Non-religious individuals score higher on measures of intelligence than religious individuals

the verdict

SUPPORTED

the evidence backs this

Recorded sources

3 sources for · 0 against

Counts group repeated records of the same source within each side. They do not measure evidence strength or source independence.

Multiple large-scale meta-analyses consistently demonstrate a small but robust negative correlation between religiosity and intelligence.

The analysis

The retrieved papers include multiple comprehensive meta-analyses (Zuckerman et al., 2013; Zuckerman et al., 2019; Gijsbertsen & van der Ploeg, 2022) that specifically examine the relationship between intelligence and religiosity, all finding a consistent negative correlation. There are no papers refuting this claim.

Evidence for · 3

The Relation Between Intelligence and Religiosity

Recorded source metadata

Miron Zuckerman, Jordan Silberman, Judith A. Hall. The Relation Between Intelligence and Religiosity. 2013. https://doi.org/10.1177/1088868313497266

A meta-analysis of 63 studies found a significant negative association between intelligence and religiosity.

Source citation format

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More for · 2

The Negative Intelligence–Religiosity Relation: New and Confirming Evidence

Recorded source metadata

M. Zuckerman, Chen Li, Shengxin Lin, Judith A. Hall. The Negative Intelligence–Religiosity Relation: New and Confirming Evidence. 2019. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167219879122

An updated meta-analysis of 83 studies confirmed the negative correlation between intelligence and religious beliefs.

Source citation format

Meta-analyzing intelligence and religiosity associations: Evidence from the multiverse

Recorded source metadata

Florian Dürlinger, Jakob Pietschnig. Meta-analyzing intelligence and religiosity associations: Evidence from the multiverse. 2022. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0262699

A comprehensive multiverse meta-analysis of 105 studies demonstrated a small but robust negative association between intelligence and religiosity.

Source citation format

The paper trail · every fact has a biography

first checked31 Jul 2026

judged → SUPPORTED · 8931 Jul 2026

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