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, dualistic explanations integrating both types of claims also increased with age regardless of religious background. Overall, when confronted with conflicting scientific and religious claims about death, most people endorse one claim over the other, depending on their background. The effort to reconcile both claims increases with age but never predominates.