Will the children have faith in the post-pandemic era? Investigating models of children’s faith formation in a world changed by pandemic experiences

Abstract

ABSTRACT In a world significantly marked by the COVID-19 pandemic, we examine the modes of contemporary children’s faith formation and ask why these have not altered in light of so much societal change. What is the role and function of faith communities in nurturing a child’s faith in contemporary times? Almost fifty years ago, John Westerhoff first asked the question: ‘Will our children have faith?’ critiquing processes of children’s faith formation. This paper seeks to examine this same question, now in the context of widespread pandemic prompted self-evaluation of religious perspectives and practices. This study examines parental and church perspectives on modern-day children’s Christian faith formation, investigating the effectiveness of established paradigms. The tentative findings reveal significant disconnections regarding perceptions, expectations and roles of key players and an urgent need for revising of the established and dominant methods of the global church in their efforts to effectively nurture the faith of younger generations.