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Religious upbringing associated with less altruism, study finds
Apr 23, 2019 04:55:40   #
PeterS
 
No surprise here. So what is it about religion that strips one of there empathy and kindness? Is this all religion or just the Conservative Christian kind???

https://news.uchicago.edu/story/religious-upbringing-associated-less-altruism-study-finds

Many families believe religion plays an essential role in childhood moral development. But children of religious parents may not be as altruistic as those parents think, according to a new international study from the University of Chicago published Nov. 5 in Current Biology.

A team of developmental psychologists led by Prof. Jean Decety examined the perceptions and behavior of children in six countries. The study assessed the children’s tendency to share—a measure of their altruism—and their inclination to judge and punish others for bad behavior.

Children from religious families were less likely to share with others than were children from non-religious families. A religious upbringing also was associated with more punitive tendencies in response to anti-social behavior.

The results were at odds with the perceptions of religious parents, who were more likely than non-religious parents to report that their children had a high degree of empathy and sensitivity to the plight of others.

“Our findings contradict the common-sense and popular assumption that children from religious households are more altruistic and kind toward others. In our study, kids from atheist and non-religious families were, in fact, more generous,” said Decety, the Irving B. Harris Distinguished Service Professor in Psychology and Psychiatry and the College and director of the University of Chicago Child NeuroSuite.

The study included 1,170 children between ages 5 and 12, from six countries—Canada, China, Jordan, South Africa, Turkey and the United States.

“Our findings contradict the common-sense and popular assumption that children from religious households are more altruistic and kind toward others.”
Prof. Jean Decety
Prof. Jean Decety Prof. Jean Decety
For the altruism task, children participated in a version of the “Dictator Game,” in which they were given 10 stickers and provided an opportunity to share them with another unseen child. Altruism was measured by the average number of stickers shared.

For the moral sensitivity task, children watched short animations in which one character pushes or bumps another, either accidentally or purposefully. After seeing each situation, children were asked about how mean the behavior was and the amount of punishment the character deserved.

Parents completed questionnaires about their religious beliefs and practices and perceptions of their children’s empathy and sensitivity to justice. From the questionnaires, three large groupings were established: Christian, Muslim and not religious. (Children from other religious households did not reach a large enough sample size to be included in additional analyses.)

Consistent with previous studies, in general the children were more likely to share as they got older. But children from households identifying as Christian and Muslim were significantly less likely than children from non-religious households to share their stickers. The negative relation between religiosity and altruism grew stronger with age; children with a longer experience of religion in the household were the least likely to share.

Children from religious households favored stronger punishments for anti-social behavior and judged such behavior more harshly than non-religious children. These results support previous studies of adults, which have found religiousness is linked with punitive attitudes toward interpersonal offenses.

“Together, these results reveal the similarity across countries in how religion negatively influences children’s altruism. They challenge the view that religiosity facilitates prosocial behavior, and call into question whether religion is vital for moral development—suggesting the secularization of moral discourse does not reduce human kindness. In fact, it does just the opposite,” Decety said.

The study, "The Negative Association between Religiousness and Children’s Altruism across the World," was supported by a grant from the John Templeton Foundation.

Reply
Apr 23, 2019 05:39:48   #
Zemirah Loc: Sojourner En Route...
 
This last paragraph of the post explains the results of the finding being claimed:

"The study, "The Negative Association between Religiousness and Children’s Altruism across the World," was supported by a grant from the John Templeton Foundation."

Sir John Marks Templeton (29 November 1912 - 8 July 2008) was an American-born British investor, banker, fund manager, and philanthropist.

Wealthy money manager, John Marks Templeton was one of the most anti-Christian men ever to be accepted as a Christian leader. He was so obviously an occultist that it is astounding that he could have 'crept in unawares,' yet he did.

The Templeton Foundation offers an annual "religion prize" larger than the Nobel Prize. This was Templeton's explanation as to why:

‘Evolution is accelerating … traditional Judaism and Christianity are losing their powers to inform the contemporary mind …. The main purpose of the Templeton Foundations is to encourage enthusiasm for accelerating discovery and progress in spiritual matters ….

The next stage of human divine progress on the evolutionary scale needs … geniuses of the spirit … [who] can develop a body of knowledge about God that doesn’t rely on ancient revelations or scripture [such as the Bible] … that is scientific … and is not disputed because of divisions between religions or churches or ancient scripture or liturgy …. To encourage progress of this kind, we have established the Templeton Foundation Prizes for Progress in Religion.’

(Quoted From Occult Invasion, by Dave Hunt, pgs. 531-535)

https://www.adullamfilms.com/TempletonPrize.html

PeterS, Your own bias in assuming this results applies only to "the Conservative Christian" kind, as you ignore the inclusion of the remainder of Christianity and all of Islam, you're free to explain...



PeterS wrote:
No surprise here. So what is it about religion that strips one of there empathy and kindness? Is this all religion or just the Conservative Christian kind???

https://news.uchicago.edu/story/religious-upbringing-associated-less-altruism-study-finds

Many families believe religion plays an essential role in childhood moral development. But children of religious parents may not be as altruistic as those parents think, according to a new international study from the University of Chicago published Nov. 5 in Current Biology.

A team of developmental psychologists led by Prof. Jean Decety examined the perceptions and behavior of children in six countries. The study assessed the children’s tendency to share—a measure of their altruism—and their inclination to judge and punish others for bad behavior.

-abrieviated for space-

Consistent with previous studies, in general the children were more likely to share as they got older. But children from households identifying as Christian and Muslim were significantly less likely than children from non-religious households to share their stickers. The negative relation between religiosity and altruism grew stronger with age; children with a longer experience of religion in the household were the least likely to share.

Children from religious households favored stronger punishments for anti-social behavior and judged such behavior more harshly than non-religious children. These results support previous studies of adults, which have found religiousness is linked with punitive attitudes toward interpersonal offenses.

“Together, these results reveal the similarity across countries in how religion negatively influences children’s altruism. They challenge the view that religiosity facilitates prosocial behavior, and call into question whether religion is vital for moral development—suggesting the secularization of moral discourse does not reduce human kindness. In fact, it does just the opposite,” Decety said.

The study, "The Negative Association between Religiousness and Children’s Altruism across the World," was supported by a grant from the John Templeton Foundation.
No surprise here. So what is it about religion tha... (show quote)

Reply
Apr 23, 2019 05:45:31   #
youngwilliam Loc: Deep in the heart
 
PeterS wrote:
No surprise here. So what is it about religion that strips one of there empathy and kindness? Is this all religion or just the Conservative Christian kind???

https://news.uchicago.edu/story/religious-upbringing-associated-less-altruism-study-finds

Many families believe religion plays an essential role in childhood moral development. But children of religious parents may not be as altruistic as those parents think, according to a new international study from the University of Chicago published Nov. 5 in Current Biology.

A team of developmental psychologists led by Prof. Jean Decety examined the perceptions and behavior of children in six countries. The study assessed the children’s tendency to share—a measure of their altruism—and their inclination to judge and punish others for bad behavior.

Children from religious families were less likely to share with others than were children from non-religious families. A religious upbringing also was associated with more punitive tendencies in response to anti-social behavior.

The results were at odds with the perceptions of religious parents, who were more likely than non-religious parents to report that their children had a high degree of empathy and sensitivity to the plight of others.

“Our findings contradict the common-sense and popular assumption that children from religious households are more altruistic and kind toward others. In our study, kids from atheist and non-religious families were, in fact, more generous,” said Decety, the Irving B. Harris Distinguished Service Professor in Psychology and Psychiatry and the College and director of the University of Chicago Child NeuroSuite.

The study included 1,170 children between ages 5 and 12, from six countries—Canada, China, Jordan, South Africa, Turkey and the United States.

“Our findings contradict the common-sense and popular assumption that children from religious households are more altruistic and kind toward others.”
Prof. Jean Decety
Prof. Jean Decety Prof. Jean Decety
For the altruism task, children participated in a version of the “Dictator Game,” in which they were given 10 stickers and provided an opportunity to share them with another unseen child. Altruism was measured by the average number of stickers shared.

For the moral sensitivity task, children watched short animations in which one character pushes or bumps another, either accidentally or purposefully. After seeing each situation, children were asked about how mean the behavior was and the amount of punishment the character deserved.

Parents completed questionnaires about their religious beliefs and practices and perceptions of their children’s empathy and sensitivity to justice. From the questionnaires, three large groupings were established: Christian, Muslim and not religious. (Children from other religious households did not reach a large enough sample size to be included in additional analyses.)

Consistent with previous studies, in general the children were more likely to share as they got older. But children from households identifying as Christian and Muslim were significantly less likely than children from non-religious households to share their stickers. The negative relation between religiosity and altruism grew stronger with age; children with a longer experience of religion in the household were the least likely to share.

Children from religious households favored stronger punishments for anti-social behavior and judged such behavior more harshly than non-religious children. These results support previous studies of adults, which have found religiousness is linked with punitive attitudes toward interpersonal offenses.

“Together, these results reveal the similarity across countries in how religion negatively influences children’s altruism. They challenge the view that religiosity facilitates prosocial behavior, and call into question whether religion is vital for moral development—suggesting the secularization of moral discourse does not reduce human kindness. In fact, it does just the opposite,” Decety said.

The study, "The Negative Association between Religiousness and Children’s Altruism across the World," was supported by a grant from the John Templeton Foundation.
No surprise here. So what is it about religion tha... (show quote)


Doesn't that just make you giddy petey bird? Anything to bash religion right. I know trends change, but I know most Christian children are taught to be compassionate. Maybe when you lump other religions in you get th is result?

Reply
 
 
Apr 23, 2019 05:56:10   #
Canuckus Deploracus Loc: North of the wall
 
PeterS wrote:
No surprise here. So what is it about religion that strips one of there empathy and kindness? Is this all religion or just the Conservative Christian kind???

https://news.uchicago.edu/story/religious-upbringing-associated-less-altruism-study-finds

Many families believe religion plays an essential role in childhood moral development. But children of religious parents may not be as altruistic as those parents think, according to a new international study from the University of Chicago published Nov. 5 in Current Biology.

A team of developmental psychologists led by Prof. Jean Decety examined the perceptions and behavior of children in six countries. The study assessed the children’s tendency to share—a measure of their altruism—and their inclination to judge and punish others for bad behavior.

Children from religious families were less likely to share with others than were children from non-religious families. A religious upbringing also was associated with more punitive tendencies in response to anti-social behavior.

The results were at odds with the perceptions of religious parents, who were more likely than non-religious parents to report that their children had a high degree of empathy and sensitivity to the plight of others.

“Our findings contradict the common-sense and popular assumption that children from religious households are more altruistic and kind toward others. In our study, kids from atheist and non-religious families were, in fact, more generous,” said Decety, the Irving B. Harris Distinguished Service Professor in Psychology and Psychiatry and the College and director of the University of Chicago Child NeuroSuite.

The study included 1,170 children between ages 5 and 12, from six countries—Canada, China, Jordan, South Africa, Turkey and the United States.

“Our findings contradict the common-sense and popular assumption that children from religious households are more altruistic and kind toward others.”
Prof. Jean Decety
Prof. Jean Decety Prof. Jean Decety
For the altruism task, children participated in a version of the “Dictator Game,” in which they were given 10 stickers and provided an opportunity to share them with another unseen child. Altruism was measured by the average number of stickers shared.

For the moral sensitivity task, children watched short animations in which one character pushes or bumps another, either accidentally or purposefully. After seeing each situation, children were asked about how mean the behavior was and the amount of punishment the character deserved.

Parents completed questionnaires about their religious beliefs and practices and perceptions of their children’s empathy and sensitivity to justice. From the questionnaires, three large groupings were established: Christian, Muslim and not religious. (Children from other religious households did not reach a large enough sample size to be included in additional analyses.)

Consistent with previous studies, in general the children were more likely to share as they got older. But children from households identifying as Christian and Muslim were significantly less likely than children from non-religious households to share their stickers. The negative relation between religiosity and altruism grew stronger with age; children with a longer experience of religion in the household were the least likely to share.

Children from religious households favored stronger punishments for anti-social behavior and judged such behavior more harshly than non-religious children. These results support previous studies of adults, which have found religiousness is linked with punitive attitudes toward interpersonal offenses.

“Together, these results reveal the similarity across countries in how religion negatively influences children’s altruism. They challenge the view that religiosity facilitates prosocial behavior, and call into question whether religion is vital for moral development—suggesting the secularization of moral discourse does not reduce human kindness. In fact, it does just the opposite,” Decety said.

The study, "The Negative Association between Religiousness and Children’s Altruism across the World," was supported by a grant from the John Templeton Foundation.
No surprise here. So what is it about religion tha... (show quote)


I would be interested in seeing the full study..

Having lived in China for the past fifteen years and worked with children of all ages I have found the opposite to hold true...

Regardless of the faith (Buddhist, Christian, Muslim) the children alnost always display greater empathy ... I can usually Guess if a child has a religious household by observing them with other children...

This is a personal opinion...
But the name of the study and its reliance on similar studies to offer validation make it suspect in my opinion...

Reply
Apr 23, 2019 07:19:45   #
Rose42
 
Zemirah wrote:
This last paragraph of the post explains the results of the finding being claimed:

"The study, "The Negative Association between Religiousness and Children’s Altruism across the World," was supported by a grant from the John Templeton Foundation."

Sir John Marks Templeton (29 November 1912 - 8 July 2008) was an American-born British investor, banker, fund manager, and philanthropist.

Wealthy money manager, John Marks Templeton was one of the most anti-Christian men ever to be accepted as a Christian leader. He was so obviously an occultist that it is astounding that he could have 'crept in unawares,' yet he did.

The Templeton Foundation offers an annual "religion prize" larger than the Nobel Prize. This was Templeton's explanation as to why:

‘Evolution is accelerating … traditional Judaism and Christianity are losing their powers to inform the contemporary mind …. The main purpose of the Templeton Foundations is to encourage enthusiasm for accelerating discovery and progress in spiritual matters ….

The next stage of human divine progress on the evolutionary scale needs … geniuses of the spirit … [who] can develop a body of knowledge about God that doesn’t rely on ancient revelations or scripture [such as the Bible] … that is scientific … and is not disputed because of divisions between religions or churches or ancient scripture or liturgy …. To encourage progress of this kind, we have established the Templeton Foundation Prizes for Progress in Religion.’

(Quoted From Occult Invasion, by Dave Hunt, pgs. 531-535)

https://www.adullamfilms.com/TempletonPrize.html

PeterS, Your own bias in assuming this results applies only to "the Conservative Christian" kind, as you ignore the inclusion of the remainder of Christianity and all of Islam, you're free to explain...
This last paragraph of the post explains the resul... (show quote)


I would like to see an explanation too.

Good post Zemirah. If one looks hard enough you can find a study to support just about anything.

Reply
Apr 23, 2019 07:28:14   #
Liberty Tree
 
Canuckus Deploracus wrote:
I would be interested in seeing the full study..

Having lived in China for the past fifteen years and worked with children of all ages I have found the opposite to hold true...

Regardless of the faith (Buddhist, Christian, Muslim) the children alnost always display greater empathy ... I can usually Guess if a child has a religious household by observing them with other children...

This is a personal opinion...
But the name of the study and its reliance on similar studies to offer validation make it suspect in my opinion...
I would be interested in seeing the full study.. b... (show quote)


This is just more of his anti-Christian bigotry shining through.Whenever there is a natural disaster it is the Christian relief groups who are the first ones there with aide and not people who think like PeterS.

Reply
Apr 23, 2019 08:07:41   #
MatthewlovesAyn Loc: Ohio
 
Normally, I avoid even reading anything from the initiator of this thread, but I think he is making an argument for a religious upbringing. Altruism is evil.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51pMod2Aaso

Reply
 
 
Apr 23, 2019 08:24:57   #
Canuckus Deploracus Loc: North of the wall
 
Liberty Tree wrote:
This is just more of his anti-Christian bigotry shining through.Whenever there is a natural disaster it is the Christian relief groups who are the first ones there with aide and not people who think like PeterS.


During the earthquake of 2008 millions of dollars were raised from Atheists and agnostics all over China... Christians and Muslims and Buddhists also contributed...

I doubt Peter is as you judge him...

Reply
Apr 23, 2019 08:48:23   #
PeterS
 
Canuckus Deploracus wrote:
I would be interested in seeing the full study..

Having lived in China for the past fifteen years and worked with children of all ages I have found the opposite to hold true...

Regardless of the faith (Buddhist, Christian, Muslim) the children alnost always display greater empathy ... I can usually Guess if a child has a religious household by observing them with other children...

This is a personal opinion...
But the name of the study and its reliance on similar studies to offer validation make it suspect in my opinion...
I would be interested in seeing the full study.. b... (show quote)

Look, I'm just the messenger but when you look at Conservative Christians in this country the study is most certainly spot on. These are the people who threw their moral values in the trash for the sake of political expediency. They are in favor of banning Muslims from this country, want a wall to keep Hispanics out of this country, and could give a flip that Blacks are unfairly targeted by police officers. These people have ZERO empathy for anyone outside of their theology and ideology and to be altruistic you have to be able to have empathy for your fellow man.

As for the children, they learn more from their parents than anyone else and if they aren't learning empathy from their parents then they sure as hell won't pick it up from each other. As for the name of the study being a tell??? In your opinion what should it have been titled?

The foundation that sponsored study funds studies in Natural Science, Human Sciences, Philosophy and Theology, and Public Engagement. If you have an idea for a study then submit your proposal and see if you can get statistics to validate your observations. Each of us can have our own opinion but the CC's on this board validate what the study is talking about. Whether it is specific to all theologies I can't say but CC's are largely devoid of any empathy and without it altruism isn't possible...

Reply
Apr 23, 2019 08:59:13   #
Canuckus Deploracus Loc: North of the wall
 
PeterS wrote:
Look, I'm just the messenger but when you look at Conservative Christians in this country the study is most certainly spot on. These are the people who threw their moral values in the trash for the sake of political expediency. They are in favor of banning Muslims from this country, want a wall to keep Hispanics out of this country, and could give a flip that Blacks are unfairly targeted by police officers. These people have ZERO empathy for anyone outside of their theology and ideology and to be altruistic you have to be able to have empathy for your fellow man.

As for the children, they learn more from their parents than anyone else and if they aren't learning empathy from their parents then they sure as hell won't pick it up from each other. As for the name of the study being a tell??? In your opinion what should it have been titled?

The foundation that sponsored study funds studies in Natural Science, Human Sciences, Philosophy and Theology, and Public Engagement. If you have an idea for a study then submit your proposal and see if you can get statistics to validate your observations. Each of us can have our own opinion but the CC's on this board validate what the study is talking about. Whether it is specific to all theologies I can't say but CC's are largely devoid of any empathy and without it altruism isn't possible...
Look, I'm just the messenger but when you look at ... (show quote)


Yet the study was not about American CC's...

And living in China I can tell you that there are a large number of biased studies...
The title makes it obvious that the researchers had a bias against religion before they started...
Would you accept a study done by Christians to prove the opposite as unbiased?

I would like to see the original research...
Then I could judge for myself if the study was conducted in a valid and unbiased way...

I don't have as much experience with CC's as you (for obvious reasons) but I am hesitant to paint them all with the same brush...

I would never shoot the messenger

Reply
Apr 24, 2019 16:29:28   #
Liberty Tree
 
Canuckus Deploracus wrote:
During the earthquake of 2008 millions of dollars were raised from Atheists and agnostics all over China... Christians and Muslims and Buddhists also contributed...

I doubt Peter is as you judge him...


This is not China and I am not judging peterS. I am just going by his posts.

Reply
 
 
Apr 24, 2019 21:39:12   #
PeterS
 
Canuckus Deploracus wrote:
Yet the study was not about American CC's...

And living in China I can tell you that there are a large number of biased studies...
The title makes it obvious that the researchers had a bias against religion before they started...
Would you accept a study done by Christians to prove the opposite as unbiased?

I would like to see the original research...
Then I could judge for myself if the study was conducted in a valid and unbiased way...

I don't have as much experience with CC's as you (for obvious reasons) but I am hesitant to paint them all with the same brush...

I would never shoot the messenger
Yet the study was not about American CC's... br b... (show quote)

You're painting all studies with the same brush. I guess the question is--which came first the study or the title...

Reply
Apr 24, 2019 21:52:45   #
Blade_Runner Loc: DARK SIDE OF THE MOON
 
Thank God I never experienced a "religious" upbringing.

Reply
Apr 24, 2019 22:22:13   #
Canuckus Deploracus Loc: North of the wall
 
PeterS wrote:
You're painting all studies with the same brush. I guess the question is--which came first the study or the title...


Not at all...
Just wishing for more information...
So that I might form my own judgement...
And acknowledging that there are many studies that are biased...

Usually titles come first...
As part of the proposal for the study...

Reply
Apr 25, 2019 03:26:52   #
Zemirah Loc: Sojourner En Route...
 
Blade_Runner wrote:
Thank God I never experienced a "religious" upbringing.



Actually, Blade, I did... but I still find your comment highly amusing.

Reply
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