Faith More Apt to Grow After Crises Pass, Study Finds

A common assumption is that a time of crisis triggers growth in religious faith, but a study has found that an even greater advance in faith comes after the crisis has subsided.

In that aftermath of “general dissonance” in a person’s life, growth in faith is more likely than at the height of anxiety, said researcher Constance Leean.

Based on the study, she said, faith is aroused more during periods of counseling and support that people get following a crisis and in other periods of general unrest than during acute distress.

Faith develops “when people begin to raise questions about the meaning of life and about their priorities,” she said.

These are among conclusions brought out in a study project, “Faith Development in the Adult Life Cycle,” directed by Kenneth Stokes of Minneapolis and sponsored by the Religious Education Assn.

Leean, a research evaluator for the Lutheran Church in America, supervised 41 in-depth interviews with individuals about their lives and faith. In addition, a telephone survey was made by the Gallup organization of about 1,000 people.

It was found, somewhat disconcertingly, that involvement in a church or synagogue does not appear in itself to assure growth in faith, but religious organizations help to the extent that they encourage a person’s “spiritual quest.”

Many respondents claimed that their faith is nurtured more by experiences outside the church or synagogue, Leean said, adding:

“Personal spiritual disciplines as well as exhilarating and transcendent events are common resources in people’s descriptions of spiritual growth.”

She said the study shows that churches and synagogues are not offering members sufficient opportunities for structured spiritual reflection and guidance.

The study found that faith develops particularly when people have some memorable experience with people of a different culture or when they are “encouraged to share stories of their faith with others,” she said.

In both cases, just as in times of being unsettled or of readjustment after a crisis, faith seems most likely to bloom when people are pulled out of their usual preoccupations--by another person or culture.

“Opportunities to stretch one’s mind,” such as in advanced education or other learning experiences, also were found to enlarge faith.

Getting problems resolved through psychological counseling also boosted development of faith, and a clear relationship was found between maturity of faith and psychological well-being.

Faith also is enhanced by development of social conscience, such as involvement in political or other community projects, the study found.