James W. Fowler

1
James W. Fowler

• By Nick Egbert

2
Dr. James Fowler and Family

• He was born in 1940
• He is married
• They have two daughters
• They have four grandchildren

3
Education

• Graduated from Duke University
• Graduated From Drew Theological Seminary
• In 1971 he then earned his PH.D. in Religion and
  society from Harvard University
• His doctrinal studies focused on ethics and
  sociology of religion
• From 1971-1972 he continued his education with
  post-doctoral studies at the Center for Moral
  Development at the Harvard Graduate School of
  Education

4
Teaching

• From 1969-75 he taught at Harvard Divinity School
• Then in 1975-76 he taught at Boston College
• In 1977 he joined the faculty of Emory's Candler
  School of Theology

5
Role At Emory and Life After...

• He was the director of the center for research on
  faith and moral development
• He was also served from 1994 to 2005 as the first
  full time director for the center of Ethics at
  Emory
• He retired in 2005 at the age 65
• He is a Minister in the United Methodist Church

6
Awards or Honors given to Him

• The University of Edinburgh awarded him an
  honorary doctor of divinity degree in 1999
• In 1994 he received two awards
• The Oskar Pfister Award was the first which was
  given to him by the American Psychiatric
  Association, for enduring contributions to the
  dialogue between religion and psychiatry
• The second award was the William James Award
  given to him by the American Phycological
  Association, for contributions that advance the
  psychology of religion

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Some of Dr. Fowlers Publications

• To See the Kingdom The Theological Vision of H.
  Richard Niebuhr (1974)
• Stages of Faith The Psychology of Human
  Development and the Quest for Meaning (1981)
• Becoming Adult, Becoming Christian Adult
  Development and Christian Faith (1984) (revised
  1999)
• Faith Development and Pastoral Care (1987)
• Weaving the New Creation Stages of Faith and the
  Public Church (1991)
• Faithful Change The Personal and Public
  Challenges of Postmodern Life (1996)

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His Writings

• Dr. Fowlers has written or edited 11 books on the
  fields of practical theology and theological
  ethics along with sixty articles
• Dr. Fowlers most well known book was Stages of
  Faith The Psychology of Development and the
  Quest for meaning which was publish in 1981
• in its 38th printing
• translated into three languages German, Korean,
  and Portuguese

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Purpose Behind Stages of Faith

• When Dr. Fowler wrote the book he intended to
  expand the idea of the developmental process in
  human Faith
• Faith development that he broke down into stages
  followed the same structure as Jean Piagets
  theory of cognitive development, Erik Eriksons
  theory on Psychosocial development, and Lawrence
  Kohlberg's stages of moral development
• The ideas that he laid on the table generated a
  good response among people interested in religion

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Stages of Faith development
  Stage Description Simplified version by M. Scott Peck Simplified version by M. Scott Peck
Stage 1 Intuitive-Projective This is the stage of preschool children in which fantasy and reality often get mixed together. However, during this stage, our most basic ideas about God are usually picked up from our parents and/or society. I. Chaotic-Antisocial People stuck at this stage are usually self-centered and often find themselves in trouble due to their unprincipled living. If they do end up converting to the next stage, it often occurs in a very dramatic way.
Stage 2 Mythic-Literal When children become school-age, they start understanding the world in more logical ways. They generally accept the stories told to them by their faith community but tend to understand them in very literal ways. A few people remain in this stage through adulthood. I. Chaotic-Antisocial People stuck at this stage are usually self-centered and often find themselves in trouble due to their unprincipled living. If they do end up converting to the next stage, it often occurs in a very dramatic way.
Stage 3 Synthetic-Conventional Most people move on to this stage as teenagers. At this point, their life has grown to include several different social circles and there is a need to pull it all together. When this happens, a person usually adopts some sort of all-encompassing belief system. However, at this stage, people tend to have a hard time seeing outside their box and don't recognize that they are "inside" a belief system. At this stage, authority is usually placed in individuals or groups that represent one's beliefs. This is the stage in which many people remain. II. Formal-Institutional At this stage people rely on some sort of institution (such as a church) to give them stability. They become attached to the forms of their religion and get extremely upset when these are called into question.
Stage 4 Individuative-Reflective This is the tough stage, often begun in young adulthood, when people start seeing outside the box and realizing that there are other "boxes". They begin to critically examine their beliefs on their own and often become disillusioned with their former faith. Ironically, the Stage 3 people usually think that Stage 4 people have become "backsliders" when in reality they have actually moved forward. III. Skeptic-Individual Those who break out of the previous stage usually do so when they start seriously questioning things on their own. A lot of the time, this stage ends up being very non-religious and some people stay in it permanently
Stage 5 Conjunctive Faith It is rare for people to reach this stage before mid-life. This is the point when people begin to realize the limits of logic and start to accept the paradoxes in life. They begin to see life as a mystery and often return to sacred stories and symbols but this time without being stuck in a theological box. IV. Mystical-Communal People who reach this stage start to realize that there is truth to be found in both the previous two stages and that life can be paradoxical and full of mystery. Emphasis is placed more on community than on individual concerns.
Stage 6 Universalizing Faith Few people reach this stage. Those who do live their lives to the full in service of others without any real worries or doubts. IV. Mystical-Communal People who reach this stage start to realize that there is truth to be found in both the previous two stages and that life can be paradoxical and full of mystery. Emphasis is placed more on community than on individual concerns.
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Stages of Faith development continued

• Stage 0 Primal or undifferentiated faith (Birth
  to 2 years)
• trust or distrust of the world is developed
• Stage 1 Intuitive-Projective faith (ages three
  to seven)
• Our Psyches unprotected exposure to the
  Unconscious
• Stage 2 Mythic-Literal faith (school Children)
• Develop a sense of justice and reciprocity
• deities are anthropomorphic

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Stages of Faith development continued

• Stage 3 Synthetic-Conventional faith (12 to
  adulthood)
• Conformity to religion
• develop identity but hesitant about
  inconsistencies
• Stage 4 Individuative-Reflective faith (mid
  twenties to late thirties)
• personal responsibility and openness to complexity

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Stages of Faith development continued

• Stage 5 Conjunctive faith (mid-life)
• resolves conflict through understanding of a
  multidimensional, interdependent truth that can
  not be laid out in one statement
• Stages 6 Universalizingfaith (beyond mid life)
• treat people equally with love and justice
  because people are are one universal community

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Results of his work

• Dr. Fowlers model and writings have inspired
  much research on the topic of faith development
• This task has been carried out by many different
  people

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Works cited

• "James W. Fowler." Wikipedia. Wikimedia
  Foundation, 04 Dec. 2012. Web. 19 Apr. 2012.
  lthttp//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_W._Fowlergt.
•  "Stages of Faith Development." Wikipedia.
  Wikimedia Foundation, 16 Mar. 2012. Web. 19 Apr.
  2012. lthttp//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stages_of_fait
  h_developmentgt.
• "Chart of James Fowler's Stages of Faith."
  UsefulCharts.com. Web. 19 Apr. 2012.
  lthttp//www.usefulcharts.com/psychology/james-fowl
  er-stages-of-faith.htmlgt.
• "James W. Fowler." Emory Center for Ethics. Web.
  19 Apr. 2012. lthttp//ethics.emory.edu/people/Foun
  der.htmlgt.