A developmental view of faith

Abstract

It will seem obvious to almost everyone in the twentieth century that the church needs to take seriously issues having to do with moral and religious development, and it will seem equally obvious that psychology is the dis cipline that is best able to inform us about these issues. Developmental psy chology has made great advances since the turn of the century, and the church has made ready use of its findings, especially in the area of educational meth ods and curriculum planning. It is important to remember, however, that the concept of development, so central to our view of man today, is relatively new in the history of man's self-understanding. Erik Erikson, a leading develop mental theorist, notes that "one may scan work after work on history, society, and morality and find little reference to the fact that all people start as chil dren and that all peoples begin in their nurseries."1 He might well have added theology and philosophy to his list. All of us tend to take the concept of a long childhood for granted. In a fascinating historical study of the subject entitled Centuries of Childhood (London, Jonathan Cape, 1962), Philippe Aries forces one to recognize that developmental considerations are very new to our pres ent historical and cultural context. Earlier efforts at human self-understand