AI Insight
This study examined how Australian and Malaysian adults perceived their parents' influence on their scientific and religious beliefs. Both populations reported parental influence in both domains, but cultural differences emerged in how parents handled disagreement: Australian parents typically used supportive approaches for both science and religion, while Malaysian parents were supportive about scientific dissent but more directive when children questioned religious beliefs. Malaysian participants were also more likely to identify parents as their sole source of both scientific and religious beliefs compared to Australians, particularly for religious views.
Why it matters
The findings reveal how cultural context shapes parental strategies for transmitting beliefs, with implications for understanding education, family dynamics, and cross-cultural differences in how societies balance open inquiry with traditional values. These insights could inform educational approaches and interfaith dialogue in increasingly multicultural societies.
Understand the Science
Focusing on two prominent belief frameworks – science and religion – this study examined adults’ retrospective perceptions of the role their parents played in transmitting and maintaining beliefs. We adapted a previous method (McLoughlin, 2021) and asked Australian and Malaysian adults to reflect on whether and how their current scientific and religious beliefs were influenced by their parents. Across both countries, adults indicated that their parents were influential for both science and religion. Participants generally recalled scientific influence positively irrespective of how religious they were. For religion, greater participant religiosity was associated with positive influence for Australian adults only. Approximately three-quarters of Malaysian participants identified their parents as the only source for both religious and scientific beliefs. While the same proportion of Australians indicated so for science, significantly less Australian participants identified their parents as the only source for religious beliefs. When reflecting on how their parents approached conflicting views between themselves and their parents, Australian participants generally reported that their parents employed a supportive approach across both domains. Malaysian participants often reported that their parents, though open to accepting dissenting scientific beliefs with a supportive stance, were more inclined toward a directive approach when faced with conflicts in religious views. This study affords novel insights into the universality and variation of parents’ roles in the transmission and maintenance of scientific and religious beliefs across diverse populations.