Nyhof, Melanie A.
(2005)
Is God Just a Big Person?: The Influence of Religious Background on the Development of God Concepts.
Master's Thesis, University of Pittsburgh.
(Unpublished)
Abstract
Developmental theories suggest that children initially conceptualize God in concrete, anthropomorphic terms. In contrast, recent research has found that from early on, children recognize God as a being radically different from humans. Previous research has been limited to studies of Christian children. The present study questioned children and adults raised in a religious tradition (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) emphasizing God's anthropomorphic qualities and a comparison group of traditional Christian children and adults, concerning abilities of God and dad. The results indicate that children distinguish between God and dad in terms of supernatural ability and that regardless of religious background, children acquire God concepts in a piece-meal fashion, not automatically inferring one supernatural attribute given another. In addition, theological differences in God concepts between the two religious traditions emerge late in development.
Share
Citation/Export: |
|
Social Networking: |
|
Details
Item Type: |
University of Pittsburgh ETD
|
Status: |
Unpublished |
Creators/Authors: |
|
ETD Committee: |
Title | Member | Email Address | Pitt Username | ORCID |
---|
Committee Chair | Johnson, Carl N | johnson@pitt.edu | JOHNSON | | Committee Member | Brownell, Celia A | | | | Committee Member | Strauss, Mark S | | | |
|
Date: |
3 February 2005 |
Date Type: |
Completion |
Defense Date: |
29 July 2004 |
Approval Date: |
3 February 2005 |
Submission Date: |
10 December 2004 |
Access Restriction: |
No restriction; Release the ETD for access worldwide immediately. |
Institution: |
University of Pittsburgh |
Schools and Programs: |
Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences > Psychology |
Degree: |
MS - Master of Science |
Thesis Type: |
Master's Thesis |
Refereed: |
Yes |
Uncontrolled Keywords: |
children; cognitive development; God concepts; religion |
Other ID: |
http://etd.library.pitt.edu/ETD/available/etd-12102004-102702/, etd-12102004-102702 |
Date Deposited: |
10 Nov 2011 20:10 |
Last Modified: |
15 Nov 2016 13:54 |
URI: |
http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/10274 |
Metrics
Monthly Views for the past 3 years
Plum Analytics
Actions (login required)
 |
View Item |