Heinz Streib

Faith Development Theory Revisited: The Religious Styles Perspective

Focusing on Fowlers (1981) faith development theory (FDT), this article presents a modification of structural-developmental theory of religion. The primacy of cognitive development as motor and guideline of religious development is called into question. The new model, the typology of religious styles, is aimed at accounting more fully for the life-history- and life-world-relatedness of religion, at its principal interactive, interpersonal origin and shape. Thus the phenomenologists Merleau-Ponty (1962, 1988) and Ricoeur (1985/1988, 1990/1992) who provide philosophical perspectives, Noams (1985, 1988a, 1988b, 1988c, 1990) developmental perspective, which is based on interpersonality, as well as Rizzutos (1979, 1991) view of the psychodynamic development of religion, play a significant role for the reformulation. An overview of styles is described and illustrated in a figure. References to results of empirical research are included, and an explanation of fundamentalism is outlined that follows from the religious styles perspective.

THEORY: "Faith Development Research Revisited: Accounting for Diversity in Structure, Content, and Narrativity of Faith"

Based on the recent proposal in this journal (Streib, 2001a) to revise James Fowlers (1981) faith development theory, the article argues for a revision of faith development research to account not only for structural diversity, but also for narrative and content diversity. Therefore, it suggests the inclusion of content-analytical and narrative-analytical procedures into faith development research. The argument develops in light of a review of 53 empirical studies that all have used Fowlers faith development instrument or a variation thereof; this review pays attention to the instruments that have been proposed for quantitative research in faith development, but especially to the empirical studies that have already included narrative- and content-analytical approaches. The article concludes with a proposal for a revised research design that integrates attention for structure, content, and narrative and suggests a coherent methodological procedure for future research in faith development.

The Religious Schema Scale: Construction and Initial Validation of a Quantitative Measure for Religious Styles

This article presents the Religious Schema Scale (RSS). Its conceptual background is the model of religious styles. After a conceptual discussion of the relation between religious styles and religious schemata, the steps of scale construction are reported. Based on 822 responses from research participants in the United States and Germany to a preliminary 78-item version, we used construct-oriented iterative and factor-analytic procedures for reducing the RSS to a 15-item version that consists of three 5-item subscales with acceptable reliabilities. Confirmatory factor analysis indicates that the RSS has a robust 3-factor structure, which is cross-culturally valid in both the United States and Germany. We report correlations of the RSS with the Big Five, Psychological Well-Being, Religious Fundamentalism, and Right-Wing Authoritarianism. We also present predictive characteristics of the RSS in regard to Fowlers stages of faith. Finally, we report results on the incremental validity of the RSS.

The Semantics of ‘Spirituality’ and Related Self-Identifications: A Comparative Study in Germany and the USA

Culturally different connotations of basic concepts challenge the comparative study of religion. Do persons in Germany or in the United States refer to the same concepts when talking about ‘spirituality’ and ‘religion’? Does it make a difference how they identify themselves? The Bielefeld-Chattanooga Cross-Cultural Study on ‘Spirituality’ includes a semantic differential approach for the comparison of self-identified “neither religious nor spiritual”, “religious”, and “spiritual” persons regarding semantic attributes attached to the concepts ‘religion’ and ‘spirituality’ in each research context. Results show that ‘spirituality’ is used as a broader concept than ‘religion’. Regarding religion, semantics attributed by self-identified religious persons differ significantly from those of the spiritual persons. The ‘spiritual’ and the ‘religious’ groups agree on semantics attributed to spirituality but differ from the ‘neither spiritual nor religious’ group. Qualifications of differences and agreements become visible from the comparison between the United States and Germany. It is argued for the semantically sensitive study of culturally situated ‘spiritualities’.

Faith Development, Religious Styles and Biographical Narratives: Methodological Perspectives

Abstract Narrative study of religious lives has formed part of numerous projects at the Bielefeld Research Center for Biographical Studies in Contemporary Religion. An essential instrument in our designs, which mostly combine qualitative and quantitative methods, is the Faith Development Interview (FDI). In response to longstanding criticism its cognitive structural framework has been revised in respect of styles and schemata. The religious styles perspective examines the self as articulated in narratives and associates it with affectivity and emotion. This article gives an overview of our theoretical and methodological revisions, which take cognizance of current developments in lifespan developmental and clinical psychology such as attachment, mentalization and wisdom. We illustrate the implementation of these advances with a case study from our current study of ‘spirituality’, 1 which we locate in the complex multi-method design, and outline the triangulation of qualitative and quantitative data.

The Variety of Deconversion Experiences - Contours of a Concept in Respect to Empirical Research

This article presents an outline of historical and situational arguments which suggest a focus on deconversion, an outline of conversion research and its consequences for deconversion, and a discussion of extant empirical research on deconversion. The discussion then focuses on the conceptualization of deconversion and compiles the features from which a comprehensive concept of deconversion may emerge. The core features of the deconversion concept which is suggested in this article are complemented by dimensions of diversity which also include a developmental perspective (from the religious styles perspective). This has implications for future research.

Religious Styles Predict Interreligious Prejudice: A Study of German Adolescents with the Religious Schema Scale

Based on a sample of 340 German adolescents age 12 to 25, this article presents an analysis of the effects of religion on two instances of interreligious prejudice: anti-Islamic and anti-Semitic prejudice. Reflecting the emergent interest in implementing a perspective of religious maturity and religious development into research on religion and prejudice, the present study has included the Religious Schema Scale (RSS) which, with its three subscales, Truth of Texts & Teachings (ttt), Fairness, Tolerance & Rational Choice (ftr), and Xenosophia/Interreligious Dialog (xenos), differentiates religious styles. Regression analyses indicate the superior explanatory power of the RSS in comparison to other measures of religiosity. The RSS subscale ttt relates to and predicts anti-Islamic and anti-Semitic prejudice, whereas ftr and xenos relate to and predict disagreement with interreligious prejudice. Results of an analysis of variance using high agreement on ttt, ftr, and xenos for group construction indicate a decrease in interreligious prejudice in relation to religious development.

Religion inside and outside Traditional Institutions

Religion inside and outside Traditional Institutions combines conceptual reflection, methodological proposals, and research results that help to understand contemporary religious praxis. These contributions to empirical theology thereby adopt a perspective which includes religious praxis outside traditional institutions.

The Distinction between Authoritarianism and Fundamentalism in Three Cultures: Factor Analysis and Personality Correlates

The goals of the study were to examine whether fundamentalism and authoritarianism could be distinguished by the Big Five factors of personality in American, Romanian and German samples, and to determine whether fundamentalism and authoritarianism could be distinguished by factor analysis in any of the three cultures. The results in all three cultures indicate that fundamentalism and authoritarianism have virtually identical personality correlates. In all three cultures, the two constructs were indistinguishable via exploratory factor analysis and could only be distinguished via confirmatory factor analysis, although direction-of-wording effects dwarfed the differences between fundamentalism and authoritarianism. The findings suggest that researchers should view fundamentalism as religious authoritarianism, and should therefore be cautious when making inferences about religiosity from research on fundamentalism.

EXTENDING OUR VISION OF DEVELOPMENTAL GROWTH AND ENGAGING IN EMPIRICAL SCRUTINY: PROPOSALS FOR THE FUTURE OF FAITH DEVELOPMENT THEORY

Abstract This article evaluates the portrait of faith development theory and research in James Fowlers article, “Faith Development at 30.” Questions are raised: Does Fowlers emphasis on the practical-theological and pastoral focus of faith development contradict its aspiration and disposition for empirical scrutiny? Does Fowlers principal concern with the reactions from Christian theologians and religious educators indicate disregard of and from psychology? Both questions can be denied with reference to the large amount of research projects which use and apply the faith development perspective. The article suggests further engagement in theory discussion, methodological clarification and empirical research; it invites networking among researchers and indicates future research strategies. But also the practical-theological relevance of faith development theory, especially for religious education, are demonstrated with reference to recent research. The article concludes, in agreement with Fowler, with a proposal to notice the importance of the Conjunctive Faith style for social bodies, and to include this in religious education. With the latter, the article moves beyond a wide-spread faith development application and argues against the false assumption as if children and adolescents could not understand and consider Conjunctive Faith.