Essay Example: Faith Development Interview

Faith is manifested through actions and adherence to the religious teachings at all times. At different stages of life, people have different values and views about religion. This paper is a summary of the interview I conducted on a young person and an older person and myself. The aim of this article is to analyze the situations of the two persons I interviewed as well as my situation according to Fowler's stages of faith model.

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The young person pointed that he has not experienced an event that stands out as the most important in his life. The young person divided his life into two major segments namely the parents and friends. Parents, school and the church act as the socializing agents and they play a significant part in shaping his life. He strives to make friends whenever he goes, and he is concerned about their welfare, and he copies almost everything they do. The fact that his friends highly influence him causes some conflicts with his parents. According to the young person, he follows religion blindly and feels that religion is the most important part of the society. The interview clearly shows that he is in the synthetic-conventional stage of Fowler's stages of faith model. At this stage, one is controlled by the group that represents his or her values and beliefs.

According to the young person, the most significant relationship is familial because family helps to guide the individual on the right course of action. He has not experienced losses that have shaped his life. The most important values that act as guiding values in life are values that are in line with the norms of the group. The young person believes that there is no need to have values that all individuals ought to agree on and as such people should have freedom to make choices that suit them. Peers are the most critical support for the values and beliefs that he adheres to. The young person believes that he is not a religious person because the choice to subscribe to religion was imposed to him by his family. Morality cannot break without religion because values define morality in the society. The young person believes that mature faith is that does not compel others to do things they do not feel like doing.

The older person classified his life into three stages namely teenage, young adulthood and adulthood. According to the older adult the most important relationships in his life are career-related and his family. Familial and work relationships define who he I because he gives all his best to have a good job and a happy family. One event that shaped his life was losing a close friend through a tragic road accident. The death of his best friend changed how he views life and now believes that the most important value in life is doing the right thing at the right time. The older person feels that there are certain values that all individuals ought to agree on such as helping each other in times of need.

Family and the close associates play important role in support of values and beliefs that we subscribe to in our lives. The older person believes that he is religious because he practiced most of the religious teachings and he fully understands the role of religion in his life. He believes that in one way or the other religion leads to morality, but it is not the sole promoter of morality in the society. He believes that mature faith is seen through actions. The older person is in the conjunctive faith stage of Fowler's stages of faith model because he accepts the paradoxes of life and knows not all events in life can be explained using religious approach.

I am in the in individuative-reflective stage of Fowler's stages of faith model because I examine the religious teachings on my own. I define my values and live according to my principles rather than following the values of my peers blindly. The events that stand out in my life is graduating from high school and joining college because it meant the end of parental control. I can divide my life into two segments namely teenage and young adult. I believe intimate relationships and work a friendly work environment are imperative in my life. I have not experienced any loss that has changed my life in a special way.

The guiding values in my life are that I should always do everything that adds value to my life and does not interfere with the values of others. For instance, I should give a helping hand to the needy and the sick in the society. There are certain values that people out to agree on such spending time wisely and with the right people. The most important groups in my life are my friends and work mates. I am a religious person, and I believe that without religion morality does not break down. Religion simply helps to promote morality but is not the sole reason why people uphold morals. Mature faith is manifested through actions and good deeds.