Religious people find it harder to understand the world

Religious people find it harder to understand the world – study

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Arcana

26-10-2016

Quote:
“People with religious beliefs have a poorer grasp of the physical world than their non-believing counterparts, a new study claims.
✂️
The study, published in Applied Cognitive Psychology, concluded that believers were less scientifically knowledgeable – evinced by their propensity to agree with statements such as “flowers are able to think” and “stones feel the cold”. They were also more likely to struggle with solving physical tasks.

Researchers claim their results show that supernatural beliefs correlated with “low systemizing, poor intuitive physics skills, poor mechanical ability, poor mental rotation, low school grades in mathematics and physics, poor common knowledge about physical and biological phenomena, intuitive and analytical thinking styles, and in particular, with assigning mentality to non-mental phenomena.”

Study authors Marjaana Lindeman and Annika Svedholm-Häkkinen suggest that, when people don’t understand the physical world, they tend to apply human characteristics to the wider universe, “resulting in belief in demons, gods, and other supernatural phenomena”.”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2...-world--study/

If true, interesting possible implications for the future of religious belief.

Flash525

26-10-2016

Hardly surprising...

KarlSomething

26-10-2016

"God did it" is not an answer, it's an end to inquiry.

MrQuike

26-10-2016

I have a theory about people who study psychology.

RebelScum

26-10-2016

One thing I've been wondering; what's your thread theme/emoji process? Do you have an idea for a thread and then find an appropriate emoji, or, do you select an emoji and then look for a story that matches it?

tiacat

26-10-2016

Originally Posted by Arcana:
“http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2...-world--study/

If true, interesting possible implications for the future of religious belief.”

There are lots of studies that find relationships between intelligence levels and religious belief in one way or another. I think its more likely that if someone has lower levels of insight, intelligence or problem solving skills they are more likely to be attracted to the idea of external forces making decisions in life and therefore they're more likely to respond to religious or supernatural belief systems.

JurassicMark

26-10-2016

Having seen and participated in many religious discussions, none of that surprises me.

John_Clunes

26-10-2016

It isn't surprising to read the above. Religious people tend to be less intelligent than us non-religious folk.

mcg3

26-10-2016

Originally Posted by MrQuike:
“I have a theory about people who study psychology.”

Care to enlighten us what that might be, or is it a secret.

flowerpowa

26-10-2016

Originally Posted by John_Clunes:
“It isn't surprising to read the above. Religious people tend to be less intelligent than us non-religious folk.”

So say you, how

tealady

26-10-2016

S'funny cos I could have sworn the study was entitled

Does Poor Understanding of Physical World Predict Religious and Paranormal
Beliefs?

snukr

26-10-2016

Absolute bollocks. Darwin was a Christian.

Arcana

26-10-2016

Originally Posted by RebelScum:
“One thing I've been wondering; what's your thread theme/emoji process? Do you have an idea for a thread and then find an appropriate emoji, or, do you select an emoji and then look for a story that matches it?”

Consciously - idea first then find the emoji to encapsulate it.

Subconsciously I guess the availability or not of a relevant emoji forms part of the causality of the decision to start the thread or not.

Flash525

26-10-2016

Originally Posted by John_Clunes:
“It isn't surprising to read the above. Religious people tend to be less intelligent than us non-religious folk.”

Originally Posted by flowerpowa:
“So say you, how.”

Presumably because we (the non-religious folk) can accept the likelihood of the universe and our creation being a random accident with no afterlife?

Originally Posted by snukr:
“Absolute bollocks. Darwin was a Christian.”

He may have been a sceptical one. He may have even lied to keep the peace with the locals. Unless you actually knew him (you didn't) you can't really make such a bold claim.

Mint

26-10-2016

IF God existed he could put in an appearance to end the speculation. What does that tell you?

St Dabeoc

26-10-2016

Originally Posted by Flash525:
“Presumably because we (the non-religious folk) can accept the likelihood of the universe and our creation being a random accident with no afterlife?

He may have been a sceptical one. He may have even lied to keep the peace with the locals. Unless you actually knew him (you didn't) you can't really make such a bold claim.”

love it

CravenHaven

26-10-2016

Quote:
“Researchers claim their results show that supernatural beliefs correlated with “low systemizing, poor intuitive physics skills, poor mechanical ability, poor mental rotation, low school grades in mathematics and physics”

in a roundabout way, trying to tell us people who believe in gods are as thick as two short planks.
Or you could put it another way, Gods are used to fill the gaps to explain things where there is no science education.
Not news.

John_Clunes

26-10-2016

Originally Posted by snukr:
“Absolute bollocks. Darwin was a Christian.”

As a child he was, but he grew out of it. He was agnostic.

noodkleopatra

26-10-2016

...Wait for it....!

KarlSomething

26-10-2016

Originally Posted by John_Clunes:
“It isn't surprising to read the above. Religious people tend to be less intelligent than us non-religious folk.”

Knowledge and intelligence aren't necessarily the same. If your beliefs tell you not to doubt and question things, then you're left not applying your intelligence. It doesn't matter how intelligent you are if you don't use it.

noodkleopatra

26-10-2016

Originally Posted by John_Clunes:
“As a child he was, but he grew out of it. He was agnostic.”

Wasn't part of the reason of the loss of his faith down to the death of his nine year-old daughter?

bluesdiamond

26-10-2016

Originally Posted by Mint:
“IF God existed he could put in an appearance to end the speculation. What does that tell you?”

And the non religous would say he was a hoaxer, charlatan. Magician etc.

Evidence cannot prove faith.
Faith is knowing something not seen, but is true.

Tassium

26-10-2016

This is so ironic because psychology itself isn't a science, it's a belief system.

There is no way any of this stuff can actually be "proven" in a scientific sense.

Of course those who follow it's teachings think of it as Truth.

JurassicMark

26-10-2016

Originally Posted by Mint:
“IF God existed he could put in an appearance to end the speculation. What does that tell you?”

"'I refuse to prove that I exist,' says God, 'for proof denies faith, and without faith I am nothing.'" - Douglas Adams

Originally Posted by bluesdiamond:
“And the non religous would say he was a hoaxer, charlatan. Magician etc.

Evidence cannot prove faith.
Faith is knowing something not seen, but is true.”

"The Way to see by Faith is to shut the Eye of Reason." - Benjamin Franklin

Flash525

26-10-2016

Originally Posted by bluesdiamond:
“And the non religous would say he was a hoaxer, charlatan. Magician etc.”

If God descended from the Heavens and did a fraction of the things that (he?) is claimed to be able to do, then I'd think a lot of people (if not everyone) would accept that truth.

The problem(?) is, from our point of view, everything God can allegedly do should one day be possible for us with enough understanding of science and technology, so for all intense purposes, if there was such a being, it could just as easily be an alien, or an a person (human) from the future.

Originally Posted by Tassium:
“This is so ironic because psychology itself isn't a science, it's a belief system.”

Whilst true, Science is more credible a source (to the open minded) than Religion. One proposes cause and effect, the other proposes a mythical being in the sky. Which one seems more plausible?

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