I have often wondered how much a parent's religious beliefs affect exactly what and how the parent teaches the child.

I have often witnessed a parent claiming to support the techniques being used to discipline and/or teach the child in question with some claim of religious belief.

Could there be a direct psychological correlation between what religious beliefs are taught by a parent and the cognitive skill levels and/or abilities of the children?

I was raised in what most people would consider an extremely religious enviroment and I turned out just fine. Its perfectly natural. Its been going on throughout history. It really doesnt have any impact on the psychological development of the child. It only affects the world view of the child. There are no long term ill effects of being raised in a very religious enviroment.

Interesting question!

I believe that yes since generally religion influences heavily (some) people, that would influence their vision of the world and therefore what they teach to their kids.

Religion does not promote creative (or non creative)/ critical thinking so I would say yes learning a dogma is not constructive to improve cognitive skills.

This isn't entirely true. You could imagine an extreme situation where someone kept their children from all outside information and only taught them that the world was flat and the sun moved around the earth, this would have a very bad effect on someone. If they never got out into normal society they may very well never have reason to question it.

Thats B.S.

Thats total B.S. Rabbit. But Im cool with ya ok. Nuthin personal What your saying is ridiculous

Not completely...
Look at the cults here in USA, or at the middle east.

We even have a "museum of creation" here in USA that states among other absurdities, that the grand canyon was created by noah's flood and that dragons of the middle ages were infact dinosaurs.

I grew up being taught that in school bro. Lots of things like that. In "public school". Thats what Im sayin

You were taught creationism in public school and that noah's flood created the grand canyon? Where out of curiosity?
Utah?

There are a lot of scientists who believe in intelligent design. I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss creationism as a scientific theory any more than evolution.

Heck takes more faith to believe everything just popped out from a big bang & makes sense. Sorry. And even Darwin questioned his own theories when he was dying.

oh ya and I'm kinda sick of the insinuation that just because someone is raised with Christian beliefs they are stunted in intelligence & raised with over-discipline yada yada

You know I was raised in an amazingly loving and affirming home and we knew what it was to truly love God and know He loved us.

All of my sisters have at least Bachelors Degrees (including me) and 2 have their Masters. I graduated summa cum laude.

Just sayin'


Now I know there are a lot of weird people out there claimin' to be Christians and yet raising their kids w/small world mentality, but there are a boatload of people raising their kids with no moral parameters too.

It can be squirrely on both sides of the spectrum.

awwww this one is just as they say right up my alley.....or just one I could not pass on responding to....


creative wrote:

I have often wondered how much a parent's religious beliefs affect exactly what and how the parent teaches the child.

Answer: My Children's relationship with the Creator.......yes Creator is their relationship.....Do we use as a teaching tool God, Christ, or the bible.....every single day.....And my children will grow up strong and secure because it was them that wanted to know about God, It was them that accepted Jesus Christ as their Personal Savior.

Creative Wrote:

I have often witnessed a parent claiming to support the techniques being used to discipline and/or teach the child in question with some claim of religious belief.

Answer: Yes and what exactly is your point here.

Creative wrote:

Could there be a direct psychological correlation between what religious beliefs are taught by a parent and the cognitive skill levels and/or abilities of the children?

Answer: Where do you come up with this stuff......
If a parent is religious and has always made sure that her children are wanting to know about God, and Christ for their own reasons....then what basis would this question have. The only thing that I have seen that good spiritual background gives my kids, is kindness, do for others, tender heart for the poor, and abundance of love for all humanity. I also see that my 15 year old daughter on her own made a promise to God to stay a virgin until she is married......This is the skill level and abilities of my children....and I am darn proud to be their mom.


And like I have said many times....well two things......there is no way that I fell from the sky, turned into a tadpole, that crawled out and turned into a monekey, that then turned into an ape that then became a human....no way no how.....and honestly if you really really think hard about that.....would it make sense to you....You can look back in the last 400 years...there has never been one living thing that was one thing and then turned into a completly different species......hmmmmmmm I say get a clue.

Yes but I don't think public school is the kind of extreme environment that Rabbit is referring to... right away I thought of some pockets of mountains in Nevada that are run by militia's and they teach the children that they are there own nation.. but these kids never see TV or magazines or outside information sources... agents of the federal government at that time were told to not enter their borders alone and to avoid them whenever possible...

They are very strict about their religious teachings as well - I see it impacting their ability to question at some point, their ability to think for themselves and make decisions... but I doubt it would be irrevocable...

Well thats true with any radical cults out their.....but their is a difference between cults and religions....I don't look at that in the same light. Look at Jim Jones....that was not a religion it was a cult.....He took and re-wrote the bible to fit his needs.....

But I also have seen where parents home school and teach Christian beliefs and later when the child enters high school do just fine......so I think you have to be careful where you take this. Because just like with anything in life you have good and bad.....

I know a lot of people who were negatively affected by religion as a child. So there’s no question in my mind that it can be quite damaging in many more ways than are readily apparent.



Absolutely with out a doubt.

If you teach a child that God has a plan for them then they might end up spending the rest of their life trying to figure out what the hell it might be! They might even end up doing the wrong things thinking that that’s what God had in mind for them. I know people who have done this.

On the other hand, if you teach a child that they must choose their own goals in life, then they understand right from the get-go that they are the ones who are responsible for the choices they make.

Those are two entirely different philosophies on life. You can’t live both scenarios simultaneously. You’ve got to pick one and focus on it.

What often happens is that when children are taught that their plan in life was always chosen by a God, by the time they wake up and realize that no such plan exists, it’s too late. They’re already psychologically damaged by the whole farce in the first place.

You only need to be betrayed once to feel that you’ve been betrayed.

Better off telling the children the truth and letting them make their own choices.

Lying is never a good policy anyway.

My children want God in their life because they want it.....I was never involved in their spiritual walk....It's theres...It was their choice......Always has been.......Which I think is healthy because the one thing my children will tell you is that I forced nothing on them......It was done as they wished and it was their PERSONAL walk......And I would of been fine if my kids chose not to walk with Christ.....Im thrilled they did.....



abra wrote:

What often happens is that when children are taught that their plan in life was always chosen by a God, by the time they wake up and realize that no such plan exists, it’s too late. They’re already psychologically damaged by the whole farce in the first place.

Answer: again awful judgemental of you you to think the above.....

I don't Teach my children that God has a plan for them, Because I Don't Believe that God as a "PLAN" for any of us. God knows what is the past present and future and gave us Free Will to Make our own choices of were our own footsteps lead us. Does it want us to choose a life with him "YES" but will he force us "NO". God knows when we hurt and he is there, he knows when we rejoice and he is there as well, but to say that I'm psychologically damaged because I put my faith in my walk with him, I think you're wrong.

Now its time to insult me.................

this is interesting and personal for me too at the same time.

I was raised in Christian Science and so were my younger siblings.

Our parents dumped us at the door on Sunday mornings and picked us up some three gruelling hours later.

We came to the point of kicking and screaming about going and couldn't wash the hypocrisy down our parents throats.LOL

we tried. and pleaded and begged!!! but to no avail. LOL

Nothing ever came of it...nothing but alienation.

I went into the streets believing that God was a maybe if at all.

Many, many years later for other reasonms I decided to read the Bible...cover to cover. That was different and going into churches after that was incredibly different.

Nothing like what is called an "errant cult" like Christian Science.

But those early days turned me off to religion of all sorts.

I am proud to say that I am part of the establishment now.

In the KNOW!!!!

I am laughing on the inside and smiling on the outside, but I will say, Kids can be adversely affected by parents actions that are not modeled and where there is no evidence of any credible belief being reverenced by a lifestyle consistent with the teachings....

Same can be said about life in general.

school into the work environment can be a tramatizing thing for a young mind that is not prepared to comprehend the competitive nature of business and employment .

Many things can alter the influence felt by impressionable young minds.

JMO

I agree. And I didn't say that.

However, at the same time, I think there are many ways to teach a child to "walk with God".

As far as I'm concerned, teaching a child to walk with love is the key issue. If you succeed in doing that then there won't be any need to bring any deity into the mix.

On the contrary, if you teach them to believe in a deity and fail to teach them how to walk with love then it will all have been for naught.

There are far too many people who believe in God, but fail to truly grasp the concept of love.