Religion and Child Development

Dear Colleagues,

Over the past two decades, the study of religion and child development has grown rapidly (Richert, Boyatzis, & King, 2017). Religion continues to play an extensive role in the lives of children across the globe. The study of children’s religious experiences can reveal a great deal about broader mechanisms concerning social learning, enculturation, and cognitive maturation, including the active role that children play in curating and applying the religious information they receive from others. Studying religious development with children can also reveal important trends in identity development, civic engagement, well-being, and decision-making in later life (Mahoney, 2021; Richert & Saide, 2020). However, as noted in many reviews of the literature on religion and child development (e.g., Bengston, 2017; King, & Boyatzis, 2015; Mahoney, 2021; Richert, & Granqvist, 2013; Roehlkepartain, 2013; Schweitzer, 2014; Strhan, Parker, & Ridgely, 2017), current research, theories, and methodologies are underdeveloped. The goal of this Special Issue is therefore to feature articles that address key theoretical and methodological issues in order to advance the study of religion and child development.

We welcome manuscripts that represent work from a range of disciplinary perspectives (e.g., sociology, psychology, religious studies) and highlight contributions that can be made to the larger study of religion and/or child development. Attention to the following areas is particularly encouraged:

1. Children’s experiences of religion: Children are not passive recipients of religious socialization: they play an active role in making meaning of their religious experiences (Boyatzis, 2005; Richert & Granqvist, 2013). Children think about, reflect upon, and emotionally react to every aspect of religion. However, research rarely examines the experience of childhood religion from the child’s perspective.
2. Incorporation of child development in theories and models of religion: Most theories of religion have been developed through a focus on religion as it exists among adults (Schweitzer, 2014; Strhan, Parker, & Ridgely, 2017). An assumption sometimes found in these theories is that children do not have the cognitive or emotional capacity for religious thought, and any religious expressions are just rote imitations of adults. However, young children do have rich religious lives, and empirical research is needed to adapt theories and models of religion to account for children’s experiences.
3. Diverse backgrounds: The vast majority of empirical research on religion and child development focuses on children and families from Western and Christian backgrounds (Abo-Zena, & Midgette, 2019; Roehlkepartain, 2013) due to researcher convenience and familiarity (Henrich, Heine, & Norenzayan, 2010). Importantly, adults are increasingly choosing to refrain from religious tradition and religious practice (Smith, 2021), which necessitates an examination of how children of secular parents might also process the religious messages they receive. Excluding religiously diverse people harms ecological validity and construct validity. Empirical research with diverse samples is required for methodological and theoretical progress.
4. Multidimensional measures: Religious experiences are complex and multidimensional (King & Boyatzis, 2015; Mahoney, 2021; McCaffree, 2017; Richert & Saide, 2020; Roehlkepartain, 2013). However, research studies often use single-item or single-dimension measures of religion, making a more nuanced application of their findings difficult. King and Boyatzis (2015, pp.1011) insightfully ask, "What dimensions of religion or spirituality are related to which outcomes in which populations?"
5. Parenting and socialization: Parenting practices are strongly influenced by the parents' child-rearing goals and how parents conceive childhood. Importantly, parenting goals and concepts often differ between religious traditions, and even differ between individuals within religious traditions (Abo-Zena, & Midgette, 2019; Mahoney, 2021; Manning, 2013; Strhan, Parker, & Ridgely, 2017). Parents and other members of the immediate family serve as primary agents of socialization during early life (Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 2006); empirical research is needed to examine how differences in rearing between and within religions affect child development.

We request that, prior to submitting a manuscript, interested authors initially submit a proposed title and an abstract of 400–600 words summarizing their intended contribution. Please send it to the Guest Editors ([email protected]; [email protected]) or to the Religions editorial office ([email protected]). Abstracts will be reviewed by the Guest Editors for the purpose of ensuring proper fit within the scope of the Special Issue. Full manuscripts will undergo double-blind peer review.

References:

Abo-Zena, M. M., & Midgette, A. (2019). Developmental implications of children’s early religious and spiritual experiences in context: A sociocultural perspective. Religions, 10(11), 631.

Bengtson, V. L. (2017). Families and faith: How religion is passed down across generations. Oxford University Press.

Boyatzis, C. J. (2005). Religious and Spiritual Development in Childhood. In R. F. Paloutzian & C. L. Park (Eds.), Handbook of the psychology of religion and spirituality (pp. 123–143). The Guilford Press.

Bronfenbrenner, U., & Morris, P. A. (2006). The ecology of developmental processes. In W. Damon & R. M. Lerner (Eds.), Handbook of child psychology: Theoretical models of human development (pp. 993– 1028). Wiley.

Henrich, J., Heine, S. J., & Norenzayan, A. (2010). The weirdest people in the world?. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 33(2-3), 61-83.

King, P. E., & Boyatzis, C. J. (2015). Religious and spiritual development. In M. E. Lamb & R. M. Lerner (Eds.), Handbook of child psychology and developmental science: Socioemotional processes (pp. 975–1021). John Wiley & Sons, Inc..

Mahoney, A. (2021). The science of children's religious and spiritual development (Elements in child development). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Manning, C. J. (2013). Unaffiliated parents and the religious training of their children. Sociology of Religion, 74(2), 149-175.

McCaffree, K. (2017). The secular landscape: The decline of religion in America. Palgrave Macmillan.

Richert, R. A., & Granqvist, P. (2013). Religious and spiritual development in childhood. In R. F. Paloutzian & C. L. Park (Eds.), Handbook of the psychology of religion and spirituality (2nd ed.) (pp. 165-182). Guliford Press.

Richert, R. A., & Saide, A. R. (2020). Religious engagement. In S. Hupp & J. D. Jewell (Eds.), The encyclopedia of child and adolescent development, John Wiley & Sons.

Richert, R. A., Boyatzis, C. J., & King, P. E. (2017). Introduction to the British Journal of Developmental Psychology special issue on religion, culture, and development. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 35, 1–3.

Roehlkepartain, E. (2013). Children, religion, and spiritual development: Reframing a research agenda. In A. Ben-Arieh, G. S. Goodman, G. B. Melton, J. Cashmore, & N. K. Worley (Eds.), The sage handbook of child research (pp. 81-99). SAGE Publications.

Schweitzer, F. (2014). Religion in childhood and adolescence: How should it be studied? A critical review of problems and challenges in methodology and research. Journal of Empirical Theology, 27(1), 17-35.

Smith, G. A. (2021). About three-in-ten U.S. adults are now religiously unaffiliated. Retrieved June 5, 2022, from https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2021/12/14/about-three-in-ten-u-s-adults-are-now-religiously-unaffiliated/

Strhan, A., Parker, S.G., & Ridgely, S. (2017). Introduction. In A. Strhan, S. G. Parker, & S. Ridgely (Eds.), The Bloomsbury reader in religion and childhood (pp.1-14). Bloomsbury Publishing.

• Abstract submission deadline: 11 October 2022
• Notification of abstract acceptance: 31 October 2022
• Full manuscript deadline: 20 March 2023

Dr. Nicholas Shaman
Dr. Anondah Saide
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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• child development
• religious development
• childhood
• religiosity
• parenting
• socialization
• cross-cultural
• diverse samples
• methodology
• transmission
• spirituality