청소년기 소녀들을 위한 여성주의 기독교교육의 과제들

Abstract

Adolescence is the period of the most rapid physical growth and cognitive development. They experience not only physical and cognitive but also emotional, moral and spiritual changes and developments. During the stage of formal operations, adolescents’ more sophisticated and cognitive abilities allow them to function at higher levels of logical and moral reasoning. The peer group begins to take on increasing importance while the influence of the family diminishes. Adolescent girls in the present Korean society grow in more gender-equal society than in the past. However, many girls still have internalized the conventional understandings of womanhood and are pressed to meet social and religious expectations for femininity. Religious teachings that promote self-sacrifice, self-abnegation, and obedience hinder girls’ faith development and participation in communities of faith. In this paper, I suggest seven tasks of feminist Christian education with adolescent girls for their personal maturity and spiritual growth. The first task is to encourage girls to affirm and respect their bodies and to develop an embodied spirituality. The second task is to encourage girls to trust their cognitive abilities, to develop subjective cognition, and to search for embodied truths. The third task is to help girls to increase confidence, selfhood, and the capacity for genuine relationships through the subjective and healthy ways. The fourth task is to help them realize the special gifts from God and to contribute to communal goodness by fulfilling their potentials. The fifth task is to teach girls nonviolent ways to solve problems and overcome their conflict situation wisely. The sixth task is to teach them to overcome competitive culture and to create peer group of interpersonal care. The last task is to provide for them faith communities as safe houses that allow for the voices in the girls, listen deeply to them, and empower them to grow in the Christian faith.