Religion-as -Q uest 1 A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY OF QUEST-ORIENTED RELIGION by Matthew D. Graham A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER IN ARTS in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES GRADUATE COUNSELLING PSYCHOLOGY PROGRAM We accept this thesis as conforming to the required standard ……………………..………………………………. Marvin J. McDonald, Ph.D., Thesis Coordinator / Supervisor …………………………………………………… Joanne Crandall, PhD., Second Reader …………………………………………………... Paul. J., Watson, Ph.D., External TRINITY WESTERN UNIVERSITY December 2001 © Matt Graham Religion-as -Q uest 2 ABSTRACT This study uses qualitative methodology, specifically a phenomenological interview, to examine the lived experiences of persons who embrace religion-as-Quest. These persons are those identified as “high-questers” according to the 12-item Quest scale (Batson, Schoenrade, & Ventis, 1993). The experiences and “voice” of these co-researchers from more than twenty hours of interview lead to the formulation of an integrative thematic structure. This structure provides rich, insightful and novel voice to religious orientation literature through its analysis of the construct validity of the Quest scale. Importantly, the Quest scale detected persons who experienced spiritual search as originally conceived in Quest-oriented religion. The thematic structure also demonstrated a greater complexity and variety of experiences than those identified by the formal definition of religion-as- Quest. Some of this greater complexity arose through co-researchers’ willingness to suffer personal costs, the constraints to “questing,” and the holding of religious commitments while “questing.” This study provides a practical way for religious ideological surrounds to be included in religious orientation research. Implications for counselling are also discussed. Religion-as -Q uest 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT……………………………………………………………………..……….ii TABLE OF CONTENTS………………………………………………………..……….iii LIST OF TABLES……………………………………………………………………….vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS……………………………………………………………...vii CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION……………..……………..……………….………1 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW……………………………………………..5 Religious Orientation Research…………………………………………………...5 Intrinsic and Extrinsic Orientations……………………………………….5 Religion-as-Quest………………………….………………….…………..6 Construct Validity of Quest……….………………………………………………8 Factor Analytic Studies……………………………………………………8 Quest and Orthodoxy……...……………………………………………..11 Quest and Psychological Health…………………………………………12 Contextual Hindrances of Quest..………………………………………………..13 Ideological Surround in Religious Orientation Research….…………………….14 Summary…………………………………………………………………………16 Definition of Terms………………………………………………………………18 CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY...……………………………………………...20 Phenomenological Methodology………………………………………...………20 Bracketing………………………………………………………………..21 Rationale for Research Approach………………………………………..22 Religion-as -Q uest 4 Procedure………………………………………………………………………...24 Selection of Seekers………..…………..………………………………..24 Data Collection…………………………………………………………..25 Data Analysis……….……………………………………………………26 Examination of Reliability and Validity………………..……….……….27 CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS..…………………………………………………………29 Results……………………………………………………………………………29 Reliability and Validity.………………………………………………………….60 Reliability..…..…………………………………………………………...60 Validity…...……………………………………………………………...61 CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSION..………………………………………………………62 Batson’s Definition of Quest…………………………………………………….64 Versions of Quest………………………………………………………………..67 Sustainability of Quest…………………………………………………..68 Intrinsic Religion, Quest, and Commitment.……...……………………..69 The Costs of Quest…………….…………………………………………………73 Contextual Hindrances to Quest…………………………………………………75 Relevance to Counselling Psychology..………………………………………….77 Future Research………………………………………………………………….79 Limitations to the Present Research………………………………………...…...79 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………….80 REFERENCES…………….…………………………………………………………….83 APPENDIX A: Personal Bracketing…………..………………………………………...89 Religion-as -Q uest 5 APPENDIX B: Consent Form…………………………………………………………...91 APPENDIX C: Quest and I/E Scales………………………………………………….…92 APPENDIX D: Demographics and Mean Scores.……..………………………………...95 APPENDIX E: Research Protocol……..………………………………………………...97 LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Shared Thematic Structure of Quest-Oriented Religion..……………………..30 Table 2: Demographics and Mean Scores for Seekers in this Study……………………95 Religion-as -Q uest 6 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This arduous task was not done alone. Therefore, I must thank the many people who supported me on this journey and did not give up on me. To my wife, Ileana, I thank you for your patience, your support, and your willingness to sacrifice in order for me to obtain this degree. I appreciate what you have done and I love you for it. To my family, thank you for providing me with unconditional support and timely encouragement. To be surrounded by such a family is a blessing. To Christina, my friend, thank you for suffering through this with me. An experience never to be forgotten! To Mac, I thank you for your patience and willingness to push me to think and grow. You instilled courage in me to believe that I have academic ability and something worthwhile to say. To Joanne, thank you for your help and timely “survival-advice.” God, my Saviour, and my Father, I thank you for calling me to this task, for sustaining me and for allowing me to continue to participate in your kingdom work. I include this hymn as it is a constant source of inspiration. Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart Naught be all else to me, save what Thou art Thou my best thought, by day or by night Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light. Religion-as -Q uest 7 CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION Spirituality and searching for meaning within the context of religious life are aspects of the human journey that have remained relevant throughout the ages. Among the members of the human race there is an extraordinary variability in the range and sophistication of the understanding and practice of spirituality and religion (Peck, 1978). Committed researchers in the psychology of religion have laboured many years to better understand and characterize these different approaches as religious orientations (Allport & Ross, 1967; Batson & Raynor-Prince, 1983; Batson & Schoenrade, 1991a, 1991b; Batson, Schoenrade, & Ventis, 1993; Watson, Morris, Hood, Milliron, & Stutz, 1998). The work has and continues to be driven by discrepancies between religious belief and behaviour as well as the question of, “What might religious maturity truly look like?” A tendency has emerged for spirituality and religion to be used as interchangeable constructs (Hodge, 2001). For the purposes of this study an attempt has been made to articulate the differences. Post-modern influences, religious fundamentalism, and orthodoxy conspire to create a variety of definitions depending on one’s personal ideology and understandings. Religion often flows from or is a means of expressing one’s spirituality (Hodge, 2001). This includes, but is not limited to, traditional, institutionalised, and ritualised forms and practices. Post-modern spirituality includes ideas of self-discovery, actualisation, and moral relativism (McMinn, 2001). Still for some, spirituality is defined as belief or connection with God or the Transcendent (Hodge, 2001). The present research utilized a question designed to engage the co-researcher into discussion that Religion-as -Q uest 8 includes both religion and spirituality in order to tap the greatest breadth, depth, and comfort-level in the sharing of personal experiences and meanings. The psychological study of religion includes three generally accepted and extensively researched religious orientations. Their purpose is to differentiate the modus operandi or stance that a person may take towards religion, spirituality, and religious commitment (religious stance sometimes interchanged with “religiosity” or “religiousness”). Two of these measures come from the work of Gordon Allport and colleagues (Allport 1950; Allport & Ross, 1967). These measures are known as Extrinsic (immature or self-serving) and Intrinsic (internally motivated, mature) religion. From perceived shortcomings in Allport’s measure of mature religion (i.e., Intrinsic), a third dimension arose from the work of Daniel Batson and his colleagues (Batson & Raynor- Prince, 1983; Batson & Schoenrade, 1991a,b; Batson, Schoenrade, & Ventis, 1993). This new “religious dimension,” known as religion-as-Quest, was conceived to recapture some of the aspects of religious maturity that Allport originally championed, but then lost through creation of his intrinsic (I) scale (Donahue, 1985). Religion-as-Quest examined the degree to which a person finds doubt an important characteristic of his or her religion. It also sought to gauge a person’s willingness to embrace the full complexity of the existential questions of life. Persons with Quest-oriented religion are unwilling to accept the “pat answers” provided by established religion. Finally, religion-as-Quest looked at a person’s readiness to review his or her own beliefs (Batson & Schoenrade, 1991a). Batson proposed that in Quest, a person is prone to be less dogmatic, less prejudiced, and more responsive to the true needs of others compared to intrinsic religiousness (Donahue, 1985). Religion-as -Q uest 9 Much of the recent debate in religious orientation literature has centred on religion-as-Quest. A lack of clarity exists as to whether quest measures what