Lower cognitive ability is linked to stronger Christian nationalist views, even after accounting for education
We already knew this, but it's good to see some proper data
https://www.psypost.org/lower-cognitive-ability-is-linked-to-stronger-christian-nationalist-views-even-after-accounting-for-education/Open linkView original on lemmy.world
42 replies
This should surprise no one.
Sadly, many people born with perfectly functional brains are spending hours every day eroding their own cognitive abilities. The habit of taking in minimal information, making an instant value judgement and moving on to the next item, is shrinking attention spans and degrading decision-making skills.
As much as this idea makes me feel good, pretending that the results of a vocabulary test are a reasonable measure of cognitive ability is the purest of pseudo-science.
As a community we shouldn't be spreading this kind of nonsense.
I don't like to talk down but I lost two friends to the far-right. They mean well, to a certain extent, but they are not the brightest bulb. I think not being particularly smart have made them insecure as they were mocked. And insecure people are susceptible to extremism.
I've lost one. We were best friends for like twenty years. He wasn't even dumb really, just super insecure, kind of gullible, and loved controversy and being contrary for its own sake. You know the type. He used to go for hard left Marxist stuff, I think probably just because it was seen as outré at the time. He later voted for Trump.
He couldn't get a date, hated himself, felt unattractive, went on 4chan too much. Got sucked in, we tried really hard to talk him out of it. Even tried getting his dad involved. Nothing worked.
One day out of the blue he told me my baby was at a higher risk of suicide because of being mixed race. I couldn't tolerate it anymore, even for the two decades we had together. It's like the guy I knew is gone.
But which came first the chicken or the indoctrination?
US Christian = Islam radical
SSDD - same shit, different doctrine
No, Christian nationalists definitely wish Christianity were more like Islam though
Can’t see the line, can ya, Russ?
shitter's full!
AND i WANT TO LOOK HIM STRAIGHT IN THE EYE, AND TELL HIM WHAT A CHEAP, LYING, NO-GOOD, ROTTEN, FOUR-FLUSHING, LOW-LIFE, SNAKE-LICKING, DIRT-EATING, INBRED, OVERSTUFFED, IGNORANT, BLOOD-SUCKING, DOG KISSING, BRAINLESS, DICKLESS, HOPELESS ,HEARTLESS, FATASS, BUG-EYED, STIFF-LEGGED, SPOTTY-LIPPED, WORM-HEADED SACK OF MONKEY SHIT HE IS! HALLELUJAH! HOLY SHIT!
Where's the Tylenol?
Is this a 1 to 1 ratio? The dumber you are the easier you'll fall victim to snake oil salesmen? Is that why the wrestler's wife is running the schools in the old usa?
The people who believe in imaginary beings aren't smart?
exceptions are definitely there, jesuits and catholic scientists have contributed to physics/astrophysics and other stems quite alot.
You're not doing your point any favors with that reading comprehension. The link is only about Christian nationalism, not Christianity or even religion as a whole. "Fascists aren't smart" is a far more plausible explanation here.
If you think plenty of smart people don't also believe many stupidly wrong things based on no evidence…
Being a Christian Nationalist goes far beyond holding a mere belief. Even if whatever point you're trying to make is true, do you really think that "smart people who are not Christian Nationalists" have no distinguishable difference from "Christian Nationalists"?
(I'd hazard it's hardly based on evidence, or epistemology if that's what you're going for.)
This is common knowledge right? Like, its obvious.
Well yes, but if you say it out loud people will think you are being rude
Just remind them of their favourite phrase: "facts don't care about feelings"
OK sure, but the time for no rudeness passed a decade ago. People need to call out shit like it is and call a Nazi a Nazi.
People being "polite" and not stepping on toes is why we are where we are.
Oh yeah? well, fuck you!
;-)
I suspect it's only obvious to a smaller percentage of the population than we'd like to hope for :(
Many common assumptions are untrue.
This one, however, has been confirmed by science, so that's nice to have confirmed.
Even common knowledge needs to be proven correct via the scientific method.
Most things we call common knowledge are just "reasonable assumptions" and they are definitely not 100% accurate. This one is though!
So is conservativism.
Not all religious conservatives are stupid. Not all stupid people are religious conservatives. But there is a very strong correlation...
Absolutely
I'm sure if this test were applied to all fundamentalist Abrahamics, there would be similar results (I read one further study cited that had similar results with Judaism, but I did not see one for Islam, though I only read two of the studies).
I encourage all atheists to either read their respective tomes (skeptic's annotated Tanakh/Bible/Koran is great for finding vaguely remembered verses) and especially to listen to what they say today. Hasidic Jews, Nation of Islam, or Assembly of God are good examples.
There are many recordings of their teachers (much in English) all over youtube, you can hear it directly from their mouths to your ears, nothing third hand.
Even a half an hour of the 700 club (like Fundie Light) can be very revealing, just pick a topic that you're curious about and see what they say.
It's horrifying. You won't believe it if you don't research it yourself, if I told you, you'd think I am making things up. It's crazy I still have to go back to it from time to time to remind myself that it's real, because you want to deny it, it's too awful.
All religions rely on the credulous nature of their believers
You can't fix stupid, and when stupid gets angry, it starts fights.
And water is wet.
The sky is blue. Even though bpth of those statements are not really true
Religion is a nice fairy tale. Having a brush with death, twice, there's nothing. Sorry. My last words were, well shit...
No-name click-farming website written by AI, and you guys are falling for it.
Lets just accept the fact that both groups have some bad apples.
Bullshit
PsyPost is a reputable source of information, although it's geared towards laypeople rather than academics
Does education really matter if they just pay for private schools to graduate without merit?
the for profit charter schools yeah, those are crap. but private schools that prepare for colleges are different.
As a layman with no education, I am confident there is some kind of correlation to lead levels in the blood.
I'm sure it doesn't help!