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Cargando... Born Believers: The Science of Children's Religious Beliefpor Justin L. Barrett
   Ninguno Actualmente no hay Conversaciones sobre este libro.  ljldml | Mar 18, 2012 |  sin reseñas | añadir una reseña
Developmental psychologist and anthropologist Justin L. Barrett presents a theory that we are predisposed to believe in God from birth. It all begins in the brain. Infants, under the sway of powerful internal and external forces, make sense of their environments by imagining a creative and intelligent agent, a grand controller who makes the sun shine and the night fall. In the chaos of childhood, where so much is out of the child's control, this belief in a morally good creator can bring tremendous comfort and calm. A child's world is then filled with beings who intentionally act upon the environment, maintaining order. Summarizing scientific experiments conducted with children across the globe, Professor Barrett illustrates the ways human beings have come to develop complex belief systems about God's omniscience, the afterlife, and the immortality of deities, and shows how this underlies all of the major world religions, uniting them under one common source.--From publisher description. No se han encontrado descripciones de biblioteca. |
Debates activosNingunoCubiertas populares  
 Google Books — Cargando...GénerosSistema Decimal Melvil (DDC)200.1Religions Religion Religion Systems, scientific principles, psychology of religion, philosophy and religionClasificación de la Biblioteca del CongresoValoraciónPromedio: (3.5)
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"The belief in God appears to be a naturally occurring human phenomenon" Agree or Disagree?
Dr. Justin Barrett has written a thought provoking novel on the subject of children and faith. Are we born believing in a supreme being? Or is it something taught to us?
This book is divided into two parts. Part one is labeled "The Evidence". It is primarily a listing of many studies Dr. Barrett used to explain his belief that we are all 'born believers'. He states (I am using a quote from an ARC- the actual quote in the published novel may be slightly different) "The vast majority of cultures, as well as the vast majority of people, believe in some sort of God or Gods" (page 21)
He lists not only studies, but information obtained by observing children.
I am not a theologian, nor an anthropologist.
I found part one of this book to read like a textbook. Long and dry.
Part two, "The Implications", was far more interesting to read. Dr. Barrett describes "natural religion". A term he uses to describe what we have from birth. He states this "natural religion" is in it's infancy. What's the most interesting? Chapter 10 explains his thoughts on Should we Introduce our Children to God? Now we are at the nitty gritty, the reason why I wanted to read this book. It was worth the wait. I learned a great deal. I found myself either nodding in response to something written, or shaking my head and thinking "Is he nuts?"
Dr. Barrett offers some suggestions for encouraging children's religious development. I agree with some of what Dr. Barrett writes. In all honesty, there are some things I don't understand, and some things I think are outright strange.
My thoughts- interesting book, but as as parent, no matter how many studies you throw my way...I'm not certain I believe Dr. Barrett's theories. It's comforting to think we are all born with previous knowledge of God, but I'm not certain I quite buy the idea. I think this is something theologians, philosophers and anthropologists may be arguing over for years. (