Inverse Correlations

Numerous studies demonstrate an inverse or negative correlation between religiosity and:

intelligence

educational level

education in science

liberal moral attitudes

acceptance of the fact of biological evolution

(An inverse or negative correlation indicates that as one variable goes up, the other variable goes down. So, those who are not religious are more likely to be intelligent, highly educated, science educated, liberal, evolutionists, and vice versa.)

"Of 43 studies carried out since 1927 on the relationship between religious belief and one's intelligence and/or educational level, all but four found an inverse connection. That is, the higher one's intelligence or education level, the less one is likely to be religious or hold "beliefs" of any kind."
Bell, Paul. "Would you believe it?" Mensa Magazine, Feb. 2002, pp. 12–13

In 1998, most members of the National Academy of Sciences rejected the notion of God, with the highest rate of disbelief noted amongst biological scientists. Table.
Larson, Edward J.; Larry Witham (1998). "Leading scientists still reject God". Nature 394 (6691): 313. Available at StephenJayGould.org, Stephen Jay Gould archive.

"Seventy-two percent of Americans are certain there is a God and have no doubts, while another 14% think that God probably exists and have only a few doubts. Only 3% are certain that God does not exist. There are no significant differences in belief in God by age. Men, those living in the East and West, those who are college graduates, and those with high incomes are less likely to believe in God than others."
Who Believes in God and Who Doesn't? Belief in God correlated with socioeconomic status, by Frank Newport


"Research has revealed a positive correlation between IQ and education, as well as a negative correlation between education and religiosity. In a regression analysis . . . only QSAT (which was related to father’s education) was uniquely related to prayer fulfillment. The results suggest that an educated father influences his offspring’s cognitive ability, which in turn reduces certain aspects of religiosity and spirituality. The results also suggest that the relationship between religiousness and spirituality is one of degree: both religious and spiritual individuals performed activities formally conceptualized as either "religious" or "spiritual," but religious individuals more frequently performed such activities."
Religiousness, Spirituality, and IQ: Are They Linked? (pdf) Regan Clark

"Religion is much more important to Americans than to people living in other wealthy nations. Six-in-ten (59%) people in the U.S. say religion plays a very important role in their lives. This is roughly twice the percentage of self-avowed religious people in Canada (30%), and an even higher proportion when compared with Japan and Western Europe. Americans' views are closer to people in developing nations than to the publics of developed nations."
Among Wealthy Nations …U.S. Stands Alone in its Embrace of Religion, Pew Global Attitudes Project.

Clark, Regan (2004). Religiousness, Spirituality, and IQ: Are They Linked? (PDF).

IQ Religiosity Redux : graph of IQ vs religiosity : Religiosity and IQ : IQ and the Wealth of Nations :

Quo Vadis?

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