Fowler’s Stages of Development 2011

Name: Marva Foster

Course: Human Development

Tutor: Ms. Beverly Feare

Due Date: 7.2.11

INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF THE CARIBBEAN

 Fowler’s Stages of Development 2011

A series of stages of faith development were proposed by Professor James W. Fowler, a

developmental psychologist at Candler School of Theology, in the book Stages of Faith. It

proposes a staged development of faith (or spiritual development) across the life span.

Fowler's research and theories are similar to the work of two famous psychologists Jean Piaget

was famous for his cognitive development theories and Kohlberg who is known for his work in

moral reasoning. Fowler's theory of spiritual development stretches from infancy to old age.

Although not an age- related stage theory, Fowler believes that all people go through stages of

spirituality development during their lives. Fowler’s definition of faith does not necessarily mean

religious faith; for Fowler, faith is a process of relating to what is most important in life. For the

Christian this world would be God, but for other people this could be something else.

In the first three stages of James Fowler faith developmental Theory, he stated that an

individuals in one way or another rely on some authority outside themselves for spiritual belief.

James Fowler’s first three stages of Faith Developmental Theory are;

Stage 0 -‘Primal or Undifferentiated’ Faith this is from birth to two years olds.

Stage 1 the ‘Intuitive – Projective ‘faith this is from age three to seven years olds.

Stage 2 the ‘Mythical – literal faith this is from age twelve to pre-adolescence.

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Stage 0 The ‘Primal or Undifferentiated’ Faith this is from birth to two years olds. Here

Fowler believes "The seeds of trust, courage, hope, and love are fused in an undifferentiated way

and contend with sensed threats of abandonment, inconsistencies and deprivations in an infant's

environment" as they begin to separate themselves from objects in the outside world,

particularly their mother. He also believes that if consistent nurture is experienced by the child

they will develop a sense of trust and safety about the universe and the divine conversely;

negative experiences also will cause one to develop distrust with the universe and the divine.

Transition to the next stage begins with the emergence of thought and language, which brings

symbols in speech and ritual play.

Stage 1 is the Intuitive-Projective Faith this is from age three to seven; here fowler related to

cognitive development. "Seen from the cognitive developmental perspective the child's thinking

is fluid and magical. It lacks deductive and inductive logic”.

With a child’s discovery of language and imagination, he or she begins to build an image of what

life is all about. This is a very fantastical and imaginative stage uninhibited by logic. The

imagination is very active and long lasting images of both good and bad are formed, that will

later be sorted out by logical and reflective thought.

This stage is the first where one has self awareness. Because of strong egocentrism, the

perspectives of others cannot be understood. During this stage the child begins to understand

cultural taboos concerning the sexes, sexual relationship and death. The use of symbols and

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 Fowler’s Stages of Development 2011
imagery give the child an understanding about who he or she is and the power to develop a

feeling about that knowledge. The major step towards stage 2 is obtaining concrete operational

thought.

Stage 2 is the Mythical-Literal Faith stage this is age twelve to per-adolescence, where

"Stories of lives and of great adventures - true or realistically fictional- appeal because of their

inherent interest, but they are also appealing because they become the media for the extension of

the child's experience and understanding of life."

When one has acquired concrete operational thought he/she begins to separate what things are

real and what is make-believe. One takes on the stories, beliefs and observances of the group to

which they belong. This gives rise to a more linear, narrative construction of meaning and

coherence. STORY becomes the major way of giving unity and value to experience. Meaning is

trapped in story and so one cannot "step out" of the story to reflect and analyze.

During this stage, one has increased accuracy in taking the perspective of others and thus a

morality begins to develop based upon mutual fairness and justice. A person in this stage

believes stories they hear basing understanding of self and universe on them. A stage two person

understands the difference between make-believe and reality.

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 Fowler’s Stages of Development 2011

Caregivers are person who are responsible for individual/individuals who are left in their

supervision, and anyone who helps another person is a caregiver. Examples of some caregiver

are physician, nurse, social worker who assists person with illness or other disability, parent

and/or foster parent, the head of any household who attend to the needs of a child or dependent

of adult.

Caregiver although it is largely inaccessible to practical research, this stage is when the

foundation of faith begins to be formed. Similar to Erik Erikson's stage of Trust vs. Mistrust, this

stage of faith has to do with an infant's knowledge of and fondness towards the primary care

giver. The baby will come to develop faith in its care giver as its needs for security and comfort

are met.

There are other caregivers such as spouses, worker, volunteers, and teachers’ i.e.

Caregiver’s roles may vary according to their assignment to the individual or the institution that

is involves, some tasks are quite time consuming as well as some are costly, for example day

care… Teacher as caregiver, model and ethical mentor; treating students with love and respect,

teaching them morals and values and encouraging right behavior and correcting wrong action.

Caregivers can transmit warm caring relationship by loving and respecting the child as this will

help to build the child self-esteem and enabling the child to have first- hand appreciation of his

or her self. They need to listen carefully to what the child has to say, children has a right, Jesus

said suffer the little children to come unto me and for bid them not for such is the kingdom of

heaven.

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Caregiver serves as moral models that should demonstrate a high level of respect and

responsibility in executing their duties irrespective of whom they are serving, one should serve

without practicality, and they should serve as ethical mentors by providing moral instruction and

guidance as the bible declare to train up a child in the way he should and when he is old he will

not depart from it.

 Fowler’s Stages of Development 2011

Stage 3 is the Synthetic-Conventional Faith this is the adolescence age where "The central

meaning behind the terms synthetic and conventional are derived... conventional, in that it is seen

as being everybody's faith system or the faith system of the entire community. And it is synthetic

in that it is non-analytical."

This stage begins with formal operational thought. One can examine what one believes,

comparing contradictory stories. This is when one begins to form the basis for spiritual identity

and outlook. For instance, which story is true, the big bang theory or the bible creation story?

Which group do you believe?

Information about existence comes from family, school, work, peers, society, and religion. There

must be a synthesis of values and information. The individual in Stage Three does not take an

individual perspective, but seeks to conform to the group that they belong to. This individual is

very tuned into the expectations and judgments of the group and seeks to reside in an ideology

rather than fully adopting an individual belief. This is "unexamined" faith. Things that

contribute to going on to the next stage include a contradiction from an authoritative source.

Example: Changes in religious practices; Catholic always believe that mass should only be in

Latin, this change to include English and homosexuality is embraced by a religion that formerly

forbade
5 it. There must be a deep reflection and examination of what one believes compared to

what his/her religion believes in order to move on to the next stage.

 Fowler’s Stages of Development 2011

Bibliography

Fowler, J. (1971).  Stages of Faith, Harper and Row, San Francisco

Joann Wolski Conn (ed.), Women’s Spirituality: Resources for Christian Development. (Paulist,
1986), pp. 226-232.

Introduction to Psychology and Counseling Meier, Paul D

Minirth, Frank B. Ratcliff, Donald E.

Published 1991 by Baker Book

Fowler, J. (1971).  Stages of Faith, Harper and Row, San Francisco

 Fowler’s Stages of Development 2011
Stage 4 is the Individuative- Reflective Faith this is the mid twenties to late thirties when an

individual reflects on “But what does it all mean? Developing your own identity and ideology”

This is the stage when an individual is developing in two major ways. The self, previously

defined from the perspective of a member of a group, "no longer depends on one's roles or

meaning to others." Also as an individual, one's individual world view changes, becoming

distinct from views held by others.

One reflects on the symbols learned in the past and translates those symbols into concepts and

ideas. This is a 'demythologizing' stage. For some adults this stage can be precipitated by

changes in primary relationships, such as divorce, the death of a parent or children growing up

and leaving home. Or it can result from the challenges of moving, or changing jobs. For most

this change comes with the natural occurrence of leaving one's childhood home and forming

one's first adult life structures.

Stage 5 is the Conjunctive Faith mid crisis when "The truth, I believe, as a style of faith-

knowing, does exist and it is complex. . ."It is like: "Looking at a field of flowers simultaneously

through a microscope and a wide-angle lens."

A stage Five person is so comfortable with their place in the grand scheme of things that they are

more interested in what is true than what they believe, understanding that the two might be

unrelated. They try to see from any wise perspective and are constantly creating a woven tapestry

of belief. They let reality speak for itself regardless of its impact on them. This person trusts that

the "known" is out there and takes the initiative to discover it.
 Fowler’s Stages of Development 2011
"Religiously it is known that the symbols, stories, doctrines and liturgies offered by its own or

other traditions are inevitably partial, limited to a particular people's experience of God and

incomplete. Conjunctive faith, therefore, is ready for significant encounters with other traditions

than its own, expecting that truth has disclosed and will disclose itself in those traditions in ways

that may complement or correct its own."

One in stage 5 is willing to be converted by other ways of thinking. This does not mean that the

person is wishy washy or uncommitted to one's own truth of tradition. Conjunctive faith's

"radical openness" to other traditions comes from the belief that "reality" cannot be held entirely

in one tradition and spills over into many traditions.

"The new strength of this stage comes in the rise of the ironic imagination a capacity to see and

be in one's or one's group's most powerful meanings, while simultaneously recognizing that they

are relative, partial, and inevitably distorting apprehensions of transcendent reality.

Stage 6 is the Universalizing Faith or what some might call "enlightenment at old age when it

is believed that "Universalizers are often more honored and revered after death than during their

lives. The rare persons who may be described by this stage have a special grace that makes them

seem more lucid, more simple, and yet somehow more fully human than the rest of us. Their

community is universal in extent Life is both loved and held to loosely. Such persons are ready

for fellowship with persons at any of the other stages and from any other faith tradition."

People that move on to stage six overcome the cynicism of Stage Five and endeavor with

everything that they are to become the reality they hope for. They wear out their lives in this
 Fowler’s Stages of Development 2011
pursuit through action. These are people who are often martyred by the people they hope to help.

Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., and Mother Teresa are some that Fowler mentions in his book

(pg 203). They had visions to which they had committed their total beings.

In this stage, the concept of relevant irrelevance has great importance. Mother Teresa of

Calcutta's ministry illustrates this powerfully. Mother Teresa, a foreign-born nun in her late

thirties, who was the head of a girl’s boarding school, was going on retreat. As she traveled

through the city she became overwhelmed by the sight of abandoned persons, lying in the streets,

left to die. Some of these forgotten people were already having their not yet lifeless limbs

gnawed by rodents. Under the impact of those grim sights she felt a call to a new form of

vocation- a ministry of presence, service and care to the abandoned, the forgotten, and the

hopeless.

In a nation and a world where scarcity is a fact of life, where writers and policy makers urge

strategies of 'triage' to ensure that resources are not 'wasted' on those who have no chance of

recovery and useful contribution, what could be less relevant than carrying these dying persons

into places of care, washing them, caring for their needs, feeding them when they are able to take

nourishment and affirming by word and deed that they are loved and valued people of God? But

in a world that says people only have worth if they pull their own weight and contribute

something of value, what could be more relevant?

I think that Fowler's stage theory is a great way to look at things. However, even he admits that

faith development is hard to pin down into clear stages. It is hard enough to define words like

faith and spirituality. One thing is certain, most people wonder about what is out there beyond

what we know through science and reason.

Fowler’s Stages of Development 2011