diff --git a/src/instance/attributes.js b/src/instance/attributes.js
index c961a208b9..8624b0ffdc 100644
--- a/src/instance/attributes.js
+++ b/src/instance/attributes.js
@@ -63,7 +63,8 @@
     serializeValue: function(value, inferredType) {
       if (inferredType === 'boolean') {
         return value ? '' : undefined;
-      } else if (inferredType !== 'object' && value !== undefined) {
+      } else if (inferredType !== 'object' && inferredType !== 'function'
+          && value !== undefined) {
         return value;
       }
     },
diff --git a/src/lib/deserialize.js b/src/lib/deserialize.js
index 84a4374bc3..c3e1134a72 100644
--- a/src/lib/deserialize.js
+++ b/src/lib/deserialize.js
@@ -36,6 +36,10 @@
         // The object isn't valid JSON, return the raw value
         return value;
       }
+    },
+    // avoid deserialization of functions
+    'function': function(value, currentValue) {
+      return currentValue;
     }
   };