Читать книгу Aging - Harry R. Moody - Страница 50

Habits of religiosity, like other behaviors, tend to remain stable as people move into later life, but faith can take on new meanings as we grow older. One research team found that, among those who had undergone some distinct change in religious faith, 40% reported experiencing such a change after the age of 50. The researchers concluded that changes in religious faith are not limited to youth but can occur at any time in the life course (Koenig, 1994).

Often the personal search for meaning leads to deeper understanding of religious faith. James Fowler (1981) developed a framework of faith stages describing how people move from simpler, more literalist ideas of religion to levels where they see themselves and their lives in more universal terms, as the greatest saints and mystics have preached. As examples of those who have reached the highest stage of faith, Fowler cites personalities like Dag Hammarskjöld, Abraham Heschel, Thomas Merton, and Mahatma Gandhi.

Theologians who have reflected on the life course tend to view aging not as a problem that calls for a solution but as an existential condition that can provide an opportunity for personal growth, or what some have called a spiritual journey (Bianchi, 2011) that can lead to a contemplative dimension for aging (Tornstam, 1997). In terms of Erik Erikson’s developmental theory, older adults struggle with a psychological conflict between ego integrity and despair. Faith can be a way of enhancing ego integrity—an attitude of acceptance toward life and the world that is part of positive mental health. Stressing the importance of religion for mental health, Blazer (1991) has identified six dimensions of spiritual well-being: self-determined wisdom, self-transcendence, the discovery of meaning in aging, acceptance of the totality of life, revival of spirituality, and preparation for death. None of these tasks is easy, but the fact that some older people undertake this spiritual journey makes us believe that the effort can yield a profound sense of meaning for the later years (Noronha, 2015).