Denominational and Age Comparisons of God Concepts

Abstract

This study examines whether denominational and age differences emerge in endorsement of Christian God descriptions developed using the three highest loading adjectives in each of Spilka, Benson, and Nussbaum's (1964) six God concept factors. Previous research suggests that conceptualizations of God may vary based on religious affiliation, and life-span development researchers assert that new, adaptive cognitive processes may emerge in later adulthood. Participants were divided into three age categories and asked to rate their agreement to six God descriptions. Significant denominational differences in God factor endorsement were revealed for all factors. No age differences across denomination were determined. Denominational differences appear to corroborate sociological descriptions of denomination-based variations in religious doctrine and practices. The overall lack of age differences may suggest that God concepts are cognitive organizations that remain stable over time, possibly due to reinforcement from church attendance. All data were collected from church attendees.

How Children and Adults Represent God's Mind

“…Additionally, the Judeo-Christian view of God posits that God is bodiless, which may increase the agency and reduce the experience attributed to God (Gray, Knobe, Sheskin, Bloom, & Barrett, 2011). Indeed, other work has shown that adults often attribute other emotional experiences, such as love, anger, and wrath, to God (e.g., Gorsuch, 1968; Noffke & McFadden, 2001; Spilka et al, 1964; Zahl & Gibson, 2012). …”

Influence of Maternal Denomination, God Concepts, and Child‐Rearing Practices on Young Children's God Concepts

“…Finally, in predicting kindergarteners' God concepts from maternal God concepts and childrearing practices, we control for maternal religious denomination since children's God concepts (de Roos, Iedema, and Miedema 2003), adults' God concepts (Noffke and McFadden 2001), and child-rearing practices (Alwin 1986;Danso, Hunsberger, and Pratt 1997;Ellison, Bartowski, and Segal 1996;Sherkat 1993a, 1993b;Kelley, Power, and Wimbush 1992) have been found to differ as a function of denomination. In addition, we will control for (maternal) education, which has been found to be related to child-rearing practices (Deković 1991;Rispens, Hermans, and Meeus 1996) and aspects of religion (Alwin and Jackson 1982;Keysar and Kosmin 1995;Lehrer 1999;Loury 2004).…”

“…We expect maternal denomination and God concepts to be interrelated (cf. Noffke and McFadden 2001) without assuming a causal link. We expect that nonaffiliated mothers will have a more distant and less potent and loving concept of God than affiliated mothers.…”

Effects of Mothers' and Schools' Religious Denomination on Preschool Children's God Concepts

“…The pentecostal people emphasize the workings of the holy spirit and the divine gifts, for example the power to heal the sick (cf. Hoekstra & Ipenburg, 2000;Noffke & McFadden, 2001;Stoffels, 1995). The catholic and Dutch reformed schools/churches and the interdenominational school considered here are open, inclusive christian institutions (cf.…”

“…Research among adults remains inconclusive concerning whether gender differences in God concepts exist (Noffke & McFadden, 2001). Some studies showed that women view God as more relevant and less punitive than men (cf.…”