Faith Development
As we strive to become more whole and authentic as human persons, it is our faith, rather than
our belief or our religion, that is most fundamental for growth. Faith involves an alignment of the
will, a resting of the heart in accordance with a vision of transcendent value and power. Faith
cannot be compartmentalized, it is an orientation of the total person, it gives purpose and goal to
our hopes and strivings, thoughts, and actions.
So how does our faith develop? James Fowler, a developmental psychologist was the pioneer
of faith development theory. Others have reflected on his model—Scott Peck, Jürgen Schwing,
Erik Erikson, Lawrence Kohlberg, Daniel Levinson, Carol Gilligan, and John Mabry in our day, to
name a few. But we need to know Fowler’s work to begin. He identifies six stages of faith
through which most people travel.
(0) Undifferentiated Faith (0-3)
This pre-stage of faith develops in infancy…
-- where the seeds of trust, courage, hope, and love begin—or where threats of abandonment,
inconsistencies or deprivations come. Either, the infant gains basic trust and the relational
experience of mutuality, or there may emerge patterns of isolation and failed mutuality or
excessive narcissism that distorts mutuality.
(1) Intuitive – Projective Faith (3-7)
This first stage is characterized by the psyche’s unprotected exposure to the
unconscious. Imagination runs wild, uninhibited by logic. It is the first step in self-awareness,
the time when one absorbs the strong taboos of culture. In this stage, imagination is born and
one begins to grasp and unify one’s perception of reality. A danger of this stage is that the
child’s imagination can be filled with images of terror and destruction or can be exploited by
adult reinforcement of taboos and indoctrinations.
The main factor to transition to the next stage is concrete operational thinking and the ability to
clarify distinctions between what is real and what only seems to be real.
(2) Mythic-Literal Faith
(mostly school children, though can be held an entire life)
Here the person begins to integrate symbol and ritual. The symbols are one-dimensional;
beliefs are literal interpretations. The world is based on reciprocal fairness and an imminent
justice based on reciprocity. The actors in the cosmic story are (anthropomorphis) ascribing
human characteristics to non humans. The impact of the symbolic and dramatic materials is
deep and powerful, but there is little ability to reflectively think about the meaning of the
experiences. This can lead to over-controlling, stilted perfectionism, or an abasing sense of
being “bad” if significant others neglect or show great disfavor.
The main factor to moving to the next stage is the implicit clash or contradictions in stories that
lead to reflection or meanings. Literalism has to break down. Disillusionment and conflict
between authoritative stories must be faced. There must be an emergence of mutual
interpersonal perspective that will unify personal relationships.
(3) Synthetic-Conventional Faith (most people)
Usually this stage of faith comes in adolescence.
It demands a complex pattern of socialization and integration. Faith is essential in ordering
one’s world. This is a stage characterized by conformity, where one finds one’s identity by
aligning oneself with a certain perspective, and lives directly through this perception with little
opportunity to reflect on it critically. The conformity seen in this stage means one is acutely
tuned to the expectations and judgments of significant others and as yet does not have a sure
enough grasp of its own identity to maintain an independent perspective. Authority is either in
traditional authority or in the consensus of a face-to-face group that is valued.
The dangers of this stage are that the expectations and evaluations of others can be so
compellingly internalized that later autonomy of judgment and action can be jeopardized; or
betrayals can create despair.
Factors necessary for transition to the next stage may include: serious clashes or contradictions
between valued authorities, marked changes by leaders or policies or practices that were
previously sacred and unbreachable (like changes in Catholic Church after Vatican II—Latin to
English Mass, no abstinence on Friday). Reflection on how one’s beliefs and values change
when one leaves home—either emotionally or physically can precipitate examination that gives
rise to movement to the next stage of faith.
(4) Individuative-Reflective Faith
(hopefully, young adulthood but for many late 30’s and 40’s)
This is the important stage when the adult begins to take serious responsibility for his/her own
commitments, lifestyle, beliefs and attitudes. Self-fulfillment or self-actualization becomes a
primary concern rather than service to and being for others. There is the question of being
committed to the relative instead of to an absolute. Or as we talked about earlier,
acknowledging that there is much gray in life—it’s not all black and white.
This stage has a double development—first, the self claims its own identity—free of that defined
by others. To sustain this new identity, one composes a meaning frame, conscious of its own
boundaries and inner connections and aware of itself as personally responsible for beliefs and
feelings. It is a stage primarily of angst and struggle as one critically scrutinizes beliefs once
unquestioned. There can be a danger here of an excessive confidence in one’s ability to think
critically over and above others, a narcissism can develop at this point.
The point for movement to the next stage of faith comes when disillusionment with one’s
compromises and recognition that life is more complex than the logic of clear distinctions and
abstract concepts can comprehend. Thus comes the push to a more dialectical and
multileveled approach to life’s truths.
(5) Conjunctive Faith
(unusual before mid-life)
Here one moves from rationalism to the acknowledgement of paradox and transcendence.
Here a person grasps the reality behind the symbols of not only their own systems, but
acknowledges the symbols of others’ systems. This stage makes room for mystery and the
unconscious. The power behind the metaphors is acknowledged even as one sees the relativity
of those metaphors. There is a new sense of justice that goes beyond one’s own culture and
people. Seeing the bigger picture knocks down the walls that culture and tradition have built
between ourselves and others. The divisions of the human family become vivid and the desire
for an inclusive community of being awakens. The reclaiming and reworking of one’s past to
unify opposites in mind and in experience can be overwhelming and ecstatic and can open us
radically to possibility and wonder.
One danger in this stage can be paralyzing passivity or inaction which can lead to either
complacency or cynical withdrawal. The self gets stuck between what it sees as universal and
the need to preserve its own well-being or to be loyal to the present order, whether it be
socioeconomic or institutional.
(6) Universalizing Faith
(exceedingly rare)
One who moves into stage 6 becomes a disciplined activist for absolute love and justice. They
forget about self-preservation and spend themselves for the transformation of moral and
religious actuality. Their devotion is so intense that their actions and words often have an
extraordinary and unpredictable quality. In their penetration through the obsession with survival,
security and significance they threaten our measured standards of righteousness, goodness and
prudence.
Their leadership often involves nonviolent suffering and ultimate respect for being. They love
life and yet hold it loosely. They are ready for fellowship with persons at any of the other faith
stages and from any other tradition. Often they become martyrs for the visions of transformation
they have. Generally they are honored and revered only after they have died. (Gandhi, Martin
Luther King, Mother Teresa of Calcutta, Dag Hammarskjold, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Abraham
Heschel, Thomas Merton)
Scott Peck simplifies Fowler’s theory by asserting that we all begin life in a state of “chaos” in
which nobody but us exists and we have no moral center. Most young children feel they are the
center of the universe and are oblivious to the needs of others. Many who stay stuck in this
“Chaotic-Antisocial” stage end up in prison.
Most people eventually move into a “Formal-Institutional” faith stage. Here, there are very clear
rules and regulations, a black and white system of morality and clearly defined system of
orthodoxy to keep everyone on the straight and narrow. For people who have lived much of
their lives in chaos. This stage is real salvation and the structure of it saves them from selfdestructive paths. This stage, Peck says, is appropriate for older children and most adults.
Some people though find the rigidity and contradictions of orthodoxy too much! They ask
questions! What if the priests or leaders are wrong? What if they are lying to us? What if they
are ignorant? Asking questions moves one into stage 3, “Skeptical-Individual” faith—the stage
of questioning and doubt. Here idols are smashed, world views discarded and true seeking
begins. This is an uncomfortable place but many people spend their lives here. Life has no
answer, the questions sustain them.
But beyond questioning lies another stage where all questions dissolve into silence. This 4 th
stage is “Mystic Communal” where one has fallen in love with mystery. Here one doesn’t need
questions or answers. One sees that reality cannot be described or comprehended but can be
experienced and participated in. All divisions are seen as illusory and distinctions between
universal and particular disappear.
I’d like to touch briefly on ethical development which is connected to but not the same as faith
development. You are probably all familiar with Lawrence Kohlberg and his work on how
human development affects our capacity to make moral judgments. In his study many women
were stuck in stage 3 of moral development. Carol Gilligan followed up his study with one of her
own on how women respond to ethical and moral problems differently than men do. She came
to the conclusion that women approach situations of moral choice primarily from the angle of
relationship and how a choice will affect those in the relationship, what responsibility those in
relationship have to each other as well as the network of relationships taken as a whole, both
now and in the future. Her work is outlined in Fowler’s follow up book to Stages of Faith—
Becoming Adult, Becoming Christian, (1984). Gilligan’s book, In A Different Voice:
Psychological Theory and Women’s Development (1982).
John Mabry published an interesting book called Faith Styles: Ways People Believe in 2006.
Instead of detailing how people come to believe he describes the style of belief people have.
He feels it important for spiritual directors to understand how the person coming to them views
the Divine. What relationship does one have with the Divine? How does one construct meaning
in the world? What are the accepted sources of spiritual wisdom? How is spiritual growth
assessed? What spiritual disciplines and practices are honored? And what are the advantages
or disadvantages of a particular style of faith?
Traditional Believers
1. The Divine is imaged as sovereign of the universe.
2. The nature of one’s relationship with the Divine is hierarchical, as a child in the Divine family.
3. Meaning in the world is constructed by discerning and acting out the divine will.
4. Scripture and tradition are the accepted sources of spiritual wisdom.
5. Spiritual growth is assessed by the extent to which one submits one’s own will to the Divine’s
6. The practices of prayer, studying scripture and corporate worship are honored.
7. Security and clear answers are advantages to this system.
8. Disadvantages are rigidity, spiritual arrogance and blind obedience.
Spiritual Eclectics
1. The Divine is imaged as a spiritual force animating all of nature.
2. The nature of one’s relationship with the Divine is Pantheisic – there is no distinction
between creation and the Divine.
3. Meaning in the world is constructed by protecting the biosphere and all creatures, and by
promoting greater consciousness
4. Spiritual wisdom of every tradition, in one’s own experience, and in the body are the
accepted sources of spiritual wisdom
5. Spiritual growth is assessed by the degree to which one can see through the illusion of
separateness and realize one’s unity with all being.
6. The practices of prayer, meditation, ritual, sacred reading, art, exercise, being in nature, and
activism are honored.
7. Advantages are diversity and spiritual generosity.
8. Disadvantages are gullibility and a lack of groundedness.
Ethical Humanists
1. The Divine is imaged as life itself.
2. The nature of one’s relationship with the Divine is unity with all life.
3. Meaning in the world is constructed by compassionate action on behalf of life.
4. Accepted sources of spiritual wisdom include the natural world and the scientific method.
5. Spiritual growth is assessed by one’s commitment to biological sustainability and the
protection of existing life forms, including oneself.
6. Practices include, activism, being in nature, reading and study (especially the sciences)
7. Advantages are a life of awe and purpose free from delusion.
8. Disadvantages are ephemerality of one’s own consciousness, and intolerance by other faith
styles.
Liberal Believers
1. The Divine is imaged as a friend, lover, co-worker
2. The nature of one’s relationship with the Divine is familial and idiosyncratic.
3. Meaning in the world is constructed by showing mercy, doing justice, and walking humbly.
4. Accepted sources of spiritual wisdom are scripture, tradition, reason, and experience.
5. Spiritual growth is assessed by the degree to which one is able to be authentically oneself.
6. Practices are myriad contemplative practices, being in nature and social activism.
7. Advantages are spiritual and personal generosity.
8. Disadvantages: difficult to articulate path and lack of focus and consensus
Religious Agnostics
1. Divine is imaged primarily as an unknowable Mystery
2. Nature of one’s relationship with the Divine as an intellectual pursuit and philanthropic
service.
3. Meaning in the world is constructed from scratch and idiosyncratically
4. Accepted sources of spiritual wisdom are largely personal experience and reason.
5. Spiritual growth is assessed by the level of existential anxiety and philanthropic
commitment.
6. Practices include, being in nature, activism, prayer and meditation
7. Personal integrity is an advantage
8. Disadvantage is the high level of anxiety is exhausting.
Jack Believers – Like Traditional Believers, they assent to the tenets of a tradition’s orthodoxy,
but unlike their Traditional neighbors on the wheel, cannot, for one reason or another, live by the
rules such orthodoxy demands. They do not feel at liberty to migrate to any other points on the
wheel since the orthodox dogma they share with their Traditional neighbors does not recognize
the validity of any other faith style.
1. The Divine is imaged primarily as the angry judge.
2. The nature of one’s relationship with the Divine is one of estrangement, they believe in God,
but don’t think God believes in them.
3. The meaning of the world is constructed only in negative terms.
4. The accepted sources of spiritual wisdom are the same as the traditional believers, but
cannot appropriate their benefits.
5. Spiritual growth is assessed by degree of estrangement.
6. No positive practices are common.
7. There are no advantages.
8. Low self-esteem and self-destructive behavior are the disadvantages.