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Stages of faith - the later years - Page 2

© Dawn Williams

This series of articles stemmed primarily from Fowler's book, Stages of Faith (HarperSanFrancisco, 1995). While it is a somewhat technical body of work, I recommend it to anyone with an interest in spiritual development; excellent collateral reading would be Erik Erikson's Childhood and Society (Norton, 1993). These two books provide enough insight into the human condition to empower anyone toward greater self-understanding.

The significance of Fowler's work to the individual begins with an examination of one's faith. While some people, whether through upbringing or conversion experience, never question their beliefs, others struggle with issues of faith. Even a cursory understanding of the stages can lead to deeper self-awareness and, as a result, renewed spiritual growth.

Fowler includes a table in his book that shows various aspects of personality according to the faith stages they accompany. This can be a useful tool in identifying one's own stage of faith. The stages are described in detail and include case studies to illustrate the concepts presented.

Some may find it strange - even offensive - that one might separate belief in God from the study of faith. In fact, one reader made a comment to that effect after seeing the first in this series of articles. Ironically, Fowler is not only a leading theorist in the field of developmental psychology. He is also a Christian, a biblical apologist, a minister, and a theology teacher. And he is not alone is defining faith as something apart from religious beliefs and practices.

Fowler sites the position of theologian Paul Tillich, who wrote that faith as a state of being may or may not be expressed in institutional religious forms. Rather, it determines how we will invest ourselves in others and to what we will pledge our loyalty.

A similar perspective on faith, Fowler said, was taken by H. Richard Niebuhr. Around the same time that Erikson had developed his seminal theory of psychosocial development, Niebur wrote a description of what Fowler calls human faith. He said faith grows from our earliest experiences of trust and fidelity, born of the consistent care and nurturing we receive.

Fowler finally refers to the work of Wilfred Cantwell Smith, a comparative religionist. Smith contended that religion was the cumulative tradition of a people, and that the various elements and practices of a cumulative tradition led to the development of faith. He recognized that faith is not always religious, and that faith is not the same thing as belief. In fact, he found through his studies that there is great variety of religious beliefs and practices, but great similarities in faith. Smith called faith a "quality of human living" and said it allows us "to find meaning in the world and in one's own life, a meaning that is profound and ultimate, and is stable no matter what may happen to oneself."

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