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Religious upbringing associated with less altruism, study finds
Again, the Templeton Foundation gets study results that contradict its belief in faith.
Result of the 'fine tuning' of 'objective morality'? 
Religious upbringing associated with less altruism, study finds
By Susie Allen - November 5, 2015 - The University of Chicago
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. (...)
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. (NB: Muslim kids dish out the harshest punishments) (...)
Children from religious households favored stronger punishments for anti-social behavior and judged such behavior more harshly than non-religious children. (...) “Together, these results reveal the similarity across countries in how religion negatively influences children’s altruism. (...)
The study was supported by a grant from the John Templeton Foundation.
- See more at: http://news.uchicago.edu/article/2015/11/05/religious-upbringing-associated-less-altruism-study-finds#sthash.XiPDlIqD.dpuf
By Susie Allen - November 5, 2015 - The University of Chicago
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. (...)
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. (NB: Muslim kids dish out the harshest punishments) (...)
Children from religious households favored stronger punishments for anti-social behavior and judged such behavior more harshly than non-religious children. (...) “Together, these results reveal the similarity across countries in how religion negatively influences children’s altruism. (...)
The study was supported by a grant from the John Templeton Foundation.
- See more at: http://news.uchicago.edu/article/2015/11/05/religious-upbringing-associated-less-altruism-study-finds#sthash.XiPDlIqD.dpuf
13 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
It seems odd, for example, to interpret stronger disapproval of anti-social behavior as evidence for less altruism
And we should note that moral development ordinarily changes quite a lot over ages 5-12:
For Muslims, that's due to the petrokings buying their survival at home by exporting the worst brand of Islam.
For Christians, it's probably the radicalization of people fearing being on the way out.
Why fund research if it doesn't deliver the expected results?
Basic tenet of scientific enquiry.
