According to James Fowler's, there are several stages an individual pass through in their religious cycle. These stages occur at different ages and are characterized by different behaviors. The coming up with these stages was inspired by the observation and analysis of different people's behavior from different age groups, which encouraged Fowler to group the experiences coming up with the faith evolution ( Fowler & Nipkow, 1991).
The first stage is Undifferentiated faith occurring from age 0-2 years. At this age, one starts learning and familiarizing with the environment. At this point, one develops a positive or negative attitude towards the environment depending on the nurturing.
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The second stage is intuitive-projective faith, occurring from the age of 3-7 years. The curiosity of discovery characterizes this stage. At this age, religion is primarily learned through stories, images or close friends and family.
Stage three, also known as Mythic-literal faith, mostly occurring in school kids. This stage is characterized by having a strong belief in deities, justice, and universe reciprocity. At this age, talking directly to the point is much better as metaphors, and symbolic language are literally misunderstood.
Stage four Synthetic-conventional faith. This stage comes from the age of 12 to adulthood. It is characterized by conformity to authority and development of personal identity. Regarding religion, individuals tend to ignore any conflict due to fear of threat from consistencies.
Stage five Individuative-Reflective faith. This takes place in the mid-twenties to late thirties. In this stage, individuals take responsibility for their personal faith and beliefs which also increases their awareness of one's belief conflicts.
Stage six Conjunctive faith. This stage comes at mid-life. At this stage, individuals portray self-understanding and try to resolve conflicts from previous development stages. Individuals acknowledge the paradox and transcendence inherited from the evolution ( Fowler, 2004).
Lastly, Universalizing faith also known as enlightenment. It takes place in the late stages of life. At this stage, individuals treat others with compassion, love, and justice as this is the way they would also want to be treated by the society.
References
Fowler, J. W., & Nipkow, K. E. (1991). Stages of faith and religious development: Implications for church, education, and society. Crossroad Publishing Company.
Fowler, J. W. (2004). Faith development at 30: Naming the challenges of faith in a new millennium. Religious Education, 99(4), 405-421.
