The Influence of Early Childhood Religious Indoctrination on Cognitive Development and Moral Reasoning in Pakistan
Abstract
Background Induction of religion at an early age is significant for cognitive and moral development. In Pakistan where religion is embedded in the society, it is important to analyze its impacts on a child's development. This study seeks to determine the connection between religious teaching, cognitive learning, and moral reasoning among children between the ages of 7 to 14 years in different areas in Pakistan.
Aim The focus of the study was to determine the extent of the cognitive and moral reasoning development of a child that can be attributed to religious teaching, paying special attention to the gender and socioeconomic factors that moderate the relationship.
Method Utilizing a quantitative approach, a cross-sectional design was used to collect data from 1,200 children from 12 villages in Pakistan. Children were selected evenly from three different age groups (7–9, 10–12, and 13–14) in both genders. Several standardized instruments were employed, such as the Religious Fundamentalism Scale for measuring religious indoctrination and the Moral Judgment Test for measuring cognitive moral development. Analysis included Pearson correlation, t-tests, and moderation analysis.
Results It was established that there existed a strong positive relation between religious indoctrination and cognitive as well as moral development. Differences between genders were noted during the analysis of cognitive development and moral reasoning, with males excelling more than females. Moderation analysis showed that the relation of religious indoctrination with cognitive development was conditioned by gender and socioeconomic status.
Conclusion Indirectly in light with gender and socioeconomic conditioning, fostering religion at an early age is significant for cognitive and moral development in children. While these results are valuable it also suggests that issues of religion and child development be further investigated, especially religion's impact on child's cognitive structure
