Despite rapid advances in solving human physical problems, medical science has not yet taken effective actions to solve human psychological problems, whilst they play an important role in causing physical diseases. In general, religion significantly affects the health of the individuals and society. Psychological peace may be established through good beliefs and admirable moral deeds, and a believer can be transformed into a lively and happy human being who is always striving and communicating with his community. Therefore, this study aimed at determining the role of religious development in childhood on psychological health at Jakarta, Bandung, Medan and Surabaya in Indonesia. Hence, 3000 children of the above cities were investigated using a simple random sampling method. The statistical analyses using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) indicated that the participants acknowledged the role of religious development in the psychological health of individuals (
This research article contributes to the determination of the role of religious development in the psychological health of children from Jakarta, Bandung, Medan and Surabaya in Indonesia.
Psychological study of religious development is a field of studying religious subjects, in which changes in the understanding of religious knowledge and its development are examined in the framework of theories of developmental psychology. These studies have shown how human perceptions and emotions of concepts, such as God, the attributes of God, faith, prayer, mosque and resurrection, change throughout lifetime, given the underlying psychological processes (Benson et al.
Some researchers have linked the quality of attachment behaviour in childhood to knowing God at an older age. By developing a concept in attachment theory, they provided a framework for understanding the family–child emotional relationship and the child’s knowledge of God. The attachment theory focuses on some of the enduring aspects of behaviour (childcare and child–parent attachment), which are the clear translators of the inner world of the ‘normal’ person, and thus, chooses a forward-looking point of view (ed. Allen
When the child’s parents or religious educators or teachers at school introduce God as the perfect parent, the child’s cognitive–emotional–behavioural system is activated, and the child remembers his or her experiences of a mutual relationship with their parents. The child gradually translates these experiences into general concepts and mental images, and subsequently understands the likeness of God to the perfect parents. This understanding does not necessarily correspond to the intent of the parents or educators; however, rather reflects the relationship of the child’s past attachment. According to attachment theory, the favourable relationship between the child and religious symbols, such as words and visual arts and objects as part of religious development, becomes meaningful in early childhood, particularly because of parental influence. Attachment theory also provides answers to understanding how adolescents face religious questions and doubts. According to this theory, adolescents’ exposure to religious questions and doubts is related to the attachment relationship in childhood. Some researchers suggest several possibilities in this regard: doubts about an insecure attachment relationship with the primary caregiver may lead to the child becoming religious, which takes place in order to gain a reward, meaning that the God is used as a form of attachment that is absent in the mind background. Conversely, children with secure attachment relationships or with non-religious parents become less religious probably for a variety of reasons (Paloutzian
According to another group of researchers, the child’s innate talent for adapting to the environment, understanding the object permanence, the emergence of anxiety at 7 and 8 months, and the emergence of a relationship based on trust or distrust between the parent and child are some of the concepts used in explaining and describing how the basic principles and roots of faith are formed. From birth, all human beings carry the hidden talent of ‘adapting to the new environment’ when they step into the new environment of life. At the same time, this still is not substantive and actual talent. The growth and dynamism of this talent are based on the completion of human development and the type of encounter with the environment. If the desired result is not achieved from this perspective, adaptation to the new environment loses its growth and dynamism. In a situation where the human environment is stable, there is no change and innovation in it, or it does not provoke the objective affairs of man, and does not pose a challenge to him, so most likely his activities and actions will be limited in the pursuit of knowledge. Now, if the quality and continuity of care, nutrition and purity are poor and if there is no person or persons to establish a reciprocal, complementary and trusting relationship with them, the childish mistrust and despair will take the place of trust in the world around them (Benson, Roehlkepartain & Rude
As the child grows older, he realises that the objective current affairs are independent of him and even exist when he is out of sight. At 4 months, the baby typically does not seek out hidden objects; ‘[w]hat is absent will not come to mind’. At the age of 7–8 months, the child is able to make or have a mental image of the missing object. It is here that the child steps onto the cognitive path through which he discovers that he is inherently different from those he loves. This cognition is to the extent that he or she feels the need for finding himself or herself as the centre of gravity of the surrounding world in which others are present. The formation of the above two cognitive abilities (understanding the object permanence and self-awareness) provides the basis for the emergence of a new emotional state that is not very desirable (Bering & Bjorklund
A group of researchers used another method to show how the basic principles and roots of religiosity are formed in childhood. By examining famous historical figures, they examined the contribution of culture and history to the formation of religiosity. In these studies, the evaluation of individual and collective life was based on the development of analytical and historical methods (Boyatzis
In general, he shows how the phenomena of the world are realized in different races in different ways according to the psycho-historical dimension, and how personal goals are formed in the context of the goals of his time and in relation to psycho-historical values. (p. 182)
The basic principles and roots of religiosity are psychologically the result of all the experiences recorded in the child’s psychological system, which have innate and acquired roots. This can be explained in another way, considering the interpretation of the subject of ‘God Instinct’ and how to explain the relationship between God Instinct and religiosity in the Islamic context. According to the Verse of Covenant (Surah Al-Araf, Ayat 174) and the Verse of Innateness (Surah Ar-Room, Ayat 30), the root of religiosity must be in the natural instinct (as one of the elements of human existence, which the hand of creation has entrusted to him at the time of his creation), not in the result of the experiences recorded in the mental system. According to the Qur’an, environmental experiences and interactions provide only the context for the positive or negative growth and flourishing of natural instinct. The above claim about the roots of religiosity can be proved by stating a few introductions about natural instinct truth, the relationship between the natural instinct and religion, and how it grows and flourishes, which is adapted from the view of Mousavi Khomeini (
In his interpretation of the Verse of Innateness, Mousavi Khomeini speaks about the meaning of natural instinct truth:
When God created the human, He gave him two natural instincts, one of which has a main side and the other a secondary side: the main natural instinct is the love of absolute perfection and goodness and happiness, which all human beings enjoy, so that not even one can be found who does not realise perfection and is not in love with goodness and happiness according to the principle of nature and instinct, and secondary natural instinct is hatred of imperfection and abhorrence of evil and cruelty. These two natural instincts are in a state where their spirituality and enlightenment remain without being condemned to the laws of nature. If the natural instinct realised nature and was condemned to its precepts, and became unobtrusive to the clergy and its original world, it is the source of all evil, cruelty and misery.
In addition, according to the verses of the Qur’an, the monotheistic nature, although weakened by attention to the material world and its causes, can turn to God again through cosmological argument or the warning of the prophets. The verses that invite man to meditate on natural phenomena seem to prepare him to feel God’s hand in nature and to understand God’s presence. Accordingly, the roots of religiosity can be traced to the natural instinct, which is aware of religion, and in fact, religion has come to flourish it. In fact, the root of religiosity is the light of God Instinct, which leads man to absolute goodness and beauty in the absence of captivity in the hands of carnal soul and persistence of his spiritual state, as God has created it in human nature. In case of captivity, it causes cruelty and misery to human beings. In other words, the root of religiosity is ‘love of absolute perfection and absolute goodness’. God has embedded it in the nature of man. The child enters the world with this capacity, which makes possible the transformation of human beings during their life in this world into two faces, auspicious human beings and avaricious human beings. The philosophy of the origin of religion is to provide the ground for the transformation of man towards happiness, and all religious precepts relating to the prenatal or early childhood period must be interpreted in the same way, meaning that following these commands leads to a positive flourishing in natural instinct, which is the same as absolute love.
Mental health represents emotional and psychological health, in a way that a person can use his thinking and abilities, function in a society and meet the normal needs of daily life (Rasulzada & Dachert
Islamic teachings can be very effective in achieving this goal; for example, the remembrance of God prevents a person from desires and impulses that cause psychological pressure and stress. Doctrines, such as patience, contentment and trust, guarantee the mental health and peace of the pious person. Mental health does not mean physical relaxation and silence, but it has a more general meaning and is affected by the quality of life. Mental health affects the way people think, feel and behave on a daily basis, as well as their ability to cope with stress, overcome life challenges, build relationships and recover from adversity. Strong mental health does not mean the absence of any problems; however, mental and emotional health is a matter beyond getting rid of depression, anxiety or other psychological problems. People with strong mental health have better control over their emotions, and they seem to be energetic and positive and know many ways to increase their mental health (Haque
Health is related not only to a strong and healthy body but also to a healthy and vibrant soul and mind. It helps us to be resilient to the difficulties and hardships of our lives, and to overcome the dangers and hardships well. For example, as much as we are careful not to catch a cold and our body does not get sick, we must also be careful not to become anxious and helpless in times of hardship and problems and in the various trials that life presents to us, and we must also be able to make strong and stable decisions, control our emotions, and solve our problems in the best and most correct ways (Chang et al.
The statistical population of this research study consists of 3000 Muslim children from Jakarta, Bandung, Medan, and Surabaya in Indonesia, who were selected using a simple random sampling method. After determining the components of religious development and psychological health, because of the inability of children to complete the questionnaire, children were interviewed on various topics through pre-prepared questionnaires in the presence of parents, and their answers were obtained. Of these, 72% were boys and 28% were girls; 34% of children were 6–8 years old, 42% of children were more than 8 years old and less than 10 years old, and 24% were less than 11 years old. The received answers were coded from number 1 – strongly disagree – to number 5 – strongly agree – and were analysed by SPSS software. Content validity was used to evaluate the validity of the questionnaires. For this purpose, research questionnaires were presented to the faculty members in the fields of psychology, theology, social sciences and behavioural management, and its generalities were approved.
After reviewing the theoretical literature of the research, the correlation between the variables was investigated.
The research hypothesis states that there is a significant correlation between religious development and psychological health.
As shown in
Pearson test results to analyse the research hypothesis.
Variables | Sample size | Correlation coefficient | Error level | Significance level |
---|---|---|---|---|
Religious development → Psychological health | 3000 | 0.782 | 0.05 | 0.000 |
In addition, in this study, one sample
One-sample
Variables | Mean | Standard deviation | Df | Significance level | Mean difference | Status | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Religious development | 4.11 | 0.542 | 16.47 | 2999 | 0.000 | 0.89 | Acceptable |
Psychological health | 4.02 | 0.563 | 14.84 | 2999 | 0.000 | 0.98 | Acceptable |
At the level of analysis of research variables, all values had a significance level of less than 0.05. For these variables, because of the positive values of the t-statistic, their value was more than the mean value. It can be said that the value of these variables is more than the mean value of society, and their status is estimated appropriately.
One of the key issues of our society is religious education in the new generation. Religious education means the transfer of religious beliefs, attitudes and emotions to the new generation, a generation supposed to become a religious member of our society during the growth process (Boyatzis
For nearly a century, researchers have been concerned about the process and stages of a person’s familiarity with religion from childhood to adulthood. This tradition of study, along with rigorous field research, has established its own scientific literature in the West. It can be said that most of these psychological studies have had religious implications and motivations for researchers or their society (Boyatzis, Dollahite & Marks
The responsibility of families in raising their children is one of the most important issues that is relied on in Islam as one of the characteristics of true believers. Newborn baby is like a sapling. Every growing seedling needs specific soil and a certain amount of light, water, shade and sun. Every child grows up well under the right circumstances and with the specific characteristics of these areas whenever possible. Each of the religious instructions conveys a specific message, and was issued for the prevention and treatment of mental illness. In fact, verses and hadiths are formulas to improve life. In general, Islam is not limited to purely matters of worship, such as prayer and fasting. Lack of religious beliefs will lead to anti-religious behaviours by parents followed by their children. Parents’ adherence to ethics, of course, in practice and not in speech is the most important channel for transmitting such valuable concepts to the next generation. Therefore, the most important factor in the continuity and permanence of the religious spirit in their children are their parents. If the child observes the execution of religious commands regularly and continuously at home, he or she will have fewer problems to execute them at an older age.
The question is what role does religious development in childhood play in mental health? Based on the findings, the answer to this question is that religious development is positively correlated with psychological health. Family is one of the contributing factors because the child learns all actions and behaviours from his or her family, including walking, talking, self-confidence and morality; inheritance, environment and nutrition are other factors influencing child’s religious development. Islam opposes incorrect education and training, and instead, provides healthy methods for families to raise their children with confidence. Providing the child with the benefits of Islamic education and leading him to pure values are the great goals of man. However, education, society, culture, press and mass media also play a major role in this regard. Childhood is full of amazing, mysterious, fast, deep and impactful developments. Therefore, these changes are of special importance in human life, and paying no attention to them leads to various abnormalities in the child and related systems. However, mental health in childhood is associated with psychological health in adolescence and adulthood. Therefore, this study aimed at providing platforms for strengthening the psychological health of children with respect to religious development, tried to help parents, teachers, professionals and researchers in this field, which should be complemented by future research and the results of which should be expanded.
The authors declare that they have no financial or personal relationships that may have inappropriately influenced them in writing this article.
A.A. wrote the article, and J. carried out the analysis.
This article followed all ethical standards for research without any direct contact with human or animal subjects.
This research work received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.
Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no new data were created or analysed in this study.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any affiliated agency of the authors.