Religious children less generous

A team of developmental psychologists studied the behaviour of more than 1,100 children between the ages of five and 12 in six countries: Canada, China, Jordan, South Africa, Turkey and the US. Other religious groups were also present, but not in statistically significant proportions for the purposes of the study.

This was determined by a game known as the 'Dictator Game.' In this exercise, researchers noted whether or not children shared stickers with their classmates.

The authors of the study concluded that people of intelligence don't "need" religion, because they are able to fulfill needs on their own that religion provides for other people. A religious upbringing also was associated with more punitive tendencies in response to anti-social behavior. But that might not hold true for many children brought up in religious households, finds a study by researchers at the University of Chicago. The study also showed that the frequency of religious practices were a predictor on how altruistic a child tended to be.

The data showed that children who were more religious were less likely to share with others than non-religious children.

The more religious the child was, the less likely they were to share and those who were the most altruistic came from atheist or non-religious families.

Children were also measured on their moral sensitivity through cartoons where one character would push or bump another purposefully or accidentally. "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". Moreover, children with religious roots feel people have to be harshly punished for their mistakes, as opposed to non-religious children who appear to be more forgiving.

During the experiment, parents were asked to fill various surveys explaining the religious education that children have had, as well as their opinions on punishments and altruistic deeds.

Decety has already expanded the research into 14 countries and plans to continue to do so in order to further examine the impacts of religion on child behavior, according to AAAS.

What the researchers found is that the religious children were significantly less likely to share their stickers than the kids from non-religious backgrounds. Most of the children came from households that identified as Christian, Muslim, or not religious. "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.

This research was supported by a grant from the John Templeton Foundation (Science of Philanthropy Initiative).