Sustaining Faith from Childhood Into Adulthood: Faith Commitment Associated with the Identity Achievement Status Among Emerging Adults from Evangelical Christian...

ISBN-10
1369241127
ISBN-13
9781369241129
Category
Belief and doubt
Pages
254
Language
English
Published
2016
Author
David Weil

Description

The study investigated the influences that explain how some Evangelical Christians sustained their faith from childhood into emerging adulthood. The study also looked into the role of parental influences and how participants worked through their religious doubts. Students were interviewed who tested identity achieved and faith mature using the OMEIS by Adams (2010) and the FMS by Benson, Donahue and Erikson (1993), grew up in an Evangelical Christian home, sustained faith into emerging adulthood, and were age twenty one to thirty five. Findings confirmed faith is largely tacit throughout childhood (Fowler 1981) but becomes personalized with puberty and the identity crisis (Erikson 1968). A dominant faith pattern emerged and progressed from tacit faith immersion -- childhood acceptance/commitment -- adolescent faith commitment -- questions and doubts -- emerging adult commitment. Adolescence began a vulnerable phase of sustaining faith, due to the pressure of individualizing faith, changing parental influences, encountering religious doubts, and religiosity discouragers. These discouragers included friend's behavior, personal hardship, church failure, not feeling loved by God, and university challenges. The dominant discourager was friend's behavior. Five key questions concerning religious doubt surfaced. Participants struggled with one or more of these before reconstituting faith in late adolescence or emerging adulthood. The questions included: if God is loving and good why is there so much suffering; does God exist; is Jesus God and the only way; is the Bible trustworthy; and is my salvation secure? Once these were settled, participants continued to address minor religious questions. Resolving religious doubt was a "recursive movement" (Puffer et al. 2008, 273). Eight religiosity encouragers included: nurturing parents, mentors, Bible and prayer, the church, Christian friends, seeing faith lived out, religious experiences, and other Christian family members. Religious commitment was an on-going layering of faith or "reconstitution" of faith over time (Fowler 1980, 79). Parental influence was a dominant influence for participants but shifted during adolescence. Parental influence moved from immediate, active and directive to supportive, modeling and foundational (Smith and Denton 2005). Religious beliefs were essentially the same between parents and their adult children.

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