Just as I suspected


All but four of the forty-three polls listed support the conclusion that native intelligence varies inversely with degree of religious faith; i.e., that, other factors being equal, the more intelligent a person is, the less religious he is.

Conclusions In this essay:

sixteen studies of the correlation between individual measures of student intelligence and religiosity, all but three of which reported an inverse correlation.

five studies reporting that student bodies with high average IQ and/or SAT scores are much less religious than inferior student bodies;

three studies reporting that geniuses (IQ 150+) are much less religious than the general public (Average IQ, 100), and one dubious study;

seven studies reporting that highly successful persons are much less religious in belief than are others; and

eight old and four new Gallup polls revealing that college alumni (average IQ about 115) are much less religious in belief than are grade-school pollees.

Scott Adams asks why this is so?

"it’s fair to wonder whether the low IQ/faith correlation – if real – is based on direct causation or something else. According to your comments, here are some of the top contenders for the “something else.”

1. Smart people tend to have more resources. Therefore, God’s quiet whisper to their soul is drowned out by the sound of their home theaters and BMW engines.

2. College professors are a bunch of atheists who consciously or unconsciously brainwash students to disavow their faith. So the more college you get, the more brainwashing you get.

3. Higher education teaches a rational way of looking at the world that is well suited for worldly decision-making but cripples the student for recognizing the subtlety of the divine.

4. And my favorite: People with high IQs are notoriously stupid when it comes to real world questions."