Locus of control and religious motivation of the candidates of Sacred Heart Congregation, India

This study investigates the correlation between the locus of control and the religious motivation of the religious candidates of Sacred Heart Congregation in India. The descriptive comparative research design was used. Data were collected through the use of two questionnaires: the Internal-External Locus of Control Scale (Rotter, 1966) and the Religious Motivation Questionnaire (Menquito, 1991). The research participants were 22 aspirants, 18 postulants and 42 novices from Thalassery province of Sacred Heart Congregation, India. Their ages ranged from 16 to 28 years. Mean and standard deviation were computed to obtain the locus of control and religious motivation of the candidates. One-way ANOVA was used to determine the differences in the locus of control and religious motivation of the three groups--aspirants, postulants, and novices. Pearson r product moment correlation was computed to determine the relationship between locus of control and religious motivation.A significant difference in the locus of control and religious motivation was seen. As the candidates underwent higher levels of formation, significant differences were found among the three groups in terms of their locus of control. There was a significant difference in the overall religious motivation of the aspirants, postulants and novices. A significant relationship was observed between locus of control and religious motivation. As the internal locus of control increased, religious motivation also increased. Based on the findings, the following recommendations are made:1. More importance should be given to training the candidates in internal locus of control as well as in the motive of Christian perfection 2. A comparative study of the different provinces should be done and,3. Before admitting them to the formation program, the candidates need to be tested for their locus of control and religious motivation