Interesting but not at all surprising. Sorry Jesus Freaks but you do not want we ungodly to have our own forum so here I am with nowhere else to post this: Written by Rob Waugh 15 hours ago Yahoo! News

Religious people are less intelligent than atheists, study finds

Religious people are less intelligent than non-believers, according to a new review of 63 scientific studies stretching back over decades.

A team led by Miron Zuckerman of the University of Rochester found “a reliable negative relation between intelligence and religiosity” in 53 out of 63 studies. Even in extreme old age, intelligent people are less likely to believe, the researchers found - and the reasons why people with high IQs shun religion may not be as simple as previously thought.

Previous studies have tended to assume that intelligent people simply “know better”, the researchers write - but the reasons may be more complex.

For instance, intelligent people are more likely to be married, and more likely to be successful in life - and this may mean they “need” religion less.

The studies used in Zuckerman's paper included a life-long analysis of the beliefs of a group of 1,500 gifted children - those with IQs over 135 - in a study which began in 1921 and continues today.

Even at 75 to 91 years of age, the children from Lewis Terman’s study scored lower for religiosity than the general population - contrary to the widely held belief that people turn to God as they age. The researchers noted that data was lacking about religious attitudes in old age and say, “Additional research is needed to resolve this issue.”

As early as 1958, Michael Argyle concluded, “Although intelligent children grasp religious concepts earlier, they are also the first to doubt the truth of religion, and intelligent students are much less likely to accept orthodox beliefs, and rather less likely to have pro-religious attitudes.”

A 1916 study quoted in Zuckerman’s paper (Leuba) found that, “58% of randomly selected scientists in the United States expressed disbelief in, or doubt regarding the existence of God; this proportion rose to nearly 70% for the most eminent scientists.”

The paper, published in the academic journal Personality and Social Psychology Review, said “Most extant explanations (of a negative relation) share one central theme—the premise that religious beliefs are irrational, not anchored in science, not testable and, therefore, unappealing to intelligent people who “know better.” The answer may, however, be more complex. Intelligent people may simply be able to provide themselves with the psychological benefits offered by religion - such as “self-regulation and self-enhancement,” because they are more likely to be successful, and have stable lives.

“Intelligent people typically spend more time in school—a form of self-regulation that may yield long-term benefits,” the researchers write. “More intelligent people get higher level jobs (and better employment (and higher salary) may lead to higher self-esteem, and encourage personal control beliefs.”

“Last, more intelligent people are more likely to get and stay married (greater attachment), though for intelligent people, that too comes later in life. We therefore suggest that as intelligent people move from young adulthood to adulthood and then to middle age, the benefits of intelligence may continue to accrue.”

The researchers suggest that further research on the “function” of religion may reveal more.

“People possessing the functions that religion provides are likely to adopt atheism, people lacking these very functions (e.g., the poor, the helpless) are likely to adopt theism,” the researchers wrote.

If any of you god folk have trouble understanding what is written above, please feel free to ask me for assistance. Being non religious and non superstitious, I posses the intelligence necessary to help you understand.

The OP has some truth running through it, but not the whole truth.

Luk 16:8
"And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light."

Strong's for: wiser

1) intelligent, wise
2) prudent, i.e. mindful of one's interests

The other side of the coin is that we are told in God's Word that:
1. Satan is the god of this world
2. We (believers) are to come out of the world...meaning not to think, act, believe as the world, as a whole does.

True born again believers have as their teacher the indwelling Holy Spirit, unbelievers have no access to this teacher.

Unbelievers cannot receive spiritual teaching of understanding God's Word or the ways of God.

Unbelievers are therefore "wiser" in the things or ways of this world and believers are wiser in relation to the things of God or spiritual things.

This "world" holds in high esteem intellect, personal riches, power, fame and great wealth of personal possessions. The "world's" beliefs or standards of success is far different than God's. These are Satan's definition of "success" which the "world" has bought into. None of these things mean anything in God's definition of success.

Success from God's point is believing in His Son Jesus, being indwelt with the gift of His Holy Spirit and following the Holy Spirit's guiding into fulfilling God's individual purpose for one's life.

Everyone therefore, even a young child or one who has been born with less "intelligence" has the opportunity to be equally successful in life from God's righteous judgments.

Croce, I'm sure you've had a million responses, yet I feel compelled to add my own without reading others first. If you speak of 'religious' as being those associated with any organized sect or church, I might tend to agree. However, I see two flaws. The first is that too many intelligent people are so infatuated with their own intelligence and that of others that it becomes a religion in itself. It has been said that in America we worship everything from Jesus to Jack Daniels. The second flaw I see is that an atheist would have no more success proving that their is no God than a believer would dave in proving that there is. Both groups may be equally lacking in intelligence.