An exploration of the moderating impact of mentorship on the relationship between Christian religious orientation and moral reasoning

Abstract

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] This study explored the moderating impact of quality mentorship on the relationship between two domains of religious orientation and principled moral reasoning. Undergraduate students, at a Midwestern university, were gathered as participants to respond to questionnaires related to mentorship, religious orientation, and moral reasoning. Multiple regression analysis revealed that quest oriented religiosity was significantly positively related to principled moral reasoning, while intrinsic religious orientation and quality mentorship had no relationship with principled moral reasoning. Furthermore, while quality mentorship did not moderate the relationship between quest oriented religiosity and principled moral reasoning, quality mentorship did moderate the relationship between intrinsic religious orientation and principled moral reasoning. Implications for the findings are discussed.