Małgorzata Tatala

Image of God in young catholics

The aim of the cognitive-developmental study has been to determine features of the image of God and indications of the relationship with God formed by adolescents. The definition of the image of God adopted in this paper has three aspects: (1) knowledge about God, (2) emotional experiences of God, and (3) behavioral tendencies towards God. It should be noted that the image of God is formed by imagination to a considerable degree, as we shape our mental representation of God on the basis of imagination. In the study, 114 adolescent Catholics were tested with the projection drawing “My God and I”. The position, shape, size, colors and the way of drawing the figure or symbol of God belong to the formal part of the analysis, while the meanings ascribed to the figure or symbol of God, i.e. the semantics of the representation, constitute the aspect of content. The results of the study have helped to isolate the dimensions of form and content in the image of God and to present their different categorizations.

Comparison between Religious Experiences in Early, Middle and Late Adulthood

The aim of the study was to examine the differences in religious experience in early, middle and late adulthood. The study examined 608 people who were a part of catholic religious communities. Religious Experience Scale, which includes five dimensions: Importance rating, Negative experiences, God’s support, Entrusting in God and Openness to God, was used. Statistical analyzes showed that the level of religious experience was significantly differentiated by the age of the respondents for four out of five dimensions of Religious Experience: Importance rating, God’s support, Entrusting in God and Negative experiences. People in late adulthood were characterized by the highest level of Importance rating, God’s support, Entrusting in God and the lowest level of Negative experiences compared to people in early and middle adulthood. The nature of late adulthood – i.e., the ability to discover the specificity of religious experience to understand and interpret the signs of God’s presence and action in everyday events – may account for the observed effects. The results of the study add to the knowledge on religious experience depending on the developmental stage of the person. They could be used to adjust the character of pastoral counseling to the needs of specific age groups of adult clients.