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Spin Zone / Study: Children Raised in Religious Homes are Jerks
« on: November 05, 2015, 11:19:21 PM »
I'd be interested in seeing follow-on research that attempts to explain what is causing these results.
http://www.cell.com/action/showExperimentalProcedures?pii=S0960-9822%2815%2901167-7
Quote
While it is generally accepted that religion contours people’s moral judgments and prosocial behavior, the relation between religiosity and morality is a contentious one. Here, we assessed altruism and third-party evaluation of scenarios depicting interpersonal harm in 1,170 children aged between 5 and 12 years in six countries (Canada, China, Jordan, Turkey, USA, and South Africa), the religiousness of their household, and parent-reported child empathy and sensitivity to justice. Across all countries, parents in religious households reported that their children expressed more empathy and sensitivity for justice in everyday life than non-religious parents. However, religiousness was inversely predictive of children’s altruism and positively correlated with their punitive tendencies.
http://www.cell.com/action/showExperimentalProcedures?pii=S0960-9822%2815%2901167-7