TY - JOUR
T1 - Re-imagining church through autism
T2 - A Singaporean Case Study
AU - Van Ommen, Armand Leon
N1 - Funding
The author thanks the Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland [grant number RIG008599], which funded this project.
PY - 2022/12/1
Y1 - 2022/12/1
N2 - Theological reflection on autism is a fairly recent development, although several practical resources for churches seeking to be inclusive of autistic people have been published since 2011. Even so, the emerging discussion lacks concrete examples and analyses of churches that practice inclusion and belonging. This article fills this gap by describing and analysing a church in Singapore, the Chapel of Christ our Hope, where autistic people are central. Themes that were identified in the fieldwork with this church were their ecclesiology (including a theology of belonging that strongly influences all this church does), the way autism reveals the meaning of liturgy, autistic participation, caring for differing needs, and different views of autism. The case study is not meant as a blueprint for churches to follow, but offers practical-theological insights for churches that want to create places of belonging for autistic and non-autistic people alike.
AB - Theological reflection on autism is a fairly recent development, although several practical resources for churches seeking to be inclusive of autistic people have been published since 2011. Even so, the emerging discussion lacks concrete examples and analyses of churches that practice inclusion and belonging. This article fills this gap by describing and analysing a church in Singapore, the Chapel of Christ our Hope, where autistic people are central. Themes that were identified in the fieldwork with this church were their ecclesiology (including a theology of belonging that strongly influences all this church does), the way autism reveals the meaning of liturgy, autistic participation, caring for differing needs, and different views of autism. The case study is not meant as a blueprint for churches to follow, but offers practical-theological insights for churches that want to create places of belonging for autistic and non-autistic people alike.
KW - Autism
KW - Chapel of Christ our Hope
KW - liturgy
KW - belonging
KW - autistic participation
KW - ecclesiology
UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/99cf5df1-c066-3c51-916b-ed68dd8b2efc/
U2 - 10.1080/1756073X.2022.2080630
DO - 10.1080/1756073X.2022.2080630
M3 - Article
VL - 15
SP - 508
EP - 519
JO - Practical Theology
JF - Practical Theology
SN - 1756-073X
IS - 6
ER -