Higher IQ's

[Cephus]

That doesn't stop people from making arguments for God from a philosophical basis when they simply cannot do so from a scientific basis.  I would agree that those arguments are likewise irrational however.

Many use "quantum mechanics" and other scientific words to try to argue for God as well.  Just as no decent scientist finds such arguments compelling, so, too, do no decent philosophers find the philosophical arguments for God compelling.  One of the differences, though, is that almost everyone imagines himself or herself as capable of being a philosopher without proper training, whereas some people have sufficient scruples that they do not imagine themselves scientists without proper training.

Well, they might use the words "quantum mechanics" in their claims, they don't actually use any valid scientific arguments, just as their philosophical arguments are not valid.  It's all a load of laughable nonsense.  I wasn't trying to imply that they were properly using philosophy or that their arguments were at all convincing, just that a lot of their claims are philosophical in nature, even if they are entirely invalid.

[RobbyPants]

Universalists and reform jews are smarter than atheists according to wikipedia

That makes sense with my anecdotal experiences. My wife self-identifies as Christian, but seems to be a Universalist in many ways. I think she clocks in at 144 or 146.

[John V]

Does it worry any theists that atheists have higher IQ's? I know this does not mean that religious people are dumber than atheists, but it does point to a correlation between intelligence and religiosity that needs to be discussed.

If I was believed in god and was faced with this fact, I would seriously question whether or not the smarter people know better when it comes to a god's existence. I didn't want to raise any assumptions, I just wanted to here what the resident theists had to say.

Of course it doesn't worry me. 

1 Cor 1
26 For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. 27 But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; 28 and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, 29 that no flesh should glory in His presence. 30 But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption— 31 that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the Lord.”

[Alex K]

Oh hi alpha male, my favorite male chauvinist! Where have you been!

[ErGingerbreadMandude]

I'm assuming you aren't aware of the studies conducted that correlates height and intelligence as directly proportional in the human population?
A quick google search would give you a wiki article.

Even if the average intelligence of an atheist is greater than that of a theist,it still doesn't mean anything.
A similar argument comes to mind,feminists have often cited that females are paid less than males.This is true in the sense that the average male is paid more than the average female,but in a position where a person is presented with equal responsibilities and authority no organisation pays their female worker lesser than their male worker,just because of their gender.

Essentially,these studies imply virtually nothing.It's just an interesting fact.

[John V]

Check out this chart on religiosity v. IQ by country/US state:

This apparently suggests to Friendly Atheist that low IQ people are more likely to be religious.

I see that almost all of the lowest IQ countries are in Africa, and it suggests to me that there are cultural and educational biases in IQ tests.

Also note that the individual US states are in a narrow band of IQ, but vary fairly widely regarding religion.

[John V]

Oh hi alpha male, my favorite male chauvinist!

My wife and daughters would dispute that, but whatever.

Where have you been!

Here and there. Out and about.

[Faith No More]

Check out this chart on religiosity v. IQ by country/US state:

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This apparently suggests to Friendly Atheist that low IQ people are more likely to be religious.

I see that almost all of the lowest IQ countries are in Africa, and it suggests to me that there are cultural and educational biases in IQ tests.

Also note that the individual US states are in a narrow band of IQ, but vary fairly widely regarding religion.

Yeah, we already pointed out that the IQ is not a reliable measurement, but do you really think it's a good idea to use a hand-drawn chart?

[John V]

Check out this chart on religiosity v. IQ by country/US state:

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This apparently suggests to Friendly Atheist that low IQ people are more likely to be religious.

I see that almost all of the lowest IQ countries are in Africa, and it suggests to me that there are cultural and educational biases in IQ tests.

Also note that the individual US states are in a narrow band of IQ, but vary fairly widely regarding religion.

Yeah, we already pointed out that the IQ is not a reliable measurement, but do you really think it's a good idea to use a hand-drawn chart?

No, I don't. Although I noted it was from Friendly Atheist, I neglected to give the link:
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyath...ligiosity/

[Faith No More]

Gotcha.