Date of Award

2019

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Humanities

First Advisor

Marks, Susan

Area of Concentration

Religion

Abstract

Play and the intention of play enriches worship settings. This thesis looks at a theology of play in regards to worship settings and the creation of space, ultimately arguing for increased inclusion of children in worship spaces through a religious education curriculum, Godly Play. Godly Play draws from the Montessori method, and incorporates the agency and autonomy of the child into the structure of the classroom. An investigation into a theology of play shows how including children in worship spaces benefits not only them, but the community as well. After addressing the benefits of including children and incorporating play into worship spaces, I argue that in perpetuating inequality amongst participants and between spaces churches create divisions, specifically in regards to cry rooms. Upon exposure to both the ideals of what inclusion could look like and the current state of affairs, I offer Godly Play, the religious education curriculum from Jerome Berryman, an an answer to the question of what to do with children in religious or worship settings, not as a final statement but rather a demonstration of a worthy alternative.

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