Emerging Themes in Research on Adolescent Spiritual and Religious Development

The articles in this issue each contribute uniquely to the growing field of adolescent religious and spiritual development. Together, they also illustrate important themes in the field, including the multidimensionality of the domain of religious and spiritual development and a growing emphasis on themes consistent with developmental systems theory, such as a focus on developmental processes, ecological perspectives, and strength-based emphases. At the same time, the articles highlight critical challenges for the future for this area of inquiry to become accepted as integral, core dimensions of human development.