Depends on the religion. A religion of peace, kindness, charity, and love like Christianity IS good for a nation. A nation of war, hate, murder, and false gods like Islam, then no.

It is good to have a moral compass and a little don't hurt. But fanatical religion destroys everything it touches.

Your chart could just as easily fit the spread on ethnicity. The "west" being the end result of René Descartes ideas and the far easts communist efforts to stomp out religion.

Being an atheist, more or less, but not having leftist tendencies I don't see the connection. I do find that people without any religion seem to be without moral/ethical direction. Or maybe that is the restrictions of a religious moral standard.

Atheist’s unfortunately are overwhelmingly left wing idiots who desire big government to take care of them in place of their lack of religious beliefs. I’ll take the Christians over those people any day so yes the Judeo-Christain religion does seem to benefit society.

Never mind religion. It seems to be country compared to urban. IQ only counts if the questions reflect learning and life lessons of those involved.
This can also apply to the poor areas of a city. Or as in Tibet the lack of elements in a diet. IQ is only an indicator among like groups. Not a very good tool to compare one group to a very different peoples.

I think it is more that religious people do not see that education, beyond religious education, as important. They are more likely to accept mystical explanations than those based on factual evidence, and draw comfort from the irrational feeling of certainty religion gives them.

I’ve know. And studied all kinds of people. There are marked and predictable characteristics of “good” and “bad” people.
Can we predict what group of people are most likely to be criminals? Yes we can, males with low IQs and high testosterone. (Stolen quote from above)
These people also make the best warriors.
IQ and other tests are useful for educators to Taylor the educational process to the strengths and weaknesses of the student.
Great harm has been done, in the name of egalitarianism, making it easy for “people of color” to get into universities they are not prepared to succeed in.
Real Christian faith gives a person a few guidelines on how best to approach life.
Millennia ago, the Ten Commandments told us not to kill and steel and fornicate like wild animals. These simple guidelines enabled society to flourish.
Basing ones philosophy on Faith, hope, and love, generally leads to a happier life than one with more worldly priorities.
Life is simply better, With meaning than without.
Without Faith, life is meaningless, so we fill it with Money and power, sex and the selfish pursuits of greed and gluttony.
Faith makes marriages last, and provides a safer environment in which to nurture children.
In balance, I’d say that religions make the world a better place in which to live.
A great exception is Islam, which is less religion and more militant cult.