Faith Development of Children
by MaryJane Pierce Norton

When we look at the work of Piaget, Kohlberg, Fowler, and others who have looked at development, we are trying to discern the ways children can let us know they understand faith. This means children having the ability to verbally tell what they know and the ability — in many ways — to reason and reflect. It is important to remember that this is a dimension of faith, but does not reflect in any true way the total faith a child has. It might be stated as the way the child understands different aspects of faith.

In the book Faith Passages and Patterns by Thomas Droege (Fortress Press, 1983), the author makes the following statement: ". . . it is important to remember that a particular pattern of thinking determines the stage of knowing (also in matters of faith) and not the content of the person's faith" (pages 50-51). Droege gives a helpful synopsis of the stages of faith. I have summarized his explanations related to children and youth below:

Stage 1: "God's just like my mommy and daddy" (ages 2-6)
The way children think of God at this stage is reflective of their relationship with their parents. The parents provide the child with his or her first idea about God. As children experience care, protection, and nurture (which is what they need most at this stage), they will begin to transfer the feelings and thoughts from parents and other caregivers to their image of God. If the child sees a respectful relationship between mom or dad and God, the child can't help but be impressed.

It is hard for a child to determine where the parent stops and where God begins. And because preschool children cannot always distinguish between what is fantasy and what — in adult terms — is real, this dimension also enters into their world related to faith.

Children have many distinct pictures or images of God that may not necessarily fit into a total perspective. Fitting these pictures into a large framework is often not possible for a child between the ages of two and six.

Stage 2: "What's fair is fair!" (ages 7 to 12)
School-age children could be described as obsessed with the idea of fairness. The preschool child does not distinguish right from wrong except by what is named as such by adults. As the child grows from this stage, she or he enters into thinking typified by "you get what you deserve (or you ought to) from parents, from others, and from God."

Storytelling is important for school-age children. Stories give meaning and value to their experiences. They may bore adults with the endless stories they tell of school, friends, and adventures. However, these are important for them and can relate directly to children's needs for stories and heroes and heroines from the Bible.

Stage 3: "I believe what the church believes" (ages 12-18)
Surprisingly for me, this is a conformist stage. Sometimes we think of the teen years as being nonconformist. However, youth seek sameness even in their nonconforming behavior. They seek to find others who they are like and with whom they belong.

Faith at this stage is greatly influenced by what others believe and the expectations and judgments of other people important in their lives. Children at this age have a deep need for acceptance. This leads to a deep religious hunger for a God who knows, accepts, and confirms people in spite of inadequacies, faults, and failures.

Those at stage 3 will be attracted to an image of God who is deeply personal and affirming. God is a friend, a companion, a counselor, and a guide. Although people at this stage can speak about their faith, they cannot examine this faith critically. Not only youth, but also many adults stay at this stage of faith all their lives.

MaryJane Pierce Norton (mnorton@gbod.org) is the Team Leader for Family & Life-Span Ministries at the General Board of Discipleship.

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Posted 8-2-04

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