Humanness and Non-Humanness in Children’s Drawings of God: A Case Study from French-Speaking Switzerland

Abstract Past research on children’s concepts of God has suggested a developmental tendency moving from anthropomorphic to non-anthropomorphic representations. Besides replication, we tested a model of de-anthropomorphization . Methods . We collected drawings of God (N = 532) from 5- to 17-year-old children in French-speaking Switzerland and constructed a model of anthropomorphism and de-anthropomorphization . Age, gender, and religiosity (i.e., schooling) were utilized as predictor variables in logistic regression analyses. Results . Consistent with past research, both age and religious schooling facilitated the occurrence of non-anthropomorphic God representations. Analyses on de-anthropomorphization revealed that age had a positive effect on most strategies (with one exception), and that schooling did not play a significant role in that regard, neither did gender. Discussion . The current findings move beyond binary oppositions concerning anthropomorphic God figures, which appear to be conceptually much more complex than previously anticipated. Theoretical as well as practical implications are discussed.