Healthy Questing and Mature Religious Reflection: Critique,Antecedents,and Relevance of Attachment Theory?

Abstract

Gordon Allport (1950) suggested that a willingness to reflect upon and question one's beliefs was a component of mature religiosity. Subsequently, the construct and measurement of quest was developed by Batson and colleagues. There has been much helpful research based on the Batson Quest Scale but also debate surrounding the psychometric properties of the scale, and attempts to develop other questing measures. However, there has been little attempt to develop a broad, theoretically based understanding of mature religious reflection, especially in view of the plurality of religions in the global context. This paper (1) analyses the nature and limitations of Batson's quest construct; (2) examines the need for a broader understanding of religious reflection in a pluralistic religious context; (3) justifies a developmental perspective based in attachment theory for an understanding of defensive and non-defensive religious reflection; and (4) presents some research implications of a developmental attachment-questing perspective.

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