module four - Spirituality in younger people

 

You can click here to open the Handbook and refer to the full, relevant section.

Some topics for this module

  What is spirituality in various younger age groups?

  Phases of spiritual development in children;

  Spirituality and young families;

  Spirituality in middle age; and,

  Practical ways a pastoral friend can help.

What is spirituality in various younger age groups?

This photo tells a story. Here we have three young people around the Bible – the Word of God – and praying. They were probably thanking Him for His presence and seeking His guidance. It is so important that as pastoral friends we encourage this kind of spiritual activity amongst younger people.

In this module we will explore spirituality in younger people – as distinct from older people! We will start with young children and work our way up to middle age. (Our age divisions will, of course, be arbitrary.)

What is spirituality, again?

It is vital that we remember that spirituality is something that is central in our life. Something that ‘makes us tick’. And, as the Apostle Paul said, our ‘inner being’. This can be a combination of four elements – our connection with God, with other people, with creativity and with ourself.

This understanding is critical in younger people. No one is born with an innate God-centred spirituality. Yet, so we can help people towards a peace of mind, we need to help develop this in children from a very young age. This means that we should understand what is central to them from birth and then work from there and lead them to a God-centred life.

How are children regarded by God and His Son?

There are many examples of their very high regard of children. Let's look at one of them in particular.

This is a central example involving Jesus.

"He called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me." (Matthew 18:2-5 NIV)

This is very explicit. A child was at the centre of Jesus' focus. If we become humble, like a child, and if we welcome children, we welcome Jesus. It's fundamental to our life in Jesus.

There are, of course, many other examples of God's regard of the importance of children - from the Old Testament as well as the New. It is always important that we keep children and their humility at the centre of our life - whether we have our own children or not.

James Fowler

This scholar did a lot of research into trying to understand the way younger people’s faith (spirituality) grows. Part of his work is cited below. This might be regarded as a basic starting point for us to use when we are trying to help our friend lead children to the love of God. It is important to remember, however, that these stages are not set in concrete. There is often overlap, and sometimes, some elements do not appear at all. The table, part of which is cited below, is a reasonable starting point. (Fowler's work is variously cited as having six or seven stages. If seven stages, the first is regarded as a pre-development period.)

Stage	Typical Age	Characteristics
Stage 0: Primal or Undifferentiated Faith	Birth to about 2 years	Faith begins through relationships with caregivers. Consistent love, trust, and safety help the child develop a basic sense of trust in themselves, others, and the world.
Stage 1: Intuitive-Projective Faith	About 2–7 years	Children use imagination and fantasy to understand religious stories and symbols. Their beliefs are strongly influenced by parents, teachers, and significant adults. They often interpret stories literally and may have vivid images of God or spiritual beings.
Stage 2: Mythic-Literal Faith	About 7–12 years	Children begin to think more logically but still interpret religious teachings literally. They understand moral rules, fairness, and justice, and they enjoy stories with clear lessons. They often believe that good behavior is rewarded and bad behavior is punished.

You will notice that there is no real attempt to indicate at what stage a belief and faith in God might develop. Even in Fowler’s description of further stages (Three to Seven) he does not address this issue.

What we can do?

We cannot simply accept Fowler’s findings. We can use what we see as appropriate and help younger children develop a simple understanding of God so that we can help them see God, in His simplest terms, as being important in all aspects of their life.

At the same time, we can do this through an appreciation of the elements of their life that naturally occur, as per Fowler’s ideas. For example, in Stage 1, the role of near family, and friends is important. As a friend, we can work with family to reinforce the reliance of, and trust in God in our lives by praying with them and talking with them in simple terms, of the way God works in our life. We thank Him for our family, our friends and our pets – and their favourite toy. In this way, using the simple aspects of a child’s life we can help them understand the central nature of God in our lives.

Let us now progress through the various stages of our younger life to see how we can help our friends as they get older.