Toddler Spiritual Formation and the Faith Community

Abstract

This article explores how physiological and cognitive changes, intra-psychic and interpersonal changes, moral development and social location affect the spiritual lives of children who are 12-36 months old. It considers how the development of autonomy in toddlers relates to the theological concept of free will, discusses language acquisition and its importance for religious expression, and shows how both cognitive capabilities and social location shape religious interpretation. It focuses particular attention on the relationship of intuitive intelligence to religious enculturation, the development of moral consciousness, and the development of a God-concept, drawing on the work of Brueggemann, Colaruso, Erikson, Kagan, Mahler, Piaget, Rizzuto, Sroufe, Stern, van der Ven, and Winncott. It moves across major religious traditions, although the author's primary personal commitment is as a Christian systematic theologian and religious educator, and utilizes years of participatory-observational research in the religious education of young children as practical examples of theoretical points.