Faith is Just the Beginning

There are authors like James Fowler and M. Scott Peck that talk about the stages of faith, giving us an outline of spiritual progression. Their stages are grouped differently, but I would like to explain them in the way that makes most sense to me. I find this subject to be very helpful, because it explains what I've been going through. However, I noticed that once we reach the last stage of faith, we are only at the beginning of the "road less traveled."

As I see it, there are four stages of faith. The first is the Individualist, the second is the Idealist, the third is the Scientist, and the fourth is the Universalist. The stages do not take a certain amount of time to pass through; they can take a few weeks or even many lifetimes. It is possible that one could be stuck in one of them their whole life. I will now explain them to you so you can evaluate your own progression.

Stage 1: the Individualist. The Individualist worries only about themselves and doesn't have any ideals or morals. Infants are most likely on this stage, but adults can be on this stage as well. Individualists are usually fueled by addictions, such as sex, drugs, and alcohol. They are greedy and selfish. People will come out of this stage at one point, when they realize how painful their lives have become.

Stage 2: the Idealist. These people realize that they can't live without guidelines or their lives will fall apart, so they cling on to ideals and morals, doing things that they think are good to do. These people are usually very religious, but might possibly desire to be involved in the military or other similar organizations. The consequence of this stage is that Idealists are usually illogical and will deny anything that goes against their beliefs. Morals have been attained, but reasoning is gone.

Stage 3: the Scientist. I call this stage "Scientist" because it is mostly based on logic and reason, and they will not believe anything unless they see it for themselves. These people are usually agnostic or atheist, and they like to question everything. Blind faith will not work for them, so they are often very skeptic. The flaw of this stage is that their doubt and skepticism can send them tumbling into fear, and they will lose all sense of peace. They dislike the denying Idealists, but they start to blindly deny things themselves.

Stage 4: the Universalist. At this stage, the search for meaning becomes even stronger than it is when the Individualist becomes the Idealist. There is no prejudice and denying anymore, so they begin to search everywhere. Instead of using one religion to ridicule all others, they will investigate every viewpoint of the same essence. They will compare and harmonize religions instead of contrast them and point out differences. The Universalists discover the universal truth about everything, and attain this through their own personal experience. Fear and doubt is being replaced by love and peace. Once this stage is reached, the love and peace will intensify until the Universalist becomes a light to the world.

You might notice that stage 1 and 3 are both atheistic, while 2 and 4 are more spiritual. The difference between them is that 1 is immoral and 3 is based on reason, and 2 is religious while 4 is more spiritual. But the great thing is that you incorporate the best of every past stage into your present life. This means you can be an individual, you can have ideals, you can be scientific, and you can be universal. And even though stages of faith might be a short journey for you, it's not the end. Once this journey is done, the journey of Spirit begins.