A Concluding Unscientific Postscript on Religious Development
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 2515193 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Richard D Kahoe (corresponding author) |
| Year | 1989 |
| Volume | 28 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 233 |
| Publication date | 1989-06-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0021-8294 • E-ISSN: 1468-5906 |
| Publisher | JSTOR (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.2307/1387062 |
| OpenAlex | W2325239098 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 4 |
Susan Kwilecki's A Scientific Approach to Religious Development (1988b) was a welcome response to our model of religious development (Kahoe & Meadow, 1981; Meadow & Kahoe, 1984), despite its critical tone. Less gratifying was its total innocence of a threepage letter sent to the author during the article's review process. Kwilecki has said that our critique was reflected in intermediate versions of the paper, but editorial constraints removed that influence. I believe, however, a less critical and more flexible use of our model, and incidentally of Fowler's model of faith development, would have strengthened the article and our understanding of religious development. Nonetheless, publication of Kwilecki's article provides an opportunity for a public elaboration of the Kahoe-Meadow model of religious development. Like many others, Kwilecki seems to stumble most over the concept of intrinsic religious orientation. She readily admits that her very interesting case, Hawkins, fell short of the universalizing or ideal (the highest levels of the Kahoe-Meadow and Fowler models), but worries that Ruth's dogmatism and other faith characteristics disqualify her for the intrinsic level (the third of four stages on the Kahoe-Meadow model). Possibly I am unique among students of intrinsic religion in that my research on intrinsic motivation as a general personality trait predated and informed my work on the intrinsic religious orientation. Students often have to be remained that intrinsic religion is defined as an end in itself, not as a means to other ends, and that such a religious provides its own reinforcements. Similarly, many have lost the association between intrinsic religion and Allport's early concept of functionally autonomous motives motives which had roots in earlier primary drives, but come to provide their own intrinsic drives, satisfaction, or reinforcers. So in one breath, Kwilecki sees that for Ruth Hawkins serving God is an end in itself (1988b: 318) but doubts that we would view her as intrinsically religious. What is an intrinsic reinforcer for religion? Some writers have tried to deny intrinsicness to a faith which is largely motivated by finding in life. Presumably, if meaning in life is the end, religion is a means to that end, i.e., extrinsic. Hardly! Almost all students of religion understand that in is one of the fundamental
Epistemology · Sociology · Philosophy · Religion and Society Interactions · Religion, Society, and Development · Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology
| Citations per year | 0.03 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 1989 - 1989 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |