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Research:
Spirituality and Human Development
Program
The Role of Spiritual Development in
Growth of Purpose, Generosity, and Psychological Health in Adolescence
Richard M. Lerner |
Erin Phelps |
Jacqueline Lerner
The project is a three-year, John Templeton Foundation funded study designed
to be both "field building" and "field defining" in the
study of spirituality and positive development during adolescence. The
project consists of three different phases, including
- the assembly of a national group of scholars interested in studying
spirituality and youth development who will define the measures and
methods relevant to such a study;
- the carrying out of a collaborative, cross-sectional research study
spanning the second decade of life; and
- the dissemination of findings and preparation for the launch of a
national longitudinal study of spirituality and youth development
beginning in 2008-09.
Through this project we aim to enlarge the scholarly community directly
involved in the study of spirituality and human development and, as well,
in its relation to neural growth, generosity, purpose, and exemplary healthy
development during adolescence -- what we term "thriving." We
will also create enthusiasm for this field of research among scholars and
the public more generally. We will endeavor to accomplish these goals by
conducting a collaborative study that provides the conceptual and empirical
foundation for a national, longitudinal investigation aimed at elucidating
the brain, psychological, behavioral, and ecological (family and community)
bases of the development of spirituality, purpose, generosity, and thriving
among adolescents in general, and among a subset of youth who are
particularly precocious with respect to moral and spiritual development in
particular.
The three phases of the proposed work will provide leverage for funding the
subsequent national longitudinal study, and for engaging a new cohort of
established and developing researchers and theologians in empirically
ascertaining what role spirituality plays in moderating an adolescent's
development of generosity, purpose, and thriving. The new scientific
knowledge that will arise from these efforts is critically important for
understanding how to cultivate healthy individual development during
adolescence and beyond, and thus, in how to build the human and social capital
requisite for the healthy perpetuation of humanity across its diverse
religious and spiritual traditions.
Check out our first newsletter
(pdf)!
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