RELIGION AND INTELLIGENCE

RELIGION AND INTELLIGENCE

An Evolutionary Analysis

EDWARD DUTTON

Ulster Institute for Social Research

Published 2014 by Ulster Institute for Social Research

London NW10 5TH, UK ISBN 9780957391369

Copyright? 2014 Edward Dutton

All rights reserved

To my children, Martha and Henry.

'The fool says in his heart "There is no God." They are corrupt, their deeds are vile, there is no one who does good.' (Psalm 14:1). 'Doth someone say that there be gods above? There are not; no, there are not. Let no fool, led by the old false fable, thus deceive

you.' (Euripides, Bellerophon).

Contents

Acknowledgements

xv

Chapter One

Introduction

1

1. Introduction.

1

2. 'What About the Archbishop of Canterbury, St Thomas

Aquinas or Jacques Derrida?'

2

3. 'It's Simplistic.'

3

4. Original Contribution.

5

5. Evolutionary Psychology and Consilience.

6

6. Outline.

8

7. Conclusion.

11

8. The Educated Reader.

11

Chapter Two

Defining Science and Religion

13

1. Introduction.

13

2. Stereotypes and Categories.

13

3. What is 'Science'?

16

4. On Speculation.

20

5. Problems with the Lexical Definition of Religion.

22

6. Operational Definitions of Religion.

24

7. Religious Experience and Replacement Religion.

30

8. Responding to the Postmodern Critique.

33

9. Conclusion.

35

Chapter Three

The Evolution and Heritability of Religion

37

1. Introduction.

37

2. Religion and Evolution.

37

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Religion and Intelligence

3. Is Religion Adaptive in Itself?

45

4. Religion and Fertility.

48

5. Genetics: A Brief Introduction.

51

6. Twin Studies and Religious Heritability.

53

7. Replacement Religion and Heritability.

60

8. Conclusion.

61

Chapter Four

Defining Intelligence

63

1. Introduction.

63

2. What is Intelligence?

64

3. The History of the Intelligence Construct.

66

4. Criticisms of IQ Tests.

68

5. Criticisms of the Concept of Intelligence.

79

6. The Heritability of Intelligence.

84

7. Parent-Child Intelligence Variation.

87

8. Intelligence and Evolution.

88

9. Conclusion.

89

Chapter Five

Defining Personality

91

1. Introduction.

91

2. Humors.

92

3. The Big Five.

93

4. The Science behind the Big Five.

95

5. Extraversion.

100

6. Neuroticism.

102

7. Conscientiousness.

104

8. Agreeableness.

106

9. Openness.

108

10. Openness, Openness-Intellect and Intelligence.

112

11. Environmental Influence on Personality.

113

vi

Contents

12. Religion and Personality.

119

13. Educational Success and Personality.

123

14. Personality and Academic Genius.

127

15. Religious Academics: An Explanation.

129

16. Academics and Replacement Religion.

131

17. Conclusion.

134

Chapter Six

The Historical Understanding of the Relationship

between Religion and Intelligence

137

1. Introduction.

137

2. Everyday Observation.

137

3. Stage Theories of Societal Development.

144

4. Religion and Intelligence in Passing.

148

5. Conclusion.

153

Chapter Seven

Religion and Intelligence amongst Individuals

155

1. Introduction.

155

2. Why Does Intelligence Negatively Predict

156

Religiousness?

3. The Savanna-IQ Interaction Hypothesis.

159

4. The Cultural Mediation Hypothesis.

163

5. Critiques of the Inverse Relationship.

166

6. Religion and IQ.

170

7. Religion and Undergraduates.

181

8. Religion and Intelligence amongst Individuals across

the World.

184

9. Intelligence and Replacement Religion.

188

10. Replacement Religion in the UK.

189

11. Conclusion.

191

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Religion and Intelligence

Chapter Eight

Religiousness and the Intelligence Elite

193

1. Introduction.

193

2. Education and Intelligence.

193

3. IQs of Academics in Different Disciplines.

195

4. Religion in Academia.

201

5. Nobel Prize Winners and Academic Societies.

212

6. Academia and Replacement Religion.

213

7. Conclusion.

218

Chapter Nine

Age and Religion

221

1. Introduction.

221

2. Age and Religiousness amongst Children.

221

3. Religion and the Life Span.

223

4. Age and Religion in the UK.

225

5. Age and Religion in Canada.

228

6. Age and Religion in the USA.

229

7. Conclusion.

230

Chapter Ten

Era, the Flynn Effect and Religion

231

1. Introduction.

231

2. The Flynn Effect.

232

3. The Decline of the Flynn Effect.

243

4. Religion and Flynn Effect.

246

5. Religious Identification and Church Attendance.

249

6. The Secularization Thesis.

252

7. Problems with the Secularization Thesis.

254

8. Explaining Modernization.

257

9. Conclusion.

263

viii

Contents

Chapter Eleven

Gender and Religion

265

1. Introduction.

265

2. Gender and Intelligence.

265

3. Intelligence, Maturation, and Gender.

268

4. Gender and Religiousness.

269

5. Conclusion.

272

Chapter Twelve

Religion and National Intelligence

273

1. Introduction.

273

2. Criticisms of Lynn and Vanhanen's National IQs.

273

3. National Intelligence and Religion.

278

4. Problems with Researching National Religiousness. 280

5. Lynn and Vanhanen's (2012) Analysis.

293

6. Conclusion.

304

Chapter Thirteen

Race and Religion in the USA

305

1. Introduction.

305

2. Defining 'Race' and Refuting Criticisms of the Concept. 305

3. From Within Groups to Between Them.

309

4. Evidence for Racial Differences in Intelligence.

312

5. Race and Personality Differences.

318

6. Racial-Religious Differences in the USA.

321

7. Conclusion.

327

Chapter Fourteen

Conclusion: The Future of Religion

329

1. Introduction.

329

2. Intelligence Inversely Correlates with Religiousness. 329

3. The Future of Religion.

332

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