What is Spirituality? Experience God as a close friend and ally.

They
want a God who knows them intimately,
Concerns to an aspect of the divine and someone who strengthens their esteem and
supernatural but is often times limited to the sense of purpose.
individual, with no need for any formal
organization. This is the search for meaning and A close personal relationship with a higher
direction in life and the ways by which one may power can provides a sense of safety, love
preserve these.
and security in a turbulent world where they are
What is Religion? besieged with peer pressure and feelings of
inadequacy.
An organized system of ideas about the spiritual
or supernatural realm, that is accompanied by
rituals. Through rituals, people attempt to
influence things that they think are beyond their
control.

RELIGION and SPIRITUALITY

The two are related – Although not separate
from one another, spirituality is much more
profound than religion. 2. INDIVIDUATIVE-REFLECTIVE STAGE

STAGES OF FAITH DEVELOPMENT The adolescent is able to critically reflect on the

1. SYNTHETIC CONVENTIONAL STAGE
Youth begin to develop a capacity for
operational thinking.
Faith provides a unifying means of synthesizing
values and information and can serve as a basis
of forming a stable identity.
Faith is constructed through conformity to a set
of values and beliefs with deference to authority.
Their values and beliefs are typically
unexamined.
This stage is characterized by a hunger for a
close, personal relationship with God.
A clue that teens are beginning to move beyond
this stage is when they begin to question
authority and previously established beliefs and
values.
stories, symbols, rituals and myths of one’s
traditions and translate them into conceptual
meaning.
Commit themselves to faith through conscious
choice rather than through unexamined
acceptance.
Faith development is correlated to identity-
forming questions such as “why was I born?”,
“how can I find meaning in life?”, “where does
life lead?” and “how can I find my purpose?”
Older teens and young adults begin to critically
examine their beliefs and gradually begin to
take responsibility for a worldview that they
themselves have chosen.
3 STAGES OF TRANSITION &
TRANSFORMATION
1. ENDING – Saying goodbye to beliefs held
from childhood.
2. NEUTRAL ZONE – conflicted internally from
the abandonment of one’s self toembracing
a new one. From the old “ako” (I/me) to the
new “ako” (I/me). One reason why a
teenager undergoes crisis is that sometimes
he/she is not aware that he/she is
undergoing a kind of spiritual awakening.
There is sometimes full of hate, boredom,
rebellion and sadness.
3. NEW BEGINNING - Through trustworthy
friends, an individual discovers not only
himself/herself but also God who may be
trusted and may serve as companion
throughout life.