Child theology

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Children's theology describes a theology that children have produced themselves . Children are seen here as a kind of theologians. Children's theology has three reference disciplines: the (empirical) social sciences , developmental psychology, and children's philosophy . In the area of ​​theologizing with children, empirical research is carried out in relation to several theological topics ( Christology , theodicy , faith , image of God, worldview).

Definition and dissemination

Hartmut Rupp defines the relevance of children's theology as follows:

“The aim of children's theology is for children to articulate their own impressions, insights, questions, interpretations, ideas, arguments, evaluations and judgments on religious topics, that is, their ' religiosity ', and to reflect on them independently, referring to the biblical-Christian faith and so on develop oneself further [...] If one formulates the goal as competence [it would be] the ability to articulate one's own religiosity and to be able to reflect (with others). "

A look at the course catalogs shows that child theology has become an integral part of teaching and parish training in Germany / Austria / Switzerland (at universities and colleges of education, in the disciplines of religious education and practical theology). Recently, some universities have also been offering events in this context that combine child theology with systematic theology and biblical theology (for example at Bielefeld University for child exegesis Ruben Zimmermann , for systematic theology Gabriele Obst and for religious education Mirjam Zimmermann ). This shows that children's theology is a natural part of theology and can appear in all theological disciplines, with consequences that are not yet fully foreseeable, e.g. B. for the topic of infant baptism . In this regard, Franz Graf-Stuhlhofer believes that a postponement of baptism would be more in line with the concerns of child theology:

“First of all, children's theology does not want to force anything on children, but merely encourage them. In addition, a baptism consciously experienced by the respective child could be an important act in their reflection on faith. "

From an intellectual history perspective

Even in the Enlightenment, a positive assessment of children was unthinkable, especially for the philosopher René Descartes , because all errors of an adult result from childhood. Jean-Jacques Rousseau, on the other hand, valued the child in its significance and thus became the discoverer of childhood; But the idea that children can be theologians remained unthinkable to him. He saw a kind of “idolatry” in the children's anthropomorphic ideas of God. Jean Paul was the first to associate the child with religion; he was impressed by the imagination of his five-year-old son, who would “philosophize”. A change in the view of children's theology did not occur until developmental psychology .

Developmental Psychology

This reference discipline is always associated with the psychologist Jean Piaget - even if, according to the latest findings, we know that the religious development of the child begins earlier than assumed by Piaget. According to Piaget, the child's religious development occurs in stages. Lawrence Kohlberg's models of moral judgment and that of Fritz Oser and Paul Gmünder of religious judgment are also mentioned. What all models have in common is that children are perceived as subjects and actors in their reality, i.e. children are active, creative and constructive.

Children's philosophy

The decisive impetus for children's theology came from a neighboring discipline - philosophy ( didactics of philosophy ).

The trailblazers

In 1989, the Catholic religious educator Anton A. Bucher examined the “first naivety” of children. In 1992 he investigated the question of whether children can be theologians and already sets the criteria that are essential for a children's theology today or pleads for a dialogue (and thus a theology) with children: “that we enter into appropriate dialogues with children and are also willing to learn from them. (…) Rather, one will support the child in his 'independent endeavors'. "He states:" To see children as theologians, to be attentive to their ideas about God, for example, is not only an exciting undertaking, but above all one instructive. (…) In this sense, a theology of children becomes a salutary challenge in ourselves. ”The concept of children's theology arises in the same year; Children ask questions of their own accord (as in children's philosophy), they can transcend, are subjects (the catchphrase here is subject orientation), are able to develop their own theodicy and have answers that we listen to and that we try to understand before is corrected. There he brings a new aspect: "With the children, however, (the image of God) must be viewed against the background of their living environment."

The Protestant theologian Friedrich Schweitzer followed Bucher's path and wrote in 1997: "But wouldn't it be time to discover the theology of children too?"

Schweitzer's request was finally accepted in 2002 - as a paradigm shift with the model “from the child” -: Bucher founded the “ Yearbook for Children's Theology” (JaBuKi) with Gerhard Büttner - a success to this day (currently six yearbooks and four special volumes), because it places the child (according to the new developmental psychology) in the middle. Bucher now concretizes the statements he made 10 years earlier in the introductory article "Children's theology is (...) less a theology for children, but rather a theology of children." In this context, what is decisive for Bucher is that "children should interpret children in their own way" It applies to questions of creation and cosmology, images of God, the interpretation of biblical texts according to their own way, or contingency: "Child theology (is) a hermeneutic of active appropriation and less of mediation." In the end, he states: "Child theology does not create intentional religious education superfluous; Children's theology should not be corrected immediately, but understood first; To ridicule children's theology is questionable; the so-called 'first naivety' should be allowed, but children should not fixate on it; Children have the right to their theology, but also the right to religious education; Children's theology relaxes claims to truth. ”At the same time, Bucher has to admit, when considering the approach of children's theology as a program, that these“ building blocks ”still represent a“ modest building ”. According to Ulrich Kropač , "Bucher's position needs a correction or modification." The concept of children's theology is concretized in the second JaBuKi (2003) through the introductory article by Friedrich Schweitzer a year later, whose three "dimensions" become the program of children's theology: theology of Children, theology with children and theology for children.

literature

  • Mirjam Zimmermann: Children's theology as theological competence of children. Basics, methodology and goal of child theological research using the example of the interpretation of the death of Jesus. Neukirchener: Neukirchen-Vluyn 2010, ISBN 978-3-7887-2438-2
  • Bucher, Anton A. (1989): "If we dig deeper and deeper ... maybe hell will come." Plea for the first naivety. In: Katechetisch Blätter, Vol. 9, H. 114, pp. 654–662.
  • Bucher, Anton A. (1992): Children as Theologians? In: RL. Journal for Religious Education and Life Studies, vol. 1, no. 21, pp. 19–22.
  • Bucher, Anton A. (1992): Children and God's justification? - A piece of children's theology . In: Schweizer Schule, Vol. 10, H. 1992, pp. 7-12.
  • Bucher, Anton A. (Ed.) (2002): God is in the middle . Children think about God life and death. Stuttgart: Calwer Verl. (Yearbook for Children's Theology; 1).
  • Bucher, Anton A. (ed.) (2003): Nobody is angry in the Kingdom of Heaven . Children as exegetes. Stuttgart: Calwer Verl. (Yearbook for Children's Theology; 2).
  • Yearbook for Children's Theology (2002–). Stuttgart: Calwer Verl. (1.2002 -).

Web links

Single receipts

  1. ^ Graf-Stuhlhofer: Review by Zimmermann: Kindertheologie, 2010. In: Yearbook for Evangelical Theology 25, 2011, p. 353.