The Child's Conception of Prayer
One hundred and sixty elementary school children were individually interviewed regarding their conception of prayer and the affects and fantasies associated with prayer activity. The prayer concept seemed to develop in three stages which were related to age. At the first stage (ages 5-7), children h...
| Published in: | Journal for the scientific study of religion |
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| Authors: | ; ; |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Wiley-Blackwell
[1967]
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| In: |
Journal for the scientific study of religion
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| Further subjects: | B
Heaven
B Objectivity B Subjectivity B Conceptualization B Language development B Children B Analysis of variance B Age groups B Prayer |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (Resolving-System) Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | One hundred and sixty elementary school children were individually interviewed regarding their conception of prayer and the affects and fantasies associated with prayer activity. The prayer concept seemed to develop in three stages which were related to age. At the first stage (ages 5-7), children had a global conception of prayer in the sense that their comprehension of the term was both vague and fragmentary. Children at the second stage (ages 7-9) had a concrete differentiated conception of prayer and recognized that it involved verbal activity. At this stage, however, prayer was still an external activity, a routine form, rather than personal and internal. At the third stage (ages 9-12), children had an abstract prayer conception in the sense that it was regarded as an internal activity deriving from personal conviction and belief. Only at the third stage did prayer emerge as a true communication between the child and what he considered divine, between the I and the Thou. With increasing age, the content of prayer also changed from egocentric wish fulfillment (candy, toys, etc.) to altruistic moral and ethical desires (peace on earth, etc.). At the same time, affects associated with prayer activity became less impulsive and more modulated among the older children while prayer came to be a deeper and more satisfying experience. The fantasy activity associated with prayer changed from a belief that prayers were self-propelled missiles to the view that they were a form of direct communication with God. The results are discussed from the developmental point of view and the parallel between the development of prayer in the child and in Western civilization is pointed out. |
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| ISSN: | 1468-5906 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal for the scientific study of religion
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.2307/1384202 |