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Quote from In">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religiosity_and_intelligence]In 2006, a self-published non-peer review study was undertaken[3] to investigate, on a country-by-country level, the possibility of a link between the importance of religion to citizens and their average IQ. The study found that the strength of religious belief in countries was inversely related to their average IQ. The countries with higher IQs on average had significantly lower levels of religious belief than those with lower average IQs. The study has subsequently drawn criticism[citation needed] for neglecting the influence of several critical confounding factors, such as the work of religious institutions in deliberately focusing missionary work in third world countries where educational opportunities are concurrently poor.
In 2007, Danish newspapers reported that a single study conducted by controversial intelligence researcher Helmuth Nyborg estimated that "non-believers'" (i.e atheist, agnostics, and non religions) IQs were on average nearly 6 points higher than believers'.[4] The study is based on data from the National Longitudinal Study of Youth, which includes intelligence tests on a representative selection of American youth, where they have also replied to questions about religious belief. "I'm not saying that believing in God makes you dumber. My hypothesis is that people with a low intelligence are more easily drawn toward religions, which give answers that are certain, while people with a high intelligence are more skeptical," says the professor. [5]
In June 2008, the British online newspapers DailyMail.co.uk[6] and Telegraph.co.uk[7] had articles on a new study performed by Richard Lynn, emeritus professor of psychology at the University of Ulster, where Lynn found intelligent people less likely to believe in God. The study, published in the scientific journal Intelligence on June 24th 2008, compared religious belief and average national IQs in 137 countries. [8] The conclusion made by the retired professor, though branded "simplistic" by critics, is that religious belief had declined across the 137 nations in the 20th century at the same time as people became more intelligent. "Why should fewer academics believe in God than the general population? I believe it is simply a matter of the IQ. Academics have higher IQs than the general population. Several Gallup poll studies of the general population have shown that those with higher IQs tend not to believe in God," Lynn said to Telegraph.co.uk [7].