How do children imagine God? Surprisingly, few researchers have asked this question. In crayon drawings, doll-play, letters, and carefully designed interviews, the forty children in David Heller's study reveal a rich array of spiritual imagery. Though Heller does find some differing views attributable to age, gender, and religious background (the children were Jewish, Catholic, Protestant, and Hindu), he discovers to a surprising degree a common vision of God that cuts across ethnic and religious differences. He also considers related issues of school prayer and the psychology of religion.

David Heller is the author of Dear God: Children's Letters to God, The Pleasures of Psychology, and Power in Psychotherapeutic Practice. His work on children's views of God has been featured on 20/20 and the PTL Club Network and in USA Today, Psychology Today, Catholic Digest, Working Mother, and Good Housekeeping. He holds a Ph.D. in clinical psychology.