“I have grown with it”: Experiences of Spiritual Identity Development in a Group of South African Adolescents

Religiosity, Spirituality, and Spiritual Identity Development as Interrelated Terms

Religiosity, spirituality, and spiritual identity are distinct, intricately intertwined, and often overlapping dimensions of life (Benson et al., 2003; Good & Willoughby, 2006). Religion is typically referred to as the relationship or affiliation individuals may have with a specific institutionalized doctrine concerning their ultimate reality (Kiesling et al., 2006; Oser & Gmunder, 1991). Religion may therefore be defined as “an organised system of beliefs, practices, rituals and symbols designed to facilitate closeness to the sacred or transcendent and to foster an understanding of one’s relationship and responsibility to others living together in community” (Koenig et al., 2001, p. 18). Spirituality is not necessarily dependent on religion, although it may be expressed within a religious context (Good & Willoughby, 2006). Spirituality may be understood as (a) being associated with an individual’s search for what is sacred, (b) the individual’s concept of God, and (c) other areas of life which may be associated with the divine or have significance due to its relationship with the divine (Poll & Smith, 2003). Spirituality is related to personal development and includes the inner personal world, as well as a relationship with the divine and an unseen world beyond the personal world (Negru & Mustea, 2009). Despite the differences in definition, religiosity and spirituality tend to be highly correlated (Good & Willoughby, 2006; King, 2003; Smith & Snell, 2009). Spiritual development includes an internal process that is characterized by seeking personal authenticity, genuineness, and wholeness. It involves the personal pursuit to answer the ultimate questions about life, meaning, and the relationship that emerges with God. There is an inextricable identity–religiosity relation (Duriez et al., 2008; King, 2003). Spiritual identity may therefore be defined as a stable and persistent sense of the self that addresses ultimate questions raised in the context of spirituality, namely, on the nature, purpose, and meaning of life (Fisherman, 2004; Kiesling et al., 2006; Love & Talbot, 2009; Poll & Smith, 2003; Smith et al., 2010).

Smith and colleagues (Smith et al., 2010, 2011; Smith & Lundquist-Denton, 2009; Smith & Snell, 2009) conducted extensive research to explore the role of religion and the experience of spirituality in the lives of (American) adolescents and emerging adults. They found that religion and spirituality have a significant presence in adolescents’ lives. In their research, adolescents often expressed conventional faith convictions, with positive feelings about and active participation in their faith communities. Adolescents regarded their faith to be a source of guidance and a resource for knowing how to live well. Still, religion seems to be a presence in the background, a taken-for-granted reality, and the content is often difficult to articulate. Adolescents appear to construct a religious worldview that draws from a combination of moral teachings, therapeutic gospel, and a pragmatic individualism that emphasizes human rights, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Their religious views reflect a belief in personal and individual authority, the freedom to choose without judgment (and to respect other’s decisions), and that beliefs are interchangeable (that there is not only one right way). Their faith is thus personal, idiosyncratic, and often has little resemblance with strict religious traditions (Smith & Lundquist-Denton, 2009).

Theoretical Lenses on Spiritual Identity Development

Due to its multidimensional and idiosyncratic nature, spiritual development does not fit neatly into a single domain of social science (King, 2003; Love & Talbot, 2009). Still, it appears to be a lifelong process and universal aspect of human development, intertwined with the aspects and mechanisms that promote development in the physical, cognitive, and psychosocial domains of human development (Arnett, 2010; Benson et al., 2003; Cote & Schwartz, 2002; Erikson, 1968; Johnson & Boyatzis, 2006; Poll & Smith, 2003). Spiritual identity development may parallel other developmental processes (e.g., meaning-making increases in complexity as cognitive capacity increases), but may be unique due to it being less biologically driven than the other developmental competencies and that spiritual identity awareness is far less determined by the societal labeling of the self. For example, Smith et al. (2010) reiterated the fact that religious commitments are set early in life. Formative experiences in the early years of life, upbringing, and past commitments shape commitments later in life. They concluded that the forces of religious continuity may be stronger than the forces of change. Spirituality and spiritual identity development may therefore not necessarily unfold linearly, normatively, and epigenetically, but be more discretionary and idiosyncratic, and can be characterized by greater individual differences (Cote & Schwartz, 2002; Dunkel & Sefcek, 2009).

Considering psychosocial processes of development, both Erikson (1968) and Marcia (1980) recognized spirituality as an important dimension of identity development. They described spirituality as providing structure to the self and explained that spirituality promotes outcomes consistent with the other dimensions of identity. During adolescence (and continuing into later life), identity choices are characterized by the pursuit for greater independence and autonomy, active and intentional engagement in the process of exploration, and the self-authoring of commitment to a personal value system (Arnett, 2010; Kiesling & Sorell, 2009). Uniquely, an achieved spiritual identity is typically also characterized by surrender, subordination, mortification, and/or denial of the ego needs (Marcia, 1980). Erikson regarded the ego identity of a mature moral–ethical, spiritual human to be a horizontal, earthly identity, with a vertical, transcendent identity (Hoare, 2009).

From a cognitive moral development perspective, individuals progress through successive stages, achieved by integrating more sophisticated ways of understanding the world (Cartwright, 2001; Johnson & Boyatzis, 2006; Poll & Smith, 2003). For example, individuals in the sensorimotor stage tend not to express an awareness of a spiritual reality, as they are bound to the sensory and perceptual experiences within their surrounding environments. The transcendence into the preoperational stage is characterized by an awareness of a higher power, but lacks the reasoning to explain the existence or nature of the higher power. In the concrete operational stage, logical reasoning dominates and individuals search for concrete and tangible ways (e.g., religious traditions, customs, or behaviors) to understand their relationship with God. Spiritual development in the formal operational stage transcends these literal behaviors and focuses on abstract principles. Transcendence beyond the formal operational stage, to the postformal stage of spiritual and cognitive development takes place when the individual is able to consider multiple realities, but selects a personal reality that is not constrained by social norms (Cartwright, 2001; Poll & Smith, 2003). Adolescents’ increased capacity to engage in abstract thought, evaluate the sources of information, and test hypotheses enables them to consider spiritual concepts and to formulate their own conclusions regarding the spiritual domain. Still, adolescents and emerging adults do not yet have the experience, maturity, and cognitive sophistication to reason about complex moral issues (Smith et al., 2011).

An example of how spiritual development unfolds is presented in the work of Oser and Gmunder (1991). They set out to explain how individuals construct relationships with a higher power and develop religious judgment to reconcile the contradictions in reality. They proposed sequential changes in the religious and spiritual nature of cognitive reasoning (see Table 1).

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Table 1.

Oser and Gmunder’s Religious Stage Theory.

Stage (age)	Characteristics
Stage 1 (Early childhood)	Highly concrete and literal God is always present and responsible for everything Laws and rules must be obeyed to avoid punishment
Stage 2 (Older children and adolescents)	God is perceived in a less punitive light Prayer and positive behavior may influence God Healthy and happy lives are the result of God’s love
Stage 3 (Adolescence)	Religious judgment becomes increasingly common God is perceived as more distant Individuals are perceived as responsible for own well-being Increased recognition of injustice and human suffering Increased questioning of God
Stage 4 (If present, emerges in older adolescence)	God is perceived as the ultimate creator who provides freedom and life God’s existence provides meaning to life
Stage 5 (If present, emerges in adulthood)	Religiousness is universal and unconditional Interaction between transcendence and immanence God is perceived as always present and everywhere Solidarity is experienced with all human beings

Fowler also proposed that individuals move through distinguishable patterns of thought, realizations, and behaviors, each with more complex operations and capacities (see Table 2; Fowler, 1995; Parker, 2009). For Fowler (1995), faith development is a fundamental, all-encompassing, and universal human activity of meaning-making during which individuals attempt to understand their own lives, their commitments, and the values which provide coherence and direction to their lives. He proposed that individuals need to first establish a secure sense of the self to transcend the self and engage in a relationship with God.

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Table 2.

Fowler’s Faith Development Theory.

Stage (age)	Characteristics
Prestage (First preverbal year of life)	Foundation of basic trust or mistrust on which later faith builds Infants realize that they are separate beings
Stage 1: Intuitive-projective (2–6 years)	Birth of imagination Images drawn from stories told by others and images Basic, vague, and magical conceptions of God Cause and effect poorly understood Reality and fantasy poorly differentiated Simple perspective-taking
Stage 2: Mythic-literal (7 years to early adolescence; may remain in adulthood)	More logical and straightforward modes of thinking dominate Literal and mostly concrete interpretations Underdeveloped understanding of others Narrative as a way of understanding Conceptualize God in particular, personal terms God’s governance of the universe is the focus. Fairness and moral reciprocity are central. Belief that goodness is rewarded and badness is punished. No engagement in extensive analytical or synthetic reflection.
Stage 3: Synthetic-conventional (Adolescence to early adulthood; may remain in adulthood)	Ability to use and appreciate abstract concepts Meaning-making through relationships Emergence of empathy and social judgment Representations of God are assigned personal qualities such as accepting love, understanding, loyalty, and support. Identity, beliefs, and values are strongly felt. Own ideology and worldview is lived and asserted.
Stage 4: Individuative-reflective (Early adulthood; may remain in adulthood)	Critical reflection on the self and the world Emergence of the ability to take responsibility for beliefs Questioning of faith conceptions, previous values, and beliefs
Stage 5: Conjunctive (If present, emerges midlife)	Ability to embrace mystery; integrate opposing ideas Altruism Explore alternative religions and/or beliefs systems. Strengthen/alter the existing religions or belief system Still little commitment is made to challenge the existing order
Stage 6: Universalizing faith (If present, emerges end stages of life)	Inclusiveness of all beings Commitments to values Self-sacrifice to improve the existing order for all

Focusing more specifically on the domain of spiritual identity, Poll and Smith (2003) postulated that the primary mechanism toward spiritual identity development is the interaction of spiritual experiences with intentional efforts to integrate the experiences into a sense of the self. They proposed an integrative lifespan model of the broad and flexible stages of spiritual identity development (see Table 3).

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Table 3.

Poll and Smith’s Spiritual Identity Development Model.

Stage	Characteristics
Preawareness	Unaware of one’s self, as distinct from, and connected to others. The self is not experienced in spiritual terms. Spiritual experiences may have taken place.
Awakening	Learning, crisis, or conflict takes place, challenging the unawareness of the self. Begins to think of the self in spiritual terms. Awareness is inconsistent, fragmented, and/or situationally specific.
Recognition	Progressive experiencing and creating of the self in relation to the world and to others. Recollecting earlier spiritual experiences and comparing with those emerging in the awakening stage. A more stable spiritual identity develops. Importance of the spiritual identity is still not fully expressed.
Integration	Progressive experiencing and creating of the self in relation to the world, and to others. Spiritual experiences are fused with the self-concept. Spiritual identity is understood as eternal; core to the sense of self.

All these theorists acknowledged the complex interplay between biological maturation, emotional and cognitive development, psychosocial experiences, and the religiocultural context. They agreed that the unfolding of development is not linear, inevitable, or automatic, but reliant on an individual’s understanding of the self in relation to others (Fowler, 1995; MacDonald, 2009; Oser & Gmunder, 1991; Poll & Smith, 2003). In this regard, the work of Smith et al. (2010) and Smith and Snell (2009) shed light the mechanisms that facilitate change on the journey of spiritual identity development. They found that religious commitment is determined by a combination of factors, with the following being the most prominent: (a) relational modeling primarily from parents and support from committed adults in religious organizational contexts, (b) internalization of religious significance and experiences, and (c) personal devotional practice through frequent prayer and reading scripture. They explained that religious socialization with parents and also the faith community provides a relational incentive (to avoid relational breakdown) and the opportunity for enjoyable participation in community. In addition to this, devotional and habitual practices and established routines are an investment through which “religious capital” (the knowledge, skills, and abilities to be good at living out faith) is accumulated. Frequent religious experiences (e. g. to witness a miracle, having a prayer answered) confirm and validate faith and serve as a form of reinforcement and self-affirmation. Through cognitive belief commitment, mental structures are built to withstand intellectual and existential challenges. In the pursuit toward a confirming sense of self and to sustain a continuous coherent identity, adolescents continue to embrace certain values. All these mechanisms thus drive the processes adolescents engage in to define and confirm their religious/spiritual identity.

Research Method

This article is one of a series of articles which culminates from a project on spiritual identity development among the South African youth. This research was authorized by the Research Committee of the Department of Psychology and the Committee of Title Registrations of the Faculty of the Humanities at the University of the Free State. Ethical clearance was obtained from the Research Ethics Committee of the Faculty (Approval Number: UFS-HUM-2015-91). This present study aimed to capture experiences of spiritual identity development during the adolescent years, specifically exploring how spirituality is positioned within developmental trajectories. A qualitative, phenomenological approach was followed as it allowed for the preservation of the complexity of the data and the flexible exploration of lived experiences and developmental processes in real-world situations (Smith et al., 2009; Smith & Osborn, 2008).

Independent, private schools were approached to gain access to prospective participants. The aim of the study was explained to principals and teachers acted as gatekeepers to assist in recruiting possible participants. Because participants were minors, both parental consent and participant assent were obtained. This included a written and verbal explanation of the purpose of this study, the voluntary nature of participation (and the right to withdraw during any stage of the process), the confidentiality and anonymity of all contributions, as well as respect and sensitivity for personal opinions. Referral for counseling was available. A summary of the 12 participants who were recruited through purposive sampling (based on criteria such as age, English proficiency, and willingness to share experiences regarding their spiritual identity) is provided in Table 4. The participants’ ages ranged between 14 and 18 years, with seven identifying as females and five as males. Most of the participants identified with the Protestant Christian denomination, while three were from the Jewish religion and one from a Catholic educational environment.

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Table 4.

Biographic Information of Participants.

Participant a	Age (years)	Gender	Grade
Jared	14	Male	9
Thato	15	Male	9
Shai	16	Male	10
Tevin	16	Male	9
Tylah	16	Male	11
Angela	15	Female	9
Kaitlin	15	Female	9
Carla	15	Female	9
Veronique	17	Female	11
Olivia	17	Female	12
Aleeya	18	Female	11
Rose	18	Female	12

a

Pseudonym.

Data collection took place at private venues at various schools, which was regarded as a safe and secure environment for the individuals. With the purpose of triangulation and to provide participants with more than one opportunity to articulate their views, two methods of data collection were utilized. First, semi-structured interviews were used. These interviews included an interview schedule with open-ended questions and were conducted in an environment of collaborative inquiry between the researcher and the participants. Questions, for example, were “How would you describe yourself?”; “Can you tell me more about the spiritual part of who you are?”; and “What does the spiritual part of who you are mean to you?.” Participants were allowed to express their honest views, and follow-up questions were asked for clarification purposes and for deepened understanding. Interviews were audiorecorded and transcribed verbatim. Second, 3 months after the interviews, participants were asked to complete reflective writing exercises. Age-appropriate reflective questions (similar to those used during the interview) were posed to challenge participants to consider their thoughts on spiritual identity and to articulate their views in their own time (without the possible pressure of having to provide an immediate answer to an interviewer).

Interpretative phenomenological data analysis (Smith et al., 2009; Smith & Osborn, 2008) began with a case-by-case analysis. The interview transcript and reflective writing exercise of each participant were considered. An idiographic approach was used, as particular examples were considered with the intention to work toward a more general categorization. Each transcript was read a number of times in order for the researchers to become familiar with the data. After a process of initial coding was completed, the identification of themes in the data was possible. The themes included patterns which appeared in the data, capturing the essential quality of what was found in the texts. The researchers considered the association between the emerging themes and the relevant theory. The next stage of the analysis included the connecting and clustering of the themes.

Results

Discussion of Findings

Similar to previous research studies (Good & Willoughby, 2006; Kiesling et al., 2006; Koenig et al., 2001; Oser & Gmunder, 1991; Smith et al., 2010; Smith & Lundquist-Denton, 2009), religion and spirituality had a significant presence in the lives of the adolescents participating in this study. In accordance with the research from Romania of Negru and Mustea (2009), participants experienced an intrinsic interdependence between spirituality and religiosity. Their personal perspectives related closely with how they engage in spiritual concerns. Purpose in life was a prominent theme. As proposed by theorists such as Erikson (1968), Marcia (1980), and Poll and Smith (2003), participants articulated that the spiritual domain is fundamental to their sense of self, as it facilitates the search for ultimate meaning. In the search for meaning, surrendering of the self and denial of the ego needs, as explained by Fowler (1995) and Marcia (1980), were mentioned by some participants.

The research participants reflected on the growth process and transitional nature of adolescence. Some could articulate how unawareness (preawareness) in younger years grew into awareness and awakening with age and experience, as described in Poll and Smith’s (2003) Spiritual Identity Development Model and the Faith Development Lifespan Approach of Fowler (1995). Some participants showed evidence of being in the recognition stage by recollecting and comparing earlier and emerging experiences and making intentional efforts to integrate experiences into a sense of the self, as suggested by Poll and Smith (2003). Increased awareness was linked to experiences of meaning-making and a greater relatedness with a higher power (Fowler, 1995; Good & Willoughby, 2006; Oser & Gmunder, 1991).

Cognitive development plays a crucial role in adolescents’ ability to represent the self in more abstract ways and effectively negotiate the contradictions and paradoxes that characterize life experiences (Arnett, 2010; Erikson, 1968). All adolescents do not yet have the cognitive sophistication to reason about complex moral issues (Smith et al., 2011). Many participants struggled to find answers for life’s challenges and to reconcile the contradictions in reality. True to Fowler’s (1995) mythic-literal stage and what Smith and Lundquist-Denton (2009) referred to as “Moralistic Therapeutic Deism,” logical, yet mostly literal and concrete, interpretations and the instrumental values of religion and spirituality dominated. As in Smith and colleagues’ research (Smith & Lundquist-Denton, 2009), many participants regarded religion as a vehicle for happiness (that helps one to endure challenges), a resource about how to be good and moral, and an assurance of an afterlife. They conceptualized a higher power in the universe in particular, personal terms; God created and watches over the world, wants people to be good, and is involved in resolving life’s dilemmas. Rather than tradition and doctrine, personal authority (“what seems good to me”) was prioritized. This also resembles Oser and Gmunder’s (1991) Religious Stage Theory. Some participants portrayed God as always present and responsible for everything. Other participants believed that laws and rules must be obeyed in an attempt to avoid punishment; some focused on fulfilling lives being the result of God’s love. Little, but some, evidence was seen pertaining to the ability to use and appreciate abstract concepts, with some participants reporting meaning-making through relationships and the emergence of empathy (Fowler’s Synthetic-conventional stage).

Consistent with the developmental literature pertaining to psychosocial development during adolescence (Arnett, 2010; Erikson, 1968; Marcia, 1980), participants’ increased need for choice and autonomy were prominent. Participants expressed a desire to freely choose and accept a value or belief system that may guide their current and future behavior. This need propels the adolescent toward an increased awareness of the self. It thus focuses on the premise that the adolescent is an independent and unique individual, which facilitates the development of a personal identity. An achieved identity is characterized by a balanced combination of intentional exploration and commitment (Erikson, 1968; Marcia, 1980). While the participants engaged in both these processes, a stronger focus on commitments seemed to be evident. This echoes the findings of Smith et al. (2010) and Smith and Snell (2009) that the mechanisms of self-affirmation, cognitive belief commitment, and the pursuit toward a continuous coherent identity drive religious/spiritual identity formation process.

Limitations of This Research Study and Recommendations for Future Research

Spiritual identity development is a dynamic phenomenon that unfolds in context. The findings of this study are shaped by the participants’ unique experiences and individual characteristics, as well as the positionality of the researchers, and the dynamics of the research process. It is thus not presented as a generalization of all adolescents’ spiritual journeys, but rather a reflection of reality at a specific point in time and in a particular context. The shape and texture of religious and spiritual development can be understood in context (Hardy et al., 2011; Smith & Lundquist-Denton, 2009). Additional research is thus needed to shed light on the presence, development, and impact of spirituality in the lives of diverse adolescents. According to Smith and colleagues (Smith et al., 2010; 2011; Smith & Lundquist-Denton, 2009; Smith & Snell, 2009), adolescents’ religious lives are essentially facilitated by parents (who have strong, multidimensional, committed, active lives of faith) and supportive adults in the faith community. To explore the role of religious socialization in particular, future studies may consider including parents and significant adults in the research process—to provide an additional layer of understanding.

Data collection for this research study was conducted over a 3-month period and thus presents a snapshot of a particular time on the developmental journey. Because the patterns of faith are established during childhood and shape future development (Smith et al., 2010; Smith & Snell, 2009), the true trajectories of spiritual identity development will only be fully understood with longitudinal research that starts in the early developmental years and continues into adulthood.

While the current study was conducted using the lens of spiritual identity development, it is clear that the various domains of identity development are interconnected (Cote & Schwartz, 2002; Erikson, 1968; Johnson & Boyatzis, 2006; Poll & Smith, 2003). Future research may explore this intersectionality by capturing development in related domains (e.g., cultural and gender identity) and by making use of varying approaches to data gathering and analysis (Negru & Mustea, 2009).

Conclusion

This research study aimed to capture experiences of spiritual identity development during the adolescent years. Specific attention was given to how the content, structural properties, and development of spiritual identities unfold in a sample of South African adolescents. This sample of South African adolescents confirmed the prominence of religiosity and spirituality, as intertwined concepts central to their sense of purpose and identity. Consistent with the ideas expressed in psychosocial theories and lifespan development approaches, these adolescents valued the importance of choice when confronted with contradiction. They prioritized personal commitment and authenticity in their spiritual journeys toward finding a sense of self. It is clear that spiritual identity development unfolds as a lifelong process, driven by an interplay between cognitive development, psychosocial experiences, and the religiocultural context. The findings of this study reiterates that, as adolescents mature into emerging adulthood and their lives and meaning-making abilities become more complex, spirituality is critical in answering intricate questions about the self, others, and purpose of life.