January 2008
Spiritual Exemplars Interviewed in Six Countries
Interviews are currently being completed with 25 young people in six countries who were nominated by local leaders as being “spiritual exemplars.” Interviews are being conducted by graduate students Jenel Ramos and Casey Clardy, under the direction of Dr. Pamela Ebstyne King.
The six countries in which young people are being interviewed are India, Jordan, Kenya, Peru, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The young people being interviewed include young people who self-identify as Atheist, Buddhist, Catholic, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, Protestant, and Secular/Humanist.
The protocol was developed in an iterative process with feedback from the project team and eight advisors to the Center and in consultation with William Damon and the Center on Adolescence at Stanford University. In addition to some broader questions that provide life and religious context, the interview protocol examines several dimensions of spiritual development, including how these “spiritual exemplars” understand what being spiritual means and how they see themselves as spiritual; their self-awareness and understanding of transcendence; their beliefs, actions, practices, and community; and their understanding of the supernatural or sacred.
Data will be analyzed during the first and second quarters of this year, thus informing the center’s overall theory and research base during this first three-year formative period.
May 2007
Exemplars of Spiritual Thriving in Adolescence: An Exploratory Study
As spring warms this part of the world, plans are being finalized for an exploratory study that seeks to identify and interview youth from around the world who are recognized for their keen spirituality. The study is led by Dr. Pamela Ebstyne King of the School of Psychology at Fuller Theological Seminary, and assisted by the Center for Spiritual Development in Childhood and Adolescence and the Center for Research on Child and Adolescent Development at Fuller.
This summer, approximately 20 nominated young people—from within and outside faith traditions—will be interviewed in an effort to discover how their lives and experiences have influenced who they are as spiritually thriving individuals. In the nomination process, researchers will be seeking youth with diverse religious affiliation, as well as young people who differ in terms of culture, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, gender, cognitive abilities, and their transparent involvement or achievements within their communities.
Specifically, these in-depth interviews will help the center:
- Understand what spiritual thriving looks like across cultures and spiritual contexts.
- Begin to identify both common and unique aspects of spiritual thriving among young people throughout the world
- Explore the influences spiritual development
- Inform emerging definitions and theories of spiritual development through the realities, perspectives, and understandings of young people themselves
Questions asked of these young spiritual exemplars may include:
- Do you consider yourself a spiritual person?
- How do you attend to or nurture your spiritual growth or development?
- Is being spiritual at your current age different than being spiritual when you were younger? How so?
- Would you describe yourself as religious? How is this different from your experience of spirituality?
- What do you think is one of the most important things that has happened to you in your life? How has this experience changed you?
- Would you say your life has a sense of purpose?
- What makes it hard to be spiritual? How do you overcome this?
It is our hope that gathering the stories of young people from around the world who are noticed for their spirituality will help illuminate how all of us develop as spiritual beings, and inform our ultimate goal of nurturing this aspect of our humanity.
