Do you believe that very Religious people are less intelligent?

[Hooligan32]

This is not meant to be insulting to anyone, it's just a question that I've often wondered about and I'd like to hear the Hype's take on it.

 

[triplefive]

I believe that extremists of any kind are less intelligent. They are irrational and unreasonable.

 

[Wilhelm-Scream]

It's simply a fact that you can't generalize.
There is no way in a million years that C.S. Lewis or Francis Shaeffer were not highly intelligent.

 

[Tangled Web]

Extremists are less intelegent, but your average very religious person? No.

 

[Tangled Web]

It's simply a fact that you can't generalize.
There is no way in a million years that C.S. Lewis or Francis Shaeffer were not highly intelligent.

Or Tolkien.

 

[Dr. MIX]

Some are, some aren't. Same question could be directed towards atheists. It's all subjective, everyone is different.

 

[Hooligan32]

It's simply a fact that you can't generalize.
There is no way in a million years that C.S. Lewis or Francis Shaeffer were not highly intelligent.

Good point.

 

[Bat Attack]

Its a matter of opinion. I don't think that very religious people are less intelligent because I know people that are very religious and are smart.

 

[Addendum]

Not all religious people are idiots. With some, the doubt is removed when they speak

 

[Hooligan32]

I only ask because I sometimes wonder if blocking yourself off to any ideas outside of your specific religious ideology would hinder your ability to learn certain things. I believe open-mindedness is extremely important.

 

[ShadowBoxing]

No. Possibly imagination, intelligence and capacity for reason all play a part, but to a much lesser degree than environment and how they were raised.

 

[Fred_Fury]

in a word, yes.

 

[kainedamo]

It depends.

If you're talking about people that take the bible completely literally, then there has to be a certain level of ignorance that goes hand in hand with that. When there is evidence that directly contradicts certain things every single day, you have to have a certain kind of block headed mentality, "lalalalala I'm not lisssssstening" mentality to ignore evidence and keep believing nonsense.

 

[Mee]

Not all of them.

 

[Wilhelm-Scream]

The word religious is not sufficient.
One of my ex-girlfriends was very "religious".
Never missed church, blah blah blah.
But she didn't even believe in the Biblical scenario at all.
She just got a cozy feeling from all of the ritual and social aspects of religion.
It was entertainment for her.
But she was very "religious".

 

[Mee]

The word religious is not sufficient.
One of my ex-girlfriends was very "religious".
Never missed church, blah blah blah.
But she didn't even believe in the Biblical scenario at all.
She just got a cozy feeling from all of the ritual and social aspects of religion.
It was entertainment for her.
But she was very "religious".

Sounds like the girl from Dogma.

 

[Fred_Fury]

how the hell can people still believe all that bogus crap in the koran and the bible? god/allah = santa claus.

maybe in 2,000 years people will worship superman

 

[Addendum]

It's not a big ****ing deal to me what people believe

 

[Childlike Wild]

I only ask because I sometimes wonder if blocking yourself off to any ideas outside of your specific religious ideology would hinder your ability to learn certain things. I believe open-mindedness is extremely important.

There is a big difference between open-mindedness and intelligence. You could be the most closed-minded person in the world, but still be able to show great intelligence within your own realm of comfort.

 

[vegeta21]

Some yes, some no. It varies on the individual really. I've know some strong christians who were really intelligent, and others who are rather big idiots.

 

[Arkady Rossovich]

There is no doubt that some are less intelligent,but it does not apply to all.

 

[vegeta21]

Or Tolkien.

Yeah, if anything great ever came out of the Catholic religion, Tolkien would be high on that list, and a very devoted catholic he was. Though LOTR has strong catholic influence, it also borrows from other mythologies. Odin was supposedly a strong influence on Gandalf, but I'm getting off topic here.

 

[vegeta21]

how the hell can people still believe all that bogus crap in the koran and the bible? god/allah = santa claus.

maybe in 2,000 years people will worship superman

Maybe 2,000 years from now people will evolve past the need for idols. And there's a BIG difference between God and Santa Claus, though I do think what many people seem to think about God is a mythical character. Which is what happens when people of a less evolved state of mind try to explain the higher workings of the universe, though I believe there's truth to it, but not ABSOLUTE truth, nor concrete fact. Though I do think FACTS and TRUTH are different things, as Dr. Indiana Jones put it "I deal in FACTS. If you want truth, go take a phylosophy class".

 

[CrypticOne]

Yep. They are to closed-minded to be overly intelligent.

 

[Sasquatch]

So openmindedness is the only intelligence?