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Coursera offers motivated learners immense online educational varietyIf you are a student, a teacher with an active interest in e-learning, or a professional looking to develop your education and career prospects, Coursera may well be of interest to you. This leading online training and university course elearning provider offers an almost unparalleled range of course titles.Here, we review some of the benefits of learning online with Coursera – a relatively new MOOC (massive open online courses) provider that was founded in 2012 and has achieved widespread success remarkably quickly. Coursera offers students throughout Africa free access to online education with the possibility of a certificate of achievement on successful completion of their chosen course.If you want to learn more about Coursera, I recommend you this in-depth article Coursera online courses – extensive Guide for AfricansIt describes in detail the company behind and lists at least 10 reasons for taking online courses with Coursera.Main FactsCoursera is the leading online course provider for courses provided from the top worldwide universities!All kind of topics are offered and can be booked, the range is enormous.Against a fee the successful training will be certified.Explore 1000+ online courses from top universities.Coursera offers Financial Aid.Go and get more information in Coursera help center.Study FieldsCoursera categorizes its offer as follows:Arts and HumanitiesBusinessComputer ScienceData ScienceLife ScienceMath and LogicPersonal DevelopmentPhysical Science and EngineeringSocial SciencesLanguage LearningFeeThe courses are charged with a fee. The fee varies from courses to course, based on the different Levels and Certificates.You can pay for the entire Specialization upfront, or pay individually for each course as you progress. Financial aid is available for learners who qualify.Access to world class educational providersOriginally set up in North America, Coursera owes its beginnings to two original founders, Andrew Ng and Daphne Koller of Stanford University. An edtech (education technology) start-up, the company has grown rapidly over recent years and now provides online learners with universal access to the world’s best standards of education through MOOC.This online platform provides hundreds of titles of educational content from leading universities, with the ability to search for courses that are of professional or personal interest to the potential student.One of the main advantages of Coursera is that its wide choice of courses includes titles that are developed in conjunction with leading universities worldwide. These organisations are based mainly in the USA and the courses are delivered during a defined period, backed with support from the organisation concerned.A global provider which offers a local presence in AfricaCoursera is very well known and has almost become a synonym for MOOC. The company has 146 training partners based in twenty-eight countries, with approximately two thousand different courses on offer. This provider has an office in South Africa; this relatively local presence is a considerable advantage for potential and new African students who sometimes have detailed enquiries and, quite understandably, look for a reasonably prompt response.It is much more convenient to be able to contact a company with a subsidiary on the African continent which has a local presence to answer questions and provide support. This means there is no need to navigate the extra hurdles of having to contact an office that is geographically remote – in the United States (for instance), with the associated inconvenience of different time zones and possible extra expense of international telephone calls to other continents.A world of choice and diversityCourses may be searched by category; almost every subject is covered in the diverse range of titles from which self-starters can choose for their studies. Most courses are available in English, while a minority is available in Chinese. Many titles are available free of charge, with subjects ranging from computer science to the history of art. Business, maths and logic or physical science and engineering are complemented by social sciences, language learning and even teaching, such as with TESOL Certificates in staged parts.Business English Communication Skills or Intermediate Grammar (University of California) are on offer in the course listings, along with an abundance of alternative titles including the chance to learn Mandarin Chinese, perhaps best suited for those students with a certain linguistic ability and a degree of motivation. Online courses such as these are especially of value to students who are interested in foreign culture as well as in learning a particular language, or who plan to travel to a country for travel or business. This type of introductory e-learning course is designed for beginners and focuses on basic phonetics and everyday expressions. In this example, students do not need to study Chinese characters; this simplifies the syllabus and makes the course easier to follow and complete.Registration and setting up a student profileOn an initial visit to the Coursera website, checked at the time of writing, the web page will initially display in English and a progress indicator increments while the page automatically checks the language settings on the site visitor’s PC or mobile device. On completion of these checks, typically after a few seconds, the Coursera page then changes to the local language, based on the device’s country settings.This may work well for most visitors to the site, but there are exceptions – an African person working in Spain, Italy or France who speaks Spanish, Italian or French only at an elementary level, for instance. Such a visitor may well prefer to work on his or her e-learning registration application in their main language. At the time of writing, there did not appear to be an option to adjust this language setting as a guest visitor. Fortunately, this can be adjusted successfully once the visitor registers a profile using an email address or other social network logins such as Facebook.Distance education delivery and the online interfacesIn addition to an online web page interface for access via PCs and tablet devices, as is typical in the edtech field, an m-learning (mobile learning) smartphone app is also available. Students often find that m-learning offers them additional flexibility and increased opportunities to take advantage of travelling time to learn on the move, or use unexpected delays and free periods to advance their studies and progress.Students are able to programme their study and learning activities according to their own timetables, to complement work schedules, family commitments or even other current courses in progress. Course content includes interactive quizzes, short video lecture presentations, peer assessment and the ability to connect with fellow students and course instructors.In addition to the course content, which is presented by video, there are regular tests to check understanding. These tests (or quizzes, to use Coursera terminology) are by questionnaire – or by machine, with automated corrections. Additionally, other students carry out the peer reviews and there is a final exam before the end of the mobile learning course.Peer assessments are not only useful for the learner, but they benefit those carrying out the assessment and represent a valuable learning experience for al concerned. Review by fellow students provides a human input, as distinct from the computerised marking of work.The Coursera approach is to help the student learn more quickly and more efficiently. The online web and m-learning platforms are based on verified teaching methodologies that have been accredited by educational research experts and have withstood the test of time.A four-pronged approach towards educational excellenceThe Coursera vision and focus on the student has been shaped by four important factors. Firstly, the effectiveness of online education means that, given easier access to online platforms, it can now play a significant part in students’ lifelong learning.Secondly, some of the courses on offer involve blended learning – i.e. face-to-face tutorials or in-centre lectures, complemented with a distance education component delivered as on-line elearning. This methodology appears to work well for conventional universities too; it has been found that a combined approach such as this tends to be more effective and produces superior learning outcomes to instruction that involves only face-to-face elements.Conversely, this approach of combined learning methodologies can be used to balance the predominantly online element of e-learning courses with a partial on-campus element. Some of the institutions on Coursera who provide distance education find that a mixture of elearning and physical attendance at the sponsoring educational provider’s centre or faculty helps to foster student engagement, higher attendance and better performance.Mastery is key to success. According to leading educational psychologists including Benjamin Bloom, best results are obtained by successfully completing one topic before moving on to the next stage. Coursera provides timely feedback and – if necessary – randomised repeat assignments for additional practice.Fees, certificates and covering costsFundamentally, Coursera is a business that provides an online educational platform. As a company, it operates professionally and has formed partnerships with top universities and leading organisations worldwide to offer online courses which any motivated student who has Internet access is able to take. Nonetheless, there are costs that any business would naturally wish to recover; as an organisation, Coursera is currently supported by venture capital fundraising.Accordingly, not all the courses are free of charge – though, for the courses that do charge a fee, potential students may apply for support with those costs if their financial situation so dictates. Additionally, a fee is charged for certain course completion certificates.On successful completion of a course, students are currently entitled to receive a Coursera statement of accomplishment, free of charge. There is no need to produce identification for this. Alternatively, a fee is payable if formal qualification or attendance certificates are required. This paid service gives the successful student an ID-verified certificate; the cost is between USD $29 and $95 per certificate depending on the course title. Additionally, there is the possibility of financial assistance for students who cannot afford to pay the fee. Students who excel receive a certificate that is annotated with a distinction.In the words of Coursera themselves, verified certificates ensure academic integrity. Courses from this provider seem to be generally well respected as having a high level and, in the eyes of companies and potential employers, constituting official education.Completion ratesUsually, MOOC completion rates are relatively low; many would-be students start courses but then do not go on to fully complete them. This could be due to a number of possible reasons; the general rate for completion of MOOC courses by all starters is approximately 15 percent. Notably, this proportion increases significantly when, as is the case with Coursera, students can opt to pay a fee for a certificate.Strengths, weaknesses and feedbackThe challenge for learners and course providers is to combine all these well-established e-learning methods and suitable data security checks with the content and processor needs of mobile learning via a smartphone application. Sometimes a relatively basic mobile phone may be sufficient, though generally the courses are better experienced with a more powerful smartphone. The popularity of smartphones in Africa has led to a strong market demand for Android and other applications on devices. Characteristically, throughout Africa, Internet access by phone is more widespread than access to the World Wide Web through fixed ADSL broadband or standard telephone lines.Feedback in the Coursetalk forum mentions that Coursera offers some of the best university professors from the world over, including computer science and neurobiology. Coursera was reported as offering suitable learning programmes for skill tracks, with subjects ranging from statistics to first aid, or science to astronomy.According to largely positive recent reviews such as in the online edition of PC Mag, Coursera is credited with offering the most extensive and eclectic list of courses for an online training and higher education provider of its type. Self-paced on-demand lessons are available, in addition to timed classes over periods ranging from four to twelve weeks. Discussion boards are reported to be well administered, although some users report that in the case of humanities courses, assessments may be inadequate.Some experts consider that smaller educational institutions and junior faculties are not proportionately represented in the course catalogue, due to the entry requirements (money, time and support) acting as a possible barrier to access.Conclusion: e-learning with Coursera online coursesDuring a recent interview, Richard Levin (the Coursera CEO and a former Yale College President) went on record saying that few educational experts, if any, expect Coursera to replace four-year university courses.Nonetheless, the fact that Coursera does not provide the same credentials and personal networking opportunities – or even the same overall communal experience of a more conventional university degree course – does not mean that its free online courses can not be enjoyed, used to develop new skills and satisfy old curiosities.If you are a teacher, lecturer, university professor or other educational professional, a student or indeed anyone who wishes to find out more about online courses with Coursera, you are invited to click here for further information, free of charge and without obligation.If you like my answer, do me a favor and upvote my answer 😊 Thank you!Click on my Quora Profile:· Extensive guides (How-to Descriptions)· Product links with recommendations and discounts· Invitation to my Messenger Chat

Coursera offers motivated learners immense online educational varietyIf you are a student, a teacher with an active interest in e-learning, or a professional looking to develop your education and career prospects, Coursera may well be of interest to you. This leading online training and university course elearning provider offers an almost unparalleled range of course titles.Here, we review some of the benefits of learning online with Coursera – a relatively new MOOC (massive open online courses) provider that was founded in 2012 and has achieved widespread success remarkably quickly. Coursera offers students throughout Africa free access to online education with the possibility of a certificate of achievement on successful completion of their chosen course.Main FactsCoursera is the leading online course provider for courses provided from the top worldwide universities!All kind of topics are offered and can be booked, the range is enormous.Against a fee the successful training will be certified.Explore 1000+ online courses from top universities.Coursera offers Financial Aid. Go and get more information in Coursera help center.If you want to learn more about Coursera, I recommend you this in-depth article Coursera online courses – extensive Guide for AfricansIt describes in detail the company behind and lists at least 10 reasons for taking online courses with Coursera.Study FieldsCoursera categorizes its offer as follows:Arts and HumanitiesBusinessComputer ScienceData ScienceLife ScienceMath and LogicPersonal DevelopmentPhysical Science and EngineeringSocial SciencesLanguage LearningFeeThe courses are charged with a fee. The fee varies from courses to course, based on the different Levels and Certificates.You can pay for the entire Specialization upfront, or pay individually for each course as you progress. Financial aid is available for learners who qualify.Access to world class educational providersOriginally set up in North America, Coursera owes its beginnings to two original founders, Andrew Ng and Daphne Koller of Stanford University. An edtech (education technology) start-up, the company has grown rapidly over recent years and now provides online learners with universal access to the world’s best standards of education through MOOC.This online platform provides hundreds of titles of educational content from leading universities, with the ability to search for courses that are of professional or personal interest to the potential student.One of the main advantages of Coursera is that its wide choice of courses includes titles that are developed in conjunction with leading universities worldwide. These organisations are based mainly in the USA and the courses are delivered during a defined period, backed with support from the organisation concerned.A global provider which offers a local presence in AfricaCoursera is very well known and has almost become a synonym for MOOC. The company has 146 training partners based in twenty-eight countries, with approximately two thousand different courses on offer. This provider has an office in South Africa; this relatively local presence is a considerable advantage for potential and new African students who sometimes have detailed enquiries and, quite understandably, look for a reasonably prompt response.It is much more convenient to be able to contact a company with a subsidiary on the African continent which has a local presence to answer questions and provide support. This means there is no need to navigate the extra hurdles of having to contact an office that is geographically remote – in the United States (for instance), with the associated inconvenience of different time zones and possible extra expense of international telephone calls to other continents.A world of choice and diversityCourses may be searched by category; almost every subject is covered in the diverse range of titles from which self-starters can choose for their studies. Most courses are available in English, while a minority is available in Chinese. Many titles are available free of charge, with subjects ranging from computer science to the history of art. Business, maths and logic or physical science and engineering are complemented by social sciences, language learning and even teaching, such as with TESOL Certificates in staged parts.Business English Communication Skills or Intermediate Grammar (University of California) are on offer in the course listings, along with an abundance of alternative titles including the chance to learn Mandarin Chinese, perhaps best suited for those students with a certain linguistic ability and a degree of motivation. Online courses such as these are especially of value to students who are interested in foreign culture as well as in learning a particular language, or who plan to travel to a country for travel or business. This type of introductory e-learning course is designed for beginners and focuses on basic phonetics and everyday expressions. In this example, students do not need to study Chinese characters; this simplifies the syllabus and makes the course easier to follow and complete.Registration and setting up a student profileOn an initial visit to the Coursera website, checked at the time of writing, the web page will initially display in English and a progress indicator increments while the page automatically checks the language settings on the site visitor’s PC or mobile device. On completion of these checks, typically after a few seconds, the Coursera page then changes to the local language, based on the device’s country settings.This may work well for most visitors to the site, but there are exceptions – an African person working in Spain, Italy or France who speaks Spanish, Italian or French only at an elementary level, for instance. Such a visitor may well prefer to work on his or her e-learning registration application in their main language. At the time of writing, there did not appear to be an option to adjust this language setting as a guest visitor. Fortunately, this can be adjusted successfully once the visitor registers a profile using an email address or other social network logins such as Facebook or Google Plus.Distance education delivery and the online interfacesIn addition to an online web page interface for access via PCs and tablet devices, as is typical in the edtech field, an m-learning (mobile learning) smartphone app is also available. Students often find that m-learning offers them additional flexibility and increased opportunities to take advantage of travelling time to learn on the move, or use unexpected delays and free periods to advance their studies and progress.Students are able to programme their study and learning activities according to their own timetables, to complement work schedules, family commitments or even other current courses in progress. Course content includes interactive quizzes, short video lecture presentations, peer assessment and the ability to connect with fellow students and course instructors.In addition to the course content, which is presented by video, there are regular tests to check understanding. These tests (or quizzes, to use Coursera terminology) are by questionnaire – or by machine, with automated corrections. Additionally, other students carry out the peer reviews and there is a final exam before the end of the mobile learning course.Peer assessments are not only useful for the learner, but they benefit those carrying out the assessment and represent a valuable learning experience for al concerned. Review by fellow students provides a human input, as distinct from the computerised marking of work.The Coursera approach is to help the student learn more quickly and more efficiently. The online web and m-learning platforms are based on verified teaching methodologies that have been accredited by educational research experts and have withstood the test of time.A four-pronged approach towards educational excellenceThe Coursera vision and focus on the student has been shaped by four important factors. Firstly, the effectiveness of online education means that, given easier access to online platforms, it can now play a significant part in students’ lifelong learning.Secondly, some of the courses on offer involve blended learning – i.e. face-to-face tutorials or in-centre lectures, complemented with a distance education component delivered as on-line elearning. This methodology appears to work well for conventional universities too; it has been found that a combined approach such as this tends to be more effective and produces superior learning outcomes to instruction that involves only face-to-face elements.Conversely, this approach of combined learning methodologies can be used to balance the predominantly online element of e-learning courses with a partial on-campus element. Some of the institutions on Coursera who provide distance education find that a mixture of elearning and physical attendance at the sponsoring educational provider’s centre or faculty helps to foster student engagement, higher attendance and better performance.Mastery is key to success. According to leading educational psychologists including Benjamin Bloom, best results are obtained by successfully completing one topic before moving on to the next stage. Coursera provides timely feedback and – if necessary – randomised repeat assignments for additional practice.Fees, certificates and covering costsFundamentally, Coursera is a business that provides an online educational platform. As a company, it operates professionally and has formed partnerships with top universities and leading organisations worldwide to offer online courses which any motivated student who has Internet access is able to take. Nonetheless, there are costs that any business would naturally wish to recover; as an organisation, Coursera is currently supported by venture capital fundraising.Accordingly, not all the courses are free of charge – though, for the courses that do charge a fee, potential students may apply for support with those costs if their financial situation so dictates. Additionally, a fee is charged for certain course completion certificates.On successful completion of a course, students are currently entitled to receive a Coursera statement of accomplishment, free of charge. There is no need to produce identification for this. Alternatively, a fee is payable if formal qualification or attendance certificates are required. This paid service gives the successful student an ID-verified certificate; the cost is between USD $29 and $95 per certificate depending on the course title. Additionally, there is the possibility of financial assistance for students who cannot afford to pay the fee. Students who excel receive a certificate that is annotated with a distinction.In the words of Coursera themselves, verified certificates ensure academic integrity. Courses from this provider seem to be generally well respected as having a high level and, in the eyes of companies and potential employers, constituting official education.Completion ratesUsually, MOOC completion rates are relatively low; many would-be students start courses but then do not go on to fully complete them. This could be due to a number of possible reasons; the general rate for completion of MOOC courses by all starters is approximately 15 percent. Notably, this proportion increases significantly when, as is the case with Coursera, students can opt to pay a fee for a certificate.Strengths, weaknesses and feedbackThe challenge for learners and course providers is to combine all these well-established e-learning methods and suitable data security checks with the content and processor needs of mobile learning via a smartphone application. Sometimes a relatively basic mobile phone may be sufficient, though generally the courses are better experienced with a more powerful smartphone. The popularity of smartphones in Africa has led to a strong market demand for Android and other applications on devices. Characteristically, throughout Africa, Internet access by phone is more widespread than access to the World Wide Web through fixed ADSL broadband or standard telephone lines.Feedback in the Coursetalk forum mentions that Coursera offers some of the best university professors from the world over, including computer science and neurobiology. Coursera was reported as offering suitable learning programmes for skill tracks, with subjects ranging from statistics to first aid, or science to astronomy.According to largely positive recent reviews such as in the online edition of PC Mag, Coursera is credited with offering the most extensive and eclectic list of courses for an online training and higher education provider of its type. Self-paced on-demand lessons are available, in addition to timed classes over periods ranging from four to twelve weeks. Discussion boards are reported to be well administered, although some users report that in the case of humanities courses, assessments may be inadequate.Some experts consider that smaller educational institutions and junior faculties are not proportionately represented in the course catalogue, due to the entry requirements (money, time and support) acting as a possible barrier to access.Conclusion: e-learning with Coursera online coursesDuring a recent interview, Richard Levin (the Coursera CEO and a former Yale College President) went on record saying that few educational experts, if any, expect Coursera to replace four-year university courses.Nonetheless, the fact that Coursera does not provide the same credentials and personal networking opportunities – or even the same overall communal experience of a more conventional university degree course – does not mean that its free online courses can not be enjoyed, used to develop new skills and satisfy old curiosities.If you are a teacher, lecturer, university professor or other educational professional, a student or indeed anyone who wishes to find out more about online courses with Coursera, you are invited to click here for further information, free of charge and without obligation.If you like my answer, do me a favor and upvote my answer 😊 Thank you!Click on my Quora Profile:· Extensive guides (How-to Descriptions)· Product links with recommendations and discounts· Invitation to my Messenger Chat

Let’s take a look at fifteen relevant research papers on the religion-intelligence nexus that were published AFTER Zuckerman and co., shall we, folks?Azarvan, A. (2013). Are Highly Theistic Countries Dumber? Critiquing the Intelligence-Religiosity Nexus Theory. Catholic Social Science Review, 18, 151-168.Recent research suggests that higher-IQ countries have significantly more atheists, supposedly because higher intelligence confers a greater ability to apprehend the assumed irrationality of theistic belief. In this quantitative study, an alternative explanation is offered to explain the apparent relationship between intelligence and theism. It is theorized that higher education in free societies brings greater exposure to, and eases the acceptance of, such unconventional views as atheism. This exposure, in and of itself, augments the likelihood that one will reject belief in God. In addition, it is argued on the basis of the Christian ascetic tradition that materialism also produces higher levels of disbelief. OLS regression analysis of 99 countries confirms both theories, while revealing no evidence of an inverse link between intelligence and theism. Findings also show that disbelief is significantly lower in countries that are traditionally Roman Catholic, as well as in those that have not experienced communist rule.Cribari-Neto, F., & Souza, T. C. (2013). Religious belief and intelligence: Worldwide evidence. Intelligence, 41(5), 482-489.Is there a positive impact of intelligence on religious disbelief after we account for the fact that both average intelligence and religious disbelief tend to be higher in more developed countries? We carry out four beta regression analyses and conclude that the answer is yes. We also compute impact curves that show how the effect of intelligence on atheism changes with average intelligence quotients. The impact is stronger at lower intelligence levels, peaks somewhere between 100 and 110, and then weakens. Bootstrap standard errors for our point estimates and bootstrap confidence intervals are also computed.Ganzach, Y., & Gotlibovski, C. (2013). Intelligence and religiosity: Within families and over time. Intelligence, 41(5), 546-552.We study the effect of intelligence (General Mental Ability) on religiosity using research designs that allow for stronger causal inferences compared to previous research in this area. First, we examine how between-siblings differences in intelligence are related to differences in their religiosity. Second, we examine how intelligence is related to changes in religiosity over time. The results of both designs suggest that intelligence has a strong negative effect on religiosity. In addition, our results also suggest that intelligence interacts with age in determining religiosity: the more intelligent the person, the stronger the negative effect of age on religiosity.Carl, N. (2014). Verbal intelligence is correlated with socially and economically liberal beliefs. Intelligence, 44, 142-148.Research has consistently shown that intelligence is positively correlated with socially liberal beliefs and negatively correlated with religious beliefs. This should lead one to expect that Republicans are less intelligent than Democrats. However, I find that individuals who identify as Republican have slightly higher verbal intelligence than those who identify as Democrat (2–5 IQ points), and that individuals who supported the Republican Party in elections have slightly higher verbal intelligence than those who supported the Democratic Party (2 IQ points). I reconcile these findings with the previous literature by showing that verbal intelligence is correlated with both socially and economically liberal beliefs (β = .10–.32). My findings suggest that higher intelligence among classically liberal Republicans compensates for lower intelligence among socially conservative Republicans.Dutton, E., & Lynn, R. (2014). Intelligence and religious and political differences among members of the US academic elite. Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Religion, 10.Many studies have found inverse correlations between intelligence and religiosity, intelligence and political conservatism, and intelligence and political extremism. Other studies have found that academics tend to be significantly less religious and more liberal than the general population. In this article, we argue that interdisciplinary differences in religiosity and political perspective among academics are predicted by interdisciplinary differences in intelligence between academics. Once personality factors correlating with religiosity have been substantially controlled for, physicists, who have higher average intelligence, are less religious than are social scientists, who have lower average intelligence. Physical scientists are also less politically extreme than are social scientists.Ritchie, S. J., Gow, A. J., & Deary, I. J. (2014). Religiosity is negatively associated with later-life intelligence, but not with age-related cognitive decline. Intelligence, 46, 9-17.A well-replicated finding in the psychological literature is the negative correlation between religiosity and intelligence. However, several studies also conclude that one form of religiosity, church attendance, is protective against later-life cognitive decline. No effects of religious belief per se on cognitive decline have been found, potentially due to the restricted measures of belief used in previous studies. Here, we examined the associations between religiosity, intelligence, and cognitive change in a cohort of individuals (initial n = 550) with high-quality measures of religious belief taken at age 83 and multiple cognitive measures taken in childhood and at four waves between age 79 and 90. We found that religious belief, but not attendance, was negatively related to intelligence. The effect size was smaller than in previous studies of younger participants. Longitudinal analyses showed no effect of either religious belief or attendance on cognitive change either from childhood to old age, or across the ninth decade of life. We discuss differences between our cohort and those in previous studies – including in age and location – that may have led to our non-replication of the association between religious attendance and cognitive decline.Ganzach, Y., & Gotlibovski, C. (2014). Individual differences and the effect of education on religiosity. Learning and Individual Differences, 36, 213-217.We study the complex relationships between education and religiosity by examining the effects of various individual differences on both these variables. We show that omitting individual differences, particularly intelligence, may lead to dramatic changes in the sign of the effect of education on religiosity. These findings may explain previous conflicting reports about the relationship between education and religiosity.Their Discussion section reports:Our data indicate that in cross-sectional studies, the estimated effect of education on religiosity is very sensitive to the type of controls that are entered into the model. The zero-order correlation between education and religiosity is negative. However, in a model that includes a wide range of antecedents of both education and religiosity, the effect of education on religiosity appears to be small and non-significant. Yet, when sex and ethnicity as well as temperamental antecedents associated with conformity, are omitted from the model, the effect of education appears to be positive (Model 3). On the other hand when intellectual antecedents are omitted, the effect of education appears to be negative (Model 4).Interestingly enough, intelligence is the most essential variable to control for. For example, when only intelligence is controlled for, the relationship between education and religiosity changes dramatically; whereas the zero-order correlation between education and religiosity is −0.14, the partial correlation (controlling for intelligence) between the two is +0.06 (both significantly different, p b 0.0001). On the other hand, the other antecedents in our models are less essential as controls, and have a smaller impact on the estimation of the effect of education. For example, controlling for the two variables with the highest [predictive power] in the full religiosity model (Model 2) – black ethnicity and religious background – has only a small impact on the effect of education. The relevant partial [mediating] correlations are −0.10 and −0.13, respectively, rather similar to the negative zero-order correlation between education and intelligence. Thus, we believe that the omission of intelligence in previous studies that examined the relationship between education and religiosity in the economics and sociological literature is the most serious cause for biases in the estimation of the effect of education on religiosity.Dutton, E. (2014). Nyborg's 'The Intelligence-Religiosity Nexus' and the Benefits of Consilience. Open Differential Psychology.A critique of Nyborg's (2009) analysis of the relationship between IQ and religiousness is presented. It is argued that its problems, although relatively minor, could have been avoided if Wilson's (1998) consilience model were followed. In particular, it presents a number of errors of categorization (which impact its results) that could have been avoided if a Religious Studies expert had been involved in the review process.Souza, T. C., & Cribari-Neto, F. (2015). Intelligence, religiosity and homosexuality non-acceptance: Empirical evidence. Intelligence, 52, 63-70.Our main goal is to explain the proportion of homosexuality non-acceptance, i.e., the proportion of people for whom homosexuality can never be justified. To that end, we use data on 52 countries and consider the beta regression model which is tailored for rates and proportions. We use several conditioning variables, such as average intelligence, per capita income, an indicator as to whether the country is Muslim, an income inequality index and a religious diversity index. It is noteworthy that homosexuality non-acceptance negatively correlates with average intelligence (− 0.58) and with religious disbelief (− 0.52). The estimated regression coefficients corresponding to such covariates are − 0.0207 and − 12.3636, respectively. They are both negative and statistically significant. The implication is that homosexuality non-acceptance tends to decrease when average intelligence or religious disbelief increases. We construct impact curves that measure such impacts and show how their strengths change with the relevant conditioning variables. The estimated impacts are almost always stronger for Muslim nations; they can be nearly twice as strong for such countries. The estimated impacts are also stronger when average intelligence and the prevalence of religious disbelievers are small. Bootstrap confidence intervals are also computed.Sacher, S. G. (2015). An investigation of the link between spirituality and intelligence. Doctoral dissertation, University of Saskatchewan Saskatoon.Self-rated religiosity has been studied alongside intelligence for nearly 100 years. The predominant finding is a negative relationship between measures of self-rated religiosity and individual measures of intelligence. That is, as intelligence increases, the degree of self-rated religiosity decreases; as intelligence scores decrease, self-rated religiosity tends to increase. Spirituality has been studied intermittently as a separate theoretical construct since the 1970’s and there has been a recent empirical drive to consider and refer to these concepts separately. Valid and reliable measures of intelligence have not yet been examined alongside empirically validated, individual, self-rated measures of spirituality. In this study, 44 undergraduate students from the University of Saskatchewan completed the Shipley-2 abbreviated test of intelligence and the Spiritual Well Being Questionnaire (SWBQ). Due to the nature of religiosity relative to spirituality, as well as individual differences in characteristic propensities to engage in logical reasoning, it was hypothesized that when compared to past research examining measured intelligence relative to self-endorsed measures of religiosity, a relatively weak relationship would be observed. The nature and strength of the relationship between self-rated measures of spirituality and measured intelligence was nearly identical to a recent meta-analysis study examining the relationship between self-rated religiosity and measured intelligence. However, a relatively strong negative relationship was observed between the transcendent factor of the SWBQ – the factor most closely associated with notions of a God, religion, or religiosity – and intelligence. This finding supports the hypothesis and suggests that perhaps it is the notion of a God or other sentient being that is driving or inflating the widely observed negative relationship between self-rated religiosity and intelligence.Sickles, J., Huskey, A., Schrantz, K., & Lack, C. W. (May 2015). The Relationship between Intelligence and Religiosity: A Critical Review of the Literature. Journal of Scientific Psychology.They report:Although this area of research lacks conclusive findings, existing studies do generate new directions for research and hypotheses about the relationships among the variables of intelligence, religiosity, and fundamentalism. For example, fundamentalist religious beliefs appear to hamper an American’s ability to take full advantage of education opportunities, particularly at the collegiate level (Altemeyer & Hunsberger, 1992; Burton, Johnson, & Tamney, 1989; Darnell & Sherkat, 1997). This could be by choice (e.g., a person’s chosen religious institution discourages higher learning) or because of a lack of skills necessary to succeed in higher education (e.g., a person is homeschooled using a curriculum that neglected development of math or science skills that become highly important in college entrance exams). Another mediating factor contributing to low levels of educational attainment among those with fundamentalist religious beliefs might be a negative attitude toward scientific findings that many view as contradictory to the teaching of the Christian Bible.Our assertion, based on the above-reviewed studies, is that any noted intelligence differences seen between people of varying religious beliefs is most likely the result of educational differences that are in turn the result of holding fundamentalist religious beliefs, rather than the result of an innate difference in intelligence. Therefore, controlling for levels of fundamentalist beliefs are likely to make any differences between theists and non-theists disappear. In other words, if groups of theists and non-theists of the same educational and socioeconomic levels were compared on standard, individually administered intelligence tests, we hypothesize that there would likely be no significant group differences. But, while type and quality of education is likely to play a role in any potentially observed IQ differences, there are other variables in the reviewed studies (the personality factor of openness, for example) that should also be assessed in future research. Researchers should not limit their studies to examining only a narrow definition of religiosity, nor should new studies use measures that are of questionable value in assessing intelligence. Instead, a variety of demographic, religious, cognitive, and personality variables needs to be assessed to find out which (alone or in combination) are more related to any observed differences in intelligence. Importantly, researchers should administer individual measures of intelligence that are modern, valid, and well-constructed. Well-designed studies in this area are necessary to clarify how (or even if) religiosity and intelligence are related.Webster, G. D., & Duffy, R. D. (2016). Losing faith in the intelligence–religiosity link: New evidence for a decline effect, spatial dependence, and mediation by education and life quality. Intelligence, 55, 15-27.Research has shown negative intelligence–religiosity associations among both persons (Zuckerman, Silberman, & Hall [Personality and Social Psychology Review 17 (2013) 325–354]) and countries (Lynn, Harvey, & Nyborg [Intelligence 37 (2009) 11–15]). Nevertheless, it remains unclear if these associations are stable over time or explained by education, quality of human conditions (QHC), or spatial dependence. In Study 1, we re-analyzed Zuckerman et al.'s meta-analysis, and after controlling for sample differences, the negative intelligence–religiosity link declined over time. The intelligence–religiosity link was non-significant among samples using men, pre-college participants, grade point average, and those collected after 2010. Education also partially mediated the intelligence–religiosity link. In Study 2, we re-analyzed Lynn et al.'s data from 137 countries and found that QHC positively moderated and partially mediated the positive relation between IQ and disbelief in God; this link became non-significant after controlling for spatial dependence (i.e., the extent to which adjacent countries reflect statistically non-independent observations). Although the negative intelligence–religiosity link appears more robust across people than countries, multiple variables moderate or mediate its strength, and hence, limit its generalizability across time, space, samples, measures, and levels of analysis.Stoet, G., & Geary, D. C. (2017). Students in countries with higher levels of religiosity perform lower in science and mathematics. Intelligence, 62, 71-78.We compared the relation between educational performance scores in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) on the one hand, and religiosity, as measured with the World Values Survey and the European Social Survey, on the other hand. We found that higher levels of religiosity (at national level) were associated with lower educational performance in science and mathematics (rs ranging from −0.65 to −0.74). One of the unique contributions of our data set is the ability to examine these trends by sex. Interestingly, even though women reported considerably higher levels of religiosity than men, this gap was not related to sex differences in educational performance. This latter finding constrains conclusions about the possible causal pathways between education, religiosity, and intelligence. Further, the mediating role of human development and time spent on religious education appear to account for the relation between education and religiosity. One possibility is that the relation between education and religiosity at the national level is related to overall levels of economic and human development, including investment in secular education.Dutton, E., & Van der Linden, D. (2017). Why is Intelligence Negatively Associated with Religiousness?. Evolutionary Psychological Science, 1-12.We present three models which attempt to explain the robust negative association between religion and intelligence: the Irrationality of Religion Model, the Cultural Mediation Hypothesis, and the Savanna-IQ Interaction Hypothesis. We highlight problems with each of them and propose that the negative religion-IQ nexus can be understood through substantially revising the Savanna-IQ Interaction Hypothesis. We argue that religion should be regarded as an evolved domain or instinct. Intelligence, by contrast, involves rising above our instincts. It follows that an inclination toward the non-instinctive will thus be an aspect of intelligence because it will help us to solve problems. Thus, intelligence will involve being attracted to evolutionary mismatch, to that which we would not be instinctively evolved to be attracted to. It is this, we argue, that is behind the negative religion-intelligence nexus. We respond to potential criticisms of our model and we examine how this model can be further tested.Ultimately, there is a relatively consistent but overall weak, negative relationship between intelligence and “religiosity”, and, this can largely be seen to depend upon how each is measured, and upon what is and is not controlled for, statistically, in the analyses. In other words, it is a highly contextualized relationship, and one that is not consistent or strong enough to globally explain the differences between theists and atheists, in terms of explaining “how or why” a person is an atheist or a theist. Better explanations exist that don’t include IQ, critical thinking, etc.PostscriptSee: Lewis, G. J., Ritchie, S. J., & Bates, T. C. (2011). The relationship between intelligence and multiple domains of religious belief: Evidence from a large adult US sample. Intelligence, 39(6), 468-472.High levels of religiosity have been linked to lower levels of intelligence in a number of recent studies. These results have generated both controversy and theoretical interest. Here in a large sample of US adults we address several issues that restricted the generalizability of these previous results. We measured six dimensions of religiosity (rather than just one or two), along with a multi-scale instrument to assess general intelligence. We also controlled for the influence of the personality trait openness on facets of religious belief and practice. The results indicated that lower intelligence is most strongly associated with higher levels of fundamentalism, but also modestly predicts central components of religiosity such as a sense of religious identification and private religious practice. Secondly, we found that a higher level of openness – often assumed to lead to lower religiosity – is weakly associated with reduced fundamentalism but with increased religious mindfulness, private religious practice, religious support, and spirituality. These new results provide a framework for understanding the links between reasoning and faith.