Moral Worldviews of American Religious Emerging Adults
MORAL WORLDVIEWS OF AMERICAN RELIGIOUS EMERGING ADULTS: Three Patterns of Negotiation Between Development & Culture
Authors
Laura M. Padilla-Walker
Larry J. Nelson
Context
Chapter 5 of "Moral Development in a Global World"
Research from a Cultural-Development Perspective
OUR GROUP MEMBERS
Dalice M.
Nahani L.
Genevieve O.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
A FOUNDATION: Ideas, theories, topics, & concerns presented
KEY FINDINGS: Description of the research results
INTRODUCTION: Research questions & Hypotheses
PARTICIPANTS & METHOD: Research sample & data collection
CONCLUSIONS: Discussion of the authors’ interpretations
REFLECTION: Opinions of the research and ideas conveyed in this chapter
FOUNDATION: Ideas, Theories, Topics, & Concerns Presented
Cultural-Development Perspective
This research builds on earlier developmental theories by emphasizing how culture shapes moral development.
Different cultures have unique values related to:
Autonomy
Community
Divinity
These cultural differences influence how individuals conceptualize morality and ethics throughout their lifespan.
Degrees of each ethical perspective can vary functionally based on culture.
A multidimensional approach to moral issues is adopted, fostering the examination of multiple solutions.
However, too many ethical influences can create confusion.
Focus on 2 of the 3 Ethics
Emphasis on Autonomy and Divinity
Community: Recognized as the third ethic, but largely overlooked in this research.
Development during emerging adulthood is characterized by several distinctive features:
Age of Feeling In-Between: Individuals often feel caught between adolescence and adulthood.
Age of Possibilities: An exploration of different paths and identities.
Age of Instability: Frequent changes in circumstances and decisions.
Age of Identity Exploration: Active quest for a stable sense of self.
Age of Being Self-Focused: Prioritizing one’s own needs and experiences.
Jensen’s exploration investigates the dynamics of how ethics (autonomy, community, divinity) evolve over a person’s lifetime, including how these ethics may increase, decrease, or stabilize with age.
Padilla-Walker and Nelson focus on how adolescents negotiate their moral worldviews while holding two potentially competing ethics: culture-driven Eithic of Divinity and developmental Ethic of Autonomy.
Adolescence as a Time of Exploration
Adolescence serves as a crucial period for:
Exploring individual beliefs and values.
Refining one’s moral worldview, influenced significantly by moral lessons from the LDS (Latter-Day Saints) faith, which emphasize personal purity and the harm to others.
Many adolescents experience significant changes in faith and religious affiliation, albeit less so among American Latter-Day Saints, who are encouraged to solidify religious convictions early on.
Engaging in risky behaviors necessitates self-regulation, and shifting perspectives regarding family structures are noted (for example, cohabitation precedes more than half of all marriages in the U.S.).
Contribution to society, often manifests through service to others; personal happiness and well-being may also be spiritually motivated for those in the LDS community.
INTRODUCTION: Research Questions
Primary research question:
How do highly religious emerging adults balance development and cultural worldviews?
Specifically, have individuals established a dominant ethic or developed a meaningful balance between them?
Secondary Questions:
What roles do development and culture play in moral decision-making among high-religious conservative emerging adults?
To what degree do participants value the Ethics of Autonomy and Divinity?
What connections can be drawn from correlations between these two ethics?
What ethical considerations are rated as most significant by participants?
Are there additional values held by highly religious emerging adults that were not assessed quantitatively?
INTRODUCTION: Hypotheses
For conservative religious adolescents, the Ethic of Divinity is predicted to increase due to enhancements in cognitive reasoning skills.
The Ethic of Autonomy is expected to remain relatively stable but remain high among Latter-day Saint college students; however, a conflict can arise between Autonomy and Divinity if the Ethic of Divinity is not prioritized or diminished for moral reasoning purposes.
A negotiation process between Development (Ethic of Autonomy) and Culture (Ethic of Divinity) is anticipated for conservative adolescents.
It is posited that adolescence will be substantially characterized by an emphasis on the Ethic of Autonomy, yet cultural beliefs may conflict with prevalent developmental beliefs and values.
PARTICIPANTS & METHOD: Research Sample & Data Collection
Participants
Sample comprised 500 Latter-day Saint emerging adults from Brigham Young University.
Mean Age: 20 years
Gender Distribution: 70% female
Ethnic Composition: 91% Caucasian
Political Orientation: 80% Conservative (with only 1% identifying as liberal)
Measurement Metrics:
Evaluated 9 measures to examine 5 tenets of the LDS faith, including:
Measure of Service: Focus on protocol behavior and empathetic concern.
Religiosity: Level of engagement with religious practices.
Well-being: Assessed through indicators of depression and self-worth.
Self-Regulation: Evaluated dimensions of sexual impulsivity and emotional impulsivity.
Family Centeredness: Focused on cohabitation and family-focused metrics.
Data Collection Method
Data gathered via an Online Questionnaire: Ethical Value Assessment
Evaluated the strength of individual commitment to each ethical standpoint (Divinity vs. Autonomy).
Comprised:
7 Questions pertaining to Divinity
7 Questions pertaining to Autonomy
Regression analyses conducted to establish how both ethics correlated with pivotal outcomes relevant to those of the LDS faith.
KEY FINDINGS: Description of Research Results
Overview
Emerging adulthood is recognized as a period of intense moral worldview negotiation among young religious adults, shaped by developmental transitions that trigger a re-examination of moral frameworks.
Religion serves as a foundational support or anchor during these transitions.
Adoption of a three-ethics framework (Autonomy, Community, Divinity) serves as a helpful tool for characterizing moral variation in this demographic.
The cultural-developmental approach affirms that cultural context (e.g., religion) is deeply woven into moral development, and not simply incidental; thus, it highlights how context influences moral reasoning.
Identification of Three Distinct Moral-Worldview Negotiation Patterns
Congruent Ethics:
A scenario where personal well-being and service to others are valued within both ethical frameworks (Autonomy and Divinity) and can positively correlate.
Dominant Ethics:
Situations where behaviors are primarily influenced by one ethic, especially when competing values are absent.
Notably, the Ethic of Divinity tends to dominate in family-centered decisions, which are critical, while cohabitation is typically discouraged until marriage.
Conflicting Ethics:
A dynamic where faith linked to Divinity positively influences moral choices, whereas Autonomy negatively impacts those decisions, resulting in inconsistent behavior patterns.
Findings indicate a robust positive correlation exists between the Ethics of Autonomy and Divinity, suggesting that these ethics are not classified as mutually exclusive.
The Ethic of Divinity is typically rated as significantly more important during major moral decisions, with 70% of participants selecting a value linked to Divinity as their top ethical priority.
Core values of helping others and self-worth are found to relate to both ethical frameworks.
Developmental ethics heavily influence most adolescent decisions unless a strong, consistent cultural or spiritual framework is already in place.
An open-ended inquiry about additional ethical values uncovered:
Related to Autonomy: Education, Financial Independence, Applying one’s best effort, and Standing up for beliefs.
Related to Divinity: Chastity prior to marriage, fidelity during marriage, spiritual progression, adherence to commandments, and religious practice.
CONCLUSIONS: Discussion of the Authors’ Interpretations
Insights
Emerging adults from religious backgrounds actively navigate their moral worldviews during a transitional life stage influenced by both developmental and cultural-religious forces.
Emerging adulthood is posited as a singular context for moral development.
The interplay of culture and religion is recognized as significant, highlighting that development and culture should not be viewed in isolation but as interconnected frameworks.
Implications involve understanding that moral reasoning and behavior are shaped through culturally saturated moral frameworks, especially as individuals pursue greater autonomy.
The typology of negotiation patterns detailed in the research enriches understanding, encouraging a nuanced approach beyond traditional dichotomies (e.g., religious vs. non-religious).
Findings emphasize that for many adults, religion is not merely a remnant of childhood, but an active component of their lives that continues to influence their moral reasoning.
The research suggests further exploration regarding whether congruent ethics operate across multiple developmental stages or if they are primarily utilized by adolescents reconciling their moral worldviews amid increased cognitive abilities and opportunities for independence.
REFLECTION: Opinions on the Research & Ideas Conveyed
Personal Insights
The concept of emerging adulthood is portrayed realistically: it is a multifaceted experience involving the integration of inherited moral frameworks with personal experiences and growing independence rather than a mere narrative of rebellion or conformity.
The three ethics framework (Autonomy, Community, Divinity) highlights the complex interplay between these ethical perspectives, shaping the moral identities and worldviews of religious emerging adults.
These negotiation patterns might hold significant implications for moral clarity, identity commitment, and resilience in moral reasoning.
Considerations on Community Ethics
The limited focus on the Ethic of Community presents a gap; understanding its role could reveal significant insights into adolescent moral development, particularly within different cultural contexts.
Incorporating an analysis of community ethics could enrich understanding of moral frameworks when replicating the study across various religious demographics.
The absence of community ethics in this research might overlook crucial moderating effects on the balance between autonomy and divinity ethics.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Which of the ethics (Autonomy, Community, Divinity) do you see as most valued by American adolescents?
In what ways have you balanced the ethics of Autonomy and Divinity in your own life?
How have factors of Community influenced your developmental balance?
The authors contend that moral development cannot be divorced from cultural context. Do you believe there are any universal aspects of moral development, or is it entirely shaped by cultural and religious backgrounds?
How does the LDS faith shape adolescent convictions so strongly that Autonomy is seldom perceived as in conflict?
CREDITS
Presentation template created by Slidesgo.
Icons by Flaticon, infographics & images by Freepik.
Capstone Course by Dalice M, Nahani L, & Genevieve O. with Dr. VonDras.
Fall 2025