This open access book explores how children draw god. It looks at children¿s drawings collected in a large variety of cultural and religious traditions. Coverage demonstrates the richness of drawing as a method for studying representations of the divine. In the process, it also contributes to our understanding of this concept, its origins, and its development.This intercultural work brings together scholars from different disciplines and countries, including Switzerland, Japan, Russia, Iran, Brazil, and the Netherlands. It does more than share the results of their research and analysis. The volume also critically examines the contributions and limitations of this methodology. In addition, it also reflects on the new empirical and theoretical perspectives within the broader framework of the study of this concept.The concept of god is one of the most difficult to grasp. This volume offers new insights by focusing on the many different ways children depict god throughout the world. Readers will discover the importance of spatial imagery and color choices in drawings of god. They will also learn about how the divine's emotional expression correlates to age, gender, and religiosity as well as strategies used by children who are prohibited from representing their god.

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Chapter 1. Integrative model of children's representations of god in drawings (Pierre-Yves Brandt, Zhargalma Dandarova Robert, Grégory Dessart, Hanneke Muthert, Hanneke Schaap-Jonker).- Chapter 2. Anthropomorphizing and de-anthropomorphizing supernatural agency: From conceptual strategies to their theological implications( Grégory Dessart, Zhargalma Dandarova Robert, Pierre-Yves Brandt).- Chapter 3. Gender-typing god representations: Socio-normative constraints and ontological significance ( Grégory Dessart, Zhargalma Dandarova Robert, Pierre-Yves Brandt).- Chapter 4. Where gods dwell? Spatial imagery in children's drawings of gods( Zhargalma Dandarova-Robert, Christelle Cocco, Grégory Dessart, Pierre -Yves Brandt).- Chapter 5. The colour of god(s): Early processing mechanisms of an all-powerful entity as depicted through colour choices in drawings of gods (Christelle Cocco, Christine Mohr, Domicele Jonauskaite, Zhargalma Dandarova-Robert, Pierre-Yves Brandt).- Chapter 6. Numerical analyses of children's drawings of god(s): an approach based on computer vision and mathematical methods (Christelle Cocco, Raphaël Ceré).- Chapter 7. Emotional expression in children's drawings of God according to age, gender and religiosity (Richard P. Jolley, Grégory Dessart).- Chapter 8. Different attachment styles in relation to children's drawings of God: a qualitative and quantitative exploration, (Hanneke Muthert, Hanneke Schaap-Jonker).- Chapter 9. Iranian children's drawings of God: demographic and contextual considerations (Mohammad Khodayarifard, Reza Pourhosein, Shahla Pakdaman, Saeid Zandi).- Chapter 10. The first discoveries and the challenges of researching representations of gods in a continental country such as Brazil (Alberto Domeniconi Küntgen-Nery, Camila Mendonça Torres).- Chapter 11. Representing the gods of ancient Israeland Judah (Thomas Römer).- Chapter 12. The representation of God in Islam and its prohibition: strategies used by Iranian children in drawings of God (Zahra Astaneh).- Chapter 13. Natural and supernatural agents: children's representations of gods and dead entities (Ramiro Tau).- Chapter 14. Shaping digital tools, equipping children drawings (Dominique Vinck, Pierre-Nicolas Oberhauser).- Chapter 15. An innovative open-access database: "Drawings of gods" ( Olga Serbaeva).- Chapter 16. Children's drawings of gods: the dynamics and challenges of interdisciplinary collaboration (Frédéric Darbellay).- Chapter 17. Contributions and limitations of the methodology of drawings for studying children's representations of god (Pierre-Yves Brandt, Zhargalma Dandarova Robert, Dominique Vinck, Frédéric Darbellay).