Press Release
March 2006
More than 80 scholars attended a symposium on “Theoretical Issues in the Study of Adolescent Spiritual Development” at the Society for Research on Adolescence on March 24, 2006, in San Francisco. The session was convened by Search Institute President Peter L. Benson, co-director of the new Center for Spiritual Development in Childhood and Adolescence.
“There is growing attention to spiritual development among scholars of adolescence,” said Benson. “However, the field still lacks an adequate foundation of guiding theory. This session provided the opportunity for scholars from diverse backgrounds and perspectives to engage in dialogue regarding these kinds of issues in order to inform a growing number of major research projects in this field.
The following papers were presented and discussed during the session
- Dr. Pamela Ebstyne King of Fuller Theological Seminary reported on findings from the semi-structured interviews with 41 social scientists, theologians, religious scholars, and practitioners regarding various approaches to definitional and philosophical issues in spiritual development from a state-of-the-field study.
- Jacqueline Mattis and colleagues from New York University explored the limitations of self-report techniques and the need for alternative data sources to explore adolescents’ spiritual development in ways that are more culturally competent.
- In his paper, Tuft University’s W. George Scarlett argued that the field of spiritual development is in danger of conflating faith with belief, development with change over time, and imagination with childish thinking. He called for better understandings of these various issues in order to provide a stronger foundation for research on spiritual development.
- Drawing on research with young people in India, Robert Roeser of Tufts University and Mrinalini Rao, Mukti Shah and colleagues from the University of Pune, India, made the case for re-emphasizing the variety of spiritual experiences. Presenters proposed how such diversity can be conceptualized and studied among adolescents in today’s rapidly changing societies.
- Finally, Janice L. Templeton and Jacquelynne S. Eccles of the University of Michigan delved into empirical data that addresses the relationship between religion and spirituality. The paper presented data that show significant differences on multiple developmental correlates, based on a typology of religious and spiritual commitment.
