What Do 4–6 Year-Old Children Ask about Religious Issues?

Abstract

The aim of this study is to reveal the questions asked by children aged 4–6 about religious issues and to reveal adults’ methods of answering these questions. The study, which was designed as a multiple case study, was carried out with Qur’an course teachers and the mothers who sent their children on the Qur’an courses. As a result of the study, it was found that children asked questions about Allah and the afterlife. In answering these questions, the mothers generally used a direct narrative method, while the teachers acted based on what is known with concrete examples from daily life.

Keywords:

• Religious education
• 4–6 year-old children
• Islamic education
• questions and answers

Acknowledgments

I extend my heartfelt gratitude to all the participants who generously dedicated their time, insights, and experiences to this study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Ethical statement

This research was conducted with the permission of Sivas Cumhuriyet University Research Ethics Committee, decree no: E-60263016-050.06.04-149823, 30.3.2022.

Notes

1 This table was adapted by the author from the work of Walsh and Kemp (2013).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Fatma Kurttekin

Dr. Fatma Kurttekin is a researcher at the Theology Faculty of Zonguldak Bülent Ecevit University. Email: [email protected]