To Be Seen and Heard: Toward a Child Liberation Theology Framework for Contemporary Praise and Worship Practice
“If there is no space in our faith communities where children can participate in theological work, how can children create a theology that will liberate them?” R.L. Stollar asks in his book, The Kingdom of Children: A Liberation Theology (2023). Popular Christian parenting literature since the 1970s...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
2025
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| In: |
Religions
Year: 2025, Volume: 16, Issue: 2 |
| Further subjects: | B
contemporary praise and worship
B Children B sacred music B Evangelicalism |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Summary: | “If there is no space in our faith communities where children can participate in theological work, how can children create a theology that will liberate them?” R.L. Stollar asks in his book, The Kingdom of Children: A Liberation Theology (2023). Popular Christian parenting literature since the 1970s has encouraged adults to view children as undisciplined trainees with little of value to offer their families and churches other than their obedience. Exploration of the recent history of Christian parenting literature and its intersections with politics and other Christian media reveals that there is substantial overlap between the communities most impacted by these books and those that utilize contemporary praise and worship music (CPWM). Using a child liberation theology framework, I examine the ways that prevailing ideas in parenting books have enabled a “parent-centered” model of musical worship in many evangelical churches. By observing the ways children are invited into or implicitly discouraged from participation in corporate musical worship, we can better understand the ways that CPWM practice might be reshaped in a more liberatory direction—one that will benefit children and adults, and foster a more radically unified church. |
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| ISSN: | 2077-1444 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Religions
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.3390/rel16020261 |
