John H. Peatling Papers

This collection documents the research and writings of John H. Peatling, a Yale Divinity School alumnus. Peatling was a specialist in empirical psychology and statistics. He was particularly interested in the cognitive development of religious and moral thinking. He worked for the Character Research Project at Union College from 1971 until the early 1980s, first as the Assistant Director, then as the Director of Basic Research. John Peatling and John Hull founded the International Seminar on Religious Education and Values, in 1977, with the first meeting taking place in Birmingham, England in 1978 and the second meeting at Union College in Schenectady, New York in 1980. The collection is primarily comprised of his writings, research data and tools, and material regarding the International Seminar on Religious Education and Values (ISREV).

Series I, Writings, is divided into two subseries: Writings by John H. Peatling and Writings by Lucie Barber and Others. The Writings by Peatling are arranged alphabetically and include manuscripts, bound manuscripts and theses, and published articles, book chapters, and books. The Writings by Lucie Barber and Others are arranged chronologically and include manuscripts by Lucie Barber, Peatling’s wife who also worked at the Character Research Project at Union College, and correspondence regarding the manuscripts. There are a few published works by others included in the collection.

Series II, Research Data and Tools, is divided into two subseries: Research Data and Research Tools. The Research Data includes the data collected for Peatling’s Ph.D. thesis, Project R&D/23, A Study of Thinking About Biblical Material, in addition to other research projects he worked on. Research Tools includes tools created by Peatling and published tools used by Peatling in his research.

Series III, International Seminar on Religious Education and Values (ISREV), contains materials documenting the inception of the seminar, planning, correspondence, meeting information, membership directories, and collegial papers presented at meetings between 1978 and 1996. Series IV, Personal and Biographical, is small containing one folder of biographical information, Peatling’s copy of The Book of Common Prayer, and material relating to conferences and professional affiliations.