Reference no: EM133765960
Assignment:
John and Christine, a young African American couple, come to see you for pre-marital counseling at the suggestion of their church pastor. Christine, age 19, was raised in a strict Christian family and wants their marriage and family to be 'just like my parents'. Her parents believed in a God that was accessible and loving and so does she. John, age 21, refers to himself as an agnostic. He was raised by a single mother, who 'had no time for church'. John's father left when he was 3 years old, and he has not seen him since. John tells you, "I don't want to be like my father and I believe that religion can set me right". When asked to describe God, he says he hopes God is loving and a God that listens to a person's concerns. However, his friends say that if God was all loving He wouldn't allow his father to leave. The couple plans on getting married in 6 months, and they hope to start a family next year.
Based on the vignette above, provide details relating to how you would incorporate Oser's stages of development of religious judgment as outlined below in conceptualizing John and Christine? Please provide 5 years old current (no later than 5 years old) in-text citations and complete references with DOIs.
Stage 1: Individuals move from a stage of believing that God intervenes unexpectedly in the world and that God's power guides human beings
Stage 2: Belief in a still external and all-powerful God who punishes or rewards, depending on good or bad deeds ("Give so that you may receive")
Stage 3: Individuals begin to think of God as somewhat detached from their world and as wielding less influence, with people generally responsible for their own lives, since they can now distinguish between "transcendence" (God's existence outside the created world) and "immanence" (God's presence and action from within).
Stage 4: People come to realize both the necessity and the limits of autonomy, recognizing that freedom and life stem from an Ultimate Being, who is often perceived to have a "divine plan" that gives meaning to life.
Stage 5 : The Ultimate Being is realized through human action via care and love. There is "universal and unconditional religiosity".