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Asian atheism and intelligence

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China has the world's largest atheist population.[1][2]

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."[3] See: Asian atheism

The current atheist population mostly resides in East Asia (particularly China) and in secular Europe/Australia among whites.[4] See: See: Atheist population and Global atheism and Western atheism and race

China has the world's largest atheist population.[5][6] China is a communist country and the Communist Party of China requires its members to be atheists (see: Atheism and communism).[7]

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 Marxist values in China — and could add to concern about official attitudes among believers in the country’s five officially recognized religions.[8] ”

China has the 5th highest national IQ in the world with a score of 105.[9] At the same time, Singapore and South Korea (which have higher degrees of religion/religious freedom} have higher national IQ scores of 108 and 106 respectively.[9] In addition, Hong Kong, which has a greater degree of religious freedom than mainland China, has a regional IQ score of 108.[9] See also: China, state atheism and persecution

In the latter part of the 20th century and throughout the 21st century, China has seen a rapid growth of evangelical Christianity within their nation, increased economic development and a leap in intelligence scores.[10][11] See also: Growth of Christianity in China and Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism and East Asia and global desecularization

John W. Traphagan on East Asia and intelligence

See also: Intelligence testing and Theory of multiple intelligences

Political boundaries of Asia

John W. Traphagan's article published in The Diplomat entitled Asia’s Cult of Intelligence declares:

“ I have been traveling to East Asia (and many other parts of the world) for more than 25 years and over that time one of the things that has always struck me is how intelligent the general public in countries like Japan appear to be. It’s not that there aren’t dummies in East Asia, but it always seems that the average level of education and ability to think about the world intelligently and critically is impressively widespread. I’ve often thought about why this is the case and also why the same seems more difficult to say about the U.S. The answer, I think, can be found in a comment science fiction writer Isaac Asimov made about the U.S. while being interviewed in the 1980s: “There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.”

Asimov is right on the mark, and this cult of ignorance is the most serious national security issue facing the U.S. today. It is more important than the external threats from terrorists or the rise of a politically and economically powerful China. And a major part of the reason it is such an major issue for Americans to fix is that our immediate competitors, particularly those in Asia, have managed to create a culture in which rather than a cult of ignorance, a cult of intelligence plays a major role in shaping attitudes about the world and, thus, policies about dealing with other countries.

Many Americans are aware that the U.S. does not score well on measures such as international student assessment tests when compared to other industrial countries. For example, the 2011 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TMISS) the top five countries for math were Singapore, South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Japan—the U.S. is not in the top ten. It is better by 8th grade, where the same counties are in the top five (although the order changes) and the U.S. makes number 9. Roughly the same pattern can bee seen for science results. This doesn’t seem too bad, but in a different testing organization’s measure, the Programme for International Student Assessment, the U.S. does not fare quite so well, scoring 36th for math, 28th for science, and 24th for reading. With the exception of science, where Finland is ranked 5th, all of the top five countries in this measure are from East Asia.

Enjoying this article? Click here to subscribe for full access. Just $5 a month. American policy has generally worked from the assumption that the problem lies in basic weaknesses in the structure of our educational system with its inherent inequalities and the way in which our school curricula are constructed. These certainly have contributed to comparatively weak scores. I have long been convinced that one of the reasons Japan’s educational system is better than the U.S.—at least in the sense that a very broad swath of the general public receives a good and equal education through high school—is related to funding.[12]

”

Articles on Asian countries with high IQs

Hong Kong and intelligence

Singapore and intelligence

CNN's article entitled Why Singapore has the smartest kids in the world declares:

“ It's a world-class teacher's pet -- a straight-A student that's top of the class: Singapore is officially the country with the smartest high-school kids in the world.

The country's academic success has helped it become a thriving economy, and the way it has built its education system could hold lessons for the rest of the world. "Singapore is a fascinating case," said Marc Tucker, the president of the U.S. National Center on Education and the Economy. "[It] was a major British port before the Second World War. When Britain got out and closed its base Singapore was in terrible shape.

"Now today they are one of the best performing economies in the entire world. They did it largely with education and training." If Singapore's rags-to-riches transition was built on education, the secret of its education system is the quality of its teachers. "They source their teachers from among the best kids coming out of their high schools," explained Tucker.[13]

”

South Korea and Intelligence

China and intelligence

  • "IQ has generally increased more rapidly in developing countries, with the biggest leaps seen in China and India. Progress in the developed world has been chequered - the data seem to indicate steady increases in the US, for example, but a decline in the UK.", BBC, 2015[14]

China and eugenics

See also: Eugenics

Asian atheism and social intelligence

In comparison to Asian atheism (Asian cultures are known for stressing social harmony), Western atheists have lower social intelligence (see: Atheism and social intelligence).

Values that undergird East Asian strength and success

High IQ East Asian countries compared to secular Europe and Australia

High IQ nations in East Asia have higher national IQs than secular European countries and irreligious Australia.

Secular Europe and IQ scores

See also: Secular Europe and intelligence and Secular Europe

In 2014, the Pew Research Forum indicated that Europe will go from 11% of the world's population to 7% of the world's population by 2050.[15]

From a global perspective, Europe is more secular/atheistic than the rest of the world although it does have a considerable amount of religious immigrants who have higher birth rates (see: Secular Europe and Atheist population and Global atheism).

According to a poll measuring religious identification in the European Union in 2012 by Eurobarometer, 16% identify as non-religious/agnostic and 7% of EU citizens identify as atheists.[16][17]

The 2010 eurobarometer poll found that on total average, of the EU27 population, 51% "believe in a God", 26% believe in "some sort of spirit or life force" and 20% had neither of these forms of belief.[18]

As briefly mentioned above, Europe is presently experiencing desecularization forces through: religious immigrants who have higher fertility rates than moderately religious and the sub-replacement level of fertility of the irreligious in many European countries. This trend is expected to continue and the secular population is projected to plateau by 2050, or as early as 2021 (see also: European desecularization in the 21st century and Western atheism and race and Growth of global desecularization).[19]

IQ scores for various irreligious European countries

  • UK: National IQ is 100.[9]

Secular Europe, culture and intelligence

Australian national IQ

Australia's national IQ is 98.[9] The Daily Mail reported in 2014, "Evidence suggests that the IQs of people in the UK, Denmark and Australia have declined in the last decade."[20]

See also: Australia and intelligence

After WWII, Australia has become a very secular country.[21]

According to the Sydney Morning Herald:

“ Australia is one of the least devout countries in the Western world, although two-thirds of its population identifies itself as Christian, an international survey comparing religious expression in 21 countries has found.

Religion does not play a central part in the lives of many Australians: 48 per cent of Australians surveyed said they did not partake in personal prayer and 52 per cent said they rarely attended a place of worship for religious reasons.[22]

”

In the 2011 Australian census, 22.3% of Australians (or 4,796,787 people) identified themselves as having "no religion" which was more than 3 percent higher (and 1,090,232 people more) than in the 2006 census and was the second largest category.[23] Another 2.014 million (9.4%) were in the "not-stated or inadequately-defined" category: thus more than 31% of Australians did not state a religious affiliation in the 2011 census.[24]

Australia's national IQ is 98.[9]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Top 50 Countries With Highest Proportion of Atheists / Agnostics (Zuckerman, 2005)
  2. ↑ A surprising map of where the world’s atheists live, Washington Post By Max Fisher and Caitlin Dewey May 23, 2013
  3. ↑ Most atheists are not white & other non-fairy tales, Discover magazine
  4. ↑ A surprising map of where the world’s atheists live, By Max Fisher and Caitlin Dewey, Washington Post, May 23, 2013
  5. ↑ Top 50 Countries With Highest Proportion of Atheists / Agnostics (Zuckerman, 2005)
  6. ↑ A surprising map of where the world’s atheists live, Washington Post By Max Fisher and Caitlin Dewey May 23, 2013
  7. ↑
  8. ↑ Senior Chinese Religious Advisor Calls For Promotion Of Atheism In Society, International Business Times
  9. ↑ 9.00 9.01 9.02 9.03 9.04 9.05 9.06 9.07 9.08 9.09 9.10 9.11 9.12 9.13 WORLD RANKING OF COUNTRIES BY THEIR AVERAGE
  10. ↑
  11. ↑ Are human beings becoming smarter, BBC, March 2, 2015
  12. ↑ Asia’s Cult of Intelligence by John W. Traphagan, The Diplomat, 2014
  13. ↑ Why Singapore has the smartest kids in the world, CNN
  14. ↑ Are human beings becoming smarter, BBC, March 2, 2015
  15. ↑ 10 projections for the global population in 2050 By Rakesh Kochhar, Pew Research Forum, February 3, 2014
  16. ↑ Cultur de Europa
  17. ↑ Discrimination in the EU in 2012" (PDF), Special Eurobarometer, 383 (European Union: European Commission), p. 233, 2012, archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-12-02, retrieved 14 August 2013 The question asked was "Do you consider yourself to be...?" With a card showing: Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, Other Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, Buddhist, Hindu, Atheist, and Non-believer/Agnostic. Space was given for Other (SPONTANEOUS) and DK. Jewish, Sikh, Buddhist, Hindu did not reach the 1% threshold.
  18. ↑ "Special Eurobarometer, biotechnology, page 204" (PDF). Fieldwork: Jan-Feb 2010.
  19. ↑ Shall the Religious Inherit the Earth?: Demography and Politics in the Twenty-First Century by Eric Kaufmann
  20. ↑ Are we becoming more STUPID? IQ scores are decreasing - and some experts argue it's because humans have reached their intellectual peak, Daily Mail, 2014
  21. ↑ Stephanie Painter, Vivienne Ryan and Bethany Hiatt, (15 June 2010). "Australians losing the faith". Newspaper. West Australian Newspapers Ltd. Retrieved 15 June 2010
  22. ↑ God's OK, it's just the religion bit we don't like
  23. ↑ 2011 Census QuickStats. Australian Bureau of Statistics (30 October 2012). Retrieved on 2013-02-25.
  24. ↑ Irreligion in Ausralia