Mystagogy, religious education and lived catholic faith

Elshof, A.J.M.

doi:10.1007/s40839-017-0039-3

Cited by 6 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…This requires more a didactical focus on pupils' experience with religion. This may comprise meetings with the lived religiosity of other people (Elshof 2017a(Elshof , 2017b, but also the arrangement of learning situations that enable pupils to gain personal experience with religious practices, narratives, rituals or buildings (Roebben 2013). The crucial meaning of pupils' experience in religious learning processes also calls for further research on the ways experiential, attitudinal and cognitive elements are interwoven.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The challenge of religious education to deal with past and present Catholicism

Elshof

2018

British Journal of Religious Education

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Religious education (RE) in secondary schools in the Netherlands is challenged to redefine the educational aims. Concerning this debate, the preference for a cognitive approach is remarkably dominant, not only among scholars but among RE teachers as well. This appeal for a cognitive turn is based upon two hypotheses: first on the presumption of religious blankness among religiously unaffiliated pupils and second on a specific view on the way religious affiliation, religious reflectivity and religious tolerance are intertwined. The current article elaborates on a empirical research that questions both hypotheses. It first discovered the ongoing connection religiously unaffiliated pupils have with a former and conventional type of Catholicism, which impedes the development of their reflective personal religiosity as well as that of their interreligious openness. Second, this investigation revealed that personal connectedness with contemporary Catholic faith encourages these two developments. As such, this research contributes to a nuanced perspective on the chances and bottlenecks within religious learning by religiously unaffiliated and affiliated pupils. Concerning the redefinition of religious educational aims, it provides empirical arguments for a balanced combination of cognitive, attitudinal and experiential aims and advocates a preference for experiential and attitudinal aspects as a didactical starting point.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The challenge of religious education to deal with past and present Catholicism

Elshof

2018

British Journal of Religious Education

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“…However, there are signs that suggest modernity-and even more so, late modernity-still pursues a fullness to break through this frame, to echo Taylor (2007). Elshof (2017) has offered a view and qualitative data for two approaches to mystagogy in religious education. Her findings support my general conclusions: mystagogy, following the theology of Rahner and in the above extended sense, emerges as a particularly relevant and important contribution from the early church for religious education.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Roots and branches: the origins and potential of mystagogy in religious education today

Melley

2021

j. relig. educ.

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Mystagogy has long been known as a catechesis to help the newly initiated deepen their understanding of sacramental experiences. In the ancient world, mystagogy was the way in which elders, that is mystagogues, helped candidates to identify and reflect on the hidden mysteries within their experience and the practices of their community. Mystagogical praxis was an essential interpretive frame of reference for discerning Christian mystery. I suggest that mystagogy is an ideal contribution from the pedagogy of the early church for our time, enabling religious educators to navigate the challenges of the postmodern context-one that is becoming increasingly secular, abstract, rational, and flat. This paper argues that mystagogy is a life-long process that enables Christians to "sniff out grace" and be all the more likely to discern the sacred and sacramental that inheres to daily life. Moreover, mystagogy allows for both a deeper engagement with the Christian tradition, and an invitation to those of other faiths (or none at all) to discern the Transcendent Horizon of our existence. This study will explore the roots of mystagogy within our tradition-where does it come from and how has it developed? That exploration of origins will consider the model of recollect, recognize, and relate that emerges as a constitutive pattern of mystagogy and practical application of this pattern in contemporary educating for faith.

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“…Cyril moves from the ritual performance to a reference to everyday life; he is clear that although the meaning is different, the gestures of the liturgy are related to day-to-day 8 As Kathleen Hughes has recently pointed out: "People who care deeply about the church's sacramental life need to probe more deeply the implications of the Pew Forum and CARA studies and others like them" (Hughes 2013, p. 73). 9 In addition to the authors cited in this article, examples include, but are by no means limited to (Driscoll 2005;Elshof 2017;Mazza 1989;Ostdiek 2015;Rahner 1982;Vincie 2016). experience. The meaning of the gesture, however, has to do with two key tenets of Christian life: unity and forgiveness.…”

Section: The Potential Of a Mystagogical Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Between the Center and the Margins: Young Catholics, “Sorta-Catholics,” and Baptismal Identity

Beaton

2019

Religions

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Increased pastoral and theological attention to the vocational implications of baptism is sorely needed. As a small contribution to this conversation, this article will examine the insights of young Catholics and their self-described "former Catholic" peers (ages 15-29) regarding key aspects of the Christian life. These insights offer a foundation for evolving understandings of baptismal identity at both the center and the margins of the church. Two recent efforts to formally solicit the opinions of young people will be examined. They are the Pre-Synodal preparations for the 2018 Synod on Young People and the recent study, published by Saint Mary's Press in collaboration with the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) under the title Going, Going Gone: The Dynamics of Disaffiliation in Young Catholics. The responses from these young people, placed in conversation with recent theological work on baptism and the lay vocation, offer possibilities for consideration as Catholics ponder the changing demographics of the Church. The conclusion will argue for the urgent necessity of listening to these voices and will suggest that a mystagogical approach offers one helpful path towards a deeper understanding and practice of the baptismal vocation.

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Mystagogy, religious education and lived catholic faith

Cited by 6 publications

References 3 publications

The challenge of religious education to deal with past and present Catholicism

The challenge of religious education to deal with past and present Catholicism

Roots and branches: the origins and potential of mystagogy in religious education today

Between the Center and the Margins: Young Catholics, “Sorta-Catholics,” and Baptismal Identity

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