J o u r n a l of Religion and Health, Vol. 26, No. 1, Spring 1987
Fear, Faith, and Movement BETH CAUSEY A B S T R A C T : This paper describes the intra-psychic dynamics associated with faith development.
Using J a m e s Fowler's stages of faith theory, the author attempts to demonstrate t h a t growth in faith requires courage in order to confront the loss of self experienced in faith development. Using the work of H a r t m a n n , Mahler, and Kegan in conjunction with the thought of Tillich regarding fear and faith, the article presents a process for transition from Fowler's stage four to stage five which relies heavily upon the interaction of the self and others for successful movement.
F e a r , faith, a n d m o v e m e n t . F e a r - - t h a t state of being which " . . . has a definite object which can be faced, analyzed, a t t a c k e d , endured. ''1 F a i t h - - t h e process a n d power of love which overcomes and b a n i s h e s fear. M o v e m e n t - - t h e hesit a n t leap t o w a r d the object of fear, e m p o w e r e d by the f a i t h t h a t love will rem a i n w h e n the fear is faced. T h e subject of this p a p e r - - f e a r , faith, and m o v e m e n t - - i s an a t t e m p t to look m o r e closely at the i n t e r n a l d y n a m i c s involved in an individual's m o v e m e n t from Fowler's Stage 4 to S t a g e 5 in faith development. I n h e r e n t in our thesis is t h e b e l i e f t h a t fear is a m a j o r c o m p o n e n t in one's inability to move from Stage 4 to S t a g e 5, a n d t h a t this fear is a fear of loss of self. W h a t is needed by t h e p e r s o n who is c a u g h t at t h e abyss b e t w e e n S t a g e 4 and Stage 5 is an ability to face this object of fear (loss of self). A person at Fowler's Stage 4 (individuative-reflective faith) is able to objectify self as a p a r t i c i p a n t in his or h e r own b e i n g as he or she critically reflects upon self as s e p a r a t e and central. Thus, loss of self as director and object of being is feared. It will be the t a s k of this p a p e r to p r e s e n t w h y this fear is experienced, and to propose a process by w h i c h this ability can be empowered. Stage 4 [individuative-reflective faith] most appropriately takes form in young adulthood (but let us remember that many adults do not construct it and that for a significant group it emerges only in the mid-thirties or forties). This stage is marked by a double development. The self, previously sustained in its identity and faith compositions by an interpersonal circle of significant others, now claims an identity no longer defined by the composite of one's roles or meanings to others. To sustain that new identity it composes a meaning frame conscious of its own boundaries and inner connections and aware of itself as a "world view." Self Beth Causey is a student in the Master of Divinity Program at McCormick Theological Semin a r y in Chicago and a candidate for ordination in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). The author acknowledges with gratitude the cogent comments of Homer U. Ashby, Jr., Ph.D., in the preparation of this article. 9 1987Institute of Religionand Health
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(identity) and outlook (world view) are differentiated from those of others and become acknowledged factors in the reactions, interpretations and judgments one makes on the actions of the self and others . . . . Stage 4's ascendant strength has to do with its capacity for critical reflection on identity (self) and outlook (ideology). Its dangers inhere in its strengths: an excessive confidence in the conscious mind and in critical thought and a kind of second narcissism in which the now clearly bounded reflective self overassimilates "reality" and the perspectives of others into its own world view. 2 A p e r s o n w h o resides in F o w l e r ' s S t a g e 4 ( i n d i v i d u a t i v e - r e f l e c t i v e faith) h a s m o v e d t h r o u g h S t a g e s 1, 2, a n d 3 to a place of o w n e r s h i p of self, to a place of b e c o m i n g a n i n d i v i d u a l person. No longer in S t a g e 3 ( s y n t h e t i c - c o n v e n t i o n a l faith), t h i s p e r s o n no longer defines his or h e r f a i t h b y t h e g r o u p to w h i c h h e or she belongs, b u t h a s i n d i v i d u a t e d self a n d faith. While g r o u p s u p p o r t is still i m p o r t a n t to t h e p e r s o n in S t a g e 4, t h i s s u p p o r t is s i t u a t i o n a l , not systemic. H e l p in self-definition of f a i t h is a s k e d for, critically reflected upon, a n d m a d e one's own. D e v e l o p m e n t a l l y , F o w l e r ' s S t a g e 4 p e r s o n would correspond to E r i k s o n ' s " i n t i m a c y v e r s u s isolation" s t a g e of psychosocial d e v e l o p m e n t . A p e r s o n w h o is c o m f o r t a b l y in E r i k s o n ' s " i n t i m a c y v e r s u s isolation" s t a g e no longer is a f r a i d of losing a sense of self-identity in r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h others. H e or she c a n e s t a b l i s h i n t i m a t e r e l a t i o n s h i p s w i t h o t h e r s in t h e f o r m of close friendships a n d s e x u a l unions, a l t h o u g h t h e r e c o n t i n u e s to be a f e a r of loss of s e l f in s u c h r e l a t i o n s h i p s to some extent. But, if h e a l t h i l y w i t h i n the " i n t i m a c y versus isolation" stage, a p e r s o n c a n m o v e into such r e l a t i o n s h i p s e v e n if t h e elem e n t of f e a r is still p r e s e n t as a voice within. C o n c u r r e n t l y , in F o w l e r ' s S t a g e 4, a p e r s o n h a s t h e ability to choose t h e ext e n t of c o n n e c t e d n e s s w i t h i n his or h e r f a i t h c o m m u n i t y , no l o n g e r d e f i n i n g self b y t h e c o m m u n i t y , b u t not a f r a i d of b e i n g connected as he or she chooses, t a k i n g t h a t w h i c h " m a k e s sense" or s u p p o r t s his or h e r i n d i v i d u a t i v e - r e f l e c t i v e definition of faith. Still a f r a i d to s t a n d c o m p l e t e l y alone, b u t not a f r a i d to be connected b y his or h e r own choosing, t h e S t a g e 4 i n d i v i d u a l ' s f e a r b e c o m e s m o r e a f e a r of loss of self to self, r a t h e r t h a n loss of self to others. Stage 5 conjunctive faith involves the integration into self and outlook of much that was suppressed or unrecognized in the interest of Stage 4's self-certainty and conscious cognitive and affective adaptation to reality. This stage develops a "second naivet~" (Ricoeur) in which symbolic power is reunited with conceptual meanings. Here there must also be a new reclaiming and reworking of one's past. There must be an opening to the voices of one's "deeper self." Importantly, this involves a critical recognition of one's social unconscious--the myths, ideal images and prejudices built deeply into the self-system by virtue of one's nurture within a particular social class, religious tradition, ethnic group or the like. Unusual before mid-life, Stage 5 knows the sacrament of defeat and the reality of irrevocable commitments and acts. What the previous stage struggled to clarify, in terms of the boundaries of self and outlook, this stage now makes porous and permeable. Alive to paradox and the truth in apparent contradictions, this stage strives to unify opposites in mind and experience. It generates and maintains vulnerability to the strange truths of those who are " o t h e r . " . . .
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The new strength of this stage comes in the rise of the ironic imagination--a capacity to see and be in one's or one's group's most powerful meanings, while simultaneously recognizing that they are relative, partial, and inevitably distorting apprehensions of transcendent reality. Its danger lies in the direction of paralyzing passivity or inaction, giving rise to complacency or cynical withdrawal, due to its paradoxical understandings of truth . . . . But this stage remains divided. It lives and acts between an untransformed world and a transforming vision and loyalties? A person who resides in Fowler's Stage 5 (conjunctive faith) works to join self's faith with others', valuing the differences and the paradoxes inherent in such an endeavor. T h e p r o c e s s of joining, not the product, is what moves him or her to search for differences and find where they do not fit together, as well as where they do. The Stage 5 " . . . acknowledges the powerlessness of a n y t h i n g it can control to transform and redeem its myopia. TM No longer fearing a loss of self, the Stage 5 person is, rather, afraid of losing ambiguousness. A Stage 5 person integrates and reconciles differences. If a Stage 5 person loses the belief t h a t differences are valuable and equal, he or she may be compelled to move toward putting the self "on the line" in a publicly committed stance before the world and God, even unto death, drawn by the vision which has selected him or her as its vanguard. Developmentally, Fowler's Stage 5 person would correspond to Erikson's "generativity versus stagnation" stage of psychosocial development. At this stage, persons need more t h a n intimacy with others. They need to be actively and directly involved in teaching and guiding the next generation. Exposure to the varieties of t r u t h and sharing this exposure with others must be what they are about. Fear of stagnation, boredom, and interpersonal impoverishment moves such individuals ever outward to encounter t r u t h in others, conjoined with t r u t h as it acts upon them, always looking for a way to share the growth to which they are exposed and, in the process, to grow even more. Where a Stage 4 person fights within the self to m a i n t a i n control, the Stage 5 person fights within the self to m a i n t a i n radical openness to truth. Where a Stage 4 person is afraid of losing consistency of self in his or her faith, a Stage 5 person is afraid of losing consistency of t r u t h in his or her flexible self. Where a Stage 4 person fights to act upon reality, a Stage 5 person fights to allow reality to act upon the self. Clearly, then, the movement from Stage 4 to Stage 5 in faith development involves a person's fear of losing control. In remembering what it was like to be engulfed by one's faith community in Stage 3, a Stage 4 person is afraid of loss of self to a transcendent being's intrusion. How can identity be maintained as the self ceases to be the "director of truth"? Can one lose oneself once again, after fighting so hard to gain ownership? And, if so, what is needed to assure such a person t h a t self will not be l o s t - - b u t f o u n d - - w h e n his or her faith draws out the self, rather t h a n the other way around? What must be present within a person to set the stage for movement from Stage 4 to Stage 5? And what must be present in one's world which can aid in empowering such a person to take the leap? In painting a picture of the Stage 4 person's internal state of being as he or
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she begins to move toward Stage 5, we do well to look to ego psychologists' insights concerning ego development. Coming from an almost symbiotic state of being in Stage 3, the person moved through the blurring of self and faith comm u n i t y as one. Having taken the step toward separation, the Stage 4 person has established object constancy. He or she is aware of separateness from the faith community. No longer is the self's belief system seen as one and the same as the community to which he or she belongs. Writing about the consolidation of individuality and the beginnings of emotional object constancy, Margaret S. Mahler states, "The establishment of affected (emotional) object constancy (Hartmann, 1952) depends upon the gradual internalization of a constant, positively cathected, inner image of the mother. This, to begin with, permits the child to function separately (in familiar surroundings, for example, in our toddler room) despite moderate degrees of tension (longing) and discomfort . . . . The slow establishment of emotional object constancy is a complex and multidetermined process involving all aspects of psychic development. ''5 In order to separate oneself from one's "holding environment, ''6 one must feel the assurance t h a t the holding environment can be trusted to remain. As children in Mahler's toddler room could separate themselves from their mothers and go about playing by themselves while being able to look over their shoulders and still see that mother was near if they needed her, the Stage 4 person can move to separateness from his or her faith "holding environment" if he or she knows t h a t the separating is self-initiated and not irrevocable. No longer symbiotic in relationship with one's faith community, a Stage 4 person is nevertheless testing the waters of individuation. Reliance on self as the director of separation becomes the new "holding environment" for the Stage 4 person. Controlling when and how separation and differentness occur becomes the new object constancy. As critical selfawareness grows, one's self becomes the object t h a t "holds the keys" to defining t r u t h and value systems. To move to the more paradoxical t r u t h s of Stage 5, a Stage 4 person's movement takes the form of moving beyond self and the "holding environment." What was so complex and difficult to gain (individuation) becomes, once again, what must be risked in order to rest in the conjunctive Stage 5. The new "holding environment" of Stage 5 is relative, fluid, and dialectical. The individual in transition from Stage 4 to Stage 5 must be able to visualize first w h a t this foreign home for self will look like before movement can be seriously considered by the self. Thus, one not only becomes disillusioned "with one's compromises and recognition t h a t life is more complex t h a n Stage 4's logic of clear distinctions and abstract concepts can comprehend. ''7 One also needs to begin to envision what a new self and world view will look like before one can move toward Stage 5. This envisioning comes under the larger rubric of fantasy. " . . . [T]hough fantasy always implies an initial t u r n i n g away from a real situation, it can also be a preparation for reality and may lead to a better mastery of it. F a n t a s y may fulfill a synthetic function by provisionally connecting our needs and goals with possible ways of realizing them ''8 Thus, not only unhappiness with where one is is necessary for movement; there exists also the need to envision t h a t a new place will be appealing.
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J u s t as a S t a g e 4 p e r s o n ' s f a i t h c o m m u n i t y p r o v i d e d a c o n s i s t e n t h o l d i n g env i r o n m e n t f r o m w h i c h it w a s safe to m o v e a w a y b e c a u s e e x p e r i e n c e told t h e p e r s o n t h a t it w a s not g o i n g to a b a n d o n h i m or her, a S t a g e 4 p e r s o n c o n t e m p l a t i n g a m o v e to S t a g e 5 n e e d s a n e w holding e n v i r o n m e n t "out t h e r e " somew h e r e w i t h w h i c h his or h e r f a n t a s i e s c a n conjoin w i t h r e a l i t y . U n l e s s s o m e o n e h a s a t l e a s t h a d a t a s t e of w h a t h e or she is e n v i s i o n i n g , t h e vision is, a t best, too fuzzy to e m p o w e r m o v e m e n t . For a p e r s o n who h a s n e v e r seen at l e a s t a p i c t u r e of a n ice c r e a m cone, it is not possible to wish for or s e e k out a n ice c r e a m cone. W h i l e basic d r i v e s a n d desires m a y m o v e us to a s t a t e of a n x i e t y , we n e e d a n object first to f e a r a n d t h e n m o v e toward. Fear, as opposed to anxiety, has a definite object (as most authors agree) which can be faced, analyzed, attacked, endured. One can act upon it, and in acting upon it participate in i t - - e v e n if in the form of struggle. In this way one can take it into one's self-affirmation . . . . One could say that as long as there is an object of fear love in the sense of participation can conquer fear . . . . But this is not so with anxiety, because anxiety has no object, or rather, in a paradoxical phrase, its object is the negation of every object. Therefore participation, struggle, and love with respect to it are impossible. He who is in anxiety is, insofar as it is mere anxiety, delivered to it without help . . . . The sting of fear is anxiety, and anxiety strives toward fear2 Love as p a r t i c i p a t i o n m a k e s f e a r u n n e c e s s a r y b e c a u s e t h e f e a r is faced tog e t h e r . No l o n g e r facing f e a r alone, t h e S t a g e 4 p e r s o n can m o v e t o w a r d t h e object of f e a r t o g e t h e r w i t h first a vision, a n d t h e n w i t h a n e m b o d i m e n t of t h a t vision, s t a n d i n g alongside t h e self t h a t m u s t be risked. S o m e t h i n g or s o m e o n e is p a r t i c i p a t i n g in t h e s t r u g g l e , in r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h t h e p e r s o n e x p e r i e n c i n g a n t i c i p a t o r y f e a r of loss of self. T h u s , t h e S t a g e 4 person, in order to b e g i n m o v e m e n t to S t a g e 5, n e e d s a twofold fear. O n e side of it is loss of self, a self t h a t calls t h e shots. T h e o t h e r side of it is a f a i r l y c l e a r vision of w h a t S t a g e 5 looks like. T h e vision of S t a g e 5 b e g i n s to t a k e shape; living in S t a g e 5 m e a n s living c o m f o r t a b l y in p a r a d o x , b e i n g directed b y t r u t h i n s t e a d of directing, a n d living a fluid a n d flexible existence. As t h e vision b e c o m e s m o r e real, it b e c o m e s m o r e feared. I f e i t h e r side of f e a r is left as u n d e f i n e d a n x i e t y or d i s i l l u s i o n m e n t , t h e S t a g e 4 p e r s o n will not h a v e t h e f o u n d a t i o n f r o m w h i c h to s p r i n g solidly, n o r t h e p o w e r f u l l y r e a l vision t h a t c a n pull h i m or h e r t o w a r d S t a g e 5. As H. R i c h a r d N i e b u h r p u t it, " W e u n d e r s t a n d w h a t we r e m e m b e r , r e m e m b e r w h a t we forgot a n d m a k e fam i l i a r w h a t before s e e m e d alien. ''~~ A S t a g e 4 p e r s o n ' s process of critical s e l f - a w a r e n e s s sets t h e s t a g e for t h i s process. As t h e s e l f b e c o m e s i n c r e a s i n g l y s t r o n g a n d d i f f e r e n t i a t e d f r o m t h e p r e v i o u s h o l d i n g e n v i r o n m e n t , it (if it b e g i n s to m o v e t o w a r d S t a g e 5) b e g i n s to see i t s e l f as a n object w h o s e loss is feared, w h i l e a t t h e s a m e t i m e it is critically e v a l u a t e d as t h e s e a t of t r u t h , a n d is found w a n t i n g . B u t S t a g e 5 m u s t be s e e n as a n e w h o m e w h i c h is t r u s t w o r t h y . To " m a k e fam i l i a r w h a t before s e e m e d alien," S t a g e 5 m u s t be a vision t h a t can be t r u s t e d . As one b e g i n s to m o v e f r o m S t a g e 4 to S t a g e 5, one's s e l f - a n x i e t y w h i c h h a s a r i s e n f r o m critical reflection finds its f e a r object as loss of self. Once so identi-
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fled, the fear of loss can be "faced, analyzed, attacked, endured." But in order not only to do battle, but to move to a new battlefield, the individual must have an object of faith which pulls, as well as his or her object of fear which pushes. The process and power of love t h a t overcomes and banishes fear is t h a t faith object; it is embodied faith, manifested in a Stage 5 or 6 person who embodies t h a t love for the self who is being attacked and faced. As a faith object, a Stage 5 or 6 person loves fluidly, yet consistently, and continues to "be there" for the Stage 4 person even amidst fluxion, confusion, and even defensiveness. The faith t h a t is embodied can be trusted, counted on, alongside the paradoxes t h a t arise. Thus, the one who is beginning to move from Stage 4 to Stage 5 has not only an object to be feared (self), but simultaneously has an object to trust. The fuzzy fantasy becomes an object of reality toward which the person can hesitantly move. Luckily, a Stage 5 person embodies the virtues so vitally needed by one who is trying to move from Stage 4. Possessing Erikson's generativity drive, a Stage 5 person needs to teach, guide, and "be there" for just such a person. As this drive is coupled with Fowler's vulnerability to the t r u t h s of those who are "other" and readiness for closeness to t h a t which is different, a Stage 5 person is drawn to reaching out a hand toward the fearful Stage 4 person. As critical evaluation of self begins to take place, the Stage 4 person does not wholly like what he or she sees. Self-assuredness alternates with self-doubt, and the stage is set for movement toward one of the hallmarks of a Stage 5 person: paradox. Fearing loss of self which was so hard-fought for is, at first, manifested as unrealistic fear of the Stage 5 person who reaches out. Consciously or unconsciously thoughts emerge such as, "I'm going to be engulfed again. This person wants to take my self away." Such resistance is often experienced in counseling, the client alternately wanting to connect with the counselor while simultaneously rejecting precisely t h a t which is desired. The t r u t h t h a t is offered is still too fluid; the faith of Stage 5 cannot be seen as anywhere n e a r as strong and supportive as the strong self which is being threatened, a l t h o u g h doubted. Here the critical factor that empowers movement is brought forth into s t a r k relief. Theperson who embodies Stage 5 becomes the trusted faith object, in order t h a t the faith itself may learn to be trusted. Theologically, we can t u r n to Emmanuel, "God with us," as the paradigm for this empowering trust. "In t h e freedom t h a t opens up to the person in the acceptance of being loved, it is possible to 'see' t h a t which has been there all the time but which was 'edited out' as part of the deadly defense born of fear. ''11 Faith which is not just a cognitive construct begins in the hesitant trusting response to one who is t r u s t w o r t h y . And trustworthiness is established through the reaching out which is grounded in love which stands with that self so t h a t the self is no longer alone a t t h e abyss of transition. This embodiment of trustworthiness becomes solid in its consistency, a h a r d position to m a i n t a i n for a Stage 5 person who seeks fluidity. But consistency of this love is precisely what is needed by the person who is losing solidness of self-primacy. If this consistency can be maintained, however, the t r a n s i t i o n a l Stage 4 person has before him or her a reality of the vision t h a t o t h e r - t h a n - s e l f
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can be a new center, w i t h o u t loss of self b e i n g engulfed. As the Stage 5 person consistently "stands with," h e or she m a y find t h a t consistently " s t a n d i n g for" one's own faith begins to emerge, setting the stage for the possibility of t h a t person's h e s i t a n t vision of Stage 6 (universalizing faith). Thus, for a Stage 4 person to move to Stage 5, he or she would be firmly est a b l i s h e d in Stage 4. Self and outlook would be differentiated from others; critical reflection on i d e n t i t y and outlook would be ongoing; and disillusionment w i t h p r i m a c y of self as the cornerstone of t r u t h would begin to emerge. As the d i s i l l u s i o n m e n t b e g a n to t a k e hold, a Stage 4 person t h e n would begin to wrestle w i t h a n x i e t y and seek fear, found in the self as object, the first step for m o v e m e n t . Once distrustful of self as center, the self would t h e n begin to envision a new c e n t e r as a possibility. If a new object of faith (a consistently trustw o r t h y e m b o d i m e n t of o t h e r - t h a n - s e l f faith, conjoined w i t h love who "stands with") is found, the Stage 4 person can join his or h e r object of fear (loss of self) w i t h a n object of faith (embodied love), and the second step for m o v e m e n t is established. Thus, fear and f a i t h as objects to move f r o m and to move t o w a r d est a b l i s h a "way" for t r a n s i t i o n to t a k e place. We find, though, no evidence to support the notion t h a t even if the "way" is established, m o v e m e n t will occur. While it is believed t h a t m o v e m e n t is ext r e m e l y p r o b l e m a t i c w i t h o u t these properties firmly in place, and while it is believed t h a t if these factors r e m a i n in place over a consistent period of t i m e m o v e m e n t is g r e a t l y empowered, leaps of faith m o v e m e n t r e m a i n w i t h i n the r e a l m of faith, and can be b e t t e r u n d e r s t o o d only as we continue to l e a r n m o r e of t h a t which e m p o w e r s f a i t h - - l o v e .
References
1. Tillich, P., The Courage to Be. New Haven, Yale University Press, 1952, p. 36. 2. Fowler, J.W., Stages of Faith. San Francisco, Harper & Row, 1981, p. 182. 3. Ibid., pp. 197,198. 4. Ibid., p. 187. 5. Mahler, M.; Pine, F; Bergman, A., The Psychological Birth of the Human Infant. New York, Basic Books, 1975, pp. 109, 110. 6. Kegan, R., The Evolving Self. Cambridge, Harvard University Press, 1982. 7. Fowler, op. cit., p. 183. 8. Hartmann, H., Ego Psychology and the Problem of Adaptation. New York, International Universities Press, 1958, p. 18. 9. Tillich, op. cir., p. 37. 10. Niebuhr, H.R., The Meaning of Revelation. New York, Macmillan, 1941. 11. Oglesby, W.B., Jr., Biblical Themes for Pastoral Care. Nashville, Abingdon, 1980, p. 102.
Fear, Faith, and Movement BETH CAUSEY A B S T R A C T : This paper describes the intra-psychic dynamics associated with faith development.
Using J a m e s Fowler's stages of faith theory, the author attempts to demonstrate t h a t growth in faith requires courage in order to confront the loss of self experienced in faith development. Using the work of H a r t m a n n , Mahler, and Kegan in conjunction with the thought of Tillich regarding fear and faith, the article presents a process for transition from Fowler's stage four to stage five which relies heavily upon the interaction of the self and others for successful movement.
F e a r , faith, a n d m o v e m e n t . F e a r - - t h a t state of being which " . . . has a definite object which can be faced, analyzed, a t t a c k e d , endured. ''1 F a i t h - - t h e process a n d power of love which overcomes and b a n i s h e s fear. M o v e m e n t - - t h e hesit a n t leap t o w a r d the object of fear, e m p o w e r e d by the f a i t h t h a t love will rem a i n w h e n the fear is faced. T h e subject of this p a p e r - - f e a r , faith, and m o v e m e n t - - i s an a t t e m p t to look m o r e closely at the i n t e r n a l d y n a m i c s involved in an individual's m o v e m e n t from Fowler's Stage 4 to S t a g e 5 in faith development. I n h e r e n t in our thesis is t h e b e l i e f t h a t fear is a m a j o r c o m p o n e n t in one's inability to move from Stage 4 to S t a g e 5, a n d t h a t this fear is a fear of loss of self. W h a t is needed by t h e p e r s o n who is c a u g h t at t h e abyss b e t w e e n S t a g e 4 and Stage 5 is an ability to face this object of fear (loss of self). A person at Fowler's Stage 4 (individuative-reflective faith) is able to objectify self as a p a r t i c i p a n t in his or h e r own b e i n g as he or she critically reflects upon self as s e p a r a t e and central. Thus, loss of self as director and object of being is feared. It will be the t a s k of this p a p e r to p r e s e n t w h y this fear is experienced, and to propose a process by w h i c h this ability can be empowered. Stage 4 [individuative-reflective faith] most appropriately takes form in young adulthood (but let us remember that many adults do not construct it and that for a significant group it emerges only in the mid-thirties or forties). This stage is marked by a double development. The self, previously sustained in its identity and faith compositions by an interpersonal circle of significant others, now claims an identity no longer defined by the composite of one's roles or meanings to others. To sustain that new identity it composes a meaning frame conscious of its own boundaries and inner connections and aware of itself as a "world view." Self Beth Causey is a student in the Master of Divinity Program at McCormick Theological Semin a r y in Chicago and a candidate for ordination in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). The author acknowledges with gratitude the cogent comments of Homer U. Ashby, Jr., Ph.D., in the preparation of this article. 9 1987Institute of Religionand Health
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(identity) and outlook (world view) are differentiated from those of others and become acknowledged factors in the reactions, interpretations and judgments one makes on the actions of the self and others . . . . Stage 4's ascendant strength has to do with its capacity for critical reflection on identity (self) and outlook (ideology). Its dangers inhere in its strengths: an excessive confidence in the conscious mind and in critical thought and a kind of second narcissism in which the now clearly bounded reflective self overassimilates "reality" and the perspectives of others into its own world view. 2 A p e r s o n w h o resides in F o w l e r ' s S t a g e 4 ( i n d i v i d u a t i v e - r e f l e c t i v e faith) h a s m o v e d t h r o u g h S t a g e s 1, 2, a n d 3 to a place of o w n e r s h i p of self, to a place of b e c o m i n g a n i n d i v i d u a l person. No longer in S t a g e 3 ( s y n t h e t i c - c o n v e n t i o n a l faith), t h i s p e r s o n no longer defines his or h e r f a i t h b y t h e g r o u p to w h i c h h e or she belongs, b u t h a s i n d i v i d u a t e d self a n d faith. While g r o u p s u p p o r t is still i m p o r t a n t to t h e p e r s o n in S t a g e 4, t h i s s u p p o r t is s i t u a t i o n a l , not systemic. H e l p in self-definition of f a i t h is a s k e d for, critically reflected upon, a n d m a d e one's own. D e v e l o p m e n t a l l y , F o w l e r ' s S t a g e 4 p e r s o n would correspond to E r i k s o n ' s " i n t i m a c y v e r s u s isolation" s t a g e of psychosocial d e v e l o p m e n t . A p e r s o n w h o is c o m f o r t a b l y in E r i k s o n ' s " i n t i m a c y v e r s u s isolation" s t a g e no longer is a f r a i d of losing a sense of self-identity in r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h others. H e or she c a n e s t a b l i s h i n t i m a t e r e l a t i o n s h i p s w i t h o t h e r s in t h e f o r m of close friendships a n d s e x u a l unions, a l t h o u g h t h e r e c o n t i n u e s to be a f e a r of loss of s e l f in s u c h r e l a t i o n s h i p s to some extent. But, if h e a l t h i l y w i t h i n the " i n t i m a c y versus isolation" stage, a p e r s o n c a n m o v e into such r e l a t i o n s h i p s e v e n if t h e elem e n t of f e a r is still p r e s e n t as a voice within. C o n c u r r e n t l y , in F o w l e r ' s S t a g e 4, a p e r s o n h a s t h e ability to choose t h e ext e n t of c o n n e c t e d n e s s w i t h i n his or h e r f a i t h c o m m u n i t y , no l o n g e r d e f i n i n g self b y t h e c o m m u n i t y , b u t not a f r a i d of b e i n g connected as he or she chooses, t a k i n g t h a t w h i c h " m a k e s sense" or s u p p o r t s his or h e r i n d i v i d u a t i v e - r e f l e c t i v e definition of faith. Still a f r a i d to s t a n d c o m p l e t e l y alone, b u t not a f r a i d to be connected b y his or h e r own choosing, t h e S t a g e 4 i n d i v i d u a l ' s f e a r b e c o m e s m o r e a f e a r of loss of self to self, r a t h e r t h a n loss of self to others. Stage 5 conjunctive faith involves the integration into self and outlook of much that was suppressed or unrecognized in the interest of Stage 4's self-certainty and conscious cognitive and affective adaptation to reality. This stage develops a "second naivet~" (Ricoeur) in which symbolic power is reunited with conceptual meanings. Here there must also be a new reclaiming and reworking of one's past. There must be an opening to the voices of one's "deeper self." Importantly, this involves a critical recognition of one's social unconscious--the myths, ideal images and prejudices built deeply into the self-system by virtue of one's nurture within a particular social class, religious tradition, ethnic group or the like. Unusual before mid-life, Stage 5 knows the sacrament of defeat and the reality of irrevocable commitments and acts. What the previous stage struggled to clarify, in terms of the boundaries of self and outlook, this stage now makes porous and permeable. Alive to paradox and the truth in apparent contradictions, this stage strives to unify opposites in mind and experience. It generates and maintains vulnerability to the strange truths of those who are " o t h e r . " . . .
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The new strength of this stage comes in the rise of the ironic imagination--a capacity to see and be in one's or one's group's most powerful meanings, while simultaneously recognizing that they are relative, partial, and inevitably distorting apprehensions of transcendent reality. Its danger lies in the direction of paralyzing passivity or inaction, giving rise to complacency or cynical withdrawal, due to its paradoxical understandings of truth . . . . But this stage remains divided. It lives and acts between an untransformed world and a transforming vision and loyalties? A person who resides in Fowler's Stage 5 (conjunctive faith) works to join self's faith with others', valuing the differences and the paradoxes inherent in such an endeavor. T h e p r o c e s s of joining, not the product, is what moves him or her to search for differences and find where they do not fit together, as well as where they do. The Stage 5 " . . . acknowledges the powerlessness of a n y t h i n g it can control to transform and redeem its myopia. TM No longer fearing a loss of self, the Stage 5 person is, rather, afraid of losing ambiguousness. A Stage 5 person integrates and reconciles differences. If a Stage 5 person loses the belief t h a t differences are valuable and equal, he or she may be compelled to move toward putting the self "on the line" in a publicly committed stance before the world and God, even unto death, drawn by the vision which has selected him or her as its vanguard. Developmentally, Fowler's Stage 5 person would correspond to Erikson's "generativity versus stagnation" stage of psychosocial development. At this stage, persons need more t h a n intimacy with others. They need to be actively and directly involved in teaching and guiding the next generation. Exposure to the varieties of t r u t h and sharing this exposure with others must be what they are about. Fear of stagnation, boredom, and interpersonal impoverishment moves such individuals ever outward to encounter t r u t h in others, conjoined with t r u t h as it acts upon them, always looking for a way to share the growth to which they are exposed and, in the process, to grow even more. Where a Stage 4 person fights within the self to m a i n t a i n control, the Stage 5 person fights within the self to m a i n t a i n radical openness to truth. Where a Stage 4 person is afraid of losing consistency of self in his or her faith, a Stage 5 person is afraid of losing consistency of t r u t h in his or her flexible self. Where a Stage 4 person fights to act upon reality, a Stage 5 person fights to allow reality to act upon the self. Clearly, then, the movement from Stage 4 to Stage 5 in faith development involves a person's fear of losing control. In remembering what it was like to be engulfed by one's faith community in Stage 3, a Stage 4 person is afraid of loss of self to a transcendent being's intrusion. How can identity be maintained as the self ceases to be the "director of truth"? Can one lose oneself once again, after fighting so hard to gain ownership? And, if so, what is needed to assure such a person t h a t self will not be l o s t - - b u t f o u n d - - w h e n his or her faith draws out the self, rather t h a n the other way around? What must be present within a person to set the stage for movement from Stage 4 to Stage 5? And what must be present in one's world which can aid in empowering such a person to take the leap? In painting a picture of the Stage 4 person's internal state of being as he or
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she begins to move toward Stage 5, we do well to look to ego psychologists' insights concerning ego development. Coming from an almost symbiotic state of being in Stage 3, the person moved through the blurring of self and faith comm u n i t y as one. Having taken the step toward separation, the Stage 4 person has established object constancy. He or she is aware of separateness from the faith community. No longer is the self's belief system seen as one and the same as the community to which he or she belongs. Writing about the consolidation of individuality and the beginnings of emotional object constancy, Margaret S. Mahler states, "The establishment of affected (emotional) object constancy (Hartmann, 1952) depends upon the gradual internalization of a constant, positively cathected, inner image of the mother. This, to begin with, permits the child to function separately (in familiar surroundings, for example, in our toddler room) despite moderate degrees of tension (longing) and discomfort . . . . The slow establishment of emotional object constancy is a complex and multidetermined process involving all aspects of psychic development. ''5 In order to separate oneself from one's "holding environment, ''6 one must feel the assurance t h a t the holding environment can be trusted to remain. As children in Mahler's toddler room could separate themselves from their mothers and go about playing by themselves while being able to look over their shoulders and still see that mother was near if they needed her, the Stage 4 person can move to separateness from his or her faith "holding environment" if he or she knows t h a t the separating is self-initiated and not irrevocable. No longer symbiotic in relationship with one's faith community, a Stage 4 person is nevertheless testing the waters of individuation. Reliance on self as the director of separation becomes the new "holding environment" for the Stage 4 person. Controlling when and how separation and differentness occur becomes the new object constancy. As critical selfawareness grows, one's self becomes the object t h a t "holds the keys" to defining t r u t h and value systems. To move to the more paradoxical t r u t h s of Stage 5, a Stage 4 person's movement takes the form of moving beyond self and the "holding environment." What was so complex and difficult to gain (individuation) becomes, once again, what must be risked in order to rest in the conjunctive Stage 5. The new "holding environment" of Stage 5 is relative, fluid, and dialectical. The individual in transition from Stage 4 to Stage 5 must be able to visualize first w h a t this foreign home for self will look like before movement can be seriously considered by the self. Thus, one not only becomes disillusioned "with one's compromises and recognition t h a t life is more complex t h a n Stage 4's logic of clear distinctions and abstract concepts can comprehend. ''7 One also needs to begin to envision what a new self and world view will look like before one can move toward Stage 5. This envisioning comes under the larger rubric of fantasy. " . . . [T]hough fantasy always implies an initial t u r n i n g away from a real situation, it can also be a preparation for reality and may lead to a better mastery of it. F a n t a s y may fulfill a synthetic function by provisionally connecting our needs and goals with possible ways of realizing them ''8 Thus, not only unhappiness with where one is is necessary for movement; there exists also the need to envision t h a t a new place will be appealing.
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J u s t as a S t a g e 4 p e r s o n ' s f a i t h c o m m u n i t y p r o v i d e d a c o n s i s t e n t h o l d i n g env i r o n m e n t f r o m w h i c h it w a s safe to m o v e a w a y b e c a u s e e x p e r i e n c e told t h e p e r s o n t h a t it w a s not g o i n g to a b a n d o n h i m or her, a S t a g e 4 p e r s o n c o n t e m p l a t i n g a m o v e to S t a g e 5 n e e d s a n e w holding e n v i r o n m e n t "out t h e r e " somew h e r e w i t h w h i c h his or h e r f a n t a s i e s c a n conjoin w i t h r e a l i t y . U n l e s s s o m e o n e h a s a t l e a s t h a d a t a s t e of w h a t h e or she is e n v i s i o n i n g , t h e vision is, a t best, too fuzzy to e m p o w e r m o v e m e n t . For a p e r s o n who h a s n e v e r seen at l e a s t a p i c t u r e of a n ice c r e a m cone, it is not possible to wish for or s e e k out a n ice c r e a m cone. W h i l e basic d r i v e s a n d desires m a y m o v e us to a s t a t e of a n x i e t y , we n e e d a n object first to f e a r a n d t h e n m o v e toward. Fear, as opposed to anxiety, has a definite object (as most authors agree) which can be faced, analyzed, attacked, endured. One can act upon it, and in acting upon it participate in i t - - e v e n if in the form of struggle. In this way one can take it into one's self-affirmation . . . . One could say that as long as there is an object of fear love in the sense of participation can conquer fear . . . . But this is not so with anxiety, because anxiety has no object, or rather, in a paradoxical phrase, its object is the negation of every object. Therefore participation, struggle, and love with respect to it are impossible. He who is in anxiety is, insofar as it is mere anxiety, delivered to it without help . . . . The sting of fear is anxiety, and anxiety strives toward fear2 Love as p a r t i c i p a t i o n m a k e s f e a r u n n e c e s s a r y b e c a u s e t h e f e a r is faced tog e t h e r . No l o n g e r facing f e a r alone, t h e S t a g e 4 p e r s o n can m o v e t o w a r d t h e object of f e a r t o g e t h e r w i t h first a vision, a n d t h e n w i t h a n e m b o d i m e n t of t h a t vision, s t a n d i n g alongside t h e self t h a t m u s t be risked. S o m e t h i n g or s o m e o n e is p a r t i c i p a t i n g in t h e s t r u g g l e , in r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h t h e p e r s o n e x p e r i e n c i n g a n t i c i p a t o r y f e a r of loss of self. T h u s , t h e S t a g e 4 person, in order to b e g i n m o v e m e n t to S t a g e 5, n e e d s a twofold fear. O n e side of it is loss of self, a self t h a t calls t h e shots. T h e o t h e r side of it is a f a i r l y c l e a r vision of w h a t S t a g e 5 looks like. T h e vision of S t a g e 5 b e g i n s to t a k e shape; living in S t a g e 5 m e a n s living c o m f o r t a b l y in p a r a d o x , b e i n g directed b y t r u t h i n s t e a d of directing, a n d living a fluid a n d flexible existence. As t h e vision b e c o m e s m o r e real, it b e c o m e s m o r e feared. I f e i t h e r side of f e a r is left as u n d e f i n e d a n x i e t y or d i s i l l u s i o n m e n t , t h e S t a g e 4 p e r s o n will not h a v e t h e f o u n d a t i o n f r o m w h i c h to s p r i n g solidly, n o r t h e p o w e r f u l l y r e a l vision t h a t c a n pull h i m or h e r t o w a r d S t a g e 5. As H. R i c h a r d N i e b u h r p u t it, " W e u n d e r s t a n d w h a t we r e m e m b e r , r e m e m b e r w h a t we forgot a n d m a k e fam i l i a r w h a t before s e e m e d alien. ''~~ A S t a g e 4 p e r s o n ' s process of critical s e l f - a w a r e n e s s sets t h e s t a g e for t h i s process. As t h e s e l f b e c o m e s i n c r e a s i n g l y s t r o n g a n d d i f f e r e n t i a t e d f r o m t h e p r e v i o u s h o l d i n g e n v i r o n m e n t , it (if it b e g i n s to m o v e t o w a r d S t a g e 5) b e g i n s to see i t s e l f as a n object w h o s e loss is feared, w h i l e a t t h e s a m e t i m e it is critically e v a l u a t e d as t h e s e a t of t r u t h , a n d is found w a n t i n g . B u t S t a g e 5 m u s t be s e e n as a n e w h o m e w h i c h is t r u s t w o r t h y . To " m a k e fam i l i a r w h a t before s e e m e d alien," S t a g e 5 m u s t be a vision t h a t can be t r u s t e d . As one b e g i n s to m o v e f r o m S t a g e 4 to S t a g e 5, one's s e l f - a n x i e t y w h i c h h a s a r i s e n f r o m critical reflection finds its f e a r object as loss of self. Once so identi-
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fled, the fear of loss can be "faced, analyzed, attacked, endured." But in order not only to do battle, but to move to a new battlefield, the individual must have an object of faith which pulls, as well as his or her object of fear which pushes. The process and power of love t h a t overcomes and banishes fear is t h a t faith object; it is embodied faith, manifested in a Stage 5 or 6 person who embodies t h a t love for the self who is being attacked and faced. As a faith object, a Stage 5 or 6 person loves fluidly, yet consistently, and continues to "be there" for the Stage 4 person even amidst fluxion, confusion, and even defensiveness. The faith t h a t is embodied can be trusted, counted on, alongside the paradoxes t h a t arise. Thus, the one who is beginning to move from Stage 4 to Stage 5 has not only an object to be feared (self), but simultaneously has an object to trust. The fuzzy fantasy becomes an object of reality toward which the person can hesitantly move. Luckily, a Stage 5 person embodies the virtues so vitally needed by one who is trying to move from Stage 4. Possessing Erikson's generativity drive, a Stage 5 person needs to teach, guide, and "be there" for just such a person. As this drive is coupled with Fowler's vulnerability to the t r u t h s of those who are "other" and readiness for closeness to t h a t which is different, a Stage 5 person is drawn to reaching out a hand toward the fearful Stage 4 person. As critical evaluation of self begins to take place, the Stage 4 person does not wholly like what he or she sees. Self-assuredness alternates with self-doubt, and the stage is set for movement toward one of the hallmarks of a Stage 5 person: paradox. Fearing loss of self which was so hard-fought for is, at first, manifested as unrealistic fear of the Stage 5 person who reaches out. Consciously or unconsciously thoughts emerge such as, "I'm going to be engulfed again. This person wants to take my self away." Such resistance is often experienced in counseling, the client alternately wanting to connect with the counselor while simultaneously rejecting precisely t h a t which is desired. The t r u t h t h a t is offered is still too fluid; the faith of Stage 5 cannot be seen as anywhere n e a r as strong and supportive as the strong self which is being threatened, a l t h o u g h doubted. Here the critical factor that empowers movement is brought forth into s t a r k relief. Theperson who embodies Stage 5 becomes the trusted faith object, in order t h a t the faith itself may learn to be trusted. Theologically, we can t u r n to Emmanuel, "God with us," as the paradigm for this empowering trust. "In t h e freedom t h a t opens up to the person in the acceptance of being loved, it is possible to 'see' t h a t which has been there all the time but which was 'edited out' as part of the deadly defense born of fear. ''11 Faith which is not just a cognitive construct begins in the hesitant trusting response to one who is t r u s t w o r t h y . And trustworthiness is established through the reaching out which is grounded in love which stands with that self so t h a t the self is no longer alone a t t h e abyss of transition. This embodiment of trustworthiness becomes solid in its consistency, a h a r d position to m a i n t a i n for a Stage 5 person who seeks fluidity. But consistency of this love is precisely what is needed by the person who is losing solidness of self-primacy. If this consistency can be maintained, however, the t r a n s i t i o n a l Stage 4 person has before him or her a reality of the vision t h a t o t h e r - t h a n - s e l f
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can be a new center, w i t h o u t loss of self b e i n g engulfed. As the Stage 5 person consistently "stands with," h e or she m a y find t h a t consistently " s t a n d i n g for" one's own faith begins to emerge, setting the stage for the possibility of t h a t person's h e s i t a n t vision of Stage 6 (universalizing faith). Thus, for a Stage 4 person to move to Stage 5, he or she would be firmly est a b l i s h e d in Stage 4. Self and outlook would be differentiated from others; critical reflection on i d e n t i t y and outlook would be ongoing; and disillusionment w i t h p r i m a c y of self as the cornerstone of t r u t h would begin to emerge. As the d i s i l l u s i o n m e n t b e g a n to t a k e hold, a Stage 4 person t h e n would begin to wrestle w i t h a n x i e t y and seek fear, found in the self as object, the first step for m o v e m e n t . Once distrustful of self as center, the self would t h e n begin to envision a new c e n t e r as a possibility. If a new object of faith (a consistently trustw o r t h y e m b o d i m e n t of o t h e r - t h a n - s e l f faith, conjoined w i t h love who "stands with") is found, the Stage 4 person can join his or h e r object of fear (loss of self) w i t h a n object of faith (embodied love), and the second step for m o v e m e n t is established. Thus, fear and f a i t h as objects to move f r o m and to move t o w a r d est a b l i s h a "way" for t r a n s i t i o n to t a k e place. We find, though, no evidence to support the notion t h a t even if the "way" is established, m o v e m e n t will occur. While it is believed t h a t m o v e m e n t is ext r e m e l y p r o b l e m a t i c w i t h o u t these properties firmly in place, and while it is believed t h a t if these factors r e m a i n in place over a consistent period of t i m e m o v e m e n t is g r e a t l y empowered, leaps of faith m o v e m e n t r e m a i n w i t h i n the r e a l m of faith, and can be b e t t e r u n d e r s t o o d only as we continue to l e a r n m o r e of t h a t which e m p o w e r s f a i t h - - l o v e .
References
1. Tillich, P., The Courage to Be. New Haven, Yale University Press, 1952, p. 36. 2. Fowler, J.W., Stages of Faith. San Francisco, Harper & Row, 1981, p. 182. 3. Ibid., pp. 197,198. 4. Ibid., p. 187. 5. Mahler, M.; Pine, F; Bergman, A., The Psychological Birth of the Human Infant. New York, Basic Books, 1975, pp. 109, 110. 6. Kegan, R., The Evolving Self. Cambridge, Harvard University Press, 1982. 7. Fowler, op. cit., p. 183. 8. Hartmann, H., Ego Psychology and the Problem of Adaptation. New York, International Universities Press, 1958, p. 18. 9. Tillich, op. cir., p. 37. 10. Niebuhr, H.R., The Meaning of Revelation. New York, Macmillan, 1941. 11. Oglesby, W.B., Jr., Biblical Themes for Pastoral Care. Nashville, Abingdon, 1980, p. 102.
