In this study we explored the development of children's beliefs about the concept of prayer. Three- to 8-year-old children were given a combination of tasks and structured interview questions designed to assess a number of basic aspects of their concepts of prayer. We also considered potential relations between children's concepts of prayer and two other explanatory systems — naïve psychology and magic — by probing understanding of the roles of knowledge and thinking in prayer and by comparing beliefs in prayer (...) to beliefs in wishing. Results revealed significantly more sophisticated concepts of prayer than found in previous studies, including an earlier understanding of its mentalistic nature. We propose a new developmental trajectory for children's understanding of prayer and discuss interrelations between children's religious beliefs and their developing ontologies. (shrink)

Two experiments were conducted to explore whether children, who have been exposed to the concept of the soul, differentiate the soul from the mind. In the first experiment, 4- to 12-year-old children were asked about whether a religious ritual affects the mind, the brain, or the soul. The majority of the children claimed that only the soul was different after baptism. In a follow-up study, 6- to 12-year-old children were tested more explicitly on what factors differentiate the soul from the (...) mind and the brain. Children differentiated the soul from the mind and the brain along two dimensions: function and stability. In contrast to their responses about the mind and the brain, children did not claim that the soul was important for cognitive, non-cognitive, or biological functioning. Children consistently indicated that the mind and the brain change and grow over time. In contrast, children indicated that the soul is something that stays constant and is devoted to various, predominantly spiritual, functions. (shrink)