Intelligent people 'less likely to believe in God'

People with higher intelligence are less likely to believe in God, according to a new study
by Graeme Paton, The Telegraph.

Professor Richard Lynn, emeritus professor of psychology at Ulster University, said many more members of the "intellectual elite" considered themselves atheists than the national average. A decline in religious observance over the last century was directly linked to a rise in average intelligence, he claimed.

A survey of Royal Society fellows found that only 3.3 per cent believed in God - at a time when 68.5 per cent of the general UK population described themselves as believers.

A separate poll in the 90s found only seven per cent of members of the American National Academy of Sciences believed in God. Professor Lynn said most primary school children believed in God, but as they entered adolescence - and their intelligence increased - many started to have doubts.

He told Times Higher Education magazine: "Why should fewer academics believe in God than the general population? I believe it is simply a matter of the IQ. Academics have higher IQs than the general population. Several Gallup poll studies of the general population have shown that those with higher IQs tend not to believe in God."

He said religious belief had declined across 137 developed nations in the 20th century at the same time as people became more intelligent.

Dr David Hardman, principal lecturer in learning development at London Metropolitan University, said: "It is very difficult to conduct true experiments that would explicate a causal relationship between intelligence and religious belief. Nonetheless, there is evidence from other domains that higher levels of intelligence are associated with a greater ability - or perhaps willingness - to question and overturn strongly felt institutions.

To which I add ... but just because you are stupid does not mean you can be happy being an atheist too! Personally, I could never be bothered trying in/did not get those IQ tests and am not that smart either. Yes, folks, knowing the slightest bit about history, biology, physics, geology, astronomy, or any other -ology for that matter, makes it really hard to believe in Brahma Kumarism.

Academically educated people are not necessarily intelligent. You can also be educated and ignorant although academics do tend to use their brains more which might explain why they would not believe in abstract notions such as "God" let alone the BK.

Maybe "education" and "intelligence" are interchangeable.

The BK is and was created for Indians and Indian society. How it made its way into the West and managed to fool so-called "intelligent" and "educated" people is only a mystery if you don't include the fact that human beings can generally be said to be one of the following: vulnerable, broken and/or lacking in spiritual education.

After discovering the existence of the BK, though, I think Westerners will become more educated not only in spiritual matters but also in regards to spiritual cults that have entered the "spiritually vulnerable and uneducated" mind of the Westerner.

Academically educated people are not necessarily intelligent ...

Of course, the question one should be asking is, what exactly does IQ measure and what is its culturally relevance, e.g. how can you measure the intelligence of a non-literate people? Is a test by academically educated people to reinforce the importance of academically educated people?

Dr Lynn is known for his views on racial and ethnic differences, stating that there are race and sex differences in intelligence, see: 'IQ and the Wealth of Nations'. He found a higher average IQ in East Asians than Europeans by 5 IQs points, correlating differences in national income with differences in the average national intelligence quotient, noting year-on-year rises in IQ scores around the world (possibly explained by improved nutrition in childhood) ... and that men have a higher average IQ than women by about 5 IQs points.

He concluded that the average IQ of blacks in sub-Saharan Africa is approximately 70, correlating that to the average IQ of blacks in the United States of 85. The explanation given is that American blacks have 25 per cent of Caucasian genes and a better environment. According to Lewis Terman who developed the original notion of IQ, 80 - 89 equated to 'Dullness', 70 - 79 was 'Borderline deficiency' and Under 70 - 'Definite feeble-mindedness'.

Jews come in above the Western norm at around 120. The "average Indian" score is markedly below the Western norm in the low 80s.

Southern Brahmin, 1% @ 120 IQ - Northern Brahmin, 4% @ 115 IQ
Southern Merchant, 3% @ 110 IQ - Northern Merchant, 12% @ 105 IQ
Southern Peasant, 8% @ 93 IQ - Northern Peasant, 32% @ 88 IQ
Southern Dalit, 5% @ 75 IQ - Northern Dalit, 20% @ 75 IQ
Muslim, 15% @ 75 IQ

The BK is and was created for Indians and Indian society. How it made its way into the West and managed to fool so-called "intelligent" and "educated" people is only a mystery ... After discovering the existence of the BK, though, I think Westerners will become more educated not only in spiritual matters but also in regards to spiritual cults.

The Brahma Kumaris tend to ditch any claim of "intelligence" and go instead for "spiritual" ... SI. An even more unmeasurable quality, "we might be dumb but are the most spiritual people".

Looking at the figures above, where do we place the Brahma Kumari leadership? 'Northern Merchant' to 'Northern Brahmin', 105 to 115 IQ ruling over a majority of 'Peasants' at 75 to 88 IQ? It would be interesting to see an IQ test run across the BKs to test the effects of long term meditation.

If I speak personally, I feel as though I was duped, literally mystified. I thought I was going for one thing only (Knowledge etc) only to discover after a year or so that I was getting something else entirely. I was sold 'Yoga and self-knowledge' what I was getting was 'spiritualism and Bhakti lite' fluffed up with some self-hypnosis.

I think all of us here can look back and admit the lies, deception and 'soft sell' tactics used to push their god.

Well, I don't believe in it heheheh.

We appreciate your intelligence and wisdom, Mr.Green :)).

I never had any pretension to be intelligent. You can put me into the class of stupid ones, as I could tolerate so long the BK mentality.

For me, God or Divine is the intelligence embracing with love, care and compassion all souls of all cells of all livelihood in all universes and the emptiness between them. Maybe the intelligent emptiness.

God or Divine is the intelligence embracing with love, care and compassion all souls of all cells of all livelihood in all universes and the emptiness between them. Maybe the intelligent emptiness.

Lovely description and definition! This is exactly how I tried to explain my belief of "God" to my friend the other day.