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James W. Fowler

American psychologist (1940–2015)

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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionAug 4, 2026
Entity authorityQ1681245
Source-derived summary

James William Fowler III (1940–2015) was an American theologian who was Professor of Theology and Human Development at Emory University. He served as director of both the Center for Research on Faith and Moral Development and the Center for Ethics until he retired in 2005. He was a minister in the United Methodist Church. Fowler is best known for his book Stages of Faith, published in 1981, in which he sought to develop the idea of a developmental process in "human faith".

Life and career

Fowler was born in Reidsville, North Carolina, on October 12, 1940, the son of a Methodist minister. In 1977, Fowler was appointed Associate Professor of Theology and Human Development at the Candler School of Theology at Emory University. He was later named Charles Howard Candler Professor of Theology and Human Development. He died on October 16, 2015.

Stages of faith

He is best known for his book Stages of Faith (1981), in which he sought to develop the idea of a developmental process in "human faith".

These stages of faith development were along the lines of Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development and Lawrence Kohlberg's stages of moral development.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “James W. Fowler” as american psychologist (1940–2015). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around James, Fowler and American.

Editorial reviewA concise reference frame for defining the subject, testing terminology and identifying the institution closest to the evidence. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1940, 2015, 2005, 1981—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with James, Fowler and American providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

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A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “James W. Fowler”, the useful work is to connect “american psychologist (1940–2015)” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 4, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1681245. The first chronological checks are 1940, 2015, 2005 and 1981.

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from James W. Fowler” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.