Higher Stages? A Christian Perspective on Kohlberg‘s Theory of Moral Development

Biblical teaching cannot easily be harmonized with the content of Kohlberg‘s theory, especially his hierarchy of moral reasoning which considers self-interested pursuit of reward, avoidance of punishment, and seeking to please God as lower, relatively inferior forms of moral reasoning. The Christian Scriptures present people with a broad spectrum of valid reasons for doing what is right, and these reasons do not fit easily within Kohlberg‘s progressive hierarchy of higher and lower stages of moral reasoning. ((http://www.reclaimingthemind.org/papers/ets/2005/Moroney/Moroney.pdf))