7/29/2019 Psychospirituality
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Stage Description Simplified version by M. ScottPeck
Stage0
Undifferentiated(0-3 years)
Infant unable to formulateconcepts about self or the
environment.Stage
1Intuitive Projective
(4-6 y/o)
This is the stage of preschoolchildren in which fantasy and
reality often get mixedtogether. However, during this
stage, our most basic ideasabout God are usually picked up
from our parents and/orsociety.
I. Chaotic-Antisocial
People stuck at thisstage are usually self-
centered and often findthemselves in trouble
due to theirunprincipled living. If
they do end upconverting to the next
stage, it often occurs ina very dramatic way.
Stage2
Mythic Literal
(7-12 y/o)
When children become school-age, they start understandingthe
world in more logical ways.
They generally accept thestories told to them by theirfaith
community but tend to
understand them in very literalways. [A few people remain inthis
stage through adulthood.]
Stage
3
Synthetic
Conventional
(Adolescentor Adult)
Most people move on to this stageas teenagers. At this point,
theirlife has grown to include several
different social circles and thereis a need to pull it all
together.When this happens, a person
usually adopts some sort of all-encompassing belief system.
However, at this stage, peopletend to have a hard time
seeing
outside their box and don'trecognize that they are "inside"
a
belief system. At this stage,authority is usually placed in
individuals or groups thatrepresent one's beliefs. [This isthe
stage in which many people
remain.]
II. Formal-
Institutional
At this stage people
rely on some sort ofinstitution (such as achurch) to give
them
stability. They becomeattached to the forms
of their religion and get
extremely upset whenthese are called intoquestion.
Stage
4
Individuative Reflective
(After 18 years)
This is the tough stage, often
begun in young adulthood, whenpeople start seeing outside thebox
and realizing that there are
other "boxes". They begin tocritically examine their beliefson
their own and often become
disillusioned with their formerfaith. Ironically, the Stage
3people usually think that Stage
4 people have become"backsliders" when in reality
they have actually moved
forward.
III.
Skeptic-Individual
Those who break out of
the previous stageusually do so when theystart seriously
questioning things ontheir own. A lot of the
time, this stage ends up
being very non-religiousand some people stay init
permanently
Stage5
ConjunctiveFaith
(After 30 years)
It is rare for people to reachthis stage before mid-life.
This
is the point when people beginto realize the limits of logicand
start to accept the
paradoxes in life. They begin tosee life as a mystery and
often
return to sacred stories and
symbols but this time withoutbeing stuck in a theological
box.
IV.Mystical-
Communal
People who reach thisstage start to realize
that there is truth tobe found in both theprevious two stagesand
that life can be
paradoxical and full ofmystery. Emphasis is
placed more oncommunity than onindividual concerns.
Stage6
UniversalizingFaith
(Maybenever)
Few people reach this stage.Those who do live their lives to
the full in service of otherswithout any real worries or
doubts.
The theory is a grand attem
pt to
understand how people find meaning in todays contemporary
world.
Once understood, they will have a whole
new level at which they will be
able to relate to others.
