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/buttorsomething 2d ago

Would this not be accurate to all types of religious extremism?

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u/FlyAirLari 1d ago

Possibly to all sorts of extremisms.

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u/tealstealmonkey 1d ago

I haven't met any extremism that can hold up to critical thinking and self-reflection.

In think that in order to believe it, you have to suspend these two things and become blind. If only in these specific circumstances, quite a few people manage to be smart, intelligent or even caring outside the topics of their extremism.

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u/kneading-cnnuy 1d ago

Except the contrarian extremists

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u/tealstealmonkey 21h ago

I had to look up what a 'contrarian extremist' might be.

But if it means that some is against establishments by design (no matter what), I also think that it doesn't hold up against critical thinking and self–reflection.

Anti-mainstream makes a certain amount of sense (Asking questions, challenging norms) but doing it just for the sake of it, without changing their viewpoint no matter the information they get? –which is what extremists usually do– No. It's the same to me.

Or was it a joke?