This is the faith that rises in adolescence and may continue to be permanent in adult life. Such faith has to provide a coherent orientation in the midst of a complex and diverse range of involvements - family, school or work, peer group, street society, media and (perhaps) religion. It has to synthesize values and information and provide a basis for identity and outlook. The ultimate environment is structured in interpersonal terms, images of unifying value and power are derived from extending qualities experienced in personal relationships. Faith is tuned to others' expectations and judgements, not having a sure enough grasp of its own identity and judgement to construct and maintain an independent perspective. It is thus conformist, an ideology with a reasonably consistent clustering of values and beliefs which has not been objectified for examination. In a sense the person is unaware of having it. Although deeply felt, beliefs and values are probably held tacitly. If another's outlook is different, this is experienced as a different "kind" of person. Authority is located either in the incumbents of traditional authority roles (where these are seen as personally worthy) or else in the consensus of a "face-to-face" group that is valued.
What emerges is the capacity to form a personal myth of one's own becoming in identity and faith, which incorporates the past and anticipated future in an image of the ultimate environment which is unified by characteristics of personality. Possible dangers and deficiencies are: that expectations and evaluations of others are internalized so compellingly and so sacralized that subsequent autonomy of judgement and action is jeopardized; that interpersonal betrayal gives rise to nihilistic despair about a personal principle of ultimate being, or to a compensating intimacy with God which is unrelated to mundane relations.
Changes that give rise to a breakdown of this stage and transition to the next include emotionally or physically leaving home, which precipitates examination of self, background and life-guiding values. Other triggering events may be: clashes or contradictions between valued authority sources; marked changes by acknowledged leaders of practices or policies previously deemed sacred or unbreachable; encounter with experiences and perspectives leading to critical reflection on how one's faith and belief formed and changed and how much they depended upon one's particular group or background.
Stage 3 in the system of faith development described by James Fowler. It can be compared with the industry/inferiority (school age) stage of psycho-motor development of Erik Erikson. Together with the previous stage (mythic-literal), it can be related to the conformity level of moral development of Lawrence Kohlberg, the concrete thinking stage of Jean Piaget, the anal stage of Sigmund Freud, the anal religion of Heije Faber and possibly the conscious literalism world view of Paul Tillich. Together with the following stage (individual-reflective faith) it can be compared with the abstract thinking of Piaget (also stages 5 and 6) and the social order level of moral development of Lawrence Kohlberg.
