Faith Maturity: A Comparison between Young Adults in Emerging Churches and in Conservative Evangelical Churches

Abstract

This dissertation examined the faith maturity scores of young adults in emerging churches and in conservative Evangelical churches. An analysis of faith maturity as well as an overview of emerging churches and conservative Evangelical churches was presented. The precedent literature suggests that there are postmodern influences in young adult lives as well as a postmodern influence in the practices of emerging churches. The contrasts between emerging churches and conservative Evangelical churches are also seen throughout the literature review. The quantitative methodology for this research is based on the Faith Maturity Scale by Benson, Donahue and Erickson, which utilizes a Likert style survey instrument. This instrument includes two dimensions: the horizontal dimension and the vertical dimension. The horizontal dimension focuses on one's relationship with others and the vertical dimension focuses on one's relationship with God. Upon completion of the Faith Maturity Scale, data were collected and analyzed utilizing a comparison of means, Pearson Correlations, and Hierarchical Regressions. The researcher presented her conclusions based on the statistical analysis as well as the precedent literature. Keywords: faith maturity; emerging churches; conservative Evangelical churches; postmodern culture; young adults.