Worldview Research Project

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Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism, Mormonism: these are all religions that substantial numbers of people devote their lives and time to. Although many others contend that religion is no more than a coping mechanism for the chaotic world we live in, it is cognitively and physiologically beneficial for people to become religious as it leads to superior childhood development, healthier mindsets, and an elevated morality. That said, from all of the religions to choose from, Christianity leads to the most fulfilling life relative to the other religions as it brings believers to put others before themselves.

It is common knowledge in the psychological field that religion affects brain and moral development in numerous ways. Through the use of longitudinal studies, John P. Bartkowski, Xiaohe Xu, and Stephen Bartkowski researched the development of children and the effects of religion. “Given the salutary effects observed for psychological and social development in earlier research, we hypothesized that parental attendance and parent–child discussions about religion would yield protective effects while spousal religious conflicts would undermine child development. However, prior research on religion and educational outcomes led us to be more circumspect on this score. The process of selective sanctification would prioritize the human relationship facets of social life that are central to religion (psychological adjustment and social competence), while downplaying the importance of academic performance (Darnell and Sherkat 1997; Sherkat 2010, 2011). Thus, selective sanctification led us to expect adverse effects (or possibly null effects) of parental and family religiosity with respect to academic achievement as measured through standardized reading, math, and science test performance.” Religion is also like a double-edged sword when introduced to elementary school-age children as although parental religiosity helps in some areas such as self-control, social competence, and interpersonal skills, it can also hurt a child’s academic development regarding reading, math, and science (Darnell and Sherkat 1997; Sherkat 2010, 2011). In this way, we cannot empirically determine that the benefits of religion really do outway the negatives during the development of elementary school children. That said, religion affects the entire process of human development and not just our time in school. 

One of the ongoing investigations into religion and moral development is the evolution of forgiveness, the act of changing your feelings and attitudes towards someone who has given offense and to hold no resentment towards them. Christine P. Lopez, who received a Ph.D. of Philosophy at St. Mary’s University, compared the willingness to forgive in Catholics relative to nonreligious people. After controlling for state empathy, state anger, and received apology, which would have skewed the study and showed information not regarding the effects of religion, she found that the Catholic faith helps people forgive more easily. 

In Chapter three of Edward Ryan’s book, The history of the Effects of Religion on Mankind, he gives an in-depth analysis of the history of Christianity and its effects on its believers. Edward deduced that as a result of the Bible and of Christianity, Christians were called to be virtuous and spread humility and forgiveness throughout all of history. He also wrote about how professors of the Christian faith denounced cruel practices and helped maintain order and authority. Edward concluded that the benefits of Christianity stem from the call to action, an idea interwoven throughout the Bible, calling for virtue, honesty, love, and kindness. This intensified mindset improved the morals of the people who read and believe it, as well as the non-believers they came in contact with who were moved by the virtuous behavior. 

Non believers and atheists alike argue that since there is no quantitative and empirically derived evidence, the conclusions drawn regarding Christianity and its derivatives hold no weight in the realm of science and research. As all claims and evidence is drawn up by individual researchers who have their own opinions and agendas, they cannot give an objective view on religion and especially on Christianity. This however, is far from reality.  In Rodney Stark’s book, America’s Blessings: How Religion Benefits Everyone, Including Atheists, he measured the economic contributions of Christians in America to be around 2.6 trillion dollars per year. Thinking like an economist, Rodney concluded that as a result of the Bible, Christians live healthier lives, save and improve welfare, work harder in school and in their careers, lower unemployment, and improve the overall wellbeing of not only America but also the rest of the world. This is also backed up by David Myers, writer of Myer’s Psychology for AP, in which he said, “Despite having half as much money as people who were less religious, the extremely religious people in America gave twice as much money to people in need.” What this means is that through christianity, people are able to contribute more to GDP, which increases the amount of jobs and allows people to live better lives. This supports the hypothesis that Christians live more fulfilling lives as they are the ones contributing to part of the economy’s success. 

Christianity, like many other religions, improves upon our morals and makes us better people in general. Additionally, Christianity brings the best out of people as it actively encourages certain virtues like forgiveness, kindness, and love more than any other religion on earth. 

Turnitin: 20%

Works Cited:

Bartkowski, J.P.; Xu, X.; Bartkowski, S. Mixed Blessing: The Beneficial and Detrimental Effects of Religion on Child Development among Third-Graders. Religions 2019, 10, 37.

Lopez, Christine P., “The Relative Effects of Religion, Empathy, Anger, and Apology on Forgiveness” (2018). Theses & Dissertations. 22.

https://commons.stmarytx.edu/dissertations/22

MYERS, DAVID G. MYERS’ PSYCHOLOGY FOR AP. WORTH PUB, 2020.

Ryan, Edward. “Ryan’s ‘History of the Effects of Religion on Mankind.”.” Notes and Queries, s3-III, no. 70, 1863, pp. 344–344., doi:10.1093/nq/s3-iii.70.344d.

Stark, Rodney. America’s Blessings: How Religion Benefits Everyone, Including Atheists. Templeton Press, 2013.

Walsh, Anthony, “Answering the New Atheists: How Science Points to God and to the Benefits of Christianity” (2018). Faculty & Staff Authored Books. 499.

https://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/fac_books/499

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Other Drafts and Brainstorming: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1CZeJ_gx5k2329skdKzminqzx8jaelqJuv6n09Z5RBG4/edit