Comp Two: Christian Education

1. The religious education movement exerted great influence on American Protestant Christian education during the twentieth century. Drawing on the central writings of two or three key figures in this movement, identify the core features of the “religious education paradigm.” Offer a critical assessment of this paradigm from your perspective as a Christian educator and practical theologian situated at the beginning of the twenty-first century.

2. Some argue that a theological appropriation of the contemporary discussion of practices in philosophy and social theory represents a promising alternative to the religious education paradigm. Explicate the key tenets of the concept of practices as found in two or three of the most influential contributors to the practices discussion (e.g. MacIntyre, Bourdieu, de Certeau, Stout, etc.). Assess the promise of this discussion for new approaches to the teaching ministry in the current American context.

3. Building on your answer to question two, examine a local church context through the practices lens, providing one extended example of an identity-shaping practice. In what ways do teaching and education interact with this practice?