Psychological Structure And Vocation: A Study Of The Motivations For Entering And Leaving The Religious Life

Psychological Structure and Vocation is an important work in the field of religious psychology. Rulla, Imoda and Ridick have made a prizewinning scientific study of the reasons which motivate men and women to enter vocation and either to persevere or to abandon it. In these days of the vocation crisis' such an analysis is greatly needed in order to answer such questions as: Why do so many priests leave? Why are there so few seminarians and candidates for the religious life? How should formation be changed in order to make a fuller use of psychological research? Does 'screening' before entry really help to predict those who are likely to leave?



The data used in this research were collected and analyzed some time ago. It is however the persuasion of the authors, in the light of their ongoing clinical experience and other current research, that time has diminished neither their validity nor their relevance.



The book should be read by all who are involved in vocational formation-superiors, spiritual directors and those in charge of candidates for ordination or profession. It will be of vital interest to anyone who is concerned about the question of vocations in the Church today.