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Stages in Faith Development
The Christian tradition has recognized for a long time that
there are different types or levels of spiritual awareness.
In 1981 James Fowler, a professor of theology and human
development at Emory University, identified seven "stages" or
types of faith which tend, as a general rule, to emerge as
individuals grow and mature. Fowler explained his stages
of faith in two books, Stages of
Faith (1981) and Becoming Adult, Becoming Christian
(1984). Other observers have also identified stages or
types of faith, although most tend to explain faith
development in broader categories or more generalized stages
than Fowler.
It is important to
remember that such developmental "stages" or types are descriptive,
not prescriptive. In other words, they attempt to
describe the way faith generally develops, but do not prescribe how faith must or should develop in any individual.
The descriptions do not suggest that one stage or kind of faith
is better than another, only that how individuals or communities
understand faith may differ from each other.
Fowler's seven
"stages" are not as distinct or self-contained as they appear.
The transition from one to another often
takes place gradually, and usually depends upon a variety of
personal and social circumstances in addition to chronological
age. It is possible -- in fact, likely -- that individuals
may incorporate aspects of more than one type, particularly during periods
when they are growing gradually from one stage to the next.
As a general rule, Fowler's stages are sequential and
individuals move from one to the next along the continuum
outlined by Fowler. However, in any given stage, circumstances
may cause individuals to return
to elements of previous stages. Personal images of God, which may seem to be quite distinct in
each stage, in reality usually contain aspects or
characteristics of two or more different types.
Despite these cautions, the concept
of faith development remains useful. It tends to confirm the
impression individuals have that their faith has is grown and changed,
and continues to change, often in response to
particular circumstances in their lives. The information
presented here
is a composite of key characteristics of the stages or types in
faith development identified by
Fowler and others.
-- Dave Cushing.
• • •
1. Primal Faith
[Dominant in Infants from Birth to Age 3]
This stage in a young child's faith
formation sets the foundation for what will later develop as a
conscious, intentional and personal faith. The very young child
cannot be said to have any conscious faith at all, but he or she
is unconsciously developing a basic attitude about reality, a perception about
whether the world and the people in it are basically
friendly or dangerous, pleasant or painful, trustworthy or
capricious.
• This stage establishes a fundamental but
pre-conscious disposition which will
eventually enable the child to believe that there is a God who
loves and cares for them.
• • •
2. Imaginative
Faith
[Dominant in Children Ages 4 to 8]
At this stage faith has a magical or
imaginary quality, marked by the child's ability to believe
almost anything.
It is essentially intuitive, non-rational and non-conceptual.
It is based on what the child feels rather than on what the
child thinks or "knows." It is, in a sense, "borrowed" from adults whom the child trusts to be knowing and
truthful.
This stage sets the foundation for the child's eventual ability
to believe in nonmaterial realities and sacred mysteries which
cannot be seen or "proven." Imaginative faith is
almost entirely non-critical or naive, in the sense that
children for the most part lack the knowledge, experience and
insight to evaluate or judge the content of faith against
objective criteria.
• In this stage the child's image of God depends primarily on
what parents do and say. If parents are loving, kind and
forgiving, the child assumes that God, who is like a cosmic
parent or grandparent, is also loving, kind and forgiving.
• • •
3. Literal
Faith
[Dominant in Children Ages 6 to 12]
During this stage the child
is gradually developing the ability to think for her or him self and
beginning to ask questions about things which earlier they took for
granted, including their parents' faith. At this stage,
children develop an intense desire and need to know how things
really are. They are fascinated by stories, rituals
and traditions which show real people living out their faith in
concrete ways. They depend on authority figures, rules and
structure to assure them that reality is ordered and safe.
Literal faith is the first step toward a less naive and more
critical attitude toward faith, although the older child's
ability to subject the content of faith to critical standards is still
limited.
• In this stage, the child is like to imagine God as something
like a divine superhero who
uses his power and authority to
create order and justice by rewarding good and punishing evil.
• • •
4.
Conventional Faith
[Dominant in Young Adults and Adults Age 13 and Older]
During this stage faith is shaped by
the individual's growing ability and desire to participate in
the wider world beyond parents and family. There is
developing need to belong and be accepted by peers and friends who
share the individual's interests and values. Faith is
highly inter-personal, institutional, and communal; like the
older child, it is rooted in the group and is shaped by the
conventions, traditions, rules and habits of the group or faith
community to which he or she belongs. Conventional faith
may incorporate critical and non-critical attitudes toward
faith. Young and early adults develop the ability to
evaluate faith-claims by more objective standards, but may
suppress critical questions out of fear, or for the sake of the security and
acceptance provided by the group.
• In this stage the older child images God as an authority
figure, like a judge, who holds the group -- and the world
-- together by enforcing order. God may be loving and merciful, but never at the
expense of justice.
• • •
5. Personal
Faith
[Dominant in Adults Age 20 and Older]
This stage is sometimes
characterized as a period of rebellion or withdrawal, a kind of
spiritual adolescence. In this stage individuals are
rethinking the conventions and convictions of the group as they
search for a personal faith, independent of the individuals and
groups they relied upon as children and young adults. This
stage may be marked by a certain amount of ambivalence and
confusion -- both a desire to belong and a need to be
independent. Personal faith represents the individual's transition from a primarily pre-critical to a post-critical
faith. It is a highly critical stage in which individuals
evaluate faith-claims against personal experience, "common sense,"
rational and scientific criteria.
• In this stage an individual's relationship to God
may be very personal and private, but nonetheless real and
intense. Some individuals in this stage express a desire
to be "spiritual but not religious."
• • •
6. Mystical
Faith
[Possible in Adults in Their 30s or
Older; Rarely
Before Middle Age]
In this stage an individual adult
become more aware of the presence of the Divine Mystery in all
of life. This awareness produces a deep sense of
sufficiency, wholeness and peace, which enables the individual
to accept and believe what cannot be fully understood or
explained. Faith now includes a sense of solidarity and
compassion, which allows the individual to reconnect with the
faith community and to live comfortably with contradictions and
shortcomings within the self and the faith community.
Mystical Faith is the first stage in a post-critical attitude
about faith. Adults in this stage have discovered that
there are truths (or mysteries) embedded in reality which
do not conflict with, and can not be judged by,
entirely rational or scientific standards.
• In this stage an individual
experiences God's presence in the deepest levels of oneself,
others and creation, transcending superficial differences.
This awareness of God as the Holy Spirit leads to an abiding conviction
that all will be well because God wills it.
• • •
7. Universal
Faith
[Rare in a Few Adults During or After
Middle Age]
In this stage an individual's faith
is shaped by an intense awareness of the unity of all living
things and the oneness of God's creation. A vision of the
Kingdom of God breaking into everyday reality frees the
individual to be both radically detached from self and
passionately committed to living a life of self-sacrificing love
marked by transcendent values like truth, justice and
love and devoted to overcoming division, oppression and violence
of every kind. Universal faith is the ultimate stage in the
development of a post-critical attitude toward faith.
Adults in this stage realize that the truths embedded in faith
are ultimately more important and helpful than those which
emerge from rational or scientific inquiry.
• In this stage an individual's
image of God defies words or images. The individual's life and faith
center on an awareness of God's transforming presence. The
rare individuals who reach this level live lives of totally
self-less love, uncompromised by concerns for personal
status, comfort or security.
• • •
Learn More About
Stages in Faith Development
How God Invites Us to Grow.
Stages of Faith from Infancy
Through Adolescence.
Stages of Faith--A Map for the Christian
Journey.
• • •
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Homepage
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• • •
For More
Information Contact:
Director of Adult Faith Formation
•
320 Mulberry Street,
Waterloo IA 50703.
Phone:
319-234-9912 • Email:
DBQ208s3@arch.pvt.k12.ia.us
Posted
02.12.11
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Last Update
02.12.11
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