Academics

Ohio State Gen Ed Psych Course Asks Quiz Question Suggesting Christians Have Lower IQ Than Atheists

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A general education psychology class at Ohio State University (OSU) apparently implied via an online quiz that atheists are naturally smarter than Christians.

According to a tip shared with Campus Reform, one question of an online quiz in Psychology 1100 asked "Theo has an IQ of 100 and Aine has an IQ of 125, which statement is most likely to be true?"

The image the unnamed student provided the website with indicated the correct answer was: "Aine is an atheist, while Theo is a Christian."

The quiz was part of an online series and students in the class are only required to take a certain number of them, though it is recommended to take all of them to prepare for the exam. At OSU, Psych 1100 is a required core class for all students.

"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," the student told Campus Reform. "But how can you really measure which religion has a higher IQ?"

Also requesting anonymity, an OSU employee told CR teaching assistants tend to craft quizzes, though the material is based on textbook information. The employee also said Psych teachers are "very open" to discussing course material with students.

"Colleges will tolerate pretty much any religion other than Christianity," the student said. "If colleges really want to give everyone a fair shot, they should stay away from making comments about any religion."

The quiz question appears to be in violation of OSU's policy on discrimination.

"Discrimination against any individual based upon protected status, which is defined as age, ancestry, color, disability, gender identity or expression, genetic information, military status, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, HIV status, or veteran status," the policy states.

OSU did not return CR's request for comment.

Dr. Mike Adams, a professor at the University of North Carolina, has been outspoken on issues facing conservative Christians in the past. He argued it was the only group on a college campus where offensive speech will not spark any outrage.

"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," Adams told CR. "That anti-Christian bigots use science to attack Christianity is more than Pharisaic hypocrisy. It is deeply ingrained institutional bigotry."

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