The birth of faith

The role of faith in recovery from disease is a subject of growing interest among researchers. Faith has been correlated with improved health in cardiac patients, senior citizens, and victims of depression. Ongoing studies are hoped to determine more specifically how faith interacts with other factors to affect such improvements.

But what exactly IS faith? In his highly influential book titled "Stages of Faith", researcher James Fowler proposes a definition and theory of faith as a developmental process. Faith, he says, is the way we create meaning in life. It is universal. Everyone, he says, enters the world with the capacity for faith. This capacity is developed in part as our cognitive abilities develop, and in response to our environmental experiences. Fowler builds on the foundation laid by other developmental theorists, including Kohlberg, Piaget, and Erikson.

Faith, Fowler maintains, is not necessarily an issue of religion. As I stated in last week's article, everyone believes in something. The things in which one has faith provide structure in his life and govern his perspective and actions. One can be a person of great faith without ever mentioning God or participating in the rites of any denomination. Religious belief requires faith, but faith is not by definition religious.

A self-described man of faith, Fowler interviewed nearly 600 people in association with his cohorts between 1972 and 1981. The analysis and interpretation of these interviews constituted the basis for the development of Fowler's theory of stage-based faith development. Although six specific stages are identified, it is actually a seven-stage theory. During the pre-language infancy period, the foundation for faith development is laid.

Infancy and undifferentiated faith
Of utmost importance in the first year of life is the development of trust. Erik Erikson called this stage Basic Trust vs. Basic Mistrust. Through positive, consistent interaction with Mother (or another caregiver) we develop an abiding trust in the outer world, and thus come to know ourselves as trustworthy, too. We develop in this stage through ongoing conflict resolution: our physical and emotional needs threaten well-being on one hand, and are consistently gratified on the other. This pattern of positive experience creates the framework, Erikson said, in which the child can develop a sense of identity. This is also provides the basis for a sense of belonging and to understanding one's self to be part of a meaningful community.

Fowler calls this the pre-stage of undifferentiated faith. During this time, he said, our first pre-images of God originate, based on the experience of mutuality in our relationship with our primary caregiver. In other words, the development of faith depends on the quality of our relationships. Our later image of God is built on the memories of our feelings about the person who cared for us in infancy.

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