Religion and Spirituality in Adolescent Development - ResearchGate

44 Pages·2009·0.38 MB·English

CHAPTER 13
Religion and Spirituality in
Adolescent Development

PAMELA EBSTYNE KING AND ROBERT W. ROESER *
This chapter marks the first time that the topic words. Repeating this search for the period
of adolescent religiousness and spirituality from August 2002 to January 2008, we found
has appeared in the H andbook of Adolescent that only 20 of the 1530 published articles, or
Psychology . Although significant attention was 1.3%, referenced these key words.
devoted to the religious development of ado- These searches document that religion and
lescents in the early part of the twentieth cen- spirituality are still rare topics of inquiry in the
tury (e.g., Hall, 1904 ), and again in the 1960s field of developmental science. Nonetheless,
and 1970s (see Spilka, Hood, Hunsberger, interest is increasing. The Society for Research
& Gorsuch, 2003 ), this topic was relatively on Adolescence ’ s Study Group on Adolescence
neglected for much of the latter part of the twen- in the 21st Century, for instance, noted that one
tiethth century. It is only relatively recently that of the areas most in need of research “ across
renewed interest in the topic of religious and all nations ” is the development of spiritual and
spiritual development during adolescence has religious values and identities during adoles-
developed within the developmental sciences cence (Larson, Wilson, & Mortimer, 2002 ).
(e.g., Barrett & Richert, 2003 ; Bloom, 2007 ; As noted in Roehklepartain et al. (2006), spe-
Lerner, Roeser, & Phelps, 2008 ; Roehlkepartain, cial issues on the topic have also appeared
King, Wagener, & Benson, 2006 ). recently in peer - reviewed journals such as the
Benson, Roehlkepartain, and Rude ( 2003 ) Journal of Adolescence, Annals of Behavioral
documented this recent lack of attention to reli- Medicine, Applied Developmental Science,
gious and spiritual development during child- Review of Religious Research, Journal of
hood and adolescence by reviewing the frequency Health Psychology, Journal of Personality,
of publications on these topics in six top - tiered New Directions for Youth Development , and
journals (C hild Development, Developmental American Psychologist (special section).
Psychology, International Journal of Behavioral Another indicator of emerging interest in
Development, Journal of Adolescent Research, this area is the inclusion of chapters on spiri-
Journal of Early Adolescence, and J ournal of tual and religious development in prominent
Research on Adolescence ). Of the 3,123 arti- handbooks in the field of developmental sci-
cles published in these journals between 1990 ence such as this handbook. For example, for
and July 2002, only 27 or 0.9% referenced the first time since its original publication
“ religion, ” “ religious development, ” “ spiri- in 1946, the sixth edition of the H andbook
tuality, ” or “ spiritual development ” as key of Child Psychology included a chapter on
* The authors thank Casey Clardy, Kayla Davidson, Jennifer Davison, Lauren White, Sonia Issac, and Jenel
Ramos for their invaluable assistance on this manuscript.
435
cc1133..iinndddd SSeecc11::443355 1111//44//0088 55::0000::4411 PPMM
436 Religion and Spirituality in Adolescent Development
spiritual development (Oser, Scarlett, & Bucher, THE ROLE OF RELIGION AND
2006 ). In addition, comprehensive synthesis of SPIRITUALITY IN ADOLESCENTS ’
existing research and theory in the H andbook LIVES: DEMOGRAPHIC TRENDS
of Spiritual Development in Childhood and In 1999, Gallup International ( 1999 ) surveyed
Adolescence (Roehlkepartain et al., 2006 ) and over 50,000 people in 60 countries across the
the E ncyclopedia of Religious and Spiritual world about their religious beliefs. The sample
Development in Childhood and Adolescence represented approximately 1.25 billion people.
(Dowling & Scarlett, 2006 ) have recently been Results showed that 87% of respondents self -
published. identified with a collective religious tradition,
Given this emerging area of interest in the and approximately two - thirds reported that
study of adolescence, we pursue four aims in “ God ” was very important in their lives. These
this chapter. First, as a way of demonstrating trends were particularly strong in West Africa,
the importance of the growing scholarly atten- Latin America, and North America. These
tion to religiosity and spirituality, we provide findings and others document that: (1) reli-
a demographic portrait of the role of religion gion/spirituality is a central part of the lives of
and spirituality in the lives of adults and ado- a majority of the people across the world, par-
lescents in the United States in particular. We ticularly in developing nations; (2) the United
present facts that show religion/spirituality States stands out as one of the most religious
to be an important part of the everyday lives nations in the developed world, especially
of tens of millions of Americans young and compared to western European countries; and
old. To ignore this domain of study in human China remains much less religious than other
development as has been the case historically developing nations (Pew Forum, 2002).
(Donelson, 1999 ) is thus to ignore some-
thing rather central to adolescent develop- U.S. Adult Trends in Religious and
ment (e.g., Lerner et al., 2008; Roehlkepartain Spiritual Self - Identification
et al., 2006 ), to the life of our nation (e.g., Pew According to the Pew Forum on Religion and
Forum on Religion and Public Life, 2008d) to Public Life ( 2008 ), the religious affiliations
the global challenges of our times (e.g., Harris, of the U.S. adult population are changing in
2004 ). After presenting a case for the impor- dramatic ways. Currently, the adult popula-
tance of religion and spirituality in adolescent tion identifies religiously as 51% Protestant
development, we review theoretical perspec- Christian; 24% Catholic Christian; 16% unaf-
tives on religious and spiritual development filiated with a religion; > 2% Jewish, > 2%
during adolescence with a particular emphasis Mormon, and > 1% Muslim. About 4% were
on a developmental system, social ecologi- affiliated with other major faiths, and 1%
cal perspective. This perspective provides a refused to answer or didn ’ t know.
framework for organizing our review of extant These numbers reflect five basic trends
evidence regarding how different social con- in American religious life. First, for the first
texts influence religious and spiritual devel- time in the history of the United States, a
opment during adolescence, as well as the nation founded on Protestant Christianity,
role of religion and spirituality in broader Protestantism represents only a slight religious
aspects of adolescent development such as majority (51%) or may even now be less than
health, subjective well - being, education, risk 50% of the country (Portes & Rumbaut, 2007)
behavior, and civic engagement. Finally, we due to long - term declines in church member-
examine the problematic and sometimes ship. Second, a small but increasingly signifi-
pathological role of religion/spirituality in cant number of Americans identify religiously
adolescent development. We conclude with as Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, or Orthodox
suggestions for future research. Christian (e.g., Eck, 2007 ). Third, despite
cc1133..iinndddd SSeecc11::443366 1111//44//0088 55::0000::4422 PPMM
The Role of Religion and Spirituality in Adolescents’ Lives: Demographic Trends 437
declines in church membership among U.S. - In terms of specific religious identifica-
born Catholics, the membership of the Catholic tions, results of the National Study of Youth
church has remained stable (24%) in the United and Religion (NSYR) show that religious
States due to immigrants, mostly from Latin affiliations among adolescents parallel those
America, the Philippines, and, to some extent, of adults (Smith & Denton, 2005 ). Results
Vietnam, who identify as Catholic (Portes & documented that most youth in the United
Rumbaut). Fourth, an increasing proportion States self - identify as C hristian (75%); mainly
of Americans identify themselves as unaffili- Protestant (52%) and C atholic (23%). In addi-
ated with any religious tradition. That approxi- tion, 2.5% self - identity religiously as M ormon ,
mately 14% – 16% of American adults affiliate 1.5% as Jewish , 0.5% as Muslim, and another
with no religious tradition, and that this per- 1% – 2% identify with other religions (e.g.,
centage has increased over the past decade and Jehovah ’ s Witnesses, Hindus, Buddhists, Eastern
a half, is taken as evidence of an increasing but Orthodox Christian, Unitarian Universalist,
still minority trend toward secularization in the etc.). Furthermore, results showed that
United States (Portes & Rumbaut). approximately 3% of adolescents self - identify
Finally, evidence suggests that there is great with two different religions, likely due to the
fluidity among American adults with respect increase in interreligious marriages in U.S.
to their religious affiliations. The Pew Forum society (Eck, 2007 ). The rest of adolescents in
study (2007) found that more than one - quarter the NSYR, reflective of a substantial minor-
of American adults (28%) have left the faith ity of adolescents (16%), did not report any
in which they were raised during childhood in collective religious identity (see also Wallace
favor of another religion or no religion at all. et al., 2003 ). These youth were labeled non-
If one included switching churches within the religious (Smith & Denton, p. 31). Among
Protestant faith in estimates of fluidity, this adolescents whom Smith and Denton called
percentage of changing denominations rises to nonreligious , most self - identified themselves
44%. Add to this kind of fluidity Americans ’ as “ just not religious ” (10%), “ atheist ” (1.5%),
tolerance for exploring practices beyond their or “ agnostic ” (1.5%). The remaining 3% of
tradition and the increase in interreligious mar- the 16% “ nonreligious youth ” seemed uncer-
riages, and the religious context in America tain about their religious identity, suggesting
seems fluid indeed. a small percentage of young people may have
relatively “ unexplored ” religious identities
U.S. Adolescent Trends in Religious in adolescence (Smith & Denton). Some of
and Spiritual Self - Identification these young people who did not identify with
Given the high levels of religiosity among a religion in fact were raised in a household
American adults, it is not surprising that rep- where there was religion. The main reason for
resentative studies of American youth have why U.S. adolescents raised in a religion said
documented that the vast majority of adoles- they were nonreligious was, by far, intellectual
cents in the United States tend to affiliate with skepticism and disbelief (Smith & Denton).
one particular religious group (84% – 87%;
Smith & Denton, 2005 ; Wallace, Forman, Religious Importance and Attendance
Caldwell, & Willis, 2003 ). In addition, a sig- Among U.S. Adolescents
nificant minority of young people today do not Perhaps the most studied variables indexing
identify with any religion (13% – 16%; Smith religiosity beyond religious self - identification is
& Denton; Wallace et al.). Similar to the find- individuals ’ self - rated importance of religion to
ings for adults (Pew, 2008), the number of themselves (or in their lives) and religious
religiously unaffiliated adolescents seems to attendance — usually frequency of attendance
be rising (Wallace et al.). or time spent in religious services. These
cc1133..iinndddd 443377 1111//44//0088 55::0000::4422 PPMM
438 Religion and Spirituality in Adolescent Development
measures are often combined and called religi- middle to high school years. Nonetheless, that
osity or religiousness — an unfortunate mixing finding means that the other third of their sam-
of what can be considered psychological iden- ple showed a discontinuity during this period
tity beliefs and religious behavior. Nonetheless, with attitudes changing from both favorable
using these measures, several nationally repre- to unfavorable and vice versa. Wallace et al.
sentative studies in the last 10 years suggest ( 2003 ) reported less attendance among older
that between 50% – 60% of American adoles- adolescence and Smith and Denton ( 2005 )
cents can be considered “ strongly religious ” reported minor age - related differences in vari-
(Benson et al., 2003 ; Wallace et al., 2003 ). ous indicators of religiosity in their cross - sec-
Smith and Denton ( 2005 ) report that about half tional, national study of 13 – 17 year olds. These
of all U.S. adolescents (ages 13 – 17 years) indi- authors posit that declines in religiosity noted
cate a strong, positive orientation to matters of in other studies may begin after age 17.
religion, faith and religious experience in their
Cohort Differences
lives. They point out that this means “ the other
Using data from the 1976 – 1999 panels of the
half of U.S. teenagers express weak or no sub-
Monitoring the Future Study, Wallace et al.
jective attachment to religion and have fewer
( 2003 ) found a decline in religious attendance
or no religious experiences ” (p. 68).
among high school seniors across the 1970s and
Interestingly, Benson et al. ( 2003 ) also
1980s, and a stabilization of attendance among
found sizeable proportions of youth who
12th graders across the 1990s. A conservative
reported high attendance at religious services
interpretation of their findings, the authors
also reported low personal importance of reli-
write, is that “ religiosity has been fairly stable
gion. They speculated that parental pressures
for over a decade among 8th and 10th graders
to attend services or voluntary youth atten-
and for more than a quarter century among 12th
dance for the social rather than the religious
graders ” (Wallace et al., p. 121).
aspect of religious activities with same - aged
peers are the primary motivators behind such Sex Differences
adolescents ’ attendance at religious programs,
Several studies have shown that sex differences
activities, and services. These results highlight
in religiosity are evident among adolescents
the importance of (1) conducting research
(Smith & Denton, 2005 ; Wallace et al., 2 003 ).
on the role of religion and spirituality in the
Smith and Denton reported that, compared to
lives of adolescents; (2) attending to the diver-
adolescent boys, adolescent girls aged 13 – 17
sity of motives youth have for such attendance;
years old (1) attend religious services more
and furthermore (3) allowing for the possibil-
frequently, (2) see religion as shaping their
ity in such research that in fact religion/spiritu-
daily lives more; (3) are more likely to have
ality plays little to no role in the development
made a personal commitment to live life for
of some youth.
God; (4) are involved more often in religious
youth groups; (5) pray more alone; and (6) feel
Age Differences
closer to God. These gender differences, con-
Research on age - related differences in indi-
sistent but fairly small in magnitude, remain
cators of religious attendance and salience is
after accounting for youths ’ social back-
equivocal. Findings from one longitudinal
grounds. Furthermore, such sex differences
study showed widespread continuous levels
persist into adulthood (Batson, Schoenrade &
of religious attendance and importance across
Ventis, 1993 ; Donahue & Benson, 1995 ).
adolescence. In a study of 370 youth, Benson,
Scales, Sesma, and Roehlkepartain ( 2005 ) Geographic Trends
found that about two - thirds showed continu- There are also geographic differences in the
ous levels of religious importance from the level of religiosity among adolescents. Smith
cc1133..iinndddd 443388 1111//44//0088 55::0000::4422 PPMM
Concepts and Theories of Religious and Spiritual Development in Adolescence 439
and Denton ( 2005 ) found that adolescents in youth religious involvement may impact the
the Northeast were generally the least reli- development of adolescents. Such influences
gious, those in the South the most religious, and would, of course, depend at least in part on the
those in the Midwest and West fell in between. nature of religious and spiritual development.
Wallace et al. ( 2003 ) reported slightly different Accordingly, in the next section, we provide
findings from data collected in the late 1990s. an overview of theories of religious and spiri-
Among this cohort of adolescents, those living tual development during adolescence.
in the South indeed reported the most atten-
dance and highest centrality of religion to self CONCEPTS AND THEORIES
and those in the Midwest showed intermediate OF RELIGIOUS AND
levels of religiosity. These findings corroborate SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT IN
those of Smith and Denton. However, youth in ADOLESCENCE
the Monitoring the Future study in 1999 who The study of religion and spirituality in
lived in the West and the Northeast were found developmental science hinges on whether it
to be less religious on these measures than is possible to formulate g ood theories from
those in the South and Midwest. These find- which scientists derive clear and scientifi-
ings concerning youth growing up in Western cally tractable definitions of what religion
states differ from the NSYR findings. It may be and spirituality are substantively, what they
that 10 years of immigration in Western states, do functionally (Emmons & Paloutzian, 2003 ;
especially immigration of Latin Americans Weaver, Pargament, Flannelly, & Oppenheimer,
who tend to be very religious, may account for 2006 ), and how they d evelop systematically
this difference (Eck, 2007 ). over ontogenetic time (cf. Lerner et al., 2008;
In addition to these major geographical dif- Oser et al., 2 006 ; Roehlkepartain et al., 2006 ).
ferences, research shows that adolescents who Indeed, the challenge of having “ good ” theo-
live in the most rural and sparsely populated ries is one that has historically plagued the
counties in the United States tend to be more study of the psychology of religion (Batson,
religious than those living in more populated, 1997 ). Having good theory remains a signifi-
urban environments (Smith & Denton, 2005 ; cant challenge in the contemporary study of
Wallace et al., 2003 ). Furthermore, studies religious and spiritual development (RSD)
within rural communities in Iowa show that during adolescence.
European - American adolescents living on Nonetheless, several key theoretical strands
farms had stronger ties to religious institutions can be discerned in current research on reli-
and were more committed to religious val- gious and spiritual development (RSD) dur-
ues than their peers who do not live on farms ing adolescence. Specifically, RSD has been
(King, Elder, & Whitbeck, 1997 ). discussed in terms of (1) a relational system
In sum, demographic evidence in the United affording security and anxiety reduction; (2) a
States shows that formal religious participation meaning system affording existential answers
is important in about 50% of U.S. adolescents ’ in the context of life ’ s “ boundary conditions ”
lives, with some decline in religiousness among (e.g., death) and unexplainable life events; (3)
older adolescents. There are also sex differ- the development of cognitive schemas indexing
ences in which female adolescents are more conceptions of religious phenomena such as
religious than their male peers. There is also evi- prayer and God; (4) an identity - motivation sys-
dence to suggest that living in the South, the tem organized around particular religious and
Midwest, and to some degree the West, as well spiritual goals, values, and ultimate concerns;
as the less densely populated and more rural (5) states and stages of awareness that tran-
areas of the country, is associated with greater scend ego - consciousness and its boundedness
religiousness among youth. These levels of in time and space (e.g., mystical experiences,
cc1133..iinndddd 443399 1111//44//0088 55::0000::4422 PPMM
440 Religion and Spirituality in Adolescent Development
construct - aware stages of functioning); and (6) transcendent other (i.e., God, higher power,
a dynamic developmental systems perspective ultimate truth) and (b) to bring about an under-
in which RSD is seen in relation to multiple standing of an individual’ s relationship and
responsibility to others living together in com-
contexts, people, symbol systems, and oppor-
munity. (p.18)
tunities and risks that foster or frustrate such
development across the life span. In addition,
not all current scholarship about RSD is theo- In contrast, spirituality is defined as:
retically framed. Accordingly, we begin this
discussion by describing two atheoretical defi- . . . a personal quest for understanding answers
nitions that nevertheless have served as a point to ultimate questions about life, about meaning,
of departure for more theoretical approaches. and about relationship to the sacred or transcen-
dent, which may (or may not) lead to or arise
Atheoretical Approaches and the from the development of religious rituals and the
formation of community. (p. 18)
Study of Religion and Spirituality
A proliferation of atheoretical, descriptive tax-
onomies of RSD and of the question of how to This perspective is close to Pargament ’ s
distinguish religion and spirituality in human ( 2007 ) view of personal religiousness or spiri-
development characterize the field of the tuality as a “ quest for the sacred ” in which the
psychology of religion and spirituality today “ sacred ” is defined in terms of individuals ’
(Paloutzian & Park, 2005 ). Traditionally, the field “ concepts of God, the divine and transcendent
of psychology of religion subsumed the terms reality, as well as other aspects of life that take
religion and s pirituality under the construct on divine character and significance by virtue
of religion (Spilka et al., 2003 ). However, of their association with, or representation of,
recent years have seen a divergence in these divinity ” (Pargament, 2007 , p. 32). Koenig et al.
constructs, both in the culture as well as in the posit that there are five “ types ” of (individual -
sciences (Koenig, McCullough, & Larson, 2001 ; level) spiritualities that are either “ moored ” or
Zinnbauer & Pargament, 2005 ). Thus, debate “ unmoored ” to an established (social - level)
over the substantive and functional distinctions religious tradition. For the vast majority, they
between r eligiousness and s pirituality is one of posit that the spiritual life is “ moored ” or tied
a number of central conceptual challenges in the to a formal religious tradition. Nonetheless,
psychology of religion today, and one that bears Koenig et al. ( 2001 ) also acknowledge the
centrally on developmental science theories of existence of individuals who search for mean-
religious and spiritual development. ing to ultimate questions through unmoored
One prominent atheoretical approach to spiritualities such as “ humanist spirituality ” in
distinguishing between religion and spiritual- which the focal concerns center on humanity
ity is to conceptualize religion at the level of as a whole, universal ethics, and the cultiva-
an organized sociocultural – historical system, tion of human potential rather than around a
and spirituality at the level of individuals ’ per- Transcendent God or Transcendental Reality.
sonal quests for meaning, happiness, and wis- This approach of assigning religion to the level
dom. For instance, in chapter 1 , Definitions, of of context and spirituality to the level of the
the H andbook of Religion and Health (Koenig person as a means of differentiating religion
et al., 2001 ), religion is defined substantively from spirituality is somewhat elegant. Rather
and functionally as: than having to then decide if the person is
religious or spiritual at the individual level
. . . an organized system of beliefs, practices, (which tells one little about the meaning
rituals, and symbols that serve to (a) to facili- and functional significance of these terms),
tate individuals ’ closeness to the sacred or Koenig et al. propose that researchers focus
cc1133..iinndddd 444400 1111//44//0088 55::0000::4433 PPMM
Concepts and Theories of Religious and Spiritual Development in Adolescence 441
attention on “ religiously moored ” or “ reli- several theories of the development of reli-
giously unmoored ” forms of spirituality at the giously moored and unmoored spiritualities.
individual level. As mentioned earlier, given
that nearly a half of adolescents report no for- Religion and the Development of
mal religious engagement, and more and more Relational Security
are identifying with no religion, a focus on Freud saw religion as a “ universal obsessional
unmoored forms of spirituality during these neurosis ” derived from infantile human wishes
years is warranted in the future. for love, comfort and security (Freud, 1961 ,
The notion of “ moored spiritualities ” is p. 43). Religion was an “ opiate ” derived across
akin to the situation when individuals identify human evolution to provide an illusory sense
as “ religious. ” The notion of “ unmoored spiri- of safety and security against the frailty of
tualities ” is akin to the situation in which indi- life and the ubiquity of suffering. Despite the
viduals identify as “ spiritual, not religious. ” fact that psychoanalytic accounts of religion
Zinnbauer and Pargament ( 2005 ) summarize have been criticized thoroughly on a number
research on adults that also applies to U.S. of grounds (see Spilka et al., 2003 ), Freud ’ s
adolescents with respect to identifications as “ opiate theory ” of religion informed and was
“ religious and spiritual ” and “ spiritual, not transformed by subsequent object relations
religious. ” They suggest that: and attachment theorists.
With respect to Object Relations Theory,
1. Most people identify as both religious and Rizzuto ( 1979 ) argued that representations of
spiritual. God are a universal outcome of a child ’ s rela-
2. A minority of people identify as “ spiritual tionships with their parents or other caretakers.
not religious, ” sometimes using this iden- According to object relations theory, individuals
tification as a repudiation of institutional internalize affectively charged representations of
religion (e.g., Hood, 2003). their relationships with significant others such
3. Religiousness and spirituality are con- as parents as “ psychic objects. ” Internalized
structs that overlap in the United States images of parents become “ templates ” for
and are very similar, but not identical. comprehending and understanding the devel-
4. The terms are both multidimensional and opment of God images and relationships in
multilevel constructs crossing biological, individuals.
mental, and social levels of analysis. For Rizzuto and other object relations theo-
5. Both religiosity and spirituality develop rists, God images are posited to serve as “ tran-
and change over time at the level of indi- sitional objects ” that can reduce attachment
viduals and groups. insecurity as the child develops more inde-
6. Religiousness and spirituality are develop- pendence from caregivers (e.g., Dickie et al.,
ing different connotations in U.S. culture 1997 ), and at other times in the life course
and science, with a trend toward religion characterized by significant life change and
being associated with the social system or stress. Of course, one such time in the life
group level, and spirituality being associ- course is adolescence and its suite of bio-
ated with the individual level of analysis. psychosocial changes. Evidence shows that
many young people in the United States and
For purposes of this chapter, we use the around the world report relationships with
generic term religious and spiritual develop- God (Gallup, 1999) and that as distance from
ment (RSD) to capture the development of parents increase, intimacy with God increases
both moored and unmoored forms of spiritu- (Dickie et al.). Furthermore, there is some
ality during adolescence. This general notion evidence of important changes in conceptions
provides a point of departure for discussing of God toward a more relational view during
cc1133..iinndddd 444411 1111//44//0088 55::0000::4433 PPMM
442 Religion and Spirituality in Adolescent Development
adolescence. In one study, Deconchy ( 1965 ) Among those who reported growing up with
found three stages in such development from religious mothers, those with any of three
ages 7 to 16 years among French Catholics. In types of attachment styles were more highly
the first stage, from about 7 to 11 years, God religious. Those with secure attachments to
was seen as having concrete anthropomorthic “ nonreligious ” mothers reported less religi-
attributes. From 11 to 14 years, these attri- osity themselves later. These findings were
butes of God became more abstract, follow- interpreted as examples of basic “ mental mod-
ing general trends in cognitive development. eling effects. ” The study also showed that
Interestingly, from 14 onward, youth reported those with avoidant attachments to “ nonreli-
more abstract and relational conceptions of gious ” mothers reported more of an orienta-
God — focusing on their personal relation- tion toward religion, more religious activity,
ships with God in terms of themes of love and and greater closeness to God later. This find-
trust. These findings suggest that conscious ing was interpreted as a “ compensation effect. ”
relational images of God may become more These individuals were also more likely to
salient during adolescence. Similarly, evi- report having had a “ sudden conversion expe-
dence suggests that in adolescents ’ prayer life, rience ” as well. Kirkpatrick and Shaver note,
there is a development from instrumental forms “ religion may function in a compensatory role
of prayer towards a dialogic style of prayer in for those with a (retrospectively) reported his-
which attempting to get closer to God is cen- tory of avoidant attachment; that is, God may
tral (Scarlett & Perriello, 1991 ). serve as a substitute attachment figure ” (1990,
A related view of RSD comes from an p. 315). Those individuals with ambivalent
adaptation of the evolution - based theory of attachments fell in between, but were more
parent - child attachments put forth by Bowlby like the securely attached in that they followed
( 1988 ). Kirkpatrick ( 1997 ) likened individu- the role of their mother in religion. Other
als ’ relationships with God to their relational research with adults has also appeared more to
attachments to parents and also posited that support the correspondence hypothesis — that
the parent – child relationship serves as a tem- individuals develop attachments with God that
plate for the kind of God image children are similar to their attachment with parents
develop. Such attachment schemas, in both (Piedmont, 2005 ).
cases, are assumed to serve the functions of Research with youth utilizing the attach-
protection and comfort during times of stress. ment theory perspective on religion has been
Kirkpatrick and Shaver ( 1990 ) posited two conducted in Sweden, where the evidence
main hypotheses. First, they forwarded the suggested support for the compensation
compensation hypothesis in which individuals hypothesis. Youths with insecure early attach-
with insecure parental attachments are hypoth- ments were more likely to believe in a loving
esized to develop a belief in a loving, personal, God (Granqvist, 2002 ). These results sug-
and available God as a means of compensating gest a number of possibilities for adolescents.
for the absence of relational security in infancy. Those with secure attachments to parents are
Second, they presented the mental model likely to adopt the faith and God images (or
hypothesis, in which attachments, secure or lack thereof) of their parents (e.g., Hertel &
insecure, provide a mental model upon which Donahue, 1995 ). However, those with insecure
individuals base their later religious beliefs attachments are likely to seek security by join-
and relational images of God. ing a religious organization and seeking social
In a study of adults, Kirkpatrick and Shaver support in that setting. Alternatively, they may
( 1990 ) found that the relation between attach- reject their parents ’ religion altogether as a
ment style and individuals ’ own religiosity function of their distant or difficult relation-
was moderated by their mothers ’ religiosity. ships with parents (e.g., Smith, 2003 b).
cc1133..iinndddd 444422 1111//44//0088 55::0000::4444 PPMM
Concepts and Theories of Religious and Spiritual Development in Adolescence 443
In sum, several of the notions originally dis- religious attributions for such purposes —
cussed in psychodynamic theories of religion God ’ s grace, karma, sin, salvation, and so on.
live on in the contemporary study of religious Evidence suggests that religious attributions
and spiritual development in adolescence in for events are more likely in circumstances in
spirit if not specific content. One is the focus which naturalistic attributions (e.g., to people,
on the relational elements of religious faith. physical events, chance, etc.) prove unsatisfac-
The notion of religious or spiritual develop- tory (Spilka, Shaver, & Kirkpatrick, 1997 ).
ment as involving the development of a rela- Such events usually involve “ boundary con-
tionship with that which is perceived as the ditions ” in life such as inexplicable suffering,
Transcendent (i.e., God) or that of transcen- moral transgressions, and death. According
dental value is present in many definitions of to psychologists of religion, the motivational
religion today (e.g., Pargament, 2007 ). Indeed, impetus for religious attributional processes
in a sense, William James’ s ( 1902 ) view of reli- in the face of such unexplained events and the
gion was relational in that he defined p ersonal consequent meaning systems that evolve from
religion as “ the feelings, acts, and experiences them includes the need to establish meaning,
of individual men in their solitude, as far as personal control, and a sense of well - being
they apprehend themselves to stand in rela- (Spilka et al., 2003 ). Over developmental time,
tion to whatever they may consider the divine ” attributional processes are both contributory
(p. 32). In sum, one way of understanding RSD to and a function of religious beliefs systems.
is in terms of the elaboration and internaliza- Such systems develop across the life span,
tion of specific God images, with specific beginning with intuitive or folk belief systems
affective tones, across time that serve noncon- and changing towards more abstract belief sys-
scious relational functions, such as anxiety tems during adolescence (e.g., Bloom, 2005 ;
reduction. The research on such conjectures Park, 2005 ).
suffers from methodological weaknesses how- Bering ( 2003 ) hypothesized that there exists
ever, such as the relative lack of ability of a unique attributional meaning system he called
researchers to accurately measure unconscious the “ existential domain ” whose function is to
“ God images ” (Piedmont, 2005 ). ascertain the meaning of events that happen to
oneself. As such, Bering described this domain
Religion as a Meaning/Coping System as an abstract ontological domain within
Another related way that scholars have concep- which the subjective narrative self is said to be
tualized RSD is in terms of the development of contained and whose function is said to be to
an attributional meaning system that addresses make meaning of, in order of developmental
certain kinds of life events, experiences, and complexity and abstractness, one ’ s life events,
existence writ large. Meaning systems can be one ’ s experience, and one ’ s existence in total-
defined as “ personal beliefs or theories [indi- ity. This domain is hypothesized to be inde-
viduals] have about themselves, about others, pendent of both the physical domain, and its
about the world of situations they encounter, function in explaining the movements and
and their relations to it. These beliefs or theo- dynamics of inanimate objects, and the social
ries form idiosyncratic meaning systems that domain and its function in the comprehen-
allow individuals to give meaning to the world sion of intentional agents and other minds. It
around them and to their experiences, as well is also hypothesized to be independent of the
as to set goals, plan activities, and order their biological domain and its function in explain-
behavior ” (Silberman, 2005 , p. 644.). Religions ing animate objects and their dynamics of
provide individuals with meaning - enhancing growth and decay. Nonetheless, the domain
capabilities in the face of unexplainable events often involves elements of these other mean-
by providing individuals with a ready set of ing making systems. The triggers for meaning
cc1133..iinndddd 444433 1111//44//0088 55::0000::4444 PPMM
444 Religion and Spirituality in Adolescent Development
making through the existential rather than the scriptures. Being morally good not only leads
physical, social, and biological domains of to happiness, but in general, youth believe that
mental life, according to Bering, are events “ good people go to Heaven when they die ”
whose causes are not easily interpretable (Smith & Denton, p. 163). Third, the MTD
through these other domains and whose causes worldview is “ therapeutic ” in that it frames
therefore demand some form of alternative God as an ultimate and benevolent being who
interpretation. For instance, individuals who assists us in feeling good and happy about
have a close encounter with death and can ourselves and our lives through grace and the
find no logical explanation for their good for- scriptures. Finally, Smith and Denton suggested
tune may invoke attributions about invisible that the “ God ” of MTD is “ not one who is par-
forces (karma) and intentional agents (God) as ticularly personally involved in one ’ s affairs —
a means of establishing existential meaning. especially affairs in which one would prefer not
Furthermore, Bering sees this system as tied to to have God involved ” (p. 164). This “ distant
a more general intentional system that has been God, ” they suggest, is selectively available for
documented to tend towards the attribution of taking care of needs, coping with stress, and
teleological purpose to an abstract agency (i.e., providing meaning to otherwise unexplainable
God) that is envisioned to be responsible for personal experiences and events.
events personal and otherwise (e.g, Bloom, Another area of study that builds on this
2005 ). Such a system, if proven to exist, would religion as meaning system perspective is what
have significant implications for religious and Pargament ( 2007 ) refers to “ religious coping. ”
spiritual development during adolescence, Religious coping is defined as “ a search for
insofar as identity development and questions significance in times of stress in ways related
about purpose and existence become focal dur- to the sacred. ” This definition means that some
ing these years (Damon, 2008 ). individuals will use religious and spiritual
Smith and Denton ( 2005 ) described the knowledge and imagery in their search for
prevailing religious meaning system among the causes of and ways of responding to life
adolescents in the United States today — the vast stress. For instance, some individuals interpret
majority of whom self - identify as Christian — in the causes of certain life stressors in terms of
terms of Moralistic Therapeutic Deism (MTD). “ sanctification ” — a challenging experience
They suggested that MTD among adolescents that is “ God given ” in some sense. Other
in the United States is “ diesm ” because it is people use religious responses as a means of
centered on a diety — an ultimate being called addressing life stress — for instance, not only
“ God ” (or, less so in America, “ Allah ” and attributing life stressors as “ God given ” but
“ Yahweh ” ) who created the universe, orders reframing them in a positive light such that
it with divine moral laws, and then watches they are spiritual tests or learning experiences
over human life on earth. Given the central associated with suffering.
role of God in such a worldview, questions Despite the burgeoning literature on reli-
about “ What, in the end, does God want for gious coping among adults (Pargament, 2007 ),
us and want for us to do? ” and “ What is the research on religious coping among adoles-
way to God and happiness? ” arise. The MTD cents is not very well developed at this time
worldview is “ moralistic ” in that it teaches that (Mahoney, Pendleton, & Ihrke, 2006 ). In one
living a good and happy life on earth requires of the few studies done on religious coping
that one be a good and moral person. with youth to date, Dubow, Pargament, Boxer,
Adolescents in the United States believe that and Tarakeshwar ( 2000 ) found that Jewish
God wants them to be happy, and that the way adolescents used three different kinds of reli-
to happiness is by being morally good and gious coping strategies in the face of stressors:
obeying the moral laws laid down in religious asking God for help in times of need, seeking
cc1133..iinndddd 444444 1111//44//0088 55::0000::4444 PPMM