A CONSTRUCTIVE TASK IN RELIGIOUS EDUCATION: MAKING CHRISTIAN SELVES

One task of religious education is the formation or construction of persons as selves within particular faith traditions. Given such, this essay proposes a model by which we may define this self in a manner that frames a horizon for the self within particular communities of faith, religious tradition, and practice. Working from the recent Trinitarian theology of Catherine LaCugna, this constructed self is named a "theonomous self," a processual identity emerging from, in, and toward a relatedness to a relational God. The essay concludes by proposing a set of ecclesial practices that correspond to and nurture the "theonomous self."