Most say that spiritual development moves from pre-awareness or a limited spiritual awareness to awakening or a need for spiritual knowledge, which begins as early as adolescence (Richmond, 2004, p. 368). This seems to be the universal thought and according to Paloutzian (1996), development of religion changes across development in terms of meaning (p. 136). Regarding the development of religion, several stage models have been proposed. On such model is James Fowler’s seven stage model of religious development. This begins with a pre-stage called the Primal, Undifferentiated Faith stage. Basic trust and loyalty are laid down between the ages of zero and two. The first real stage is the Intuitive-Projective faith stage. The onset of language
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This is Kohlberg’s six stages of moral judgment. The first stage is the preconventional stage in which there is an emphasis on external control. There are two sub-stages of this. The first involves punishment. Right versus wrong is decided by “obeying” or getting punished. The second sub-stage involves relativistic orientation, which means that children determine what is right by what will get rewarded and what is wrong by what will get punished. The second stage is the conventional stage with an emphasis on pleasing others. The first sub-stage is the “good boy/girl” orientation. Right versus wrong is determined by what a “good boy/girl” would do. The second sub-stage is a law and order orientation in which right and wrong are based on living by the rules. The final stage is the postconventional stage with an emphasis on the acknowledgment of conflict and choice. The first sub-stage states that right and wrong are based on social constructs and norms. The second sub-stage is based on universal principles that are not determined by the need to conform (Paloutzian, 1996, p. 93). There are integral in understanding how cults can affect faith …show more content…
It is essential that a variety of ages is used, particularly between the ages of twenty and sixty. This would ensure a good mixture of participants with a good mix of experiences within their respective cult. A total at least thirty participants would be needed, about half of would need to be ex-members who have recently left the cult and have not been deprogrammed and half of which would need to be ex-members who have been out of their cult for at least five years. This would give the researcher information about individuals who have been brainwashed (and could still be under the influence of brainwashing) and how this process is still influencing their faith development and individuals who were brainwashed, successfully deprogrammed, and how they are coping with the effects of brainwashing on their faith development. The diversity of cult groups is also important. Not every cult group chosen should be a “bible-based” group. Different groups use different tactics and this will be more apparent when there is diversity in the sample. Due to the sensitive nature of the study a sampling technique to acquire the participants is needed that would reflect this. Particularly, it is essential to use a sampling technique like the snowball sampling method (explained in the purpose section). Each participant would be
This is Kohlberg’s six stages of moral judgment. The first stage is the preconventional stage in which there is an emphasis on external control. There are two sub-stages of this. The first involves punishment. Right versus wrong is decided by “obeying” or getting punished. The second sub-stage involves relativistic orientation, which means that children determine what is right by what will get rewarded and what is wrong by what will get punished. The second stage is the conventional stage with an emphasis on pleasing others. The first sub-stage is the “good boy/girl” orientation. Right versus wrong is determined by what a “good boy/girl” would do. The second sub-stage is a law and order orientation in which right and wrong are based on living by the rules. The final stage is the postconventional stage with an emphasis on the acknowledgment of conflict and choice. The first sub-stage states that right and wrong are based on social constructs and norms. The second sub-stage is based on universal principles that are not determined by the need to conform (Paloutzian, 1996, p. 93). There are integral in understanding how cults can affect faith …show more content…
It is essential that a variety of ages is used, particularly between the ages of twenty and sixty. This would ensure a good mixture of participants with a good mix of experiences within their respective cult. A total at least thirty participants would be needed, about half of would need to be ex-members who have recently left the cult and have not been deprogrammed and half of which would need to be ex-members who have been out of their cult for at least five years. This would give the researcher information about individuals who have been brainwashed (and could still be under the influence of brainwashing) and how this process is still influencing their faith development and individuals who were brainwashed, successfully deprogrammed, and how they are coping with the effects of brainwashing on their faith development. The diversity of cult groups is also important. Not every cult group chosen should be a “bible-based” group. Different groups use different tactics and this will be more apparent when there is diversity in the sample. Due to the sensitive nature of the study a sampling technique to acquire the participants is needed that would reflect this. Particularly, it is essential to use a sampling technique like the snowball sampling method (explained in the purpose section). Each participant would be