Does Religion Make You Less Intelligent? I Think We're Asking the Wrong Question

I've noticed that people sometimes treat religious belief as a sign that someone isn't particularly intelligent.

The argument usually goes something like this: intelligent people question things, religion requires faith, and therefore religious people must be less intelligent.

But is that actually what the research shows?

I've been thinking about this in relation to addiction recovery, particularly Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), where finding a higher power is an important part of the Twelve Steps.

I wonder how many people avoid exploring faith or spirituality because they're worried it means abandoning logic or critical thinking.

I don't think it has to.

What Science Says About Religion and Intelligence

First, I think it's important to acknowledge that there actually is research showing a relationship between intelligence and religiosity.

A 2022 meta-analysis published in PLOS ONE examined 89 studies involving more than 200,000 participants.

Researchers found a small negative correlation between intelligence and religiosity.

The correlation was approximately −0.14, which is relatively weak.

That means people with higher intelligence scores were, on average, slightly less likely to be religious.

But it doesn't mean religious people are unintelligent.

There's an enormous difference between identifying a statistical trend and using that trend to judge an individual.

The study also doesn't prove that religion causes lower intelligence.

There are plenty of other factors that influence religious beliefs, including culture, upbringing, education, and personal experiences.

I think people sometimes take legitimate scientific findings and stretch them far beyond what the evidence actually supports.

Is Fundamentalism the Bigger Issue?

Personally, I think there's an important distinction between religion and religious fundamentalism.

Someone can believe in God while still accepting science, questioning religious teachings, and acknowledging that they don't have all the answers.

Fundamentalism, on the other hand, can involve rigid beliefs and resistance to perspectives that challenge established teachings.

A 2017 study published in Neuropsychologia explored connections between religious fundamentalism and cognitive flexibility.

The research suggests that certain rigid thinking patterns may be associated with fundamentalist beliefs.

That doesn't establish that fundamentalists are unintelligent or that fundamentalism explains the entire relationship between religion and intelligence.

Still, I think the distinction matters.

I don't see anything inherently unintelligent about believing in something that gives your life meaning.

What concerns me more is when people become unwilling to question their beliefs, regardless of whether those beliefs are religious.

And I don't think religious people have a monopoly on that problem.

I've encountered plenty of people who are so convinced of their own opinions that they immediately dismiss anyone who disagrees with them.

Being an atheist doesn't automatically make someone open-minded, just as being religious doesn't automatically make someone closed-minded.

What About Finding a Higher Power in Recovery?

This is where I think the conversation becomes particularly relevant to addiction recovery.

AA encourages members to find a higher power, but that higher power doesn't necessarily have to be God.

For some people, it is God. For others, it's nature, the universe, or the support of the people around them.

Some people struggle with the idea altogether, and I understand why.

If you've spent your entire life questioning religion, suddenly being encouraged to find a higher power might feel uncomfortable.

But I don't think exploring spirituality means you have to stop asking questions.

For someone recovering from addiction, faith might provide hope during a period when life feels uncertain.

It might help them feel connected to something larger than themselves or give them a reason to keep moving forward when things become difficult.

And I don't see why someone should feel embarrassed about finding comfort in that.

At the same time, I don't believe anyone should be pressured into religious beliefs simply because they're trying to get sober.

AA can be incredibly helpful, but it's not the only path to recovery.

People also achieve sobriety through therapy, medication, secular support groups, and other approaches.

The important thing is finding something that genuinely helps.

We Should Be Questioning Our Beliefs, Not Each Other's Intelligence

One thing recovery has made me think about is how easily we can convince ourselves of things that aren't necessarily true.

Addiction can involve rationalizing destructive decisions, ignoring consequences, and avoiding uncomfortable realities.

Part of getting better is learning to recognize those patterns and challenge our own thinking.

I think that same principle can apply to religion.

There's nothing wrong with having faith, but I also don't think faith should prevent us from asking difficult questions.

And there's nothing wrong with being skeptical, provided that skepticism doesn't turn into automatically dismissing everyone who believes differently.

I support AA, and I encourage people to give it a chance. But I also believe people should be free to explore their own understanding of spirituality, or decide that spirituality simply isn't for them.

Recovery should be about becoming healthier, more thoughtful, and more capable of living a fulfilling life. It shouldn't require us to abandon our curiosity or adopt beliefs we don't genuinely hold.

The research on religion and intelligence is interesting, but I don't think it gives us permission to make assumptions about someone's intellectual abilities based on whether they believe in God.

And when it comes to recovery, I think we should be far more concerned with whether someone's beliefs are helping them build a healthier life than whether those beliefs match our own.

Sources

1. Dürlinger, F., & Pietschnig, J. (2022). Meta-analyzing intelligence and religiosity associations: Evidence from the multiverse. PLOS ONE.

2. Zuckerman, M., Li, C., Lin, S., & Hall, J. A. (2020). The negative intelligence–religiosity relation: New and confirming evidence. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.

3. Zhong, W., et al. (2017). Biological and cognitive underpinnings of religious fundamentalism. Neuropsychologia.

4. Alcoholics Anonymous. There's a lot of talk about God, isn't there?.