Theory and praxis of conversion in the religious education of non-poor youth: An educational analysis of Bernard Lonergan on conversion and Paulo Freire on conscientization

This dissertation explores how beliefs about religious change function in the theory and practice of Christian religious education non-poor youth. The central issue is how the metaphor of development has replaced conversion in religious education theory. The replacement of conversion by development results in youth religious education programs which foster passive individualism instead of promoting a radical pedagogy of conversion.;Chapter One examines the problematic status of development and the emergence of the modern notion of adolescence. This analysis concludes that developmental approaches fail to appreciate the call for radical change reflected in the Christian tradition. Chapter Two details how different understandings of conversion and nurture shaped the theory and practice of American Protestant religious education movements. This analysis identifies the problematic status of conversion as either falsely separating conversion from development or blending the two indistinguishably into a natural process.;Chapters Three and Four reconstruct an understanding of conversion based on the work of Bernard Lonergan and Paulo Freire. My treatment of Lonergan examines the basis of conversion in his cognitional theory and relates conversion to social transformation. My analysis of Paulo Freire demonstrates how his understanding of conscientization complements Lonergan's meta-method on a theoretical and practical level.;Chapters Five and Six explore the educational implications of conversion for the religious education of non-poor youth. Chapter Five develops a critical theory of religious education as a method of social analysis uncovering the contradictions in social relationships and promoting social transformation. This theoretical perspective is contrasted with the analytical-empirical approach of James Michael Lee and the interpretive approach of Mary Elizabeth Moore. Chapter Six concludes that the socioeconomic culture of the non-poor requires different pedagogical and curricular dynamics. It focuses on the importance of the conversion of the individual religious educator and their role in reconstituting the faith community in another generation.