In these quotations we see several causes reflected for the later increments in the curves: through some accident, or some defect in early training, the person is not sufficiently developed to respond to spiritual influences at the first normal period; some trait of char-' acter, such as reserve, pride or wilfulness, has prevented a response to the first impulse. If we add to these an intellectual ripening for religious insight and a natural ebb and flow of religious interest, we have a partial description of the processes which cause the later enlargements of the curves.

CHAPTER IV

THE MOTIVES AND FORCES LEADING TO CONVERSION

A STUDY of the motives and forces which lead to religious awakening may cast a little light ahead on the nature of conversion. It shows us something of the forces that are at work in the religious life, their relative prominence, and how they vary with age and sex. Furthermore, it may furnish some scientific and educational suggestions of value.

(The method of studying the motives and forces was to group them according to their likenesses and differences. They seem to fall naturally into eight groups— fears, other self-regarding motives, altruistic motives, following out a moral ideal, remorse and conviction for sin, response to teaching, example and imitation, urging and other forms of social pressure. The naming of the groups is inadequate; their character will be better appreciated by the representative instances given below:

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F., 14.

1. Fears.-F., 12. The terrors of hell were dwelt on at revival until I became so scared I cried.' 'Had I died I had no hope, only eternal loss.' M., 15. 'I feared God's punishment.' M., 22. I had fear of death and waking up in ' In many instances fears were declared to be entirely absent, as in this M., 18. 'Two ministers told me I'd go to hell if I didn't make a stand. I said I'd never be a Christian to dodge hell.'

2. Other self-regarding motives.-F., 17. 'I wanted the approval of others.' F., II. 'Father had died and I thought I would get to meet him.' M., 7. ' Ambition

D

of a refined sort influenced me.' M., 18. I thought the man who is best is strongest and happiest.'

3. Altruistic motives.-M., 18. 'I wanted to exert the right influence over my pupils at school.' F., 16. ‘I felt I must be better and do more good in the world.' F., 19.‘The wish to please my minister counteracted my negative attitude.' F., 'It was love for God who had done so much for me.'

4. Following out a moral ideal.—M., 14. ‘I was moved by a feeling of duty.' M., 16. 'I wanted to be good and to control my anger and passions.' F., 17. 'I had an inner conviction that it was a good thing to do.' M., 15. 'I had a yearning for a higher ideal of life.' F., 13. It was spontaneous awakening to a divine impulse.' Groups 3 and 4 'run into each other. The sense of duty which was not referred objectively is included in the latter.

5. Remorse and conviction for sin.-F., 17. 'Remorse for past conduct was my chief motive.' M., 18. 'I was thoroughly convicted of sin.' F., 14. My sins were very plain to me. I thought myself the greatest sinner in the world.' F., 18. The downfall and death of a friend I had trusted set me to thinking; I wondered if I were not worse than she.'

6. Response to teaching.-F., 11. Mother talked to me and made the way of salvation plain.' F., 'A sermon that seemed just meant for me set me to thinking.' M., 23. 'The teaching of Christ appealed strongly to my reason and judgment.' Evangelical sermons described as emotional are included in group 8 below.

7. Example and imitation.-M., 15. 'It began largely as imitation.' F., 16. 'I saw so many becoming good that I just had to become a Christian.' F., 13. For the first time I came in contact with a Christian family. Their influence induced me to become a Christian.' M., 16. 'I thought only the power of religion could make me live such a life as brother's.' This group ranges from mere imitation to sympathy

with a great personality, where it closely approaches group 4.

8. Urging, and social pleasure.-M., 15. The girls coaxed me at school. Estimable ladies and deacons gathered around me and urged me to flee from the wrath to come.' F., 13. I took the course pointed out at the time.' F., 14. A pleading word from my teacher helped me.' Imitation and social pressure are frequently so intense that the individuality of the subject is entirely lost. M., . 'It seems to me now hypnotic.' F., 16. The sermon moved me; they sang. Before I realised what had happened, I was kneeling at the altar rail. I never knew what was said to me.' In such cases, there is one of two results; either the forced position is accepted as the right one, or the person rebels when partial independence is gained. The former are included in this study. The cases in which the person appeared entirely to lose his or her individuality, and immediately to react against a forced conformity, demand consideration by themselves, and are treated in a separate chapter. M., 50. 'It was the buoyancy of the atmosphere that made me go forward; I had nothing to do with it. I could have done the same thing every week without any change in my character.'

1. The Relative Prominence of the Different Motives and Forces.-Table VI. shows the relative prominence of the motives and forces illustrated above, as determined by the frequency with which each was named by the subjects. The evaluation was made in three ways(a) Taking only the motives mentioned as the most prominent ones; (b) trying to form an estimate of the value of all the motives wherever mentioned, by duplicating those apparently very prominent; (c) simply counting the frequency of all the motives mentioned. The first method made the self-regarding motives about one-third more prominent than the other two ways, and subtracted from the moral-ideal class. The last two methods gave nearly the same results. Table VI. is the

result of the third method. For the purpose of comparing the columns among themselves, the percentages are so reduced that each column foots up 100; that is, they show the relative and not the absolute prominence of the motives and forces. For example, among the males, fears as motives to conversion are mentioned twice as often as other self-regarding motives.

MOTIVES AND FORCES PRESENT AT CONVERSION. Females. Males.

Both Females and Males.

TABLE VI.-Showing the relative frequency of certain motives and
forces which lead to conversion.

There are a few points in the table which deserve attention. The altruistic motives and the response to a moral ideal form a group which may be called distinctively moral motives. The sum is about the same as that of all the self-regarding motives taken together. Conviction for sin is about as prominent as response to a moral ideal. Although the motives present before conversion perhaps show nothing as to the nature of the finished spiritual product, it is significant that at this time persons are not only driven by egoistic and instinctive feelings, but are drawn by ideal considerations.