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exploratory investigation of contemporary relational evangelizers within the Roman Catholic Church

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Date Issued:
1990
Summary:
Since 1975, when a new era of Catholic evangelization was initiated, a unique cohort of adult learners emerged. Adult religious educators were challenged to develop viable evangelization training programs for the laity. During the past fifteen years, a major andragogical problem has existed due to the lack of an empirical data base for this new constituency. Virtually nothing was known about trained relational evangelizers except that they existed. The primary purpose of this pioneer study was to investigate and compare a sample of trained relational evangelizers with a sample of untrained lay Catholics in five psychological/theological/behavioral characteristics and four demographic variables. Data were gathered from 237 untrained Catholics and 139 trained relational evangelizers from Baton Rouge, Denver, Detroit and Miami. Instrumentation for this study included the "Self-Diagnostic Model of Present Competencies in Catholic Evangelization," the "Evangelistic Behavior Frequency Scale," and the "Prior Renewal Experience Checklist," all developed by the present researcher. Additionally, the "Intrinsic Religious Motivation Scale" (Hoge, 1972) and the "Spiritual Commitment Scale" (Gallup, 1984) were utilized. Scores were statistically analyzed by multiple regression analysis and two-way analysis of variance using the SP SSX program. Significant differences between the trained relational evangelizers and the untrained lay Catholics were found in all measurements except sex, age and education. Also, significant reliability coefficients were determined for the competency and frequency scales. Results of this study enable adult religious educators to identify characteristics and resources for future target populations in the field of Catholic evangelization training and to include empirically-based objectives in the design or revision of future or present training programs. Recommendations for further research included randomizing larger, equal regional cell samples; broadening the variables to include measures of self-esteem, self-actualization and personality types; and replicating the study among other religious faiths to develop interfaith comparisons. Related research was recommended including a comparative study of the effectiveness of relational and institutional evangelization; an investigative study to assess the laity's acceptance of their redefined role as evangelizers; and an historical study of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops' role in supporting evangelization efforts in the United States.
Title: An exploratory investigation of contemporary relational evangelizers within the Roman Catholic Church.
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Name(s): Blum, Susan W., author
Florida Atlantic University, Degree grantor
Burrichter, Arthur W., Thesis advisor
Type of Resource: text
Genre: Electronic Thesis Or Dissertation
Issuance: monographic
Date Issued: 1990
Publisher: Florida Atlantic University
Place of Publication: Boca Raton, FL
Physical Form: application/pdf
Extent: 197 p.
Language(s): English
Summary: Since 1975, when a new era of Catholic evangelization was initiated, a unique cohort of adult learners emerged. Adult religious educators were challenged to develop viable evangelization training programs for the laity. During the past fifteen years, a major andragogical problem has existed due to the lack of an empirical data base for this new constituency. Virtually nothing was known about trained relational evangelizers except that they existed. The primary purpose of this pioneer study was to investigate and compare a sample of trained relational evangelizers with a sample of untrained lay Catholics in five psychological/theological/behavioral characteristics and four demographic variables. Data were gathered from 237 untrained Catholics and 139 trained relational evangelizers from Baton Rouge, Denver, Detroit and Miami. Instrumentation for this study included the "Self-Diagnostic Model of Present Competencies in Catholic Evangelization," the "Evangelistic Behavior Frequency Scale," and the "Prior Renewal Experience Checklist," all developed by the present researcher. Additionally, the "Intrinsic Religious Motivation Scale" (Hoge, 1972) and the "Spiritual Commitment Scale" (Gallup, 1984) were utilized. Scores were statistically analyzed by multiple regression analysis and two-way analysis of variance using the SP SSX program. Significant differences between the trained relational evangelizers and the untrained lay Catholics were found in all measurements except sex, age and education. Also, significant reliability coefficients were determined for the competency and frequency scales. Results of this study enable adult religious educators to identify characteristics and resources for future target populations in the field of Catholic evangelization training and to include empirically-based objectives in the design or revision of future or present training programs. Recommendations for further research included randomizing larger, equal regional cell samples; broadening the variables to include measures of self-esteem, self-actualization and personality types; and replicating the study among other religious faiths to develop interfaith comparisons. Related research was recommended including a comparative study of the effectiveness of relational and institutional evangelization; an investigative study to assess the laity's acceptance of their redefined role as evangelizers; and an historical study of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops' role in supporting evangelization efforts in the United States.
Identifier: 12252 (digitool), FADT12252 (IID), fau:9157 (fedora)
Degree granted: Thesis (Ed.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 1990.
Collection: FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection
Note(s): College of Education
Subject(s): Evangelists--United States
Evangelistic work--United States--Case studies
Catholic Church--Missions--United States
Held by: Florida Atlantic University Libraries
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/12252
Sublocation: Digital Library
Use and Reproduction: Copyright © is held by the author with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder.
Use and Reproduction: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Host Institution: FAU
Is Part of Series: Florida Atlantic University Digital Library Collections.