Contemporary Varieties of Religious Experience

James W. (Jim) Fowler was born in Reidsville, North Carolina, on October 12, 1940, the son of a Methodist minister. Fowler received a B.A. from Duke University in 1962, a B.D. from Drew Theological Seminary in 1965, and a Ph.D. from Harvard in 1971.

Fowler is the author of To See the Kingdom: The Theological Vision of H. Richard Niebur. He has also written several books on faith development, including Becoming Adult, Becoming Christian: Adult Development and Christian Faith; Stages of Faith: The Psychology of Human Development and the Quest for Meaning; and Faithful Change: The Personal and Public Challenges of Postmodern Life. He has contributed to numerous other books, and is co-author of Life Maps: Conversations on the Journey of Faith; Trajectories in Faith: Five Life Stories; and Toward Moral and Religious Maturity.

Faith development, an area Fowler became interested in early in his career, has become a central focus not only in his writing, but in his research and teaching. He taught at Harvard Divinity School and Boston College before moving to Emory University, in Atlanta, where he is the director of the Center for Faith Development.

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