Religious Participation and the Development of Moral Identity in Adolescence

Abstract

The goal of this chapter is to examine how religion influences moral development--specifically, the formation of moral identity--in the context of the United States. The chapter proceeds in three steps. First, the chapter explores some interesting findings that illustrate a powerful association between religious participation in adolescence and one index of moral identity, community service. Next, the chapter presents a model of moral identity development. This model of development structures the third section, which seeks to locate the sources of connection between religious participation and moral identity within a theoretical model. The hope is that the chapter will contribute to a constructive public debate on the role of religion in fostering the moral development of America's youth. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)