8 Religion and Spirituality Overview
Alexandria Lewis
Content Outline, Competency, and KSAs
I. Human Development, Diversity, and Behavior in the Environment
1A. Human Growth and Development
KSAs:
– Theories of spiritual development throughout the lifespan
– Factors influencing self-image (e.g., culture, race, religion/spirituality, age, disability, trauma)
Overview
Hutchison (2017) defined spiritual development as “compromising awareness or awakening, interconnecting and belonging, and a way of life” (p. 421).
Consensus Conference funded by the Archstone Foundation defined spirituality as:
- “The aspect of humanity that refers to the ways that individuals seek and express meaning and purpose and the way they experience connectedness to the moment, to self, to others, to nature, and to the significant or sacred.”
Spirituality can be viewed as an umbrella term that captures the following:
- Seek meaning and purpose
- Connectedness:
- Moment, nature, others, self, significant, or sacred
- Express meaning and purpose
- Pursuit of hope
Religion includes:
- Beliefs shared within a group
- Communal in nature
- Set of beliefs
Religious beliefs can mold spirituality; however, people can be spiritual and not religious.
James Fowler’s Stages of Faith Development
YouTube Resource: Mister Simplify
| Age | Stage | Description |
| Infancy | Prestage: Primal faith | An infant experiences the world as trustworthy and safe when they receive love and support (nurturing). |
| Age 2 | Stage 1: Intuitive-projective faith | “Faith is fantasy filled and imitative and can be powerfully influenced by examples, actions, stories of significant others, and familial and cultural tabooks” ( Hutchison, 2017, p. 136). |
| Beginning around age 6 | Stage 2: Mythic-literal faith | In this stage children are in the concrete operational stage (Piaget). “The child begins to take on stories, beliefs, and practices that symbolize belonging to his or her community. There is a high conformity to community beliefs and practices” (Hutchison, 2017, p. 136). |
| Adolescence and beyond | Stage 3: Synthetic-conventional faith | “The capacity for abstract thinking and manipulation of concepts affects the process of developing faith as well as overall identity…Beliefs and values are often deeply felt but not critically examined or systematically reflected on” (Hutchison, 2017, p. 136). |
| Young adulthood and beyond | Stage 4: Individuative-reflective faith | “Beliefs become more explicit and personally meaningful, and symols are reshaped into more powerful conceptualizations” (Hutchison, 2017, p. 136). During this stage young adults may review beliefs from childhood/adolescence through the lens of critical thinking. Questions may include: What do I believe? |
| Midlife and beyond | Stage 5: Conjunctive faith | Fowler believed the majority of adults did not achieve this stage. “Rework the past and become open to voices of the ‘deeper self’…..They expand their definition of community and their sense of connection and responsibility to others” (Hutchison, 2017, p. 136). |
| Midlife and beyond | Stage 6: Universalizing faith | Similar to stage five, Fowler believed only a “very small minority of adults” reached this stage. In this stage adults, “lead selfless lives of service and action for justice aimed at the transformation of humankind” (Hutchison, 2017, p.137). “Symbols, myths, and rituals are appreciated and cherished at a deeper level” (Hutchison, 2017, p. 136) |
Reference
Hutchison, E.D. (2017). Essentials of human behavior: Integrating person, environment, and the life course. Los Angeles, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.
