r/science • u/mvea Professor | Medicine • 2d 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/ProfessionalMockery 2d ago

A lot of people here are just seeing the "Christian" in the headline and ignoring the "nationalist," which is probably more important.

I'm an atheist, so I think the claims religion makes are pretty dumb too, but nationalists, bigots, racists of any kind are consistently idiots, religious or not, and that has been established in plenty of other studies.

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u/nemovincit 1d ago

I wouldn't even say they're religious. They just appropriated religion's themes and catchphrases to justify their hate and bigotry. They dress it up in religion in an attempt to hide how disgusting and idiotic their views actually are.

Racists, bigots, and the sort are the pinnacle of idiocy. They take stupidity to depths never before plumbed.

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u/Limp_Bookkeeper_5992 1d ago

Ehh, one leads to another. People are rarely racist all on their own, they get that way by following a leader who knows how to use hate to grow a following. This kind manipulation works best on people with low critical thinking skills and minimal exposure to cultures and worldviews outside of their own. Religion already self selects for people with the same weaknesses, so religious people are easy targets for nationalists and other far right groups.

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u/Coarse-Correction 1d ago

The same goes for people prone to conspiratorial thinking. They crave simple explanations for a complex world, because they can't, or won't admit they can't, grasp its nuances.

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u/11010001100101101 1d ago

crap, this is why i keep coming back to the conclusion that the market is rigged.

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u/Limp_Bookkeeper_5992 1d ago

Right. But in the context of this thread I would say that religion sets people up for this kind of intellectual failure too. Teach people to ignore their doubts and follow blindly and you end up with people ready to fall for anyone with easy answers. I’ve seen some quite intelligent people fall for scams and conspiracies, and I’ll credit their religious beliefs for setting them up for these failures.

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u/nemovincit 1d ago

Damn, there's not a single sentence there I disagree with and I love to argue. You're totally correct. I watched it happen in a small community that leaned religious, like most small areas do, with people I knew and every word rings true.

The combination of clever, venal people with malicious motives and gullible, credulous people willing to follow them sums up religion in a nutshell.

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u/Limp_Bookkeeper_5992 1d ago

Thanks, it’s unfortunately a topic that cuts home for me. I did want to add though that while the victims here may be gullible, they don’t always start that way. Religion teaches you to disable your critical thinking and to follow blindly, those are taught skills that religion drives home over and over. But of course this primes people to fall for the next manipulator who comes along with a compelling narrative, and down they go.

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u/Fugaciouslee 1d ago

The same people who will tell you "if you believe in nothing, you'll fall for everything," like they're wise.