A study published today on over a thousand children across a half-dozen countries, looked at their behavior in various tests designed to measure generosity. They found that the children of Muslim and Christian families similarly to each other, but both groups lost to the children of non-religious families, who were the most generous.
Apparently a non-religious upbringing results in more generous children.
The study also noticed a couple of other effects. When asked to estimate how generous their children were, religious parents estimated their own children as being significantly more generous than did parents of non-religious children... an estimation that did not match those children's actual behavior. Also, children in religious families tended to approve of much harsher punishments for people deemed to be misbehaving than did children in non-religious families.
Apparently a non-religious upbringing results in more generous children.
The study also noticed a couple of other effects. When asked to estimate how generous their children were, religious parents estimated their own children as being significantly more generous than did parents of non-religious children... an estimation that did not match those children's actual behavior. Also, children in religious families tended to approve of much harsher punishments for people deemed to be misbehaving than did children in non-religious families.
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