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Students in countries with higher levels of religiosity perform lower in science and mathematics

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  • Stoet, Gijsbert
  • Geary, David C.

Abstract

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.

Suggested Citation

  • Stoet, Gijsbert & Geary, David C., 2017. "Students in countries with higher levels of religiosity perform lower in science and mathematics," Intelligence, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 71-78.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:intell:v:62:y:2017:i:c:p:71-78
    DOI: 10.1016/j.intell.2017.03.001
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    Cited by:

    1. Souza, Tatiene C. & Cribari–Neto, Francisco, 2018. "Intelligence and religious disbelief in the United States," Intelligence, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 48-57.
    2. C. Dannemann & Erkan Goeren, 2018. "The Educational Burden of ADHD: Evidence From Student Achievement Test Scores," Working Papers V-408-18, University of Oldenburg, Department of Economics, revised Apr 2018.
    3. Bernhard Christopher Dannemann, 2020. "Better Off On Their Own? How Peer Effects Determine International Patterns of the Mathematics Gender Achievement Gap," Working Papers V-433-20, University of Oldenburg, Department of Economics, revised Nov 2020.
    4. Jesús García-Jiménez & Javier Rodríguez-Santero & Juan-Jesús Torres-Gordillo, 2020. "Influence of Contextual Variables on Educational Performance: A Study Using Hierarchical Segmentation Trees," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(23), pages 1-10, November.

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