Recent research concerning the mural development of evangelical college and seminary students utilizing Kohlberg's stage theory was examined. Biblical parallels to moral development theory were noted and briefly explored. Various explanations for evangelical students' lower than expected scores on moral development tests were considered including such factors as lack of reflection regarding the content of the faith as well as application of biblical principles, weaknesses in the evangelical educational process including the absence of cognitive disequilibrium, evangelical orientation toward biblical care and concern as well as toward justice, and the manner in which an institution's standards of conduct are communicated to students.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AlstonW.P. (1971). Comments on Kohlberg's “from is to ought.” In MischelT. (Ed.), Cognitive development and epistomology (pp. 269–284). New York: Academic.
2.
BarnaG., & McKayW.P. (1984). Vital signs: Emerging social trends and the future of American Christianity.Westchester, IL: Crossway.
3.
BebeauM.J., & BrabeckM.M. (1987). Integrative care and justice issues in professional moral education: A gender perspective.Journal of Moral Education, 16, 189–203.
4.
BlasiA. (1981). Moral identity: Its role in moral functioning. Unpublished manuscript.
5.
BlizardR.A. (1982). The relationships between three dimensions of religious belief and moral development.Dissertation Abstracts International, 43, 271B. (University Microfilms No. 82–07567)
6.
BrownM.B., & AnnisL. (1978). Moral development level and religious behavior.Psychological Reports, 43, 1230.
7.
ClouseB. (1985a). Moral development: Perspectives in psychology and Christian belief.Grand Rapids: Baker.
8.
ClouseB. (1985b). Moral reasoning and Christian faith.Journal of Psychology and Theology, 13, 190–198.
9.
ColsonC.W. (1983). Taking a stand when law and justice conflict.Christianity Today, 27, 40–41.
10.
Cultural diversity assessment in coalition colleges. (1986, November). Christian College News, p. 1.
11.
DirksD.H. (1982). The influence of socialization practices of evangelical parents on the moral development of children.Dissertation Abstracts International, 43, 1087A. (University Microfilms No. 82–20617)
12.
DykstraC. (1981). Vision and character: A Christum educator's alternative to Kohlberg.New York: Paulist.
13.
ErnsbergerD.J., & ManasterG.J. (1981). Moral development, intrinsic/extrinsic religious orientation and denominational teachings.Genetic Psychology Monographs, 104, 23–41.
14.
FleegerR.L. (1986). Critical thinking and moral reasoning behavior of baccalaureate nursing students. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Claremont Graduate School, Claremont, CA.
15.
FordM.R., & LoweryC.R. (1986). Gender differences in moral reasoning: A comparison of the use of justice and care orientations.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 50, 777–783.
16.
GibbsJ.C. (1977). Kohlberg's stages of moral development: A constructive critique.Harvard Educational Review, 47, 43–61.
17.
GilliganC. (1979). Woman's place in man's life cycle.Harvard Educational Review, 49, 431–446.
18.
GilliganC. (1981). Moral development. In A.W. Chickering & Associates (Eds.). The modern American college (pp. 139–157). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
19.
GilliganC. (1982a). In a different voice.Cambridge, MS: Harvard University Press.
20.
GilliganC. (1982b), New maps of development: New visions of maturity.American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 52, 199–212.
21.
GuttmanJ. (1984). Cognitive morality and cheating behavior in religious and secular school children.Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 23, 221–238.
22.
HammondP.E., & HunterJ.D. (1984). On maintaining plausibility: The world view of evangelical college students.Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 23, 221–238.
23.
HickersonD., & LarameeW. (1976). Kohlberg's moral development theory and the conservative religious college.National Association of Student Personnel Administrators Journal, 13(3), 12–15.
24.
HillC.I. (1986). A developmental perspective on adolescent “rebellion” in the church.Journal of Psychology and Theology, 14, 306–318.
25.
HoaglandD.D. (1984). Moral judgment and religious belief: An investigation of the “moral majority.” Unpublished doctoral dissertation. Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, CA.
26.
HolmesA.A. (1986). Christian intellectual community.Faculty Dialogue, 6, 53–63.
27.
HolsteinC.B. (1976). Irreversible, stepwise sequence in the development of moral judgment: A longitudinal study of males and females.Child Development, 47, 51–61.
28.
JoyD.M. (1980). Moral development: Evangelical perspectives.Religious Education, 75, 143–151.
29.
KohlbergL. (1964). Development of moral character and moral ideology. In HoffmanM.L., & HuffmanL.W. (Eds.), Review of child development research (Vol. 1, pp. 383–431). New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
30.
KohlbergL. (1981). Essays on moral development: Volume I. The philosophy of moral development.San Francisco: Harper & Row.
31.
KohlbergL. (1984). Essays on moral development: Volume II. The psychology of moral development.San Francisco: Harper & Row.
32.
LawrenceJ.A. (1978). The component procedures of moral judgment-making.Dissertation Abstracts International, 40, 896B. (University Microfilms No. 79–18360)
33.
LevineC.G. (1979). The form-content distinction in moral development research.Human Development, 22, 225–234.
34.
MayersM.K. (1974). Christianity confronts culture: A strategy for cross-cultural evangelism.Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
35.
McGeorgeC. (1975). Susceptibility of faking of the defining issues test.Developmental Psychology, 11, 108.
36.
MeadowM.J., & KahoeR.D. (1984). Psychology of religion: Religion in individual lives.New York: Harper & Row.
37.
O'GormanT.P. (1979). An investigation of moral judgment and religious knowledge scores of Catholic high school boys from Catholic and public schools.Dissertation Abstracts International, 40, 1365A. (University Microfilms No. 79–20460)
38.
PeckenpaughD.H. (1977). Moral education: The role of the school. In ButtsF.R., PeckenpaughD.H., & KirschenbaumH. (Eds.), The school's role as moral authority (pp. 31–10). Washington, DC: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
39.
PhillipsR.S., & NicolayevJ. (1978). Kohlbergian moral development: A progressing or degenerating research program?Educational Theory, 28, 286–301.
40.
PrattM.W., & RoyerJ.M. (1982). When rights and responsibilities don't mix: Sex and sex-role patterns in moral judgment orientation.Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science, 14, 190–204.
41.
RestJ.R. (1979). Revised manual for the defining issues test: An objective test of moral judgment development.Minneapolis: Minnesota Moral Research Projects.
42.
SandersonS.K. (1974). Religion, politics, and morality: An approach to religious and political belief systems and their relation through Kohlberg's cognitive developmental theory of moral judgments. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Nebraska., Lincoln, NE.
43.
SchaefferF.A. (1984). Remarks made in unpublished address presented at Biola University.
44.
SimpsonE.L. (1974). Mural development research: A case study of scientific cultural bias.Human Development, 17, 81–106.
45.
SpidellS., & LibermanD. (1981). Moral development and the forgiveness of silt.Journal of Psychology and Theology, 9, 159–163.
46.
StoopD.A. (1980). The relation between religious education and the process of maturity through the developmental stages of moral judgments.Dissertation Abstracts International, 40, 3912A.
47.
SullivanE.V. (1977). A study of Kohlberg's structural theory of moral development: A critique of liberal social science ideology.Human Development, 20, 352–376.
48.
SullivanE.V. (1978). Structuralism per se when applied to moral ideology. In ScharfP. (Ed.), Readings in moral education.Minneapolis: Winston.
49.
WahrmanI.S. (1981). The relationship of dogmatism, religious affiliation, and moral development.The Journal of Psychology, 108, 151–154.
50.
WalkerL.J. (1984). Sex differences in the development of moral reasoning: A critical review.Child Development, 55, 677–691.
51.
WalkerL.J. (1986). Sex differences in the development of moral reasoning: A rejoinder to Baumrind.Child Development, 57, 522–526.
52.
WolfR.J. (1980). A study of the relationship between religious education, religious experience, maturity, and moral development.Dissertation Abstracts International, 40, 6219A. (University Microfilms No. 80–10312)
53.
WolterstorffN.P. (1980). Educating for responsible action.Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.
