What Kids Need: Spiritual Development
Spiritual development involves core issues of meaning, purpose, belonging, and identity that give young people a sense that they matter and are part of something bigger than themselves.
From Search Institute - The Center for Spiritual Development in Childhood and Adolescence is a global initiative to advance the research and practice of this important and understudied domain of human development. Search Institute, with major support from the John Templeton Foundation, is designing the center to become an international hub of theory, research, and practice.
What Makes the Center Unique?
- The center integrates current understandings of human development with spiritual development.
- The center recognizes spiritual development as linked to, but not the same as, religious development. It seeks to engage both religious and secular thought leaders, scholars, and practitioners in examining and attending to young people’s spiritual development.
- The center is intentionally multi-faith, multicultural, and interdisciplinary, bringing together insights and perspectives from the social sciences, religious studies, and other fields.
- The center is international, seeking to examine spiritual development in a global context.
- The center integrates current understandings of human development with spiritual development.
- The center recognizes spiritual development as linked to, but not the same as, religious development. It seeks to engage both religious and secular thought leaders, scholars, and practitioners in examining and attending to young people’s spiritual development.
- The center is intentionally multi-faith, multicultural, and interdisciplinary, bringing together insights and perspectives from the social sciences, religious studies, and other fields.
- The center is international, seeking to examine spiritual development in a global context.
To learn more about Search Institute's approach, research, and commitment to spiritual development in young people click here.
Spiritual development is one of four innovations the Search Institute supports to help kids succeed. To learn more about what it takes to help young people grow up successfully click here.
