Religious participation of children as active subjects: toward a hermeneutical‐communicative model of religious education in families with young children
Children's religious education is traditionally oriented to initiate children into a religious tradition. The idea—that the child must first receive input and then, when growing up, can start thinking critically—is based on images of children as ‘not‐yet‐adults’ who should be socialised and pro...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
2007
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| In: |
International journal of children's spirituality
Year: 2007, Volume: 12, Issue: 1, Pages: 37-49 |
| Further subjects: | B
Parenting
B Religious Education B Religious Communication B Family B Children B Hermeneutics |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | Children's religious education is traditionally oriented to initiate children into a religious tradition. The idea—that the child must first receive input and then, when growing up, can start thinking critically—is based on images of children as ‘not‐yet‐adults’ who should be socialised and protected. Here I will develop an ethical reflection on images of children. From a Christian viewpoint, children should be seen as ‘persons’. Children are competent subjects, with their own religious ideas. I defend the relevance of children's participation: they are seen as having a voice, actively contributing and being part of a practice in families, schools and society in general. I will focus especially on families and show how the idea of ‘participation’ as a model for religious education not only means children's ‘initiation’ into a religious tradition, but also taking seriously children's own insights. Based on the ethical reflection upon the image of the child as an active subject and the relevance of participation, I will show that the Louvain hermeneutical‐communicative model of religious education is relevant for education in families with young children. This model integrates heteronymous input and critical thinking. |
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| ISSN: | 1469-8455 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: International journal of children's spirituality
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1080/13644360701266119 |