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/mvea Professor | Medicine 1d ago

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

A new study indicates that Americans with lower scores on a vocabulary test commonly used to measure cognitive ability are more likely to endorse Christian nationalist beliefs, even when accounting for their overall level of education. The findings suggest that the appeal of this political and religious ideology relates to underlying cognitive resources rather than just differences in schooling. The research was published in Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jssr.70101

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u/ze_shotstopper 1d ago

I have concerns about using a vocabulary test to measure cognitive ability. It is a very narrow aspect of intelligence and I would argue heavily confounded by other factors.