James W Fowlers Faith Development Theory Presented by

James W. Fowler’s Faith Development Theory Presented by Claire Dahlman and John Weiser

Biography of James Fowler �Graduate of Duke University and Drew Theological Seminary �Earned his Ph. D. at Harvard University in Religion and Society in 1971, with a focus in ethics and sociology of religion �Pursed post-doctoral studies at the Center for Moral Development at the Harvard Graduate School of Education �Taught at Harvard Divinity School, Boston College and Emory’s Candler School of Theology

Biography of James Fowler �His best known book, Stages of Faith: The Psychology of Development and the Quest for Meaning is in it’s 40 th printing and has been translated into German, Korean, and Portuguese. �Has written or edited 10 other books and more than 60 articles �Has won several awards for contributions to religion, psychiatry, and psychology �Currently a minister in the United Methodist Church

�In Fowler’s book Stages of Faith: The Psychology of Human Development and Quest for Meaning, Fowler outlines the six stages of development he believes a person goes through as they mature from infancy through adulthood.

Stage Zero: Undifferentiated Faith �“Pre-stage” refers to growth from infancy through two years old �The infant is developing basic trust with the people providing him care �Toddlers are learning the safety of their environment, ideally safe, secure and nurturing

Stage 1: Intuitive-Projective Faith �Focuses on children between the ages of two and six or seven. �The child is egocentric, self-aware, and easily influenced by examples, moods, actions and stories. �The child has difficulty understanding the difference between what is real and what is fantasy

Stage 2: Mythic-Literal Faith �Typically focuses on school-age children �The child begins to understand the difference between realities and make believe. �During this stage, the child will have strong beliefs in fairness and justice �Often gives humanistic qualities to the idea of God and believes heaven and hell are actual places.

Stage 3: Synthetic-Conventional Faith �Usually occurs during puberty �A person’s experience of the world now extends beyond the family. Many areas demand attention: family, school, work, peers, street society, the media, and perhaps religion. �This is a “conformist” stage. People are aware of their expectations and judgments but choose not to question them in order to stay connected to their peer group.

Stage 4: Individuative-Reflective Faith �Typically occurs in people in their mid-twenties but may never occur for some adults �The individual is no longer concerned with the judgments or opinions of their peers �Has an overwhelming sense of self-identity, critical reflection, and world views. �Typically translates symbols into conceptual meanings. �A stage of “demythologizing”

Stage 5: Conjunctive Faith �Typically occurs before mid-life. �This is experienced when the person realizes what was suppressed or unrecognized in stage four. �“Complex” stage, and “difficult to adequately describe. ” �The person moves away from the idea of either/or and can see both sides of an issue at the same time. �Realizes and understands the rational explanation behind symbols and traditions but re-engages with it anyway.

Stage 6: Universalizing Faith �Reached only by a few: Gandhi Martin Luther King, Jr. Mother Teresa �“Subversive” meaning their views are very different from those typically found in society. �Amongst all the negative and evil, visions are born of “what life is meant to be”

Criticisms of Fowler’s stages �Stage 1: Possible exploitation of child’s imagination for evil purposes. �Could have contradictions between valued authority sources; Catholic church changing the Mass from Latin to English or no longer require abstinence from meat on Friday. �One cannot advance or skip stages i. e. move from stage 2 to stage 5 �Stage 6 is nearly impossible to attain. �The study was not published in a journal, so was not peerreviewed

Cognitive Structural Development �Each stage becomes increasingly complex during development from infancy through adulthood. �The person takes in information, perceives their experiences and gives meaning to the information �It is a faith-based theory, spiritual development �Hierarchical, one cannot skip a stage and move on without attaining it first.

Applying Fowlers Theory to Higher Education �Student Identity Development �Role of spirituality Who we are at our core How we understand ourselves Understanding religious differences

References � Fowler, James W. Stages of Faith: The Psychology of Human Development and the Quest for Meaning, New York, Harper-Collins, 1978 � Schuh, J. H. Jones, S. R. , Harper S. R. , and Associates. Student Services: A handbook for the Profession (5 th ed. ), San Francisco, Jossey-Bass, 2011 Chapter 8: The Nature and use of Theory by Susan R. Jones and Elisa S. Abes � http: //ethics. emory. edu/people/Founder. html � http: //www. biblegateway. com/passage/? search=Genesis+22%3 A 114&version=NIV

Any questions?

Class Activity �Read the provided story from the book of Genesis. Chapter 22, versus 1 -14. �How would someone in your stage understand this story? �What meaning can we expect them to find in this story?