Keywords
religious development, spiritual development, bioecological, phenomenological
Abstract
The purpose of the article is to share our perspectives on the key influences of lifespan religious and spiritual development as scholars from across the lifespan (i.e., the four authors are from different generations, including Baby Boomers, Generation X, Millennials, and Gen Z). Our perspectives are heavily influenced by our combined 60+ years of research experience in examining the connections between religion and family life. Our discussion is organized around Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological framework and the process-person-context-time model. Within this framework, the key factors we discuss that influence religious/spiritual development include (a) process (i.e., person-religion mismatch and family processes), (b) person (i.e., age, gender/sexual orientation, mental health, personal agency, and experience), (c) context (i.e., home environment, culture, and community), and (d) time (i.e., historical events and the duration of proximal processes). Where possible, we highlight underrepresented religious and ethnic groups. The key domains that we discuss that are influenced by religious/spiritual development include individual and relational outcomes. Finally, we suggest meaningful directions for future research. Given the significant contemporary dynamism in spiritual and religious identity and involvement, in this article, we discuss research and theory that can inform and assist scholars, religious leaders, parents, as well as youth and emerging adults.
Original Publication Citation
Gale, M., Hendricks, J. J., Dollahite, D. C., & Marks, L. D. (2023). Perspectives on lifespan religious and spiritual development from scholars across the lifespan. Religions, 14(3), 362. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14030362
BYU ScholarsArchive Citation
Gale, Megan; Hendricks, Justin J.; Dollahite, David C.; and Marks, Loren D., "Perspectives on Lifespan Religious and Spiritual Development from Scholars across the Lifespan" (2023). Faculty Publications. 7942.
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/facpub/7942
Document Type
Peer-Reviewed Article
Publication Date
2023-03-09
Publisher
Religions
Language
English
College
Family, Home, and Social Sciences
Department
Family Life
Copyright Status
© 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
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