Changes

The other three studies went further. They included hundreds of participants from a variety of demographics in the U.S. and Canada and used various measures of belief in God and of mentalizing abilities. The results of all three followed the same pattern.

The other three studies went further. They included hundreds of participants from a variety of demographics in the U.S. and Canada and used various measures of belief in God and of mentalizing abilities. The results of all three followed the same pattern.

First, people with higher scores on the Autism Spectrum Quotient (items included "I am fascinated by numbers," and "I find social situations [difficult]") had weaker belief in a personal God. Second, reduced ability to mentalize mediated this correlation. (Mentalizing was measured with the Empathy Quotient, which assesses self-reported ability to recognize and react to others' emotions, and with a task that requires identifying what's being expressed in pictures of eyes. Systematizing -- interest in and aptitude for mechanical and abstract systems -- was correlated with autism but was not a mediator.) Third, men were much less likely than women to say they strongly believed in a personal God (even controlling for autism), and this correlation was also mediated by reduced mentalizing.<ref>[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/matthew-hutson/autism-atheism_b_1557098.html Are People With Autism More Likely to Be Atheists?] by Matthew Hutson, Huffington Post</ref>}}

First, people with higher scores on the [[Autism-spectrum quotient|Autism Spectrum Quotient]] (items included "I am fascinated by numbers," and "I find social situations [difficult]") had weaker belief in a personal God. Second, reduced ability to mentalize mediated this correlation. (Mentalizing was measured with the Empathy Quotient, which assesses self-reported ability to recognize and react to others' emotions, and with a task that requires identifying what's being expressed in pictures of eyes. Systematizing -- interest in and aptitude for mechanical and abstract systems -- was correlated with autism but was not a mediator.) Third, men were much less likely than women to say they strongly believed in a personal God (even controlling for autism), and this correlation was also mediated by reduced mentalizing.<ref>[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/matthew-hutson/autism-atheism_b_1557098.html Are People With Autism More Likely to Be Atheists?] by Matthew Hutson, Huffington Post</ref>}}

=== Atheist PZ Myers' blog audience and their reported Asperger's quotient test results ===

=== Atheist PZ Myers' blog audience and their reported Asperger's quotient test results ===