Religion and the Self as Text: Toward a Christian Translation of Self-Actualization

Abstract

Difficulties in specifying the relationship between religious belief and self-actualization were presumed to reflect language differences in humanistic and religious articulations of selfhood. Christian versions of humanistic statements of self-actualization were administered to Christians, and a large number of successful translations were identified according to an empirical criterion. These items were combined into Christian self-actualization scales, and these scales displayed reliable and sometimes moderately strong correlations with religious orientation and healthy self-functioning. These data revealed how a Christian form of self-actualization might be articulated. More generally, they illustrated how empirical examinations of translation schemes might serve as a useful methodology for pursuing the goals of integration and for studying relationships between psychology and religion.