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Spiritual Development in Childhood and Adolescence: Moving to the Scientific Mainstream

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Spiritual Development in Childhood and Adolescence: Moving to the Scientific Mainstream 01-Roehlke-4710.qxd 5/11/2005 7:32 PM Page 1 1 SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT IN CHILDHOOD AND ADOLESCENCE: MOVING TO THE SCIENTIFIC MAINSTREAM EUGENE C. ROEHLKEPARTAIN PETER L. BENSON PAMELA EBSTYNE KING LINDA M. WAGENER round the world, there appears to be a within religious communities—worry that the growing concern with spirituality in the beliefs, narratives, and commitments of the A general public as well as among schol- world’s religious traditions are not adequately ars. Whether one looks at the list of best-selling taking root in young people’s lives (e.g., books, searches the Web, watches contemporary Lindner, 2004). As Wuthnow (1998) puts it, movies or TV shows, or reads general-interest “When the sacred no longer has a single magazines, one quickly finds evidence of this address, people worry that it may disappear trend. And one sees religion and spirituality entirely” (p. 10). Other observers contend that (mixed with nationalism and ethnic tensions) the world’s religious heritage is “tainted by an playing defining roles in most major geopoliti- incriminating record of injustice, tribalism, vio- cal conflicts in a world that is becoming both lence, and the violation of fundamental human smaller and more fragmented. rights” (King, 2001 p. 2). Instead, they say, the While spirituality in general has considerable urgent need is to engage young people in new currency, there is additional focus on the spiri- ways of seeing, knowing, and discovering, since tual development of children and adolescents. “a simple return to or retrieval of past spiritual- The source of this interest varies considerably. ities is no longer enough to meet urgent con- For example, some people—particularly those temporary social and personal needs” (King, 1 01-Roehlke-4710.qxd 5/11/2005 7:32 PM Page 2 2–•–HANDBOOK OF SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT IN CHILDHOOD AND ADOLESCENCE 2001, p. 2). Still others note that children are, development in a way that encourages and too often, at the center of major conflicts, ter- guides additional scholarship. The long-term rorism, and the trauma of war, all of which point goal is to help position spiritual development toward spiritual pathology or pain (see Wagener as a central and mainstream issue in the social & Malony, chapter 10, this volume). Finally— sciences, including psychology, sociology, and and perhaps most germane to this handbook— anthropology, which have had a tenuous relation- there is an emerging sense among developmental ship with this domain. The lack of full engage- scholars that something has been missing in the ment with this domain in the mainstream social scholarship, and that domain is spiritual devel- sciences has limited our capacity to fully under- opment (Benson, chapter 34, this volume; Coles, stand the person in its entirety at all points in the 1990; Lerner, Anderson, Alberts, & Dowling, life span and within its multiple social, cultural, chapter 5, this volume). and national contexts. This volume is an effort Although this appears to be a “moment” in to fill this gap. the public imagination when things spiritual To set a context for the book, this introduc- have gained attention, there has been little con- tory chapter first examines some of the history sensus in the scientific community about the of how the mainstream social sciences have nature and scope of this dimension of life. To be neglected this area of inquiry, then it highlights sure, there are consistent strands in the social some of the challenges and approaches to defin- sciences, such as the subfields of psychology and ing spiritual development. Next, the chapter sociology of religion, that have, for more than a highlights the major theoretical traditions that century, built a growing knowledge base of have informed and shaped the current scientific theory and research. To this point, however, most understanding of spiritual development, particu- of this knowledge base has been dispersed into larly in developmental psychology and psychol- textbooks, journals, conferences, and interest ogy of religion. Growing out of those theoretical groups focused in a particular discipline, geo- underpinnings, we then articulate several themes graphic area, or religious tradition, with little and assumptions that guided the development of overlapping scholarship or dialogue. Much of the handbook. the work finds its “home” in the psychology of religion. This field interfaces more with social psychology and personality than it does with MARGINALIZATION IN developmental psychology (Spilka, Hood, THE SOCIAL SCIENCES Hunsberger, & Gorsuch, 2004). Furthermore, the psychology of religion is quite insulated from Although pioneers in the social sciences such anthropology and sociology. Spiritual develop- as William James, G. Stanley Hall, J. H. Leuba, ment cannot be understood without significant Edwin Starbuck, Max Weber, and Emile conversations across these and other fields. Durkheim considered religiousness and spiritu- For the first time, this handbook draws ality to be integral to their fields, the study was together leading social scientists in the world marginalized throughout much of the 20th from multiple disciplines to articulate what is century. Through the years, many scholars have known and needs to be known about spiritual documented the relative lack of attention to development in childhood and adolescence. In issues of religion and spirituality in the social doing so, this volume presents a rich and diverse sciences in general (Davie, 2003; Gorsuch, 1988; array of theory, qualitative and quantitative Paloutzian, 1996; Weaver et al., 1998; Weaver research, and proposals for the future that are et al., 2000) and, more specifically, in the study designed to move spiritual development from a of adolescence (Benson, Donahue, & Erickson, sidelight in the academy to become a main- 1989; Bridges & Moore, 2002; Donelson, 1999; stream, accepted, and sustained field of inquiry Kerestes & Youniss, 2003; Markstrom, 1999; and learning. Wallace & Forman, 1998) and childhood (Hay, The editors of this volume share two goals, Nye & Murphy, 1996; Nye, 1999). The scientific one short term and one long term. The short- study of religion began reemerging in the 1960s term goal is to synthesize the research on spiritual and, by the new millennium, Hill et al. (2000) 01-Roehlke-4710.qxd 5/11/2005 7:32 PM Page 3 Moving to the Scientific Mainstream–•–3 concluded that “the state of the discipline today In addition, Smith (2003) documents can be characterized as sufficiently developed but reductionist thinking among sociologists that still overlooked, if not bypassed, by the whole dismisses religious or spiritual phenomena as of psychology” (p. 51). Today, this subfield of expressions of something else. “What appears psychology of religion is struggling with how to be divine or spiritual or transcendent or pious it relates to notions of “spirituality,” with some or sacred are really only about social class, race, arguing that the subdiscipline should be renamed gender, ethnicity, nationalism, solidarity, social “psychology of religion and spirituality” (Emmons control, and so on” (p. 19, italics in original; & Paloutzian, 2003; Pargament, 1999). see also Wuthnow, 2003). And, although there The inattentiveness to spiritual development are exceptions, many anthropologists have con- in the mainstream social sciences can be graphi- cluded that religion or spirituality is “a by-product cally illustrated in the study of developmental of cognitive adaptations selected for ‘more mun- psychology. Benson, Roehlkepartain, and Rude dane’ survival functions” (Alcorta & Sosis, in (2003) searched six leading developmental psy- press; see also Atran, 2002). chology journals (Child Development, Develop- Recent years, however, have seen a marked mental Psychology, International Journal of growth in scholarship related to spirituality and Behavioral Development, Journal of Adolescent spiritual development. A number of reviews of Research, Journal of Early Adolescence, and the the literature in child and adolescent religion Journal of Research on Adolescence) to ascertain and spirituality provide access to the knowledge the frequency of citations to religion, religious base in multiple disciplines (see, for example, development, spirituality, or spiritual develop- Benson, Donahue, & Erickson, 1989; Benson & ment. Of 3,123 articles published between 1990 King, in press; Benson et al., 2003; Bridges & and July 2002 having to do with children or ado- Moore, 2002; Donahue & Benson, 1995; lescents, only 27 (0.9%) referenced one or more Donelson, 1999; Hay et al., 1996; Kerestes & of these key words. And only one article explored Youniss, 2003; Markstrom, 1999; and Smith, issues of spirituality in childhood and adoles- 2003.) In addition, several special issues of cence. Content analyses of other journals and peer-reviewed journals have been published publications have reached similar conclusions, that address spirituality or spiritual develop- though some have documented somewhat higher ment, including Annals of Behavioral Medicine, proportions based on other search criteria Review of Religious Research, Journal of (Weaver et al., 1998; Weaver et al., 2000). Health Psychology, Journal of Personality, and A variety of explanations have been given American Psychologist (special section). Mills for the historic marginalization of religion and (2002) documents a substantial increase in spirituality in the social sciences. Almost all medical journal articles that address religion or have
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