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What studies do you know of that show the affect of religion on child development?

On a conversation elsewhere, I've been told studies show children are much better off raised in religious homes. As I'm searching for information, I'm finding it difficult to find any studies that show otherwise, outside of the one recent study that showed non-religious children are more altruistic than religious children.

I'm wondering if you guys know of any studies about the affect of religion on child development. I understand that religion can be helpful in promoting a feeling of community among people but I just can't believe that children are better off with religion. For me, it created some really difficult problems.

UpsideDownAgain 7 Dec 11
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1

There’s one here by Bartowski:

[psychcentral.com]
It shows that apparently non religion raised kids do better academically.

In America it seems religion can lead to more social behaviour (inclusion one would think). But if it leads to conflict can have negative effects. (There are many studies on childhood trauma negatively impacting brain function, so this would be pretty normal). [sciencedirect.com]

1

ok well come out of her, my people isn't in there for nothing i guess then huh

3

As a Psychologist with well over 20+ years in the practice as both a Child/Youth in Crisis Counselor and Child/Youth Psychologist, I'd have to state categorically that there is NOTHING in religion/religiousness that is even remotely either beneficial nor advantageous to aiding the Mental, Physical, Emotional and Psychological Development of ANY child.
Nor does religion teach children the TRUE meaning of Altruism, Community, Individuality, etc, etc.
Religions such as Christianity and Islam, imo, seek to restrict, hamper and hinder, etc, the development/s of ALL things and replace them with a FALSE sense of security amongst those who are simply afraid to be themselves.

In your 20 years as a professional, what would you say the ratio was between your clients who were troubled, or “in crisis”, versus your clients who were not?

@skado In all honesty here and given that I have counselled well over 300+ clients including those from strict religious homes ( Catholic, Anglican, etc, etc,), religious of convenience homes (as choose to call them btw), homes where Child Abuse has happened, Bullying at School/in Public, etc, etc, Homeless children and Youths, Depressions and Suicidal thoughts and actions, etc, etc.
I'd say that at least 80-93% of my cases were from the religious homes/schools, etc, as my files and records would show.
However SINCE my files, etc, are governed by the Rules of Confidentiality I cannot reveal nor publish any of them WITHOUT prior and written permission of the Client/s.

@Triphid
Well that’s an interesting piece of information, but not really the question I was asking. I wasn’t asking for the ratio between religious and non-religious clients.

My question may be rhetorical, or seem absurd, but I’m just trying to suggest the importance of context.

@skado Sir, you ASKED for the ratio so I gave it to you.

@Triphid
The one you gave me is not the one I asked for, but that’s ok. Not important.

@skado Well, anyone with just wee bit of intelligence can easily work out the ratio of 'troubled clients' to 'untroubled clients' in need of Counselling since, at least here in Australia, there is NOT that desire to seek Counselling, either Psychological or Psychiatric, for just about anything and everything as per, imo, seems to be the fashionable trend for adults, etc, in the United States of Absurdity.

@Triphid
I can see that you’re one of those with a wee bit yourself. Are you getting my drift now?

@skado No, no need for me to 'get your drift' at all since I am most probably further down the road of knowledge etc, than you may be.

@Triphid
Good! Then maybe I can learn something.
So tell me why my point is not valid.

@skado Well,
a) 99.999% of clients I work with are those in need, often desperate need, of Counselling Assistance for REAL trauma such as Child Abuse ( usually either Sexual, Physical or Mental), Bullying, Family Violence/s cases, Gender disparities ( such as WAS being endured by my most recent NEW Client) and almost countless other traumas as well,
b) the other 0.001% of clients are mostly children/youths who feel they are teetering on or at the brink of committing Suicide,
c) as I stated prior to this comment, here in Australia we ARE NOT under the seemingly, American 'fashionable' ideology of 'Getting Psychological/Psychiatric Counselling/Therapy' for such, imo, meaningless and TRIVIAL things as, for example, " Mummy and Daddy wouldn't let me wear the clothes I wanted to wear when I was just 13 years old so now I have a problem, etc, etc,."
Hence, like most Psychologists/Counsellors who actually have ETHICS rather than,, imo, "just being in it for the money," I rarely, and if ever, see or work with these NON-Crisis cases/clients.

1

Studies do seem to indicate that non-religious children are more generous. Perhaps that's why so many of us support Medicare for all and those so-called socialistic governmental programs.

Another study listed right below the one on generosity from Science Daily explored the possibility that people with epilepsy are more likely to be religious.

This was quite interesting to me since I have two children one who is an atheist and one who is mildly religious. My daughter who is religious also has epilepsy. Her epilepsy was probably caused either by swelling from German measles contracted before she was old enough to be vaccinated, a birth injury because I did not dilate as fast as she was arriving or a fall from a van which was actually close to the same place in her skull that the misfires show up.

"Studies do seem to indicate that non-religious children are more generous."

Do you have a link to share?
Thanks.

2

The reason you’re having a hard time finding them is probably because they don’t exist. All the studies I’ve seen show that religious people fare better.

During a recent conversation, I asked a friend if he knew of any scientific studies that support the idea that religion does more harm than good, and he sent me this wikipedia link [en.wikipedia.org] (which isn't about child development but) states the following:

"A metareview of 850 research papers on Religion in the United States concluded that "the majority of well-conducted studies found that higher levels of religious involvement are positively associated with indicators of psychological well-being (life satisfaction, happiness, positive affect, and higher morale) and with less depression, suicidal thoughts and behavior, drug/alcohol use/abuse".[77][78]

A review review of 147 studies[79] states that religiousness is mildly associated with fewer depression symptoms and that life events can still increase depressive symptoms.

In a metareview of 498 studies states that religious involvement in general is associated with:less depression, lower drug and alcohol abuse, less promiscuous sexual behaviors, reduced likelihood of suicide, lower rates of delinquency and crime, educational attainment and purpose or meaning in life.[80]

A meta analysis of 34 studies states that a positive relationship still emerges between religion and mental health even when using different conceptualizations of religiosity and mental health used in different studies.[81]

According to Robert Putnam, membership of religious groups in the United States was positively correlated with membership of voluntary organizations, higher level of commitment, better self-esteem, lower risk of suicide, higher life satisfaction.[82]

According to Pew Research Center's 2019 global study, when comparing religious people to those who have less or no religion, actively religious people are more likely to describe themselves as "very happy", join other mundane organizations like charities or clubs, vote, and at the same time were less likely to smoke and drink.

An investigation on subjective well-being representing 90% of the world population has noted that, globally, religious people are usually happier than nonreligious people, though nonreligious people also reach high levels of happiness.[84]"

.

The horrifying thing about science is... it doesn't care what you want to believe.

.

skado Level 9 Dec 12, 2020

Unfortunately, science is conducted by scientists who do care what you believe. I don't accept science as the ultimate authority.

In my conversation, my point was that there were studies both ways, some that said religion was beneficial and some that said it wasn't. I know that both exist but couldn't find both. I feel it's important to look at both sides.

So far, what I'm seeing is that religion is associated with indicators of better mental and physical health but those studies seem mostly aimed at adults. It would stand to reason that an adult living in an environment that's antithetical to their beliefs would struggle from the effects of stress and depression. However, the studies I've seen involving children suggest that non-religious children show stronger moral characteristics than religious children.

@UpsideDownAgain

If you don't accept science as the ultimate authority then I'm not sure why you're asking for scientific studies.

You say:
" However, the studies I've seen involving children suggest that non-religious children show stronger moral characteristics than religious children."

Could you share a link to any of those studies?

@UpsideDownAgain I also look at both sides, and I critically examine the methods used by both sides. I look at the quality of the evidence used by both sides. It's called "being scientific".

Examination of the two sides of the god question shows that theists have zero falsifiable evidence, which is why I regard all their claims as absurd.

Ping @skado.

@anglophone

The only difference between me and most modern day atheists is that I make a distinction between religious fundamentalism and "religion." So it doesn't bother me at all when scientific studies find a correlation between religion and well-being.

@skado Not accepting science as the ultimate authority doesn't mean I disregard science altogether. I accept science as one of the many sources of information and refer to scientific studies frequently. However, when science contradicts what I've experienced myself, I become skeptical.

@anglophone I like that: being scientific.

@UpsideDownAgain

Any links for us?

@skado Nope.

2

All of these links together represent only two actual studies, both of which demonstrate only correlation, not causation. The rest are just opinions.

In fact, it gets worse.

Turns out these "two" studies are the same one,

AND

it has been retracted by the authors because...

"When we reanalyzed these data to correct this error, we found that country of origin, rather than religious affiliation, is the primary predictor of several of the outcomes."

RETRACTED
[cell.com]

.

3

The story of Abraham trying to kill his. Getting a knife thrust through your heart is bad for your development...

3

Religious children often become religious adults. Look how effing stupid and hateful many religious adults are.

Oh sure, it's so cute when a 4 year old says her prayers at bedtime but thirty years later, that kid has grown into a religious leader guiding policy at the federal level, brainwashing hundreds, maybe thousands more ignorant dumbasses to be as superstitious and intolerant as they are and getting rich off of that same ignorance.

Religion is a cancer. Don't let your kids get religious cancer.

3

Here is a study that shows children of religious parents are less interested and less literate in science.

[journals.plos.org];

More information:

[digest.bps.org.uk]

[journals.sagepub.com]

@skado Thanks for the useful material. This helps me understand the world better.

4

From my own experience, religion was a disaster area on my personal development.

As @Silver1wun suggests, the claim that such children "are much better off" needs a thorough critical examination, including but not limited to:

  • What metrics are being used to measure "better off" in this instance?
  • How is "better off" defined?
  • What are socio-economics of the target families?
  • What are the socio-economics of the reference group (i.e. irreligious homes)?
  • How were the target families identified?
  • How was the reference group identified?
  • What data collection methods were used?
  • What statistics methods were used on the resulting data set?

Unless the claimant can produce cogent and comprehensive answers to all those questions, I would simply laugh at their claims.

Anglophone's critique should be plenty to put the brakes on any facile study conclusions. Furthermore, "religious" encompasses an enormous range of beliefs, values, and rationality or lack of. I wouldn't be surprised if there were greater differences between different Christian denominations than there are between certain denominations and atheists. In fact, I'd expect so.

2

The first question springing from my mind upon reading this was: What criteria do they use to evaluate what 'better off' means? 'Studys show' is another almost always disingenuous means of validating whole cloth bullshit.

About 25-30 years ago while making a few parental visits to middle school and high schools I was struck by the impression that they, unlike schools I'd attended, felt more like prisons and that teacher/administrator attitudes toward parents and especially students, were rather priggish and self-important. The places felt like police state environments; very secretive, authoritarian and punitive.

Our current world demonstrates that my instincts were spot-on. The young have developed in captivity and falsely believe their lives to be free and private.

Religions bear the same earmarks of authoritarian superiority in overseers. As supplemental training grounds for mental slaves, they do their part quite well. Religiously indoctrinated children make fine raw material for socially and politically indoctrinated adults who are, within the bounds of decorum, considered to do well.

4

Religion was not good for me as a child. I was always praying for forgiveness, and fearing hell.

Same here, which is why I stick my knife into every passing God Mobster whenever I can.

Seems that that’s the case with most of us on here.

2
3

I don’t know of any, but I think child psychologists should explore this area. They unfortunately probably won’t, out of misplaced reverence.

Mvtt Level 7 Dec 11, 2020
2

Name one University that would fund a 20 year study unbiased with an Atheist families control group along side a fair sample of USA religious families ....since there are none the bullshit studies people are bashing you with are the PROBLEM not the answer....sexual mutilation of baby boys and rigid fear training of children is irreparable during a multi century epidemic of rapist pedophile priests & clergy.... Agnostics dot com is living proof only some children escape and heal from religionS

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