|
Age Group |
Wonderings… |
Faith Development
|
| Preschool Aged Child
Ages two to five |
“Who made the trees?” |
- The preschool child is the center of their own thinking.
- They learn about religion and faith through everyday life experiences and rituals.
- Receptive to spirituality, they are not afraid of “big questions” and are full of wonder.
- Early childhood faith is a sense of being held in care and love.
- He or she may ask “who made the trees?” and is receptive to both concrete (“they came from trees”) and less tangible answers (“God made them”.)
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| Early School Age Child
Ages five through seven
|
“What happens when we die?” |
- They are still at home in both the worlds of fantasy and reality.
- Routines and rituals are the building blocks of faith. “We light a candle and say kind words about a sick relative or friend”.
- A child of this age wants to belong to his or her family, community and world.
- They “do” religion to know religion.
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| School Aged Child
Seven through twelve
|
“Julie’s mom says we go to heaven when we die. Do WE believe that?” |
- The school aged child is very literal in her understanding.
- She or he is able to understand that there are different answers to big questions such as what happens when we die.
- Belonging to a faith community anchors this stage of faith development.
- Searching beyond one set of answers creates a foundation for a lifelong spiritual search.
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| Early Adolescence
Ages twelve to fifteen |
“I’m not sure if I believe in god or not. But Julie does.” |
- Now able to understand multiple perspectives, they find new meaning in religious community.
- “Belonging” is a critical element of their life.
- He or she now has the cognitive ability to understand the moral underpinnings of a faith community.
- They express interest in religion that embodies their own values.
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| Middle Adolescence
Ages fifteen to eighteen |
“I was thinking about what Nina said about what Mustafa did…and I’m really not sure what to think…” |
- The youth is able to conceptualize religion as an outside authority that can be questioned.
- She or he questions faith, leading to deeper ownership or disenfranchisement.
- The Unitarian Universalist tradition capitalizes on the youth’s interest in and commitment to a broader understanding of moral and social ideals.
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