ABSTRACT
Human place and purpose may be conceived in terms of survival, social or environmental impact, attainment, creation and achievement, and ways of belonging. As emerging adults begin to explore and be exposed to different options, responsibilities, consequences and realities in the broader world, they wrestle in new and expanded ways with their sense of identity. The choice of wording of the core interview question was critical. Non-responsibility is the first belief behind an avoidant or withdrawal-oriented life purpose one may believe in human passivity and non-responsibility before the forces of nature and being, and so opt for a personal theology of acquiescence. There were no notable three-way interactions between worldview, theodicy and life purpose. The relationship between these three facets of personal theology and ultimate values remains to be seen. Worldview and theodicy seemed to function as independent facets of personal theology in the minds of these American young adults.
