In this chapter, I begin with a puzzle – the neglect of religious thinking in psychology, particularly in developmental psychology. Having provided a tentative historical answer to this puzzle, I attempt to sketch what the study of children's metaphysical concepts might involve, had we taken a different route. I argue that it is not too late to retrace our steps, but, in so doing, we need to clear away various assumptions about the nature of cognitive development.

A Puzzle

Why has the study of children's religious thinking been mostly ignored? There are several possible answers to this question that take a historical and negative approach to the topic itself; they imply that there is something about such thinking that prevents it from being part of a productive research program. For example, it can be argued that children concentrate on the mundane and have no inclination to think about or understand religious matters, so that, at best, the study of religious thinking in childhood is the study of the way in which various adult ideas are thrust on essentially secular thinkers. However, this proposal seems implausible. If children entirely lack any disposition to engage in religious thinking, adult instruction should fall on deaf ears. But few religious educators would accept such a claim. Many religious movements actively seek to instruct children on the grounds that they are particularly receptive to teachings of the right sort–and, so it is alleged–dangerously receptive to teachings of the wrong sort.