Children exposed to religion 'more likely to believe in fairy tales'
Religion has a 'powerful' impact on a child's ability to separate reality from fiction, say researchers
Children who have been exposed to religion find it more difficult to separate fact from fiction than children from secular backgrounds, according to a study published in the July issue of Cognitive Science.
The study found that while all children possess "sensitivity to the implausible or magical elements in a narrative", those who had little or no exposure to religion were likely to be far more sceptical that a narrative or a character was real, reports website RawStory.
The experiment was conducted on 66 children between the ages of five and six. They were read three different types of stories; one based on fact and "ordinary events", another including fairy tales, magic and fantasy and another based on religious teachings. They were then asked if they believed the characters in them were real or fictional.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Both groups of children, irrespective of religious upbringing, judged that the characters in the "ordinary narrative" were real.
Children from secular backgrounds were able to tell when characters in narrative were imagined due to the use of "fantastical elements" such as "invisible sails" or "a sword that can protects you from danger every time". Likewise they judged characters from the Biblical extracts to be imaginary.
However the children from religious families were much less likely to think the characters in both the fairy tales and Biblical stories were made-up. Young children who have been exposed to religious teachings will view the "protagonist in such narratives as a real person – even if the narrative includes impossible events".
"The results suggest that exposure to religious ideas has a powerful impact on children’s differentiation between reality and fiction", said researchers.
The study's findings go against previous research which found that children were "born-believers" in fantasy and fiction.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Long summer days in Iceland's highlands
The Week Recommends While many parts of this volcanic island are barren, there is a 'desolate beauty' to be found in every corner
By The Week UK Published
-
The Democrats: time for wholesale reform?
Talking Point In the 'wreckage' of the election, the party must decide how to rebuild
By The Week UK Published
-
5 deliciously funny cartoons about turkeys
Cartoons Artists take on pardons, executions, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Sexual abuse and ‘cruel indifference’: the disgrace of the French Catholic Church
Speed Read Landmark report estimates around 330,000 children were abused by clergymen and officials between 1950 and 2020
By The Week Staff Published
-
Former Jehovah’s Witnesses sue over historic sex abuse
Speed Read Group’s controversial ‘two witnesses’ policy has come under fire
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
Retired Pope Benedict warns against relaxing celibacy rules
Speed Read Benedict says he ‘cannot keep silent’ on the issue in new book
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
Pontiff passion killer: why Italians have less sex when the Pope’s in town
Speed Read New study reveals drop in unintended pregnancies following papal visits
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
Pope Francis lifts ‘pontifical secret’ rule in abuse cases
Speed Read Sex abuse cases will no longer be held in secret as Church wrestles with the issue
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
Catholic Church to consider ordaining married men
Speed Read Ending centuries of orthodoxy, radical plan aimed to address clergy shortage could lead to conservative backlash
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
Pope Francis to force clergy to report sex abuse
Speed Read New law will make it compulsory for all Catholic priests and nuns to report abuse and cover-ups by superiors
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
Are Birmingham mosque attacks linked to Christchurch?
Speed Read Counter-terrorism police investigating five incidents which the Muslim community claim are related to last week’s massacre in New Zealand
By The Week Staff Last updated