That's the finding of a new study published in the March 2010 issue of the peer-reviewed scientific journal Social Psychology Quarterly. Using data from the U.S. National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), Satoshi Kanazawa, an evolutionary psychologist at the London School of Economics and Political Science, found that young adults who subjectively identify themselves as "very liberal" have an average IQ of 106 during adolescence while those who identify themselves as "very conservative" have an average IQ of 95 during adolescence. Similarly, those who identify themselves as "not at all religious" have an average IQ of 103 during adolescence, while those who identify themselves as "very religious" have an average IQ of 97 during adolescence. The differences aren't large, but they are statistically significant.To explain the difference, Kanazawa advances a theory that suggests that moreintelligent individuals may be more likely to acquire and espouseevolutionarily novel values and preferences (such as liberalismand atheism and, for men, sexual exclusivity) than less intelligentindividuals, but that general intelligence may have no effecton the acquisition and espousal of evolutionarily familiar values(for children, marriage, family, and friends).
"General intelligence, the ability to think and reason, endowed our ancestors with advantages in solving evolutionarily novel problems for which they did not have innate solutions," says Kanazawa. "As a result, more intelligent people are more likely to recognize and understand such novel entities and situations than less intelligent people, and some of these entities and situations are preferences, values, and lifestyles."
Science Daily puts it this way:
More intelligent people are statistically significantly more likely to exhibit social values and religious and political preferences that are novel to the human species in evolutionary history. Specifically, liberalism and atheism, and for men (but not women), preference for sexual exclusivity correlate with higher intelligence.
Reactions to the study split predictably, with liberals and the nonreligious viewing it favorably (or as this reporter overheard a member of Atheists United say at their Los Angeles meeting on Sunday, "They actually needed a study to demonstrate what ought to have been obvious?") and conservatives and the religious viewing it unfavorably.
Not all the atheists express such unqualified approval though. Evolutionary biologist PZ Myers, who is certainly no friend to theists, had this to say about the study:
"Seriously? Show me the error bars on those measurements. Show me the reliability of IQ as a measure of actual, you know, intelligence. Show me that a 6 point IQ difference matters at all in your interactions with other people, even if it were real. And then to claim that these differences are not only heritable, but evolutionarily significant…jebus, people, you can just glance at it and see that it is complete cr*p."
Prof. Myers also had some choice observations to make about Kanazawa, the study's author. Myers called him "the Fenimore Cooper of Sociobiology"* and "the professional fantasist of Psychology Today."
*(probably a reference to a Mark Twain essay on Cooper's ignorance of the subjects he wrote about. James Fenimore Cooper authored famous novels like The Deerslayer and Last of the Mohicans)
Photo Credit:
1) 1951 photo of Albert Einstein sticking his tongue out.
If you enjoy my articles, you can click on "subscribe" at the top of the page and you'll receive notice when new ones are published.
Comments
Hmmm. I'm liberal, but spiritual, not religious. I wonder where that puts me?
P. Z. Myers' dismissal of the findings aside, I can explain them--again, if they are real. Geniuses (IQ >- 150) and near-geniuses quite often yield to arrogance and conceit, both individual ("I'm smarter than you are!") and collective ("We're smarter than you are!"). Political liberalism and atheism are inherently arrogant mindsets--and when they go together, they make a powerful and obnoxious philosophical cocktail. (They don't always go together, however, and arrogance need not result, especially when liberalism and atheism do not find expression in the same person.)
In short: Neither liberalism nor atheism makes someone smart. And IQ tests never measure one important quality: wisdom.
Well! I never thought I would agree with P. Z. Myers about anything. Well, even a broken clock tells the correct time twice a day.
I think it is a matter of who thinks they are smarter.. a matter of "I'm smarter than you!".. "No, I am smarter than you!" and it goes on and on... just like religion.. no one ever agrees. I don't even think they agree to disagree.
I have to go with PZ on this one. This study is complete crap. I also wrote an article on this topic:
www .examiner.com/x-8928-Philadelphia-Atheism-Examiner~y2010m3d1-New-study-claims-atheists-are-more-intelligent-than-religion
since I am qualified to administer the IQ test I agree with professor Myers,
what about liberals who are religious, I wonder where they stand on this list, like suppose they are fundamentalists, baptists, unitarian, episcopalean, seventh day adventist, or better still what if they are jewish, muslim, hindu, rosicrucean?
Of course atheists are smarter than theists. Atheists know the truth; theists believe in fairy tales.
Most Atheists I know are Libertarians. Of course, half the Anti-Drug War activists are not drug users. Oh, and I think Penn Jillette is one example of this.
I'm speaking to the implicit idea that liberal=atheist as many evangelicals try to claim.
My favorite thing about this story is that liberals have spent the last 25 years railing against IQ tests as heavily culturally biased and/or essentially a totally inaccurate, arbitrary means of measuring intellect.
Yet now that a study flatters them, it suddenly becomes gospel.
I am glad you mentioned the anonymous individual who called the study "obvious" as it simply shows atheists have just as much bias, self-righteousness and faith in axioms as the Christians they despise.
This thread isn't angry enough. C'mon out theists and atheists.
Well, the US Gubment claims, based on military tests, that I have an IQ somewhere in excess of 160 - and I'm a believer in the FSM, have been called a libertarian fascist and would deny with my dying breath that I've ever engaged in 'sexual exclusivity' - so where does that put ME?
"so where does that put ME?"
In Mensa, Pastafarian.
;^)
'Intelligence' and 'smart' are not the same thing. What's the difference? wisdom. (I wrote an article on that Aug. 29 - please do not check it out ... haha)
Atheist are correct in their self-righteousness.
I've found Mensa insufficiently arrogant, Hugh; they tend to apologize for being good test takers. LOL
Just as all democrats are not extreme left wingers, all atheists are not liberals. I am a conservative in most of my opinions but am still an atheist. Do not label all atheists as being democrats. All atheists don't think socialism is the way to go.
Got something to say?
Examiner.com is looking for writers, photographers, and videographers to join the fastest growing group of local insiders. If you are interested in growing your online rep apply to be an Examiner today!