Faith Development Theory

Faith Development Theory: An Overview

Faith Development Theory is an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the evolutionary process of the development of religious/spiritual values and behavior in the human life cycle. The articulation of faith development theory began in the 1980s with the work of James Fowler and colleagues, and it has found a significant place in theological discourse and in some cases cultural studies as well. Its genesis took place when Fowler was involved in his doctoral studies and was immersed in the work of theologian and ethicist H. Richard Niebuhr. Niebuhr’s prototype of a faith development paradigm had in turn been stimulated by his contact with a portion of the work of Alfred North Whitehead. Fowler’s theory is typically taught to theological students and is shared with practicing clergy and interested laypersons as a means of providing a process-based understanding of the way that faith changes and transforms in the lives of individuals. Feminists...