ABSTRACT
The process of spiritual development may sometimes be incremental, but it does not necessarily occur simply by gradual and additive growth. Often it involves crucial periods in which previous frames of reference are challenged by some very fulfilling “peak” experiences, or by experiences of suffering, grief, or crisis. In the previous chapter several models of psychological health were examined (the medical, adaptation, and growth models), and several models of human development were referred to (Kohlberg’s moral development stage model, Erikson’s model of life “crises,” and Marcia’s identity status model). In this chapter we will examine three models that directly look at spiritual or religious development: Fowler’s “stages of faith,” Wilber’s “stages of spiritual development,” and Washburn’s “dynamic of dialectic development.” These three models provide an overview of the developmental view of spirituality, and have prompted more research or analysis than other existing theories of spiritual development. I present these models despite my criticisms of stage models of development (see Chapter 1) because they provide a useful introduction to the issues of crisis and exploration, which are central to ensuing chapters. As you read these models, keep in mind the limitations of step-by-step stage theories. The focus with the client is on the process or growth and inclusiveness, not on whether a particular stage has been reached. The first is a model that emerges out of the major religious traditions. The second and third are more secular models that emerge from the field of transpersonal psychology.
