Can God do the impossible? Anthropomorphism and children’s certainty that God can make impossible things possible

Abstract

This study examined beliefs about the possibility of impossible events in early childhood. Protestant, Catholic, Muslim, and Non-Affiliate parent-child dyads (N = 222) first indicated if 4 impossible events could happen in real life; they then indicated their level of certainty that God could make the events happen. Children’s judgments about whether or not God could make impossible events possible depended on their age and concepts of God. Specifically, 5- to 6-year-old children with non-humanlike views of God had greater certainty that God could make impossible events possible than children with a humanlike view of God. Children provided natural justifications for how God could or could not bring about an impossible event, though religious justifications increased with age. Additionally, analyses of parent beliefs and religious affiliation indicated different developmental trajectories for children. These findings highlight variations in how the religious context shapes young children’s understanding of the physical world and belief in supernatural causality.