Abstract

This thesis is based on a twofold question: "What are the salient factors that assist or impede conversion?" Conversion is the shift that includes changes in the interior process of a person, the way one regards an issue, one's actions, and one's openness to God. Conversion is a technical word as defined by Bernard Lonergan in his book, Method in Theology (1971). It does not refer to a change of religious affiliation. It does refer to an inner change of heart (affective conversion), a change of viewpoint (intellectual conversion), actions enacted out of a choice of values over satisfaction (moral conversion), and ultimately the inner shift that occurs when grasped by God and moved in love (religious conversion). These questions will be explored through psychological considerations, understandings of spiritual development, theological reflection, and the call beyond to authentic self-transcending intentional loving