PARKS’S THEORY OF FAITH DEVELOPMENT

Parks’s Theory of Faith Development: A Personal and Professional Examination

Amy Nuesch

School of Foundations, Leadership, and Administration, Kent State University

HIED 66653-002: College Student Development

Dr. Christa J. Porter

October 28, 2020

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Introduction

The development of faith and spirituality, much like the development of other identities,

is a deeply personal and individual experience. For me personally, my spiritual and faith journey

blossomed in college. I was not raised “in the church”. My parents did not practice a religion or

share any sort of personal beliefs. Growing up, I had some exposure to the Christian church via

friends and family, but the concept of a higher power was not personal to me. When the time

came for me to choose a college, my decision to attend a small private Christian institution was

based on practical, not spiritual, purposes.

The institution that I attended was well-known for providing a high-quality education at a

reasonable price. It was also known for fostering Christian beliefs, values, and lifestyle. Many, if

not most, of my classmates were raised in the Christian church and the lifestyle at my college

was normal for them. I found this environment comforting and was curious about the deep level

of faith that so many of my classmates possessed. Eventually through this experience I became a

Christian and felt both spiritually and religiously connected to the faith. For me, my

undergraduate experience was a time of spiritual awakening.

Parks’s Theory of Faith Development

In Parks’s revised theory of faith development (2000), the author detailed four periods of

faith development: adolescence or conventional, young adult, tested adult, and mature adult.

With these periods, she defined three different stages which occur in faith development, the

forms of knowing, dependence, and community (Patton et al., 2016). In the forms of knowing,

Parks identified the ways in which people identify knowledge of faith: authority-bound,

unqualified relativism, probing commitment, tested commitment, and convictional commitment.

Parks continued that in the forms of dependence, an examination of how individuals rely on
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others can indicate their stage of faith development. Within this stage exists four changes,

moving from dependent/counterdependent in adolescence and fragile inner-dependence in young

adulthood to confident inner-dependence in adulthood to achieve interdependence in midlife.

Finally, in the forms of community, Parks described that relationships between people also affect

faith development. She explained that in adolescence, individuals experience conventional

community, where they follow the norms of those around them. Then, in the exploration of

young adulthood (diffuse community), they begin to realize different truths in those around them

which compel them to form a new community. As they age, they move from a mentoring

community in young adulthood to a self-selected group as adults. Finally, as a mature adult, they

develop an appreciation and awareness called “open to the other” (Patton et al., 2016).

Two important components to Parks’s theory of faith development are imagination and

mentoring communities. In referencing Loder, Parks identified five “moments” of the evolution

of imagination: conscious conflict, pause, image, repatterning, and the release of energy, and

interpretation. Patton et al. describe this development as

Individuals mov[ing] through these processes as they feel dissonance in

their current situation (conscious conflict), clarify the issue and let it rest (pause),

have an “Aha!” moment of clarity (image), move ahead with the new conviction

(repatterning and release of energy), and verbalize the new insight to others as

testimony (interpretation) (2016, p. 206).

In the final phase of imagination, individuals then process their testimony through their

community. In referencing Parks (2000, p. 135), Patton et al. define this [mentoring] community

as a “’network of belonging’ in which young adults’ imaginations are supported” (2016, p. 207).

Students feel safe within this community to explore their new identity.
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Commonalities and Differences

When I examine my own faith development through the lens of Parks’s theory, I can

relate to many of the stages she defined. In adolescence, my ideas about God (or lack thereof)

were shaped by the main authority figures in my life. They modeled their truths in their

behaviors and actions. Although family and friends attended Christian churches when I did not,

subtle but significant influences affected me that I only appreciated later in life.

As I grew older and was exposed to new and differing worldviews, my views on the

value of faith evolved. I began to understand the depth of my friends and family’s systems of

belief in God and how they informed and guided their lives. Being immersed in this culture in

college was when I truly began to explore these beliefs and meanings on my own terms. In the

stage that Parks described as “probing commitment,” I attended church services willingly and,

more importantly, involved myself in conversations with those close to me about their own

personal faith. These discussions, along with the general climate of the institution, led me to

become a Christian (my “image” stage in the imagination process). My classmates and

instructors were my mentoring community as they guided and supported me in my exploration of

my newly found faith.

My tested commitment came when I was baptized into the Christian church at the age of

25. Perhaps unconsciously recognizing my newly formed inner-dependence and the moving

forward with my convictions, my father resisted my devotion to the church and refused to attend

my baptism. Despite this rejection, I found community and closeness within my church and my

spiritual growth continued as I grew older and more independent.

Patton et al. state that Parks “cautioned that her model, rather than being linear and

fixed…is actually dynamic and multidimensional” (2016, p. 206). As I examine my own faith
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development, I can see proof of this aspect of the theory in my life. One significant difference,

however, is the current state of my development. As someone who is considered to be in midlife,

I should be, according to Parks’s theory, entering the convictional commitment stage, where I

possess a “deep commitment to [my] understanding of the truth and the ability to recognize and

appreciate the truth of others” (Patton et al., 2016, p. 204). In addition, Parks theorizes that,

“Around midlife, a strong and confident sense of self leads to new understandings of faith in

which individuals come to see the value in others’ beliefs and perspectives without experiencing

them as a challenge to their own values” (Patton et al., 2016, p. 205). Although I believe that I

recognize the value of the truth of others, I personally have begun to question my own truth. I

have moved away from the spiritual convictions of my early 20s and have distanced myself from

the church. Parks’s theory does not seem to allow for this manner of regression in spiritual

development.

Benefits, Limitations, and Application

In Parks’s theory, most stages and forms relate to specific age ranges. This can be

beneficial for higher education professionals as it can provide easy timelines and areas of

guidance to which they can refer. These points of reference can, however, also be limiting, as

they do not take into consideration students’ own personal trajectories and worldviews. This

theory also fails to integrate the other ways in which students may be developing their racial,

gender, sexual, and disability identities, which could have a profound effect on how, when, or if

a student develops their faith. In addition, this theory seems to assume that as one ages, the

development of faith moves progressively from little personal knowledge or growth to deep

inner knowledge and commitment. My personal experience defies this trajectory, and I speculate

that most individual trajectories are also not so formulaic.

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One benefit of this theory that can still be broadly applied to higher education today is the

acknowledgement of the importance of mentoring communities. Parks advocated for these

relationships within higher education as they provide young adults “with recognition, support,

challenge, and inspiration” (Parks, 2000, as quoted in Patton et al., 2016, p. 207). Whether

students are exploring their faith or other identities during their collegiate years, being a part of

mentoring communities within the higher education setting can provide valuable opportunities

for them to safely develop their own paths. Furthermore, she “stressed the responsibility

(emphasis mine) of higher education as a whole to create communities in which students feel

welcomed and safe while being provided with experiences that will encourage them to explore

and address conscious conflicts, have opportunities for pause, and be supported as they clarify,

confirm, and test their new images” apart from their conventional communities (Parks, 1986a;

2000, as quoted in Patton et al., 2016, p. 208).

Conclusion

Through her theoretical model, Parks detailed different forms of knowing, dependence,

and community that interweave through a progressive lifespan model that to contribute to a

student’s faith development. Although modern critiques reveal limitations of this theory, higher

education professionals can reference it to provide a foundation for the creation and support of

programs which encourage students’ development of faith during their collegiate career. As

professionals, we can support and provide valuable mentoring communities for students who are

entering into this experimental and exploratory time of life. We can refer to theories to guide

and inform our actions, but we must also remember that each student is on their own individual

journey, much like we ourselves, and should encourage and allow for this healthy self-

exploration to take place.

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Reference

Patton, L. D., Renn, K. A., Guido-DiBrito, F. M., & Quaye, S. J. (2016). Student development

college: Theory, research, and practice. Jossey-Bass.