Early Rogers: a Way to God as the Way to Person

The topic of this work reflects the trajectory and essence of the worldview evolution that occurred at an early stage in the life of Carl Ransom Rogers (1902 - 1987), an American psychologist, the creator of the person-centered approach and one of the leaders of the humanistic trend in psychology. From the title of the topic, its historical context is obvious, associated with the early stage of the biography of С.Rogers, which determines the main scientific specialization of this work within the framework of the history of psychology. In historical and psychological thought, this topic does not have an independent research context. The creation of this context in the form of the development of available archival and scientific material actualizes the research in two directions: 1) practical relevance: consulting psychologists, having got acquainted with the early period of С.Rogers' life, will better understand the context of the emergence of the human-centered approach and, accordingly, the approach itself, which will contribute to their professional self-realization; 2) scientific relevance: a look at the main provisions of the human-centered approach, taking into account the history of its origin, rooted in the early period of С.Rogers' life. The scientific novelty of the research is determined by understanding the ideological evolution of the early stage of С.Rogers' life in the period 1922-1926 by creating an independent research context and focused consideration of the topic in the light of previously unpublished archival sources. The main conclusion of the research: on the way to God, С.Rogers found Christ, on the way to Christ he finds a man. The path to God as the path to man becomes his way of being and the trajectory of the inner search that defined his life, in which faith is its main phenomenon, power and mystery.