Comment by Mark Bray on October 26, 2010 at 2:13pm

I have to say that after seeing the word "appear," in the first sentence, it made me wonder about the validity. And to think they would base this claim from 6 year old children, adds to the absurdity. Of course they are happy at 6, they still believe in Santa and the Easter Bunny; why not a god too. Now, had they asked 12-15 year old prepubescent teens, may have rendered some different results.

Comment by Ava Wilson on October 26, 2010 at 4:37pm

Absolutely have to disagree with this.

http://personalityspirituality.net/2010/04/02/being-spiritual-but-n...

http://www.science20.com/news_releases/spirituality_not_religion_ma...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28579289/

Spirituality, without religious attachment, makes children happier. All benefits exclusively of religion are superficial and are achievable outside of religion with similarly structured support groups and belief networks. That is, a kid who is religious but doesn't attend church is probably not as happy as a child who attends church, even if their faith is waivering, because even my Atheist fiance goes to church for the social interaction on Sundays sometimes and he comes home uplifted-- not because he's spiritual or believes in God, but because he gets to see people he knows and have social interaction during his off time, particularly because Sunday breakfasts or lunches tend to follow-- meaning more social interaction outside of church.

But I believe a child who is raised without religion, but who is taught to appreciate the majesty of the world for what it is and in that have some sense of spirituality, is just as happy as a religious child. Atheists who are unhappy are simply Atheists who aren't socializing. There are support and meetup groups that can have the same uplifting effect as church for nonbelievers, but they aren't utilized all the time.

Comment by Kim on October 26, 2010 at 9:48pm

You know what? I'd rather my child be a open-minded freethinking hellion who constantly questions authority and never accepts any bullshit that an adult is trying to feed him without good reason than for him to be this god-fearing (literally), brainwashed "good little boy" who accepts things as they are and lets authority figures exploit him.

I will not teach my child to be good because god will be angry if he doesn't behave. No, Vin, there are no such things as monsters. I will teach my child to be "good" because he IS good.

Comment by Becca on October 26, 2010 at 11:01pm

Whenever I see or read studies of this nature I always remind myself that correlation does not necessarily imply causation. I ask myself what else would probably get the same results. As in the case of children behaving well here's a few things that tend to influence a young child's behavior in a positive direction:
- At least one parent stable enough to adequately meet the child's basic needs. If basic needs aren't met the child goes into survival mode and cannot learn as well nor do they react to stimulus in appropriates ways. Basic needs = proper nutrition, housing, health, social interaction, and a sense of security.
- Having a family that spends ample quality time together.
- Families that belong to and contribute to a community of some sort.

Any family religious or not that satisfies those three things is more likely to have children who behave appropriately most of the time than families that are lacking in one or more of the three areas I mentioned. As always there are plenty of children who are the exceptions... often due to biological factors but that's another discussion.

Comment by Happy Tikiman on October 27, 2010 at 2:32am

I am indeed an atheist i just thought it would be an interesting discussion which so far I am pleased with. My own experiences growing up in a religious environment has left me with nothing but remorse for my wasted childhood. Growing up in fear is not fun and I wouldn't wish it on anybody. Heck i fit the "good child" discription

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