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In this paper, concerns are addressed regarding the validity of the Quest scale introduced by Batson (1976) and Batson and Ventis (1982). Some have wondered whether this scale might be more a measure of agnosticism, of anti-orthodoxy, of sophomoric religious doubt, or of religious conflict, if indeed, it is a measure of anything religious at all. We have reviewed the available evidence regarding validity, much of which has appeared in unpublished research reports, theses, dissertations, or convention papers, and thus has not been widely available. Based on the evidence, we have concluded that the Quest scale does indeed measure a dimension of personal religion very much like the one it was designed to measure: an open-ended, active approach to existential questions that resists clear-cut, pat answers, Concerns regarding the reliability of the Quest scale, which have proved more persistent, are addressed in a companion paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article previews several conferences related to systems research and practice in July 2006. The Fourth International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities will be held at the University of Carthage in Tunisia. The Sixth International Conference on Knowledge, Culture and Change in Organisations will be held at the Monash University Centre in Italy.