ABSTRACT
Learning theory approaches, by contrast, are more applicable to morality than religion, and focus largely upon the shaping and modification of behaviour by rewards and punishments or by imitation of other people. It seems, then, that morality and religion are in certain respects independent of each other, but in other respects are closely interlocked. If this is true, the relationship between moral and religious development is likely to follow a similar complex pattern. Jean Piaget was one of the first researchers to probe the notion of moral development in depth, and his studies, though frequently criticized and challenged. The cognitive-developmental approach which has been exemplified here is by no means the only possible one. But it has been picked out for special attention because it demonstrates a clear sense in which development can be claimed to take place in morality and religion.
