James Fowlers Stages of Faith Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

James Fowlers Stages of Faith - Assignment Example It is also the product of a person’s interactions with other people, whether or not these people nurtured the person’s faith or not. Or, it can also be the result of various personal experiences which may or may not resonate with others but had a profound impact on how a person lives life every day. Thus, regardless of whether a person believes in a supreme being, many creators, or not acknowledging the importance of divine entities, faith is the driving force for people to commit and to move their ways through life’s hardships, trials, and times of happiness and joy (â€Å"Stages of Faith† 4). Fowler’s stages of faith are not a measurement of how good a person is in whatever religion or belief system one belongs to, and that it is only a measurement and approximation of one’s thought patterns with respect to a Higher Being, whether these are complex or simple for one’s age (Fowler and Dell 40). ... s similar to what others believe as well, which in turn makes them think that what they believe in is something common that everyone else thinks of as well (â€Å"Stages of Faith† 153). Also, it has been previously mentioned that many people become stable in this stage and grow quite comfortable with the ceremonial aspects of their religions, accepting everything without question and doubts. However, this is also a stage where the believers can also be harshly critical and judgmental of others whom they believe do not share the same ideas with them, and this can lead to negative reactions and feedback from these â€Å"other† people (152). This is typically due to the fact that people in this stage are not liable to think outside the box, and that doing so makes them feel unworthy and sinful due to questioning their religious leaders and in turn, makes them question God. Such ideas are exemplified in a case study of an acquaintance, and despite the age of late twenties s till seems to be in the synthetic-conventional stage of faith: Marlene (not her real name) has been an active member of the local Catholic Church for as long as she can remember. When she was younger, she attends church with her family every Sunday and every Feast Day, and was a member of the children’s choir who actively participates in each practice session. As she grew older, she also became involved in catechism sessions for younger children before receiving their first holy communion, and she also participates in Sunday schools whenever possible. This was her routine habit until she left to study college in another state. She had many friends and acquaintances in university, and they say that she was a hard-worker and a dedicated student, aside from being their go-to friend whenever they have