Psychology students at Ohio State University are being taught that Christians have lower IQs compared to atheists. Campus Reform, a college watchdog organization, recently released a report that said the university drew parallels between people’s intelligence quotients and their religious beliefs.
One of the questions that the students were asked revolved around Theo having an IQ of 100 and Aine having an IQ of 125. The students are asked to decide which of the following statements was true keeping in mind the above conditions.
1. Aine is an atheist, while Theo is a Christian.
2. Aine earns less money than Theo.
3. Theo is more liberal than Aine.
4. Theo is an atheist, while Aine is a Christian.
According to the school, the first answer was the correct one.
This question along with many others was supposedly included in a homework set for the university’s Psychology 1100 course. Campus Reform described the course as a general education requirement that many students from different disciplines pursue each year. The student, who brought to the watchdog organization’s attention this quiz, said that the questions did not surprise him because many public universities are known to have an anti-Christian bias.
“I understand that colleges have a liberal spin on things so it didn’t surprise me to see the question, which is a sad thing. But how can you really measure which religion has a higher IQ? Colleges will tolerate pretty much any religion other than Christianity. If colleges really want to give everyone a fair shot, they should stay away from making comments about any religion,” said the student.
Mike Adams, a Christian professor at the University of North Carolina, told Campus Reform that every group except conservative Christian is protected from offensive speech on his campus.
“When science arose, it arose in the West and it did so in Christian nations. It did so because Christianity—with its assumptions about an orderly universe and its emphasis on obtaining knowledge as a cultural value—[was] necessary for science to develop and to flourish,” he said.
After reports about the psychology quiz became public, many contended the university’s notion that Christians are less intelligent than atheists are. However, in defense those on the other side quoted Biblical verses that linked faith in God with true wisdom.
“God says, ‘A fool has said in his heart that there is no God.’ Also, ‘The fear (reverence) of God is the beginning of wisdom,’” said one commentator.
