Moral judgment cannot be reduced to cultural ideology, or vice versa. But when each construct is measured separately, then combined, the product predicts powerfully to moral thinking. In Study 1, 2 churches (N = 96) were selected for their differences on religious ideology, political identity, and moral judgment. By combining these 3 variables, a multiple correlation of .79 predicted to members' moral thinking (opinions on human rights issues). Study 2 replicated this finding in a secular sample, with the formula established in Study 1 (R = .11). Individual conceptual development in moral judgment and socialization into cultural ideology co-occur, simultaneously and reciprocally, in parallel, and not serially. Individual development in moral judgment provides the epistemological categories for cultural ideology, which in turn influences the course of moral judgment, to produce moral thinking (e.g., opinions about abortion, free speech).Theories of moral development typically invoke two processes to explain change over time: (a) socialization of the individual into cultural ideology and (b) the individual's cognitive construction of social and moral meaning. Theorists differ in terms of emphasizing one process or the other and in terms of which process is assumed to be dominant at one period of time. The concepts of autonomy and heteronomy are used to refer, respectively, to the individual, cognitive-constructionist, agentic aspect of morality and to the external, shared-group, conforming aspect. Autonomy and heteronomy are the yin and the yang of moral theorists. On the one hand, cognitive-developmental theories, centering on the construct of moral judgment, emphasize the development of autonomy. On the other hand, social learning theories and cultural psychology theories, centering on cultural transmission, emphasize heteronomy. Moreover, Piaget (1932/1965 postulated that development consists of moving from heteronomy to autonomy; Kohlberg
