The LDS Church doesn’t exactly LIKE intelligent people…
It’s not really a fan of people who think things through, analyze, study and research things…
Hold on;
Let us explain…
In our opinion, (so we don’t offend anyone),
Religion attracts people who may, let’s say…
…lack critical thinking skills and abilities to research, study, and evidence-search.
According to a study done in 2013,
(Not our words, but the study’s…)
There is a “significant negative association between intelligence and religiosity.”
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23921675/
In this study, which is actually, to quote the study, “a mega-analysis of 63 studies,”
It was found that the more Religous a person is,
The less “intelligent” they measured.
Don’t bite me,
I’m quoting the study.
There were three possible reasonings listed as to why religious people would score lower on the intelligence scale;
All three of which we will examine.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23921675/
One.) Religion encourages people to accept a fixed set of beliefs.
People who are generally more prone to not believing everything they are told is “truth” right off the bat,
and tend to do their own research and study,
do not generally accept “because I said so” as a valid, 100% proof answer.
Traditionally, Religion trains members and people to obey.
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-principles/chapter-35-obedience?lang=eng
To follow.
To blindly have “faith” in what is being taught.
Religous people tend to accept belief systems and teachings, (generally speaking), more easily than those who do not believe in, follow, or practice religion.
Religion says “choose to believe, even if you don’t understand.”
Intellect says “Don’t believe everything at face value; research it, study it, find the actual, true facts about a topic before forming beliefs about it!”
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23921675/
2.) Religion tends to run on emotions, feelings, and blind faith; not proof or facts.
A person who thinks more analytically,
…is generally not going to verify truth based on how they feel about what they have learned;
They search for facts, evidence…studies and research that has been done on the topic.
The more analytical and evaluative a person is,
The less likely they are to rely on blind faith,
and the more likely they are to follow things that have actual backings and evidence, trial and error.
As the study states;
“Intelligent people tend to adopt an analytical (as opposed to intuitive) thinking style which has been shown to undermine Religous beliefs.”
We can’t have our belief systems made up entirely of emotion and feelings.
Alcohol feels good. Drugs feel good. Gambling feels good.
So therefore, if it feels good and right, it’s true, right?
See where we’re going with this?
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23921675/
3.) Religion claims to provide many things to people.
However;
Being intellectual,
ALSO gives people
those exact same provisions.
Religion assists people in coping with the fear of death.
Using intellect to understand and accept inevitable death as unavoidable and a normal, natural part of the human experience does the same.
Religion gives people direction and guidance; rules to follow to help them through life. How to be a good person, how to be charitable, how to love others.
People who utilize their natural intellect create their own sets of rules and guidelines for life based on how the reality of world is around them. They do not need a book or religion to tell them how to be a good person or how to live life in a specific way.
Religion can offer people a sense of significance and importance, high value in the eyes of a deity. It can give them a “reason” for their life.
People who are intelligent generally analyze humanity and recognize their own value as a human inherent; they don’t need external validation to feel like their life has meaning or importance; they tend to believe that their life is important and has meaning for merely existing.
All in all,
According to the study?
The more Religous a person is,
The higher the likelihood is that they score lower on an evaluation of their intelligence and cognitive thinking skills.
Now on to this claim –
“But the most intelligent man on earth has claimed that God exists!”
This man is an OUTLIER to the studies mentioned above.
If you’ve ever done a research study, you know that there are always outliers.
However, we will dive into this outlier in particular, as we have seen many Religous folk re-post this news all over their socials!
https://www.instagram.com/p/DNdw7W4vhfy/?stkn=MWFwYmRsMWp6N2VjdQ==
First of all,
We saw MANY people share articles like this ALL over social media when this news broke out.
But this is where media literacy and bias take place.
For one; the Instagram post has a LARGE caption/title in BOLD letters; meant to grab immediate attention and draw people in.
People who are Religous would be more likely to automatically agree with such a bold title/headline, and then re-share it without doing any research beforehand.
Also,
WHO posted this news?
Was it a right-winged political group?
A faith based account, perhaps?
Where is our news coming from?
What is the bias?
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DWHmOdbjDFi/?stkn=MWZrbHd5YjNveHc4eA==
Bias is everywhere.
And Intelligence/science and religion…
do NOT go hand-in hand;
despite what religious scientists may try to get people to believe.
For one, the “most intelligent man on earth,”
Dr. Younghoon Kim?
We looked into him. And…
He has a BIAS.
A very BIG one, at that.
Dr. Younghoon Kim studied CHRISTAIN THEOLOGY.
Already, he has roots in a very biased perspective.
Bias is well-known to CLOUD scientific fact and studies;
This is why researchers must disclose and be aware of personal bias when conducting studies and tests.
It’s very common for religious people to be able to connect the dots of spirituality with that of science; people see what they want to see. They engage heavily in the confirmation bias.
And we all do it!
But we have to recognize that BIAS, does not equal PROOF, or evidence, just because you study and delve into your own confirmation biases.
This is why many intelligent people still believe in God and religion;
Confirmation bias.
They see what they want to see; focus on discoveries that their background and confirmation bias wants to believe.
And call it “proof.”
Even the smartest man alive is not except from confirmation bias.
As often times,
It is “largely unintentional” –
https://www.britannica.com/science/confirmation-bias
A simple google search also shows that Dr. YoungHoon Kim used to be an atheist, who then “turned his life around” and started believing in God.
Atheist turned Christian.
Christians LOVE a good “saved by Christ” story.
However…
It also states that he attempted suicide, which left him feeling empty…
And he then turned to RELIGION…
to cope.
He found his meaning in life
through religion.
If anything, this just goes to show that he does what every other religious person does;
Use religion to cope with the inevitable reality of death.
“The human obsession with purpose is merely a distraction from the absurdity of existence.” – Nikolai Gogol.
There’s a reason that 12-step recovery programs involve a belief in something higher than yourself;
https://sober.com/the-role-of-a-higher-power-in-12-step-drug-treatment/
It’s a coping mechanism.
Religion is a coping mechanism.
Utilizing religion as a coping mechanism for life, as a way to stay alive, as your reason for feeling like you have a purpose of existence in this world?
That’s not a bad thing.
In fact, it can be very good for everyone who has struggled with suicidal ideology and attempts to find meaning in life;
Like the musical artist Noah Kahan once said in his lyrics,
“Medicate, meditate, swear your soul to Jesus….Give yourself a reason.”
https://open.spotify.com/track/3yn01PcU95PTbiZ3xvop2j?si=xqUkCzkoRriEQJxS0vR0Ag&utm_source=copy-link
Many people utilize religion as a means of giving themself purpose, and to cope with the inevitable reality of death;
To find hope in their lives.
However,
Utilizing religion as a coping mechanism does not inherently mean that religion and the existence of a God is a foolproof FACT.
Especially with the underlying bias behind the claim.
With the underlying bias of a person utilizing religion after struggling to find a way to stay alive on this earth.
Again, it’s not a bad thing to use religion as a crutch if that’s what’s giving you hope, giving you a reason to stay alive. I can’t say that enough!! Please by all means, use religion if it means staying alive! Saving your own life!
BUT
Again…
One man’s experience and spiritual belief systems;
Does NOT equate universal proof.
Intelligence is not universal.
An intelligence or IQ score does not all of a sudden mean that the “intelligent” individual is suddenly a “God of all knowledge.”
Just because someone may have, say, a PhD in the field of psychology and human intellect/behavior,
Does not automatically mean that they have the same level of intelligence of knowledge regarding Human anatomy, in the way a person with a Doctorate in the medical field does.
Intelligence in one field does not automatically cover all of the others.
It’s called
Domain-specificity.
https://thedecisionlab.com/biases/dunning-kruger-effect
If a person were to be debating us on the topic of godly and religious things,
And then threw in the argument,
“I have a PhD!!”
Immediately,
We are turned off to the debate.
Because in that moment,
We realize that the individual with whom we are debating,
Has fallen into the falsehood whereas they believe that a PhD gives them authority and an automatic “higher intelligence” than those with whom they are arguing.
We realize that the individual simply believes they are correct about their own personal Religous belief systems,
Simply because they were well-educated at a university.
However, it is as we stated earlier;
Holding a degree or a PhD does not automatically make a person’s knowledge and intelligence equal to all the things that exist in the entire world.
A well-educated person should, on the other hand,
Understand and know that the pursuit of knowledge is a life-long journey, one that never ends. There is ALWAYS much to learn.
And claiming a higher level of intelligence due to a PhD or degree,
Automatically demotes yourself as an intellect.
As someone who is closed off to other studies and findings.
Now if a person has a degree in the field of which we are debating;
That’s a different story.
Well take what you have to say far more seriously, as our debate specifically regards your speciality; the area in which you studied, experimented, and examined for years!
However, we also have to remember;
Science and personal belief do not go hand in hand all the time.
A background in your field of work, especially religion,
Is a biased take.
There’s a reason people evaluate the person behind the studies.
“Where does this person come from? What’s their experience like? What have they studied?” Etc.
Because no one is free from bias.
And Religous bias
Tends to be a fairly STRONG bias to have.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34449007/
Now, one could say that we ourselves are extremely biased regarding our “anti-Mormon” and “anti-religion” blog.
And you’d be right.
Our blog most definitely has a bias for anti-religion.
However,
One difference between us, and others?
We are aware that we have this anti-religious bias.
Whereas we have debated many people, with whom don’t even realize they have a pro-religion bias.
It’s important for ALL sides to recognize bias, and learn how to fact-find, study, experiment, and analyze all sides,
And all research.
And trust us;
We did a lot of time;
23 years of it, actually; and continue today, as well…
Researching the side of pro-religion.
So now it’s our turn to debate the other side.
To then become more well-rounded.
As we all should.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34449007/
But it’s fascinating to see the statistics,
That state that the countries with the LOWEST education scores;
Tend to be the HIGHEST in Religous beliefs.
https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/literacy-rate-by-country
https://www.statista.com/chart/27033/share-religious-people-by-country/
We could debate this topic forever.
There is nothing wrong with being Religous, necessarily;
So long as you’re not forcing your beliefs on other people, using it as an excuse to hate or shun other people, utilizing religion as a valid reason for abuse…
But as the statistics have gone to show;
The less intelligent you are,
The more likely you are to be religious.
–
Imagine shaming someone for leaving the church –
Because they don’t believe in blindly accepting a fixed-set of beliefs and values, and instead value building a foundation of study, research, and cognitive thinking to see all factual sides of an issue before constructing a fully-built house (belief system) on top of it.
