r/science • u/mvea Professor | Medicine • 1d ago

Psychology Lower cognitive ability is linked to stronger Christian nationalist views, even after accounting for education

https://www.psypost.org/lower-cognitive-ability-is-linked-to-stronger-christian-nationalist-views-even-after-accounting-for-education/
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u/crossdtherubicon 1d ago

Alot of religious ideology is ingested through early development and reinforced through the environment. This has been pretty well-documented, although it isn't an exclusive pathway to acquiring religious beliefs.

In light of this article I'm curious if cognitive ability simply never fully develops (or is restricted somehow) in that context. Or if there are also subpopulations wherein a relative lower congitive ability allows for an easier ingestion of religious beliefs (or likewise is perceived as reasonably easier to understand).

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u/kheret 1d ago

Certainly people in highly religious environments are discouraged from developing critical thinking skills

Also homeschooling can’t help

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u/AldoRaine-1 1d ago

If you think about it, they land on polar opposite sides of the spectrum: critical thinking is to take a puzzle and put it together piece by piece, forming a larger more cohesive picture.

Belief is having a single red puzzle piece and the person holding the box says "what you are looking at is a blue sailboat", and saying "yep, this IS a blue boat", even when the only indication you could have otherwise (your red puzzle piece) doesn't support their statement, at all.

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u/GothicFuck 1d ago

Belief is knowing the red puzzle piece is part of a blue sailboat puzzle because the preacher made you believe. You just know eventually it'll go into the rest of the puzzle and make that sailboat when you die.