Theories of personal development can contribute to the understanding of conscience and conscience formation. (I) Clinical psychologist Carl Rogers has formulated a description of stages in the process of personal growth. While Rogers' stages run parallel to Kohlberg's stages of moral development, they contribute a more sensitive appreciation of some aspects of moral conscience. (II) Kohlberg's idea of conscience appears to be a postconventional phenomenon characterized by moral rationalism. This fact raises certain questions about the value of Kohlberg's work as a paradigm for Christian conscience formation. (III) Both Rogers and Kohlberg contribute to an understanding of conscience. In Christian theology, however, conscience is a multifaceted reality which represents a plurality of moral dimensions. While stage advance describes some characteristics of mature conscience, conscience is a broader reality than either Rogers' or Kohlberg's stages will satisfy to describe.

Assessing the position of the Catholic in the United States, a great Catholic assertion is predicted for the final years of this century, a “second spring.” Impediments to this are listed and differences of Catholic and Protestant style are noted. Suggestions are made for bringing the Catholic elite and Catholic people back together again.

Von Hügel performs an invaluable service for religion and deserves to be classified among the seminal thinkers in religious studies because of his holistic approach to the study and practice of religion. He insists on a healthy friction ortension between various elements of religion as a necessary component of a mature religious life. Such friction is found especially in the interplay of the mystical element of religion with the intellectual and institutional elements. This mystical element, which includes a person's volitional and intuitive side as well as effortful activity, is found to be a legitimate area of scientific investigation and a valid form of human knowledge. Von Hügel's contributions to the study and practice of religion are then situated and evaluated in terms of four areas of current interest. These areas are the journey toward wholeness, the possibility of self-transcendence, the spiritual importance of the body, and the eschatological anticipation of mankind's final end.

Within the discussion of religious art there arises the fascinating question of how art can engender the awareness of those special (hierophanous) moments in culture where the sacred dimension breaks through into otherwise profane experience. This question requires a consideration of the peculiar relationship which a given art form has to its world (e.g., imitation vs. interpretation, recording vs. transformation).

The special potency of cinematic art in its relationship to physical and spiritual reality, and to surface and depth, is the subject of the present article. While religion-and-film discussions frequently focus upon religious themes in film, the purpose of the following analysis is that of considering a theology of film, taking account of fundamental questions of cinematic theory. Among thinkers whose systems suggest possibilities for dialogue are theologian (Paul Tillich), a phenómenologist (Mikel Dufrenne) and a “school” of film theorists, including especially the followers of André Bazin.

The rise and spread of new religious movements, like the Unification Church, the Children of God, and the Hari Krishnas, have brought a lot of reactions from Jews and Christians alike. This paper examines the problem of how Christians should react and respond to these proselytizing groups. It is stressed that ridiculing the so-called cults is hardly an academic procedure and much less a viable theological and pastoral solution. Two responses, one by the National Council of Churches and one by the Lutheran Church are briefly described and evaluated. Finally, some guidelines towards a Christian theological and pastoral approach to the cults are proposed.

A member of the Theology Department and of the Staff of Campus Ministry team taught at Marquette University a course in which the objective was to offer the opportunity for both the experience of prayer and for reflection upon that experience. In this article the two teachers describe that experiment and offer their reflections upon its potential for meeting the need for such cooperative ventures.