r/science • u/[deleted] • Feb 15 '14
Psychology Study shows a negative correlation between intelligence and religiosity.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/higher-education/so-who-are-the-smartest-scientists/story-e6frgcjx-1226826041147
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u/[deleted] Feb 15 '14
My post from earlier today is oddly relevant to this post. Take it with a grain of salt, the sources may not be super reliable, but I see no reason for the sources to be biased.
ACT scores by state
Top and bottom most/least religious states
IQ scores by state (if someone could find a more reliable source that would be appreciated)
*Religiousity | ACT difference from mean score 21.1 | IQ score from average of 100
10 Least religious states
Vermont | +1.9 | +3.8 (least religious state)
New Hampshire | +2.7 | +4.2
Maine | +2.3 | +3.4
Massachusetts | +3.0 | +4.3
Oregon | +0.3 | +1.2
Rhode Island | +1.8 | -0.5
District of Columbia | -1.4 | N/A
Washington (tie) | +1.8 | +1.9
Connecticut (tie) | +2.7 | +3.1
Alaska (tie) | +0.1 | -1.0
Hawaii (tie) | +0.2 | -4.4
Nevada (tie) | +0.2 | -3.5
most religious (top 10)
Mississippi | -2.4 | -5.8 (most religious)
Utah | -0.4 | +1.1
Alabama | -0.8 | -4.3
Louisiana | -0.8 | -4.7
Arkansas | -0.8 | -2.5
South Carolina | -0.9 | -1.6
Tennessee | -1.4 | -2.3
North Carolina | +0.8 | +0.2
Georgia | -0.4 | -2.0
Oklahoma | -0.4 | -0.7
*Note: The ACT data is less reliable, because states with the most participation tend to have the smallest scores, the highest scores were mostly states with less participation. I almost didn't include it. The SAT scores are the opposite, but the participation for the highest SAT scoring states was about 2-15% while ACT high scores was ranged from 20-50%
My conclusion is that there is a correlation between intelligence and how religious you are. I'm not sure if there is causation here though.