ABSTRACT

Where do our moral values and spirituality come from, and how do they develop over time? Are they divinely or genetically endowed, or are they a product of culture and socialisation? Do they develop in an orderly stage-like and predictable way as we grow and mature? Or, are they the product of multiple softly assembled natural processes that may be highly variable and unpredictable and have no predetermined end-point? What is the relationship between the values and beliefs we hold and the things we do? And is it possible to explain the origins and development of morality and spirituality in terms of a comprehensive theory that might be of help to parents and teachers in understanding the development of children's moral values and spirituality?