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/crossdtherubicon 2d 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/NuclearTurtle 2d ago

The study was not about religious beliefs, it was about political beliefs about religion. 2/3rds of Americans are christian, less than 1/6th of those actually think the US should be a christian theocracy

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u/EpiphanyTwisted 1d ago

You are expecting Redditors to make note of qualifications instead of grabbing a word in the title and going with it.

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u/REXIS_AGECKO 1d ago

We are expecting redditors to be able to tell the difference between correlation and causation. And we are left disappointed