James W. Fowler’s Faith Development Theory

1. James W. Fowler’sFaith Development Theory Presented by Claire Dahlman and John Weiser

2. 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

3. Biography of James Fowler • His best known book, Stages of Faith: The Psychology of Development and the Quest for Meaning is in it’s 40th 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

4. 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.

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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.

8. 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.

9. 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”

10. 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.

11. 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”

12. 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 peer-reviewed

13. 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.

14. 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

15. 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 (5th 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%3A1-14&version=NIV

16. Any questions? Any questions?

17. 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?