Document Type
Article
Publication Date
Spring 2010
Disciplines
Catholic Studies | Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion
Abstract
Despite a long-standing historical debate in Catholicism about whether second grade is an age-appropriate time to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation, there has been a virtual absence of Catholic children's own voices and perspectives about this sacrament and its spiritual and moral effects. Joining a growing number of religious scholars who stress the need to engage in child-centered research, I conducted a qualitative study interviewing Catholic second graders about the Sacrament of Reconciliation. The purpose of this article is to analyze their drawings of this religious ritual. According to many psychologists and art therapists, children can best capture how they think, feel, and visualize through the medium of art. Because I was interested in exploring how this sacrament impacted children cognitively, affectively, morally, and spiritually, asking them to draw about their experiences seemed to be most the promising medium for children to express in depth what occurred during Reconciliation.
Copyright Statement
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Recommended Citation
Beste, Jennifer, "Catholic Second Graders' Artistic Expression of Sin and Forgiveness in the Sacrament of Reconciliation." Practical Matters: Ethnography and Theology. Issue 3 (2010).
Included in
Catholic Studies Commons, Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons
Comments
Originally Published in Practical Matters Journal