Religiosity or spirituality is a complex and almost fundamental component of a human's life. Yet, despite the complexity of this component of human life, numerous empirical tools have been devised to study aspects of religiosity or spirituality. One promising measure of religiosity or spirituality is the Faith Maturity Scale (FMS). Briefly, this scale measures the strength of a person's relationship with God and the behavioral effects of that relationship. Two recent studies have identified factors that are predictive of faith maturity, namely current secure attachments styles in relationships (TenElshof and Furrow 2000) and religious ego identity (Sanders 1998). In addition, a recent study found that faith maturity was predictive of psychological distress (Salsman and Carlson 2005).
Basically, as Benson, Donahue, and Erickson state, creators of the FMS, reported Salsman and Carlson, the Faith Maturity Scale assesses "the degree to which a person embodies the priorities, commitments, and perspectives characteristic of vibrant and life-transforming faith," (2005). In addition, the FMS is composed of two dimensions. The first of which is vertical, measuring "the emphasis an individual places on his/her relationship with transcendent reality," (Salsman and Carlson 2005). The second dimension is horizontal measuring the emphasis the individual places on serving humanity (Salsman and Carlson 2005).
TenElshof and Furrow researched the correlation between attachment styles and faith maturity. Basically attachment is "an enduring emotional bond that promotes active exploration and mastery of the environment, thereby supporting the development of autonomy," (TenElshof and Furrow 2000). Previous research has shown that childhood attachments styles to be predictive of adult attachment styles (TenElshof and Furrow 2000). Also, previous research is suggestive that an individual's relationship with God is somewhat similar to other intimate relationships. Hence, the authors postulate that there may be a relationship between attachment styles and faith maturity. Specifically, they hypothesized that childhood attachments styles would be correlated with adult attachment styles, that secure attachment styles would be positively correlated with faith maturity, and that secure adult attachment styles would be more predictive of faith maturity than secure childhood attachment styles. To do this they administered a survey to 216 students from a conservative seminary school.
First, the authors found little correlation between childhood attachment styles and adult attachment styles, which is an odd finding in context to the previous research literature. Second, they found that a strong correlation between total faith maturity (r=.46, p<.01), vertical faith maturity (r=.50, p<.01), and horizontal faith maturity (r=.19, p<.01). Third, the authors found that secure adult attachment styles was the best predictor of strength of faith. The findings of this study may mean that early childhood experiences may not be a large factor in one's faith maturity. Also, these finding may mean that if one would want to increase the chances of having high faith maturity then one could establish a secure attachment.
Ego identity has been an important construct for developmental psychology. With its basis in Erikson's stages of development and further refined by Marcia, it provides fertile ground for research into areas of religious psychology (Sanders 1998). Marcia defines four stages of ego identity ranging on two dimensions of commitment to the role and exploration (Sanders 1998). These stages are diffusion with no commitment and exploration, fore-closure with commitment and no exploration, moratorium with exploration and no commitment, and achievement with exploration and commitment (Sanders 1998). Sanders survived 292 students to examine the relationship between ego identity and faith maturity. Sanders found that people in the diffusion state had little faith maturity in comparison to those in all the other groups. Also the author found that individuals in the achieved state had greater horizontal faith maturity than individuals in the fore-closed state, though both groups of people had similar vertical maturity. The author suggests that this is due because individuals in the achieved state are better at integrating aspects of faith into their lives.
Copious previous research has documented the connection between physical and health with religion. Yet, few of these studies examine the components of religiosity and their connection with health. This led Salsman and Carlson to explore the relationship between Intrinsic, Extrinsic, and Quest Religious Orientations, Faith Maturity, and psychological distress. The authors surveyed 251 people at the University of Kentucky to achieve this goal. The authors found that intrinsic orientations negatively correlated with paranoid ideation and hostility (r=-.18, p<.01 and r=-.16, p<.01, respectively). Also, Vertical FMS correlated negatively with depression, hostility, paranoid ideation, and global severity index (r=-.18, p<.01, r=-.22, p<.01,r=-.23, p<.01, and r=-.19, p<.01, respectively). In addition horizontal FMS correlated negatively with somatization (r=-.19, p<.01). From this the authors suggest that the individuals who integrate God into the centrality of their lives may experience less psychological distress.
The Faith Maturity Scale measure the centrality of the relationship between the individual and the transcendent reality for the individual as well as the emphasis the individual places upon serving humanity. TenElshof and Furrow found that current secure attachment styles in relationships are predictive of total faith maturity. Also, Sanders found that those who have an achieve ego identity state have the highest levels of horizontal faith maturity, while equaling those in the moratorium and fore-closed state in vertical faith maturity. In addition, those in the diffusion state had lower levels of total faith maturity than the other groups. Finally, Salsman and Carlson found that faith maturity is a robust predictor of psychological distress, in that faith maturity negatively correlated with psychological distress.
Sanders, Jeffrey L. (1998). Religious ego identity and its relationship to faith maturity. Journal of Psychology: Interdisciplinary and Applied 132(6), 653-658.
Salsman, John M. and Carlson, Charles R. (2005). Religious Orientation, Mature Faith, and Psychological Distress: Elements of Positive and Negative Associations. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religions, 44(2), 201-209.
TenElshof, Judith K. and Furrow, James L. (2000). The role of secure attachment in predicting spiritual maturity of students at a conservative seminary. Journal of Psychology & Theology, 28(2), 99-108.
What Makes Faith Mature (http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=771)
William Rekshan, February 19, 2006.