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Zonie63 -> RE: Children exposed to religion have difficulty distinguishing fact from fiction (7/20/2014 9:03:09 AM)
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ORIGINAL: LafayetteLady
Ok, this is supposed to be a legitamate pscychological study, right? No bias, right? Bullshit.
We are ttalking about children 5-6 years old. Yes, at that age, they believe inthe tooth fairy, Santa Claus,etc. It has nothing to do with the Bible, religious indoctrination or anything like that. It has to do with children and their imagination.
True, although it's not because children imagine these things all by themselves. Somebody tells them about the Tooth Fairy, Santa Claus, Easter Bunny, etc. - along with the resulting money under the pillow, Christmas presents, and Easter baskets/eggs which further solidify such beliefs in young children.
These are also cultural elements, so children will find that other children their age also believe in these things - and they'll also see it on TV, in children's books, at their day care/kindergarten, and elsewhere in their lives. It's really much more than a child's imagination at work.
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Many also think there are monsters under their bed and let me assure you that very few of the religiously indoctrinated FIVE years olds belive God is going to save them from said monster so they sleep ssoundly.
Nor does it mean that when they become adults they will be unable to disstinguish fact from fiction.
What this thread apparently does prove from a psychological standpoint is that atheists on this site have a never ending issue with religion and that since so many claim to have been brought up in religious households, they have yet to take repsonsibility for their adults issues and so must continue to blame religion.
Science and religion co-exist quite well together. Yes, there are some religious zealots who reject scientific fact. But it seems all atheists can't see a co-existence either which makes them just as ignorant.
So really, how many here of the anti-religious group want to say that their childhood belief in Santa Claus still causes them confusion about the difference between fact and fiction ass adults?
I agree that science and religion can co-exist quite well together, but I would consider science to be more essential to a society and should be given the greater consideration if any conflicts or disagreements arise between science and religion. The concepts of Freedom of Religion and the Separation of Church and State are also essential for maintaining a balanced, peaceful co-existence between religion, science, and secular society overall.
One of the key things I've noticed is that it's essential that people be able to tell the difference between a church and a school. A church is for religious education, and a school is for secular education. As long as people can keep this straight and not get confused about it, then a lot of recent disputes need not ever happen.
As for your question, when I was a kid, I was given the standard spiel about Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy, etc. I stopped believing in those things at some point during my childhood, most likely learning it "on the streets" from older, more cynical children who also stopped believing in such ideas. I don't know if it affected my ability to distinguish fact from fiction, although my religious upbringing was somewhat limited and inconsistent, not full-blown indoctrination that some might have faced.
My only real complaint might have been that, while I was growing up, I had to wade through far too much fiction before I could get to any real fact. And even then, until I reached a certain age, I was given the sugar-coated version of what little "truth" was starting to trickle through. My parents partially contributed to this, too, although not necessarily due to religious factors. I think that there might be a parental instinct to protect and shelter their children, although in my parents' case, it led to a pattern of intentional deception and lies of omission.
I don't have any trouble distinguishing fiction when I see it, but I'll admit that I won't automatically believe something reported as "fact" just because somebody insists that "it's TRUE!" Or even when it's supposedly "based on a true story."
Or even after lengthy government investigations or court cases involving teams of experts whose job it is to make sure that they're giving truthful, factual information - even that can be questionable at times. I'll admit that I'm cynical of those who tend to be a bit too heavy-handed with the word "fact" or otherwise seem to be a bit too sure of their "facts." I've had long and hard experience with a lot of people who insist that they "know," when it turns out that they didn't know. (This isn't just true with religion, but in many areas of life - and it's a malady which seems to especially affect clerks and bureaucrats.)
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