Human Development
Stages of faith
Description:
James Fowler has developed a path of faith development which parallels the stages of individual human development described by Jean Piaget, Lawrence Kohlberg and Erik Erikson. For example, each of Fowler's stages may be shown to arise prior to the transition to a new basis for moral decisions in Kohlberg's system.For Fowler, the idea of faith extends beyond religion to encompass the orientation of an individual to his or her "ultimate environment" experienced in terms of what they perceive or value as being most important to them. In this sense, faith might be considered to include commitment to a set of non-religious principles such as rationalism or humanism, and even whatever provides a sense of meaning to those who have no formal belief. His path includes six progressive stages, preceded by the undifferentiated or pre-differentiated primal trust between mother and baby which is called a pre-stage.
The stages are: 1. [Intuitive-projective], a fantasy-filled, imitative phase of a child, typically aged 3 to 7, who is powerfully and permanently influenced by the example, moods, actions and stories of the visible faith of adults to whom he or she is related. 2. [Mythic-literal], the stage of the school child (although sometimes also dominant in adolescence and adulthood), when stories, beliefs and observances, symbolizing the belonging to a particular community are appropriated with literal interpretations. 3. [Synthetic-conventional], rising in adolescence and perhaps continuing in adult life, providing a coherent orientation in the midst of a complex and diverse range of involvements. 4. [Individuative-reflective], usually arising at young adulthood (although it may be later), when serious responsibility is taken for own commitments, lifestyle, beliefs and attitudes. 5. [Conjunctive], not normally arising before mid-life, when what has previously been suppressed or unrecognized is now integrated into self and outlook. 6. [Universalizing], a stage arising only rarely, the person having generated a faith in which the feeling of an ultimate environment includes all beings.
Broader:
FaithModels of human development