If you're a religious person who has been a subject in theology research, don't take this personally. Kathleen Corriveau says you're too WEIRD.
That's not a dig at the devout. WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic) is the demographic description of the subjects who dominate studies of religious cognition, says Corriveau, an associate professor of applied human development. Those studies are rife with Christians, who are less than one-third of the world's total population, she says. This leaves a gaping hole in our understanding of how the majority of children in religious families around the world learn their religious beliefs and practices: stereotypes they hold about their own and other religious groups; how such stereotypes influence their interactions with people; and how they juggle their understanding of the supernatural with what they learn about science.
A global problem takes a global solution, and Corriveau is part of an ambitious one.
She and Rebekah Richert of the University of California, Riverside have received the second-largest grant ever from the John Templeton Foundation-$10 million over five years-to build a worldwide network of scholars to study those questions and how generations transmit and receive religious belief.
The Developing Belief Network is not the first such world-spanning collaboration in psychology research. "But we believe ours may be the first that truly allows for the study of diverse cultures using behavioral measures," says Corriveau, who spoke with The Brink about the project.
