11.05.07
Stages of belief versus stages of morality (Margaret Johnston)
I got into a short discussion with one writer whose story appears on this site about the stages of belief that I am writing about….and stages of morality. A note she sent implied the assumption that if a person is at a higher belief stage, they must also be at a higher stage of morality. Now, remember, I am not the expert on any of this. I am merely interpreting writings that I thought were hard to understand into simpler terms the general public might be willing to absorb. The writings that resonated most clearly for me are those related to stages of belief. For that reason, I have chosen only to address the stages of belief in my writings. If there is any correlation between belief stages and morality stages, well, I will leave that for someone else to research and write about.So, in no case am I saying that a person who seems to hold Stage Four beliefs is a better person, is more moral, has more value to society, or is “nicer” than someone at a lower stage. I am also not saying anyone at a lower stage has less value!If you are interested in stages of morality, then please look up the work of Lawrence Kohlberg. He researched this in some depth. In reading about his work, I really don’t see too much correlation between his morality stages and the belief stages, though intuitively, I feel there should be some. Ken Wilber, who has outlined stages for all different lines of development, and has some mention of morality, though it does not seem to be one of his major lines of development.
MPJ
Judy Beckman said,
November 16, 2007 at 8:33 pm
We do expect higher morality from “religious” people, and we are greatly disappointed when their sins are exposed, much more disappointed than we are in the same conduct of anyone else.
On the other hand, there are many very good, moral, upright, generous people who do not claim a religious motivation for their good deeds.
I can’t speak for anyone else, but I can say that I think my faith stops me from being a more mean, vengeful, selfish individual. My love for God is successful in stopping me from giving in to temptations that befall all of us.