Cognitive and contextual factors in the emergence of diverse belief systems: Creation versus evolution

The emergence and distribution of beliefs about the origins of species is i nvestigated in Christian fundamentalist and nonfundamentalist school commun ities, with participants matched by age, educational level, and locale. Chi ldren (n = 185) and mothers (n = 92) were questioned about animate, inanima te, and artifact origins, and children were asked about their interests and natural-history knowledge. Preadolescents, like their mothers, embraced th e dominant beliefs of their community, creationist or evolutionist; 8- to 1 0-year-olds were exclusively creationist, regardless of community of origin ; 5- to 7-year-olds in fundamentalist schools endorsed creationism. whereas nonfundamentalists endorsed mixed creationist and spontaneous generationis t beliefs. Children's natural-history knowledge and religious interest pred icted their evolutionist and creationist beliefs, respectively, independent ly of parent beliefs. It is argued that this divergent developmental patter n is optimally explained with a model of constructive interactionism: Child ren generate intuitive beliefs about origins, both natural and intentional, while communities privilege certain beliefs and inhibit others, thus engen dering diverse belief systems. (C) 2001 Academic Press.