Jim Kavanagh at CNN has this. I’m not surprised. Some “Brights” will be. Study: More educated tend to be more religious, by some measures – CNN Belief Blog – CNN.com Blogs
People tend to become less religious as they become more educated, right? Not necessarily, according to a new study.
After analyzing data from a large national survey, University of Nebraska-Lincoln sociologist Philip Schwadel found that people actually tend to become more religious – by some definitions, at least – as they further their education.
. . .
Schwadel found that with each additional year of education:
- The likelihood of attending religious services increased 15%.
- The likelihood of reading the Bible at least occasionally increased by 9%.
- The likelihood of switching to a mainline Protestant denomination – Episcopal, Lutheran, Presbyterian USA or United Methodist – increased by 13%.
Ed Buckner, former president of American Atheists, doesn’t agree. He thinks many of the more educated Atheists are at church:
They go for all sorts of reasons. I don’t mean that they’re all frauds and deceptive, (but) they go for social reasons or (because) that’s what’s expected of them by their families or their peers. Sometimes they go so they can sell more insurance.
The best and the brightest – the most educated – have found out how to sell auto insurance to Grandma. Way to go, Ed. Brilliant observation.