Does Believing in God Make You Dumb?

Are you a dummy for believing in God? There's a new study out whose authors claim to have found a correlation between religion and a lower IQ. Trace looks at the science behind their claims.

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Theists Vs. Atheists: Who's Better Off?
http://news.discovery.com/human/life/...
"Atheists typically fancy themselves to be an intelligent bunch, so it'll hearten them to know that a recent review of decades of research over 63 studies has found that atheists are on average more intelligent than believers."

"Highly religious people are less motivated by compassion than are non-believers"
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_release...
""Love thy neighbor" is preached from many a pulpit. But new research from the University of California, Berkeley, suggests that the highly religious are less motivated by compassion when helping a stranger than are atheists, agnostics and less religious people."

Religious people are less intelligent than atheists, according to analysis of scores of scientific studies stretching back over decades
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/sci...
"Study found 'a reliable negative relation between intelligence and religiosity' in 53 out of 63 studies"

Religious Influence In U.S. Seen As Decreasing, But Most Americans Want More: Survey
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05...
"A majority of Americans believe that religion's influence in the nation is waning, yet also think society would be better off if more Americans were religious, according to a new survey."

Number of Lawmakers Who Don't Identify With a Religion Is on the Rise
http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slates...
"The number is hardly huge but it still marks quite the change from three decades ago. In the early 1980s, not a single member of Congress publicly said he or she didn't belong to a particular religious affiliation or refused to disclose their religion."

World Survey Links Religion and Happiness -- For Some
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/...
"There may be a few atheists in foxholes, but a new study suggests that in societies under stress, those who are religious outnumber -- and are happier than -- their nonreligious counterparts."

Religion and Morality
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/rel...
"From the beginning of Western thought, religion and morality have been closely intertwined. This is true whether we go back within Greek philosophy or within Christianity and Judaism. "

Belief in hell, according to international data, is associated with reduced crime
http://uonews.uoregon.edu/archive/new...
"Religions are thought to serve as bulwarks against unethical behaviors. However, when it comes to predicting criminal behavior, the specific religious beliefs one holds is the determining factor, says a University of Oregon psychologist."

Watch More:
Is God Mad At You?:
   • Is God Mad at You?  
Science vs. Religion:
   • Can Science Be a Religion?  
Women In Gaming:
   • Women in Gaming - Geek Week  

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