James Fowlers Stages of Faith - Assignment Example

?Case Study Analysis based on James Fowler’s Stages of Faith Faith has been mostly intertwined with religious ideas and belief systems for many people, making it sound synonymous even. However, faith has been defined differently by James Fowler when he created the Stages of Faith, wherein instead of faith being solely the product of a religion or a belief, it is simply defined as the major reason why people behave the way they do, be it due to aspirations, traditions, speculations, religion, or a mixture of all of these (“Faith Development” 416). It is also the product of a person’s interactions with other people, whether or not these people nurtured the person’s faith or not. Or, it can also be the result of various personal experiences which may or may not resonate with others but had a profound impact on how a person lives life every day. Thus, regardless of whether a person believes in a supreme being, many creators, or not acknowledging the importance of divine entities, faith is the driving force for people to commit and to move their ways through life’s hardships, trials, and times of happiness and joy (“Stages of Faith” 4). Fowler’s stages of faith are not a measurement of how good a person is in whatever religion or belief system one belongs to, and that it is only a measurement and approximation of one’s thought patterns with respect to a Higher Being, whether these are complex or simple for one’s age (Fowler and Dell 40). Using such premises, Fowler’s stages of faith can be divided into two parts: the early stages of faith which arePrimal Faith present at infancy to 2 years of age; Intuitive-Projective Faith present during toddlerhood and early childhood; Mythic-Literal Faith which emerges during middle childhood and beyond; and Synthetic-Conventional faith which emerges from adolescence and beyond; and the later stages which are Individuative-Reflective faith; Conjunctive faith; and Universalizing faith (Fowler and Dell 41). Among these six stages, the early stage Synthetic-Conventional faith is one of the most notable stages because this is the stage where mirroring responses between groups of people belonging to similar churches happen, making them believe that what each of them thinks and believes in is similar to what others believe as well, which in turn makes them think that what they believe in is something common that everyone else thinks of as well (“Stages of Faith” 153). Also, it has been previously mentioned that many people become stable in this stage and grow quite comfortable with the ceremonial aspects of their religions, accepting everything without question and doubts. However, this is also a stage where the believers can also be harshly critical and judgmental of others whom they believe do not share the same ideas with them, and this can lead to negative reactions and feedback from these “other” people (152). This is typically due to the fact that people in this stage are not liable to think outside the box, and that doing so makes them feel unworthy and sinful due to questioning their religious leaders and in turn, makes them question God. Such ideas are exemplified in a case study of an acquaintance, and despite the age of late twenties still seems to be in the synthetic-conventional stage of faith: Marlene (not her real name) has been an active member of the local Catholic Church for as long as she can remember. When she was younger, she attends church with her family every Sunday and every Feast Day, and was a member of the children’s choir who actively participates in each practice session. As she grew older, she also became involved in catechism sessions for younger children before receiving their first holy communion, and she also participates in Sunday schools whenever possible. This was her routine habit until she left to study college in another state. She had many friends and acquaintances in university, and they say that she was a hard-worker and a dedicated student, aside from being their go-to friend whenever they have problems. However, some of them had reported to have been harboring negative feelings toward Marlene, as she often speaks to the non-Catholics in a condescending tone with regards to the way other religions such as Islam and Judaism seem “unnatural”, as well as her criticisms on how Evangelical Christians perform their church services: with “loud noises”. With respect to religious topics, most of Marlene’s non-Catholic friends simply brush it off before she starts to make a monologue on how her religion is above anything else. If anyone tries to answer her debating questions, especially when asked why she does not try to question the reasons for her faith in God and her religion, she most often answers “I do not question the Lord’s teachings, for I believe that everything He does for me has reasons which are far beyond what my intellect can comprehend”. At this point, Marlene’s Catholic friends just let her speak, and apologize to their other friends for her brash comments on other religious groups once she leaves the group. Later on, Marlene graduates, goes home to her hometown, finds work, and becomes a member of her church’s pastoral council, where she meets and marries her husband, also a Catholic since birth. After this, Marlene rarely has long conversations with people belonging to other churches, and mostly interacts only with people from either her own church with other Catholics. At present, she reports to be happy and fulfilled with her growth in her own faith, and that her and her husband’s strong faith in God gives them strength, especially now that the two of them are expecting their first child. Marlene’s story is not limited to Catholics alone, as such behavior can also be observed among fervent members of other religious sects as well. It is through this kind of commitment that church clubs and religious media function best due to the unwavering faith of the people in what the preachers tell them, through the appeal of teachings such as interpersonal warmth and meaning (“Stages of Faith” 164). This is because the Synthetic-Conventional stage of faith is known to be the stage wherein the reliance on a strong symbolic system (in Marlene’s case the Catholic Church and its teachings) and not questioning the existence of such is like keeping a sacred connection, and that if one starts to question the teachings this becomes a grave misconduct against the sacred, similar to committing a sin themselves (157). As such, people in this stage react negatively and strongly against those who do not share beliefs or religious ideas with them, or those who dare them to seek answers beyond what the church teaches them, because for them this means that they are being dared to assault what is known to be Holy and sacred, as it was in the case of Marlene when she was asked by non-Catholics why she does not think of even questioning the lessons taught by her religious leaders. Also, her response is typical for people in this stage of faith because she has already accepted her beliefs as “what everyone else also thinks”, generic and stable and “is already there” thus there is no need to question them further (163). It is safe to think that people in the Synthetic-Conventional stage of faith are already comfortable with what they hear, what they practice, and what they believe in, and that since it is easier to simply accept things as they are, they just do not entertain questions that could shake the foundations of their faith. It is surprising to know that most people actually do not get past this stage, and some even grow old and die content in this stage of faith (Fowler and Dell 40; “Stages of Faith” 165). For most people having a strong faith in God can be quite a remarkable and enviable trait, but it is also possible that the rather narrow viewpoint that people in the Synthetic-Conventional stage of faith can cause issues, especially with others belonging to other religious sects or groups, as shown in the case with Marlene’s non-Catholic friends. Such lack of broad perspectives in faith can cause problems such as wars or feuds between different belief systems, undermining of one’s relevance or importance due to religious conflicts, or in worse case scenarios the obliteration of one culture just because the stronger culture clashes with it. Such problems or issues must be addressed by the church itself, in order for it to prevent being labeled of hypocrisy and at the same time live up to the people’s expectations for it in teaching and preaching the power and significance of living in faith, hope, and love for God and all brothers and sisters under Him. The Catholic Church where Marlene hails from could have given her and her fellow church members several lessons with regards to religious tolerance towards others, especially among other religious sects. The most important lesson that the Church could have taught Marlene and other members is that in order to bring peace, love, and harmony as Christ instructs, there must be a certain degree of tolerance toward differences, even if it means differences in religious beliefs. Without such tolerance, there can be no end to wars or feuds, which are often times the result of the lack of tolerance to foreign ideas or belief systems and of dismissing these ideas even without fully studying how these relate to one’s personal ideas or beliefs. As such, the church must be able to send a message to members that rational thinking or weighing in of ideas is just as important as believing in the church’s teachings, and that instead of finding differences between the Catholic Church and other belief systems, members must instead find similarities in order to further strengthen their trust in the things that the church taught them. Also, Church leaders must also explain to the members that while inviting others who do not believe in Christ is important forcing others to accept Catholic beliefs to be better than others is a form of disrespect for others who already believe in Him but are not members of the Catholic Church. Such thinking implies that faith is not individual-based but group-based, thus in a way undermining the capacity of others to experience God’s grace on their own, and build their own faith on these experiences. Instead of teaching members that belonging to a single church measures one’s faith, church leaders must instead preach that faith comes in many forms and under individual accounts, and that through one’s full acceptance of such ideas can there be true unity and harmony not just within the church but also among other people as well, regardless of their religions. This is because faith is how an individual person personally aligns the heart and the will to live life and move forward while other people may try swaying this person’s faith (Fowler and Dell 42). Thus one’s faith is dependent on the person’s will, understanding, and trust to God, and this cannot be dictated or measured by other people because it is something personal and may even be unknown to others. If the Catholic Church was able to guide Marlene and others who are still in the Synthetic-Conventional Stage to think of faith this way, it is possible that she can have better tolerance to others who have a different religion, and may even bring the message of unity and harmony instead of intolerance to differences to her friends, which not only improves the image of the Catholic Church but could also invite non-believers to accept Christ under such premises. Works Cited Fowler, James. "Faith development at 30: naming the challenges of faith in a new millennium." Religious Education 99(4) (2004): 405-421. Print. Fowler, James W., and Mary Lynn Dell. “Stages of Faith from Infancy Through Adolescence: Reflection on Three Decades of Faith Development Theory.” The Handbook of Spiritual Development in Childhood and Adolescence. Ed. Eugene C. Roehlkpartain, Pamela Ebstyne King, Linda Wagener, and Peter L. Benson. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc., 2006. 34-46. Fowler, James W. Stages of Faith: The Psychology of Human Development and the Quest for Meaning. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers, 1981. Print. Read More