design.
*Sixty-eight percent of scientists surveyed consider themselves spiritual to some degree.
*Scientists who view themselves as spiritual/religious are less likely to see religion and science in conflict.
*Overall, under some circumstances even the most religious of scientists were described in very positive terms by their nonreligious peers; this suggests that the integration of religion and science is not so distasteful to all scientists.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110921115923.htm
However the famous physicist, Stephen Hawking, has written a book "The Grand Design, which supposedly explains the universe without God." (ref: http://creation.com/stephen-hawking-god)
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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