Creativity, Autism and Relationship to God

Abstract

People with different needs and abilities continue to be marginalized by society, including by church communities. One of these groups is people on the autism spectrum. Disability theology seeks to point to the dignity of every human being as an imago Dei, and as a gift of God. In search of perspectives that will contribute to a clearer understanding of this truth and the overcoming of prejudice and marginalization, this paper analyzes the phenomenon of creativity. This is a phenomenon that is important in many disciplines, and thus underlies the theology of creation, philosophical and everyday thinking. Furthermore, empirical studies examine the relationship between autism and creativity. Their results emphasize the exceptional talent and creativity of as many as a third of the members of this group. Building on these insights, the article promotes creativity as a field of relationship between God the Creator and all people, with each individual called by God to creatively shape themselves and the world in which they live. By focusing the theological view on the marginalized group of people on the autism spectrum and emphasizing the necessity of the whole body of Christ, we are not stressing the importance of the product and usefulness of the individual’s creativity but the belief that all humans are equally called to co-create God’s plan, regardless of the possibilities and obstacles the individual faces.