View source for Asian atheism and intelligence

[[File:China location.png|thumbnail|200px|right|[[China]] has the world's largest [[atheism|atheist]] population.<ref name="thechapmans.nl">[http://www.thechapmans.nl/news/Atheist.pdf Top 50 Countries With Highest Proportion of Atheists / Agnostics (Zuckerman, 2005)]</ref><ref name="washingtonpost.com">[https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/05/23/a-surprising-map-of-where-the-worlds-atheists-live/ A surprising map of where the world’s atheists live], ''Washington Post'' By Max Fisher and Caitlin Dewey May 23, 2013</ref> ]] 
Razib Khan points out in ''Discover Magazine'', "most secular nations in the world are those of [[East Asia]], in particular what are often termed “Confucian societies.” It is likely therefore that the majority of the world’s atheists are actually East Asian."<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20150905135558/http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/gnxp/2010/11/most-atheists-are-not-white/ Most atheists are not white & other non-fairy tales], Discover magazine</ref> See: [[Asian atheism]]

The current atheist population mostly resides in East [[Asia]] (particularly China) and in secular Europe/Australia among whites.<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/05/23/a-surprising-map-of-where-the-worlds-atheists-live/ A surprising map of where the world’s atheists live], By Max Fisher and Caitlin Dewey, ''Washington Post'', May 23, 2013</ref> See: [[Atheist Population|Atheist population]] and [[Global atheism]] and [[Western atheism and race]]

China has the world's largest atheist population.<ref name="thechapmans.nl"/><ref name="washingtonpost.com"/> China is a [[communism|communist]] country and the [[Communist Party of China]] requires its members to be atheists (see: [[Atheism and communism]]).<ref>
*[https://www.thenewamerican.com/world-news/asia/item/19567-china-s-communist-party-reaffirms-marxism-maoism-atheism China’s Communist Party Reaffirms Marxism, Maoism, Atheism], ''New American'', 2014
*[https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/02/china-communist-party-atheism-zhejiang-ban-religious-members-christianity_n_6599722.html China's Communist Party Bans Believers, Doubles Down On Atheism]</ref> 

In 2016, the ''International Business Times'' reported: "A senior Chinese advisor on religious affairs has said the country should promote atheism throughout society, in remarks that appear to reflect a deepening campaign to reinforce traditional [[Marxism|Marxist]] values in China — and could add to concern about official attitudes among believers in the country’s five officially recognized religions."<ref>[http://www.ibtimes.com/senior-chinese-religious-advisor-calls-promotion-atheism-society-2363850 Senior Chinese Religious Advisor Calls For Promotion Of Atheism In Society], ''International Business Times''</ref>

[[Socioeconomics|Socioeconomic]] factors can cause differences in regional intelligence levels (for example, wealth which can affect the quality of education, health care and nutrition). Although social scientists have disputes about the accuracy of IQ scores in a given region, regions do vary in terms of their IQ scores.<ref name="CountryIQ">[https://iq-research.info/en/page/average-iq-by-country WORLD RANKING OF COUNTRIES BY THEIR AVERAGE]</ref><ref name="NatureIQ">[http://www.nature.com/hdy/journal/v92/n4/full/6800418a.html Book Review: IQ and the Wealth of Nations], ''Nature''</ref><ref name="AfricanIQ">[https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100121155220.htm Controversial study of African IQ levels is 'deeply flawed'], Science Daily, January 21, 2010</ref> Ethnic groups facing discrimination as immigrants and their IQs temporarily dropping and then later rebounding when the discrimination is over, suggests that IQ is significantly affected by one's environment and not due to any inherent and permanent genetic differences between races.<ref>[https://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2017/05/charles-murray-still-convinced-whites-are-smarter-blacks Charles Murray Still Convinced That Whites Are Smarter Than Blacks] by Kevin Drum, ''Mother Jonees'', 2017</ref>

There is a significant amount of [[racism]] in the [[atheist population]] and this includes [[atheism|atheists]] in East Asia/[[China]] (see: [[Atheism and racism]] and [[East Asia, China, atheism and racism]]). For example, the Chinese have a significant amount of racist attitudes against the [[Japan]]ese and towards [[blacks]]/[[African]]s so it is unlikely there is a significant amount of intermarriage between the Chinese and these groups/geographical regions (see: [[East Asia, China, atheism and racism#China and racism|China and racism]]).

Although social scientists have disputes about the accuracy of IQ scores in a given region, regions do vary in terms of their IQ scores.<ref name="CountryIQ"/><ref name="NatureIQ"/><ref name="AfricanIQ"/>

Unless otherwise indicated, the national IQ scores given below for Asian, European countries and Australia comes from the work carried out from 2002 to 2006 by Richard Lynn, a British Professor of Psychology, and Tatu Vanhanen, a Finnish Professor of Political Science, who performed IQ studies in more than 80 countries.<ref name="CountryIQ"/>

China has the 5th highest national IQ in the world with a score of 105.<ref name="CountryIQ"/> China's Zhejiang province is China's Christianity heartland.<ref name="Zhejiang">[http://examiningatheism.blogspot.com/2017/03/chinas-christian-province-had-highest.html China's Christian Province had the highest IQ in China in 2005], ''Examining Atheism''</ref> In 2005, the ''Chinese Journal of Endemiology'' (Owned by China ‘s ministry of health) reported that Zhejiang province had the highest IQ of all the provinces in China with an average IQ of 115.8 which was markedly higher than China's average IQ at the time which was a score of 103.4.<ref name="Zhejiang"/> 

In the latter part of the 20th century and throughout the 21st century, China has seen a rapid growth of [[Evangelical Christians|evangelical Christianity]] within their nation, increased economic development and a leap in intelligence scores.<ref>
*[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/10776023/China-on-course-to-become-worlds-most-Christian-nation-within-15-years.html China on course to become 'world's most Christian nation' within 15 years]
*[http://blog.tifwe.org/the-protestant-work-ethic-alive-well-in-china/ The Protestant Work Ethic: Alive & Well…In China] By Hugh Whelchel on September 24, 2012</ref><ref name="Are human beings becoming smarter">[https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-31556802 Are human beings becoming smarter], BBC, March 2, 2015</ref>  See also: [[Growth of Christianity in China]] and [[Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism]] and [[East Asia and global desecularization]]

In addition, compared to China, [[Singapore]] and [[South Korea]] (which have higher degrees of religion/religious freedom) have higher national IQ scores of 108 and 106 respectively.<ref name="CountryIQ"/>  In addition, [[Hong Kong]], which has a greater degree of religiosity than China as a whole and greater religious freedom than mainland China, has a regional IQ score of 108.<ref name="CountryIQ"/> See also: [[Growth of Christianity in China#China, state atheism and persecution|China, state atheism and persecution]]