Made in the Images of God

Abstract

What is at the root of the struggles in faith of today’s American Catholics? What can Catholic religious educators do to promote faith in the present postmodern context? In an effort to address these pressing questions, this dissertation argues for the central role of the imagination in human cognition and living, faith, and religious education. Following an initial survey of sociological data that points to disruption of traditional Christian patterns of imagining as a major factor in Catholics’ current struggles in faith, subsequent chapters analyze how the human imagination functions and malfunctions and how religious education can help to reintegrate it when it is disrupted. Building upon these findings, later chapters lay out an imagination-centered pedagogical process whereby religious educators can invite learners to participation in the reign of God and to greater integration in their lives.