An Examinaton of Children’s God Images according to Different Variables
ÇOCUKLARIN TANRI İMGESİ’NİN FARKLI DEĞİŞKENLER AÇISINDAN İNCELENMESİ

Author : -Mualla YILDIZ
Number of pages : 45

Abstract

Children’s image of religion is important in terms of determining religious attudes in adulthood. In this qualitatve study, which was carried out in Turkey, age was determined to be an important factor in images of religion and God in childhood. However, the relatonship between this subject and gender and rural vs. urban life has not been investgated adequately. Hence, several things need to be examined: do gender and rural vs. urban life alter the percepton of God and, if so, in what ways is God perceived differently? 75 Turkish children (38 male, 37 female), whose ages range from 8 to 11, partcipated in the study. The children were asked to write about what they thought about God. Age, gender, and rural vs. urban life were determined to be categorical variables and the fndings were analyzed using the MAXQDA 10.0 qualitatve analysis program. Age, gender, and rural vs. urban life were found to influence children’s image of God. Children generally expressed that they wondered “where God is”, “how he/she can create”, and “how powerful he/she is”. While the rural children stressed the queston “Why has God created human beings?”, the urban children were curious about “Why has God created the devil and animals?”. Also female children focused on “God’s family” and “family members”, while male children focused on God’s goodness.

Keywords

Image of God in childhood, religious development, content analysis.

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