The mediating role of critical thinking in the relationship between parental perception with religious beliefs

The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between parental perceptions with religious beliefs considering the mediating role of critical thinking. The research method was a descriptive correlation and path analysis. The population of this study was students in secondary schools in the city Khoramdareh with ages 15 to 17 years. The number of 162 high school pupils selected with random cluster sampling among high schools. To collect data, the scale of perception of parents (POPS; Grolnick et al., 1997), Post-Critical Belief Scale (PCBS; Duriez, Fontaine and Hutsebaut, 2000) and California critical thinking dispositions inventory (CCTDI; Peter Facione, Noren Facione, and Giancarlo, 2001 ) used. The results of path analysis showed that critical thinking as a mediator variable had a positive relation with relativism, orthodox, and religious dialogue. Among predicting variables only parental engagement had a positive relationship with external critics as criterion variables. As a result, critical thinking explained 16% of variance as mediator variables in predicting religious beliefs in students. In sum, increasing the level of critical thinking in students could have an important role in criticizing religious issues.