Marcel Barnard

Developing a Framework for Research on Religious Identity Development of Highly Committed Adolescents

Abstract The aim of this article is to present a framework for studying the religious identity development of highly religious Christian and Muslim adolescents. Building on existing theories on identity development, the authors define highly religious Christian and Muslim adolescents as orthoprax adolescents and explore the consequences of this for reflection on the religious identity development of these groups of youngsters. This study is a first step toward gaining qualitative insights into the religious identity development of orthoprax adolescents and filling up a perceived gap in research on religious identity development.

The Role of Religious Ritual in Social Capital Formation for Poverty Alleviation and Social Development. Theoretical and Methodological Points of Departure of a South African Exploration

The article is a presentation of a South African research project in which researchers in the fields of ritual-liturgical studies and social development are collaborating to explore the role of religious ritual in the kinds of social capital formation that have a direct significance and implication for alleviating poverty and promoting social development at grassroots level. Focusing on Christian congregations in poor socio-economic contexts in the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, the aim of the research is to understand social capital formation through the lens of religious ritual. The research project builds on the hypothesis that social capital has a role to play in the related goals of poverty alleviation and social development, something which it seeks to conceptualise and explore in greater detail. Within this framework the discussion explores and contextualises the conceptual link between social capital and the practice of religious ritual in present-day South African society by drawing on existing research and theoretical debates, both nationally and internationally. This enables the authors to present some additional notes on the key theoretical, conceptual and methodological points of departure of the undertaken project. These are followed by a number of concluding observations about the modes of investigation and action steps through which the research topic is currently being further developed.

The Comeback of Parents in Catechesis Practices

This article investigates which theoretical notions of faith learning can support the integration of church catechesis with parental involvement in faith formation. Based on a discussion of theories of the church as a learning community, four foundational notions of faith learning are identified: faith learning as (1) learning in life, (2) learning in relation, (3) intergenerational learning and (4) emancipatory learning. Next, the implications of these notions for pedagogical challenges faced by faith communities are addressed, and their relevance for academic reflections on catechesis practices are discussed.

From Organized Faith to Lived Faith: The Need for De-Laboratoryzing and De-Conceptualizing Youth Ministry

Many local churches in the Netherlands have delegated the faith socialization of adolescents to special youth ministry activities in their local church. As a result, youth ministry activities have the tendency to become a kind of isolated subculture, with its own organized small groups, between church activities and the daily life of adolescents. At the same time, this subculture is influenced both by church context and by the daily life of adolescents. These influences can result in an experienced mismatch in these groups between ‘organized’ faith versus ‘faith in action’ in these subcultures of youth ministry. This mismatch is often explained as the problem of adolescents who are supposedly no longer interested in faith. In this study, the mismatch in these youth ministry small groups is explored and analysed. The results show that the way of offering and organizing faith is often too abstract and not always in line with the way of thinking, feeling and behaving of adolescents in their daily life. Furthermore, the research shows that, to overcome the mismatch, adolescents need clear language and other means to express and experience their faith in their lives.

Connected to the wellspring: ecclesiological capabilities of small groups of adolescents

The relationship between adolescents and institutional manifestations of church is often problematic. Nevertheless, adolescents still have a need to talk about and to experience faith together with other adolescents. When institutional activities are not available or do not satisfy the needs of the adolescents they sometimes create their own small groups and (informal) meetings to affirm their faith integrated in their (social) lives. Sociological studies also show the tendency to create their own small groups (tribes) besides existing groups of institutional organisations. In this article the question posed is how this more tribal way of being together can be seen as church. Is a (new) form of ecclesiology possible in a world of small groups, networks, social media? This article describes ecclesiological capabilities in a complex sociological environment for adolescents.

Faith Tribes as Powerful Communities of Adolescents in Highly Differentiated Societies.

Abstract This article describes how communal aspects of faith find their way back into the lives of adolescents. The communal aspects of faith within individualized societies need more attention. It seems that with the current emphasis on individual faith, the intrinsic power of communal aspects of faith has been lost. This study shows that informal communities of adolescents—faith tribes—can restore the individual–communal balance in faith development. Youth ministry should encourage adolescents and tribal leaders to be aware of the faith possibilities of tribes.

Sources for Religious Identity Development of Orthoprax Muslim Adolescents in the Netherlands

This interview study examines sources for the religious exploration of orthoprax Muslim adolescents in the Netherlands. We use the term sources to emphasize that we are also interested in sources other than parents and other persons. By using our interview guidelines, we succeeded in discovering sources other than persons: for example, specific events and opinions of others in the societal context of the Netherlands. This study also gives insight into which sources stimulate religious identity development, and how they are of importance in the process of religious identity development. Lastly, we distinguish five actions perceived as being important to success.

Youth Worship as Recreation

We search for a liturgical-ritual perspective that both describes the observed need for extraordinary or vital experiences in youth worship gatherings, and that explains these in relation to the communication between God and humankind. We argue, on the basis of our empirical study, that the concepts of “recreation” and “juxtaposition” are helpful in this regard. Four recreational dimensions are distinguished in youth worship: “being free and informal”, “enjoying a stirring and silent atmosphere”, “exploring and actualizing the self” and “recharging faith”. These are obviously present in crowded national youth events, but also in local youth worship gatherings. The concept of juxtaposition, as G. W. Lathrop uses it, is operationalized to describe and understand what transforms recreation into Christian recreation from the perspectives of the participants. Zusammenfassung: Wir erforschen ein liturgisch-rituales Perspektiv, das zwei Sachen macht: es beschreibt das Bedürfnis nach außergewöhnlichen oder vitalen Erfahrungen in Jugendgottesdiensten und erläutert diese in Bezug auf die Kommunikation zwischen Gott und Menschen. Wir argumentieren aufgrund unserer empirischen Studie, dass die Konzepte ‚Erholung‘ und ‚Juxtaposition‘ [Nebeneinanderstellung] in dieser Hinsicht hilfreich sind. Es werden vier Erholungsdimensionen unterschieden. Diese Dimensionen sind nicht nur in massiven nationalen Jugend-Events deutlich anwesend, sondern auch in lokalen Jugendgottesdiensten. Das Konzept der ‚Juxtaposition‘, so wie G. W. Lathrop es verwendet, wurde so operationalisiert, dass aus der Perspektive der Teilnehmer beschrieben und verstandenwird, was Erholung in christliche Erholung transformiert. Dr. Ronelle Sonnenberg: Protestant Theological University in the Netherlands, Department of Practical Theology/ Liturgical Studies, Postbus 7161, 1007 MC Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Email: pmsonnenberg@pthu.nl Prof. Dr. Marcel Barnard: Protestant Theological University in the Netherlands, Department of Practical Theology/ Liturgical Studies, Postbus 7161, 1007 MC Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Email: mbarnard@pthu.nl IJPT 2015; 19(1): 138–163

Religious Education and Celebrations in a Dutch Cooperation School

ABSTRACT In this article, the authors present the results of their research at 4 cooperation schools in the Netherlands. These schools are characterized by a specific religious diversity of their student population. Based on theory about religious education and diversity, the authors describe their empirical research on how teachers deal with such religious diversity in rituals: moments of contemplation and celebrations. This study focuses specifically on the expression of school values of encounter, equality of sources, and the focus on students’ life experiences in these rituals. This study is part of broader research regarding religious diversity in cooperation schools.

“I Have Dutch Nationality, But Others Do Not See Me as a Dutchman, of Course”: Perception of and Participation in Society of Orthoprax Young Muslim Adults in the Netherlands

This interview study examines the attitudes of orthoprax young Muslim adults in the Netherlands toward their context, by distinguishing their perceptions of society and their participation in society. In this study, we discover that orthoprax young Muslim adults oppose themselves to Dutch society and do not feel really connected to it. However, most of the time, they participate in society by having jobs, studying and having friends. We also see that respondents are particularly active in and involved with their own Islamic community. Respondents in many cases do not link their religious identity to their participation in society. This study shows three different styles of linking religion to participation: “Participating as far as Islam allows,” “Religion is very personal and individual,” and “Bridging the gap.” We discuss what the reason is for not linking religious identity to participation.