Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by janrinok on Saturday November 07 2015, @11:54PM   Printer-friendly
from the thank-$DEITY dept.

Here's a discovery that could make secular parents say hallelujah: Children who grow up in non-religious homes are more generous and altruistic than children from observant families. ...

A series of experiments involving 1,170 kids from a variety of religious backgrounds found that the non-believers were more likely to share stickers with their classmates and less likely to endorse harsh punishments for people who pushed or bumped into others.

The results "contradict the common-sense and popular assumption that children from religious households are more altruistic and kind toward others," according to a study published this week in the journal Current Biology.

Worldwide, about 5.8 billion people consider themselves religious, and religion is a primary way for cultures to express their ideas about proper moral behavior — especially behavior that involves self-sacrifice for the sake of others.

-- submitted from IRC


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 2) by Dunbal on Sunday November 08 2015, @11:09AM

    by Dunbal (3515) on Sunday November 08 2015, @11:09AM (#260295)

    Matches my observations too. In fact I find that there's a direct correlation between religious fervor and being an asshole. Since correlation is not causation, it's unclear to me whether religion attracts assholes or religion turns you into an asshole.

    Starting Score:    1  point
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  

    Total Score:   2  
  • (Score: 2) by NotSanguine on Sunday November 08 2015, @11:39AM

    by NotSanguine (285) <NotSanguineNO@SPAMSoylentNews.Org> on Sunday November 08 2015, @11:39AM (#260306) Homepage Journal

    Matches my observations too. In fact I find that there's a direct correlation between religious fervor and being an asshole. Since correlation is not causation, it's unclear to me whether religion attracts assholes or religion turns you into an asshole.

    Sounds like someone has an idea for some new research.

    --
    No, no, you're not thinking; you're just being logical. --Niels Bohr
  • (Score: 2) by maxwell demon on Sunday November 08 2015, @03:01PM

    by maxwell demon (1608) on Sunday November 08 2015, @03:01PM (#260361) Journal

    It might also be that assholes are less likely to lose a religion they got as child.

    --
    The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.