Eleanor Fang Yan

Bio: Eleanor Fang Yan is an academic researcher from Georgia State University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Secular state & Mathematics education. The author has an hindex of 1, co-authored 1 publications receiving 13 citations.

Religious testimony in a secular society: Belief in unobservable entities among Chinese parents and their children.

Abstract: When learning about the existence of unobservable scientific phenomena such as germs or religious phenomena such as God, children are receptive to the testimony of other people. Research in Western cultures has shown that by 5 to 6 years of age, children-like adults-are confident about the existence of both scientific and religious phenomena. We examined the beliefs of secular and Christian children growing up in China as well as the beliefs of their parents. All participants-secular and Christian children, as well as their parents-were confident about the existence of the scientific phenomena. No such consensus emerged for religious phenomena. Whereas secular children and their parents were skeptical, Christian children and their parents were confident about the existence of the religious phenomena. Moreover, a similar pattern was found for Christian children in preschools and for Christian children with more extensive exposure to the secular state curriculum. Indeed, for religious phenomena, a positive association was found between the beliefs of Christian children and their parents, highlighting the potential influence of parental input in a predominantly secular society. Overall, the results indicate that children's religious beliefs are related to the beliefs of their parents, even when those beliefs go against the majority view. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Beliefs of children and adults in religious and scientific phenomena.

Abstract: Within the domains of both science and religion, beliefs in unobservable phenomena - such as bacteria or the soul - are common. Yet given the radically different trajectory of scientific as compared to religious beliefs across human history, it is plausible that the psychological basis for beliefs in these two domains is also different. Indeed, there is evidence from children and adults in various cultures that people have greater confidence in their scientific beliefs than in their religious beliefs. However, when individuals are invited to indicate the basis for their beliefs within each domain, a surprisingly similar pattern of justification is apparent.

Beliefs about Unobservable Scientific and Religious Entities are Transmitted via Subtle Linguistic Cues in Parental Testimony

Abstract: We explored the role of parental testimony in children’s developing beliefs about the ontological status of typically unobservable phenomena. US parents and their 5- to 7-year-old children (N = 25 ...

The Science of Children's Religious and Spiritual Development

Abstract: This Element provides a comprehensive yet concise account of scientific research on children's religious and spiritual (RS) development. After providing a historical sketch of definitional issues in the science of RS, the first section reviews basic descriptive information on children's RS development as well as wholistic theoretical models and measures of children's RS development. The second section covers evidence about links of child and parental RS to children's psychosocial adjustment, and highlights the need for more research that discriminates specific positive and negative manifestations of RS for children's development. The third section summarizes evidence about the robust influence of parents on their children's RS development and parents' perceptions of their role in this process. The fourth section focuses on cognitive-developmental research on children's cognitions about God/deities and prayer. The Element concludes with a synopsis of key themes and challenges that researchers face to advance the science of children's RS development.