James W. Fowler facts for kids

James William Fowler III (1940–2015) was an American professor and minister. He taught about religion and human development at Emory University. He also led important centers focused on faith and ethics. He was a minister in the United Methodist Church.

Fowler is most famous for his book Stages of Faith, published in 1981. In this book, he explored how "human faith" develops over a person's life.

Life and Work

James Fowler was born in Reidsville, North Carolina, on October 12, 1940. His father was also a Methodist minister.

In 1977, Fowler became a professor at the Candler School of Theology at Emory University. He later became a very respected professor there. He passed away on October 16, 2015.

Understanding Faith Development

James Fowler is best known for his book Stages of Faith (1981). In this book, he suggested that faith develops in different steps, much like how people grow and learn in other ways.

His ideas were similar to other famous thinkers. These included Jean Piaget's ideas about how children think and Lawrence Kohlberg's ideas about how people develop their sense of right and wrong.

In his book, Fowler described six main stages of faith development.

The Six Stages of Faith

• Stage 0 – "Primal or Undifferentiated" Faith (birth to 2 years): At this stage, babies learn if their world is safe and caring. If they feel loved and secure, they start to trust the world and a higher power. If not, they might feel distrust. This stage ends when children start using words and symbols.
• Stage 1 – "Intuitive-Projective" Faith (ages 3 to 7): Young children learn about religion mostly through stories, pictures, and the people around them. Their thoughts are very imaginative and not always logical.
• Stage 2 – "Mythic-Literal" Faith (mostly school-aged children): Children at this stage believe strongly in fairness. They often think of God or gods in very human ways. They might take stories and symbols very literally, not understanding their deeper meaning.
• Stage 3 – "Synthetic-Conventional" Faith (starting in teenage years, aged 12+): Teens often follow the beliefs of their family or community. They try to fit in and find their own identity. They might ignore ideas that don't match their beliefs to avoid conflict.
• Stage 4 – "Individuative-Reflective" Faith (usually mid-twenties to late thirties): People at this stage start to think for themselves about their beliefs. They take personal responsibility for what they believe and feel. They become more open to complex ideas, but this can also make them aware of conflicts in their own beliefs.
• Stage 5 – "Conjunctive" Faith (often in mid-life): People in this stage understand that truth can be complex and have many sides. They see that different ideas can exist together, even if they seem opposite. They find deeper meaning behind religious symbols.
• Stage 6 – "Universalizing" Faith (45+): This is the highest stage. People here show deep compassion for everyone. They see all people as part of one big human family. They live by universal principles of love and justice.

Further Study

Fowler's ideas have inspired many studies about how faith develops. However, Fowler himself did not do much of this research. One helpful tool for this research is the Faith Development Scale, or FDS.

See also

• Jean Piaget, Theory of cognitive development
• Erik Erikson, Erikson's stages of psychosocial development
• Lawrence Kohlberg, Kohlberg's stages of moral development
• Developmental psychology
  • Developmental stage theories
• Psychology of religion
• Integral theory (Ken Wilber)