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RELIGION, POLITICS, AND MORALITY: AN APPROACH TO RELIGIOUS AND POLITICALBELIEF SYSTEMS AND THEIR RELATION THROUGH KOHLBERG'S COGNITIVE-DEVELOPMENTAL THEORY OF MORAL JUDGMENT.
Abstract
This research explored the usefulness of Kohlberg's cognitive-developmental theory of moral judgment as a means of understanding individual religious and political belief systems, and as a means for understanding the relationship between these belief systems. A theoretical model was constructed which argued that religious and political ideologies represent the superimposition of categories of cognitive and moral content on categories of cognitive and moral structure.Kohlberg's theory of moral judgment served as the theoretical basis for the research. This theory argues that moral thought may be represented in terms of an invariant sequence of six moral stages which represent cognitively-based structures of moral thought ranging from preconventional, through conventional, to principledInitial descriptive hypotheses were constructed stating that the religious and political belief systems would be positively correlated. The Kahlberg approach was then Introduced to develop a second set of hypotheses which predicted that the higher a person's stage of moral judgment, the greater his rejection of traditional religiosity and right-wing polls. These hypotheses were tasted using sample of 41 college students. The initial descriptive hypotheses were strongly confirmed. Since these malyses were only preitainary, the major analyses consisted in relating the religious and political orientations Individually to stages and levels of moral judgment, and In examining the religiosity-right-wing politics relation ship in the context of moral jutt. The findings demonstrated that moral judgment was strongly and negatively related so both the religious and political orientations. A critical break was noted between conventional and principled moral thinkers. Principled thinkers were far more likely than conventional thinkers to reject traditional religiosity and a right-wing political ideology. Preconventional subjects oriented to these belief system much like conventional thinkers. When the data were analyzed according to stages of oral judgment it was shown that the Stage 1/2 relativists were generally the most highly rejecting of traditional religiosity and right-wing politics. Parsons classified at the principled stages were also highly rejecting of these belief syste but to a what lesser degree than the relativists. The sharpest differences appeared between the conventional and principled thinkers. Stage 2 and 2(3) objects rented to the hall of systems elatlarly to person the lover categories of conventional thought. Generally, pecans at Stages 2 and 2(3), 3 and 3(2), and 3(4) and (3) were the seat traditionally religious and politically consumervative members of the antira saple. The athical relativies were the least likely to be characterized in thisThe major typecheses followed directly from the Findings and predicted that the higher the moral stage at which a person reasons, the greater his belthood of rejecting both orthodox religiosity and right-wing politics. These hypotheses were strongly confimet and the data showed the same basic patterns as when religious and political orientations were related separately to moral judgment. These and further correlational analyses indicated a firm negative and linear relationship between moral thought and the dependent variables. For sent usag of Stage 3 was positively related to the dependent variables, Stage 4 use was related to them, and stage 5 us was negatively related. These findings were thescetically interpreted in terms of the nature of oral stages as hierarchical integrations.The aerul findings were firmly supportive of the hypotheses and were theoretically interpreted specifically in terms of Kohlberg moral judgment theory. In summary, religious and political belief systems were sees as superimpositions of categories of samities and mozal content in categories of commisis and moral structure.
Subject Area
Social psychology
Recommended Citation
SANDERSON, STEPHEN KING, "RELIGION, POLITICS, AND MORALITY: AN APPROACH TO RELIGIOUS AND POLITICALBELIEF SYSTEMS AND THEIR RELATION THROUGH KOHLBERG'S COGNITIVE-DEVELOPMENTAL THEORY OF MORAL JUDGMENT." (1973). ETD collection for University of Nebraska-Lincoln. AAI7413016.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI7413016