Authors

Leonard Alvey

Publication Date

9-1976

Advisor(s) - Committee Chair

Faye Robinson, Emmett Burkeen, Carl Kreisler

Degree Program

Department of Counseling and Student Affairs

Degree Type

Specialist in Education

Abstract

Religious counselors tend to neglect theorists who oppose religion. B. F. Skinner and Albert Ellis implicitly and explicitly criticize religion in their published writings. These criticisms are connected with their atheistic philosophies. Thomism is a theistic philosophy endorsed by the Catholic Church. Karl Rahner and Bernard Lonergan have integrated Thomism with contemporary thought. Their works serve as models for this research project--a counselor's integration of Thomism with the philosophies of B. F. Skinner and Albert Ellis.

A counselor can disconnect Skinnerian and Ellisian criticisms of religion from their atheistic philosophies. Viewing the same criticisms in the context of a theistic theory, a counselor can gain insights on religion and related topics --sin, guilt, belief in God, prayer, afterlife--as they apply to counseling. This writer hopes that this project will be an example to other religious counselors who attempt to integrate religion and counseling.

Disciplines

Catholic Studies | Counseling | Counselor Education | Education | Religion | Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion | Social and Behavioral Sciences

Share

COinS