At the risk of ruffling some feathers, I am going to write about stages of faith.  First, a little disclaimer, I have read James Fowler’s “Stages of Faith” a few times.  I found it difficult to read, and I probably only understand about 85% of it.  I have also read M. Scott Peck’s chapter about stages of faith in “Further Along on the Road Less Traveled.” I get most of my understanding from these two sources along with my own observations.

Why talk about stages of faith?  Because knowing these stages is helpful in understanding why people of the same religion behave in different ways. It is also important to realize that the term, “faith”, does not apply to one particular religion.  All people have a spirituality, whether they realize it or not.  Likewise, all people are somewhere along the stage of faith continuum.

It is not quite accurate to think of stages vertically, like climbing a ladder. Rather, as one progresses in faith, the movement is horizontal in the sense that the circle of people who you find important becomes bigger and bigger. There is also movement back and forth between stages, progression and regression.  According to Fowler, there are six stages of faith. For the most part, everyone who is not mentally impaired passes through the first two stages with no problem.   While a few people remain in stage two, I will skip over these. The vast majority of people, I believe, end up and stay in stage three.

What is stage three?  Fowler calls it “Synthetic-Conventional” faith. What does this mean?  My purpose is not to judge or criticize but explain. As an example, I’ll talk about my church, the Catholic Church.  There are many “cradle Catholics” in this stage.  It is a faith that has been passed down, accepted, but not examined. People can live their whole lives very fully and contently at this stage.  They get meaning out of belonging to a group and often think in black and white terms.  They like following “the rules” and can be indignant when they see people disobey.  Sometimes, they can appear to be superstitious. There can be an “us” and “them” mentality in this stage.  This is not just true of Christians.  Muslims, Jews, Hindus and all religions have people at various stages of faith.  And, you don’t even have to be religious to be in this stage of faith.  You can get the same sense of meaning by belonging to the military or any other organized group.

Some people at this stage, however, start thinking outside their religious box and start questioning their faith. They ask themselves, “Do I really believe this?” Or, they realize that they don’t know what they believe. This is a GOOD thing.  They have moved on to Stage Four, the questioning stage, which often doesn’t look religious.  That is why you will find highly moral people in the scientific community who are atheists, for example. Many Catholic parents lament the fact that their children have left the faith.  They shouldn’t worry. Their child may actually have moved onto a higher stage.  All that Catholic schooling was not for naught.

Now, what happens when someone at the questioning stage of four discovers the truth for themselves?  That all this nonsense about God might actually be true? They often return to God and their religion at a much deeper level.  This is stage five.  If this happens, it is not usually until the second half of life. People at this stage see that truth can come from many different sources. They are much more inclusive and embrace everyone.  They see the flaws in their religion but realize that no religion is perfect.  They are usually easy to be around and emanate joy. They don’t take the bible literally and are more about the “spirit of the law” rather than the “rule of the law.” They see things in shades of gray rather than black and white.

The last stage, stage six, is extremely rare. Fowler gives Mother Teresa, Gandhi, and Martin Luther King as examples.  It is a willingness to embrace everyone at every level. These people are willing to be spent or die for their faith. They place importance on people who others may find insignificant. They are subversive.  I believe Pope Francis is an example of someone at stage six.  He is amazing to watch and extremely inspiring. But, I should also point out that just because someone holds a high position in the Church, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they are at a high stage of faith.  There are priests and bishops at lower stages of faith just as there are lay people and vowed religious brothers and sisters at higher stages.  It’s not about degrees in theology or how much you know.  It is how you derive meaning and act in your life. The idea is for everyone to continue to grow…

Fowler, James W. Stages of Faith: The Psychology of Human Development and the Quest for Meaning. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1981. Print.

Peck, M. Scott. Further along the Road Less Traveled: The Unending Journey toward Spiritual Growth: The Edited Lectures. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1993. Print.