The Figure of the Child in Contemporary Evangelicalism

"What does it mean to grow up as an evangelical Christian today? What meanings does 'childhood' have for evangelical adults? How does this shape their engagements with children and with schools? And what does this mean for the everyday realities of children's lives? Based on in-depth ethnographic fieldwork carried out in three contrasting evangelical churches in the UK, Anna Strhan reveals how attending to the significance of children within evangelicalism deepens understanding of evangelicals' hopes, fears and concerns, not only for children, but for wider British society. Developing a new, relational approach to the study of children and religion, Strhan invites the reader to consider both the complexities of children's agency and how the figure of the child shapes the hopes, fears, and imaginations of adults, within and beyond evangelicalism. 0The Figure of the Child in Contemporary Evangelicalism explores the lived realities of how evangelical Christians engage with children across the spaces of church, school, home, and other informal educational spaces in a de-christianizing cultural context, how children experience these forms of engagement, and the meanings and significance of childhood. Providing insight into different churches' contemporary cultural and moral orientations, the book reveals how conservative evangelicals experience their understanding of childhood as increasingly countercultural, while charismatic and open evangelicals locate their work with children as a significant means of engaging with wider secular society. Setting out an approach that explores the relations between the figure of the child, children's experiences, and how adult religious subjectivities are formed in both imagined and practical relationships with children, this study situates childhood as an important area of study within the sociology of religion and examines how we should approach childhood within this field, both theoretically and methodologically" -- University Press Scholarship Online What does it mean to grow up as an evangelical Christian today? What meanings does ‘childhood’ have for evangelical adults? How does this shape their engagements with children and with schools? And what does this mean for the everyday realities of children’s lives? Based on ethnographic fieldwork carried out in three contrasting evangelical churches in the UK, Anna Strhan reveals how attending to the significance of children within evangelicalism deepens understanding of evangelicals’ hopes, fears, and concerns, not only for children, but for wider British society. Developing a relational approach to the study of children and religion, the book invites us to consider the complexities of children’s agency and how the figure of the child shapes the hopes, fears, and imaginations of adults, within and beyond evangelicalism. Strhan explores the lived realities of how evangelicals engage with children across church, school, home, and other informal educational spaces in a dechristianizing cultural context, and how children experience these forms of engagement. The book reveals how conservative evangelicals experience their understanding of childhood as increasingly countercultural, while charismatic and open evangelicals locate their work with children as a significant means of engaging with wider secular society. Setting out an approach that explores the relations between the figure of the child, children’s experiences, and how adult religious subjectivities are formed in both imagined and practical relationships with children, Strhan situates childhood as an important area of study within the sociology of religion and examines how we should approach childhood within this field. Cover The Figure of the Child in Contemporary Evangelicalism Copyright Dedication Acknowledgements Contents Introduction EVANGELICALS, CHILDHOOD, AND THE CHANGING RELIGIOUS LANDSCAPE RESEARCHING EVANGELICALS AND CHILDHOOD BOOK AIMS AND OUTLINE 1: The Agency of Children and the Study of Religion LOCATING CHILDHOOD IN THE STUDY OF RELIGION CONCEPTUALIZING CHILDREN’S AGENCY EVANGELICAL FIGURATIONS OF THE CHILD ‘Where Did You Pick That Up?’ HAND-IN-HAND CHILDREN’S AND FAMILY MINISTRY CONFERENCE CONCLUSION 2: Learning a Form of Life CHILDREN AND RELIGION: A RELATIONAL APPROACH FRIENDSHIP WITH GOD AND OTHERS LEARNING TO HEAR GOD ‘EVERYBODY IS IMPORTANT’ CONCLUSION 3: Parenthood: Anxiety, Authority, and Agency FAITH IN PARENTING CULTURES ‘THERE ARE NO EXPERTS’: AUTHORITY AND INSTRUCTION AT ST JOHN’S INTIMACY, ATTACHMENT, AND EMOTIONAL SECURITY AT ST GEORGE’S CONCLUSION 4: Building an Academy INTRODUCTION FAITH SCHOOLS, NEOLIBERALISM, AND SOCIAL CLASS RAGGED SCHOOLS AND RIVERSIDE’S EDUCATIONAL AMBITIONS BREAKING THE CLASS CEILING? CONCLUSION: NEOLIBERALISM AND THE CONTRADICTIONS OF ‘MORAL SELVING’ POSTSCRIPT: ADDRESSING THE LANGUAGE OF CAPITAL 5: School Visitors INTRODUCTION ST GEORGE’S: CULTIVATING RELATIONSHIPS RIVERSIDE: ‘TRANSFORMING COMMUNITY’ CONCLUSION 6: Marking Times and Transitions INTRODUCTION RITES OF PASSAGE AND THEIR AFTERLIVES ST JOHN’S ST GEORGE’S RIVERSIDE CONCLUSION 7: Living with Mess INTRODUCTION MESSING UP CHURCH NATALITY, NEWNESS, AND THE IMMANENT TRANSCENDENT CONCLUSION: SHIFTING WORLD VIEWS AND THE APORIA OF COMMUNITY Conclusion Bibliography Index