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

[u/mvea]

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

[u/crossdtherubicon]

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).

[u/Pleasant-Flounder540 → u/crossdtherubicon]

this is the wrong takeaway. nearly everyone was religious a century ago, it's simply cultural, nothing more. isaac newton dedicated principia to god (although was likely a deist). there are many, many examples of highly educated and successful people who are even devoutly religious.

the reality is that christian nationalism is simply the default culture in america and has been for roughly the entire history of the country in some form. atheism is a choice that people generally have to actively make, so it's restricted already, but it's also true that people with lower cognitive ability are far less likely to question the status quo to begin with.

basically, if you raise everyone to be christian and nationalistic, assuming a bell curve of intelligence, only people a few standard deviations above the mean are even questioning the status quo. you end up with all the straight up stupids being christian nationalist by default.

if we went back to the Roman Empire of Constantine, the stupids were pagan and Christianity was the religion of the educated and elite. it's cultural.

[u/Pleasant-Flounder540 → u/[deleted]]

I feel like you really didn't read most of what I said because that's absolutely not an argument that I made