In recent years, profound changes have affected the way people view the role of religion and spirituality in the life cycle. For many people, spirituality, always considered an essential part of religion, has become an interest no longer tied to organized religion. This book addresses the evolving relationship of spirituality to religion in our time, and the consequences of this change for understanding personality development. It also applies the concept of implicit religion to show how the least easily observed aspects of religion are at work in the growth of personality.
"In The Developing Christian, Peter Feldmeier wrestles with the interconnections between normal human development and spiritual growth. Beginning with the basic principles of Christian spirituality, he goes on to investigate human maturing through the stages of life, with each stage's typical challenges and opportunities. Particular attention is given to moral and ego development. In this context of human maturation, he investigates spiritual progress, particularly as it relates to prayer, work, and primary relationships. Touchstone voices from the theological tradition including St. John of the Cross, Teilhard de Chardin, and James Fowler. These are augmented with an array of wisdom figures from contemplative, prophetic, and pastoral expressions of holiness."--BOOK JACKET.
Updated with the latest research, this second edition approaches human development from a multidisciplinary perspective. Uniquely inclusive of the moral and faith dimensions of the life cycle, 'Human Development and Faith' examines the interplay of mind, body, family, community, and soul at every stage of development. (Back cover).
This volume presents materials related to a symposium that addressed adult faith development. Chapters 1 and 2 provide background information on this topic and an overview of the symposium. Chapter 3 contains the hypotheses paper by Charles Bruning and Kenneth Stokes that was the basic document of the symposium. It provides a review of the literature of the fields of faith development and the adult life cycle and the interface between them, presents some fundamental concepts, and suggests possible hypotheses for research. Chapters 4-8 are critiques of the hypotheses paper. Titles are "An Adult Educator's Reflections" (Malcolm Knowles); "Responses from an Adult Development Perspective" (Winston Gooden); "Response from the Moral Development Perspective" (Mary Wilcox); "Responses from the Religious Education Perspective" (Gabriel Moran); and "Stages of Faith and Adults' Life Cycles" (James Fowler). Chapters 9-15 are commentaries or reflection papers on the authors' symposium experiences. They include "A Sociological Perspective" (Robert Wuthnow); "A Clinical Psychologist's Perspective" (Richard Shulik); "Faith Stances, Imagination, and Campus Ministry" (Paul Johnson); "Higher Education as a Resource" (Barbara Pelowski); "A Symposium: Creative Tension at Play" (Linda Vogel); "Implications for Adult Religious Education" (Joan Cronin); and "Faith Development and Theological Education" (William Phillips). An appendix discusses the project that led to the symposium and this book. (YLB)
It has been suggested that 'spirituality' has become a word that 'can define an era'. Why? Because paradoxically, alongside a decline in traditional religious affiliations, the growing interest in spirituality and the use of the word in a variety of contexts is a striking aspect of contemporary western cultures. Indeed, spirituality is sometimes contrasted attractively with religion, although this is problematic and implies that religion is essentially dogma, moralism, institutions, buildings, and hierarchies. The notion of spirituality expresses the fact that many people are driven by goals that concern more than material satisfaction. Broadly, it refers to the deepest values and sense of meaning by which people seek to live. Sometimes these values are conventionally religious. Sometimes they are associated with what is understood as 'the sacred' in a broader sense - that is, of ultimate rather than merely instrumental importance. This Very Short Introduction, written by one of the most eminent scholars and writers on spirituality, explores the historical foundations of the thought and considers how it came to have the significance it is developing today. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.
This singular reference explores religion and spirituality as a vital, though often misconstrued, lens for building better understanding of and empathy with clients. A diverse palette of faiths and traditions is compared and contrasted (occasionally with secularism), focusing on areas of belief that may inspire, comfort, or trouble clients, including health and illness, mental illness, healing, coping, forgiveness, family, inclusion, and death. From assessment and intervention planning to conducting research, these chapters guide professionals in supporting and assisting clients without minimizing or overstating their beliefs. In addition, the book’s progression of ideas takes readers beyond the well-known concept of cultural competence to model a larger and more meaningful cultural safety. Among the topics included in the Handbook: Integrating religion and spirituality into social work practice. Cultural humility, cultural safety, and beyond: new understandings and implications for social work. Healing traditions, religion/spirituality, and health. Diagnosis: religious/spiritual experience or mental illness? Understandings of dying, death, and mourning. (Re)building bridges in and with family and community. Ethical issues in conducting research on religion and spirituality. The Handbook of Religion and Spirituality in Social Work Practice and Research is a richly-textured resource for social workers and mental health professionals engaged in clinical practice and/or research seeking to gain varied perspectives on how the religion and spirituality of their clients/research participants may inform their work.
Understand the spiritual and psychological stages of human life! Life Cycle: Psychological and Theological Perceptions provides professors and students of religion, pastoral counselors, and parents with a description of human personality development from birth to death from both psychological and theological perspectives. You will examine how personalities develop and unfold as individuals grow and how they are influenced by family members and by God, helping you view the life cycle as a sacred journey. Life Cycle will help you, as a parent, to understand your children better, and as an individual, to gain a meaningful perspective of the unfolding of your own life. As a pastoral counselor, this book will help you to enlarge your comprehension of developmental problems and solutions, enabling you to better help your parishioners develop healthy spiritual identities. Through this insightful book, you will discover the natural process of development through life-stages such as the Age of Works, the Age of Friendships, and the Age of Discovery. This unique book will help you in your pursuit of self-discovery. Within these pages you will: examine the history and theories of personality development from such theorists as Freud, Erikson, and Sullivan to get a solid foundation for understanding the process of identity formation understand theological as well as psychological views of personality development. realize the impact of the family unit on the development of individuals learn to recognize the stages of human development and see how the integration of theology and psychology can clarify them Life Cycle includes a comprehensive bibliography on the subject of development, as well as beautiful and moving poems that depict personal growth to help describe new concepts and help you to better understand important identity issues. This informative book will help you clearly define the stage of life that you or the person you are trying to help is in and identify the stage where problems originated, giving you the necessary information to begin to problem solve and promote healthy spiritual and mental growth and balance.
As a teenager I asked, "Why do young people leave the church after high school?'' This book is my answer and solution after asking for more than 25 years. Young people leave the church because while they have grown up physically and psychologically, they haven't developed spiritually. There are seven stages of spiritual growth from a Christian perspective. There is one path to spiritual maturity, and all must pass through the same stages to get there. The Spiritual Life Cycle explains the learning tasks, crises, keys, and symbols of each stage. It teaches the steps necessary to move from one stage to the next. It is not just another book about the necessity of prayer, bible study, etc. It is a manual to help churches keep and nurture their people to spiritual maturity.
In today’s pluralistic world, many cultures feel a shift in the relationship of people with religious traditions. A corresponding movement is a resurgence of interest in human spirituality. This Handbook presents the views of education scholars who engage these concepts every day, in a collection of essays reflecting the international state of the discipline. Out of these rises a vision for the emergence of a just and peaceful world.
More than a series of rites of passage through the landmarks of growing up and growing old, Jewish and Christian life-cycle rituals give the members of each religious tradition theological and ritualized definitions of what a life should be. In this volume, the fourth in the acclaimed series Two Liturgical Traditions, eight scholars explore the models of human life implicit in Judaism and Christianity by unraveling and exploring the evolution and current condition of their life-cycle liturgies. By combining the historical-critical method of traditional scholarship with that of more recent theory drawn from the human sciences, Life Cycles in Jewish and Christian Worship provides a novel treatment of Jewish and Christian life cycles, past and present, and is a unique and invaluable guide to the history, practice, and theology of life-cycle liturgy. Contributors: Paul F. Bradshaw, Lawrence A. Hoffman, Ruth A. Meyers, Debra R. Blank, Karen B. Westerfield Tucker, Marjorie Procter-Smith, and Yoel Kahn.
