Abstract
James Fowler's (1981) faith development theory (FDT) for over 20 years has provided a theoretical foundation for a wide range of research projects in the psychology of religious development as well as generated lively critical scholarly response from other psychologists of religion. Frequently unexamined are the theological foundations of Fowler's project and the way in which his work weighs in on a matter significant for both philosophers and psychologists of religion: the postmodern problem of foundations, or whether it is possible to speak meaningfully of a universal human religious orientation or potentiality. This essay revisits the original theological inspiration for Fowler's work and then considers critiques that FDT has received from 2 quite different directions: from research psychologists and from theologically critical writers. By way of looking at how philosophical theologian Conn (1998) addressed the latter, we will be led back to find a possible answer to the problem of foundations in those very aspects of Fowler's theory that have provoked the most criticism from research psychologists, namely in its effort to find a place for the contributions of contemporary relational psychoanalysis.
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