Faith Development Theory and the Postmodern Challenges

Faith development theory (FDT) stands at the convergence of developmental psychologies and a tradition of liberal theology deriving from Christian origins. It took form through empirical research based on in-depth interviews with children and adults, initially conducted primarily in North America. This brief article undertakes to do the following: first, review the elements that have converged to shape FDT; second, clarify the ways in which the theory is an account of the development of the self; third, sketch and respond to the pressures to relinquish some features and claims of the theory in the light of postmodern critiques; and fourth, discuss what is at stake in the proposal to reconceive this theory as a system of types, in contrast to a sequence of stages.