Homo Religionis

What does it mean to be religious? Psychologist John D. Shand, of Pennsylvania's Gettysburg College, interviewed 142 ministers, priests and rabbis, last week reported to a meeting of fellow psychologists that he had found five basic conceptions of the religious person:

1) the "righteous, formalistic fundamentalist," who emphasizes creed, ritual and tradition;

2) the "puritanical fundamentalist," who emphasizes morality and abstention from drinking, smoking, gambling and swearing;

3) the "humanist," who stresses brotherhood and human welfare;

4) the "theistic humanist," who stresses faith in God;

5) the "religious law-observing" type who is most concerned with laws, commandments and participation in congregational activities.

Psychologist Shand had a special warning: social scientists, in the view of clergymen, often accept superficial criteria of what constitutes a religious person--"such as affiliation with a religious body, coming to public worship regularly, receiving the sacraments, having peace of mind, having maturity, and being converted."

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