Peaceful coexistence or inevitable clash? Confronting the claims of science and religion about death

Between September 26, 2022 and August 30, 2023, 5- to 12-year-old children and their parents (N = 258, 178 females, 1 nonbinary) from the U.S.A., judged conflicting scientific and religious claims with respect to death. Most secular participants endorsed the scientific claims and rejected the religious claims regardless of age, whereas most religious participants endorsed the religious claims and rejected the scientific claims, with this pattern becoming stronger with age. Nevertheless, dualisti