Fowler's faith development

In the comments below (the more post) there has been a small discussion on times of questioning and when they occur. A man by the name of Fowler formulated a theory about stages of faith, a way of conceptualizing the changes that take place in people's faith journeys. The information below came from this site.

Stage 3. Synthetic-conventional: In this stage, a person knows why he/she believes. One pulls together various parts of faith and tends to conform to the majority, and people are rewarded or punished for following rules laid down by the proper authority (the church or Bible). Views at this stage are often stereotyped.

Stage 4. Individuative-reflective: There is a relocation of authority within the self, along with a critical reflection of one's beliefs. Faith becomes uniquely one's own. In addition, there is usually a struggle to grow and understand.

Stage 5. Conjunctive: Individuals realize the paradoxes in faith, and learn to live with their faith and their questions. This stage involves a dynamic, trusting relationship with God.

Stage 6. Universalizing Faith: This stage is defined by feeling at one with God. People here invest their lives in a larger cause without being concerned by the personal cost (Parrott & Steele, 1995; Swensen, Fuller, & Clements, 1993). These stages are simply frameworks of understanding people and where they are in regard to their faith.

Note that no one has to go through all the stages, Fowler claimed that a minority of people do. It seems to me that stage 4 is usually that first questioning period of the late teens and 20s. The later stages, according to Fowler, rarely come until later in adulthood.