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The purpose of this interdisciplinary study was to examine children's and adolescents' (aged 6 to 16) thoughts of God that were hypothesized to reflect the child's religious context and to be related to a child's cognitive maturity and gender. The following four objectives guided the study: (1) to examine children's thoughts of God within a particular religious school environment, (2) to investigate age-related changes in children's representations of God as indicated by their narrative texts, (3) to explore children's (female and male) representations of God as described in their narrative texts, and (4) to suggest transitions in the developmental structure of children's narrative texts about God across levels of cognitive maturity. The children (N=114) selected for the study were chosen from a Christian school setting where religious instruction was part of the curriculum focus. Each child, upon parental consent, participated in a one-to-one interview and accomplished a series of developmental tasks including generating a story about God, responding to a story about Jesus, answering questions about God, and completing a short memory task. Parents were asked to complete a questionnaire about religious life inside and outside the family home. A review of the religious education curriculum was conducted. The collected data were analyzed using both qualitative and quantitative research methodologies. The results were fourfold. First, the study found that the religious school environment (e.g., religious education program and religious activities both inside and outside the family home) had the potential to influence children's changing thoughts about God. Second, there were differences in female and male representations of God. Third, there were significant changes in children's representations of God as they matured. These changes were based not only on children's cognitive maturity but also as a result of the children's religious knowledge acquired within their religious environment. Also, these changes reflected unique subtle differences in children's conceptual understandings of God. Fourth, as children cognitively matured, there were changes in the structure of their narratives about God. These changes paralleled the narrative structure posited by McKeough (1992a) and the stages and substages posited by Case (1992a).

The purpose of this interdisciplinary study was to examine children's and adolescents' (aged 6 to 16) thoughts of God that were hypothesized to reflect the child's religious context and to be related to a child's cognitive maturity and gender. The following four objectives guided the study: (1) to examine children's thoughts of God within a particular religious school environment, (2) to investigate age-related changes in children's representations of God as indicated by their narrative texts, (3) to explore children's (female and male) representations of God as described in their narrative texts, and (4) to suggest transitions in the developmental structure of children's narrative texts about God across levels of cognitive maturity. The children (N=114) selected for the study were chosen from a Christian school setting where religious instruction was part of the curriculum focus. Each child, upon parental consent, participated in a one-to-one interview and accomplished a series of developmental tasks including generating a story about God, responding to a story about Jesus, answering questions about God, and completing a short memory task. Parents were asked to complete a questionnaire about religious life inside and outside the family home. A review of the religious education curriculum was conducted. The collected data were analyzed using both qualitative and quantitative research methodologies. The results were fourfold. First, the study found that the religious school environment (e.g., religious education program and religious activities both inside and outside the family home) had the potential to influence children's changing thoughts about God. Second, there were differences in female and male representations of God. Third, there were significant changes in children's representations of God as they matured. These changes were based not only on children's cognitive maturity but also as a result of the children's religious knowledge acquired within their religious environment. Also, these changes reflected unique subtle differences in children's conceptual understandings of God. Fourth, as children cognitively matured, there were changes in the structure of their narratives about God. These changes paralleled the narrative structure posited by McKeough (1992a) and the stages and substages posited by Case (1992a). / Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies / Graduate

From discussions with the teenagers of Waverley Congregation, and their poor attendance of the worship service and catechesis, it became obvious that these members’ requirements are not be addressed. In the investigations into this problem, the world of the teenager was first of all addressed. In order to be able to bring the joyous message of the Gospel to them, one first needs to understand the world of the teenager. Otherwise preaching can quite easily be made off as irrelevant, and the unlocking of the message of the sermon into the language and situation of the teenagers cannot be achieved. This entails the first chapter. In the second chapter the focus is mainly on the worship service itself. Additional to this, attention was given to what the reformed identity of the Dutch Reformed Church entails.Attention was also given to renewal and other influences on the worship service. Renewal is not discarding or change, but should rather be thought of in terms of enrichment. Old truths and habits must be seen, used and interpreted anew in the ways of being a church, in such a way as to address the teenagers in their milieu. The third chapter contains the empirical research that was conducted. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with some teenagers from the congregation. According to this 91.67% of the teenagers normally attend church with their parents or family. This supports what has surfaced in the literature study, namely the very important influence that parents have on the spiritual forming of children. The other, very interesting, result from the empirical research was the fact that 50% of the teenagers said that they went to church to listen to the Word of God. The other 50% expressed a clear need that the sermons be simpler and more on their level. These results support the literature study, namely that a person wants to meet with God, and specifically via the sermon. One of the big needs expressed by the teenagers is to praise the Lord via contemporary music. Approximately 75% of the respondents were of the opinion that the music has to change if the worship service is to address the teenager. The question is, however, whether the music is really the mayor need, and whether it is not maybe the requirement to hear the Word of God in the language of the teenager. After all, the sermon is the heart of the Gospel, and people go to church to hear the voice of God. Finally the fourth chapter addresses a number of possibilities in order to better address the teenagers. As an experiment the evening worship service and catechesis have been combined at Cunningham Avenue. Over the last three months this has been a fruitful arrangement. The youth council and the “coffee bar parents” increases the involvement of the congregation in the Youth and Family Ministry. This follows the worship vision of the Waverley Dutch Reformed Church congregation, namely that of healthy relationships and the fact that the congregation must be a congregation for the family. / Dissertation (MA(Teologie))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Practical Theology / unrestricted

Text in Afrikaans / Tieners se probleme veroorsaak dikwels godvervreemdheid of kerkloosheid. Die rede, wil dit vookom, is omdat hulle met 'n verkeerde en naiwe godsbeeld en godservaringe hulle lewenspad begin loop het. Uit hierdie studie het dit baie duidelik geword dat die ondersteuningsisteme van die jong tiener sy/haar ervaring van God baie belnvloed. Van hierdie ondersteuningsisteme blyk die huis en familie die primere invloede te wees op die jong tiener se ervaring van God. Die rol wat die ouers speel in die daarstelling van 'n gesonde of verkeerde godsbegrip het in die studie sterk op die voorgrond getree. Die studie het ook nuwe lig gewerp op die rol en invloed van die kerk in die jong tiener se ervaring van God. Die rol van veral kognitiewe, sosiale en godsdienstige ontwikkeling is ook geidentifiseer as belangrik vir die ontwikkeling van 'n gesonde godsbeeld. Aan die einde van die studie is riglyne gegee vir die bediening. / Teenagers' problems cause them to become alienated from God and the church. The reason, seems to be that they start walking on the road of life according to wrong and naive images and experiences of God. In this study it became clear that support systems of young teenagers influence their experience of God. Of these support systems the home and family seem to be the primary influences on young teenager's experience of God. The role of parents in the establishment of a healthy, or wrong image of God, stood on the foreground very strongly. The study also sheds new light on the role and influence of the church in the junior higher' s experience of God. The role of especially cognitive, social and religious development were also identified as important for the development of a healthy image of God. At the end guidelines are provided for ministry. / M. Diac. (Praktiese Teologie (Jeugwerk))

This dissertation aims to explore the needs of the Young Adults Group in the Lutheran Church, Hayfields, Pieterrnaritzburg. Focus groups were conducted with young adults to establish their needs. During the three months of data collection, group dynamics were also observed, and at the focus groups, specific focus group dynamics were detected. The focus group interactions were recorded and transcribed. Using thematic analysis, the transcribed data was encoded using existing codes based on Maslow's hierarchy of needs, and analysed. Twelve themes of needs emerged from the data. These were: i) physiological needs; ii) safety needs; iii) the need for acceptance and love and the absence of judgement; iv) the need to be understood - by others and the church; v) the need to be valued and appreciated; vi) the need to have fun; vii) the need for nature; viii) the need to delay life's pace and prioritise; ix) the need to grow spiritually - as individuals and as church; x) the need for a spiritual outlet and expression of one's spirituality; xi) the need to be used by God for a specific purpose; xii) the need for assurance from God. Using these needs, a framework for a programme was developed. All the guidelines and exercises suggested in the programme aim to promote growth - spiritual, emotional, and personaJ - and focus on fulfilling the individual's potential within the group. / Thesis (M.Th.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, [2006].

Text in Afrikaans / Tieners se probleme veroorsaak dikwels godvervreemdheid of kerkloosheid. Die rede, wil dit vookom, is omdat hulle met 'n verkeerde en naiwe godsbeeld en godservaringe hulle lewenspad begin loop het. Uit hierdie studie het dit baie duidelik geword dat die ondersteuningsisteme van die jong tiener sy/haar ervaring van God baie belnvloed. Van hierdie ondersteuningsisteme blyk die huis en familie die primere invloede te wees op die jong tiener se ervaring van God. Die rol wat die ouers speel in die daarstelling van 'n gesonde of verkeerde godsbegrip het in die studie sterk op die voorgrond getree. Die studie het ook nuwe lig gewerp op die rol en invloed van die kerk in die jong tiener se ervaring van God. Die rol van veral kognitiewe, sosiale en godsdienstige ontwikkeling is ook geidentifiseer as belangrik vir die ontwikkeling van 'n gesonde godsbeeld. Aan die einde van die studie is riglyne gegee vir die bediening. / Teenagers' problems cause them to become alienated from God and the church. The reason, seems to be that they start walking on the road of life according to wrong and naive images and experiences of God. In this study it became clear that support systems of young teenagers influence their experience of God. Of these support systems the home and family seem to be the primary influences on young teenager's experience of God. The role of parents in the establishment of a healthy, or wrong image of God, stood on the foreground very strongly. The study also sheds new light on the role and influence of the church in the junior higher' s experience of God. The role of especially cognitive, social and religious development were also identified as important for the development of a healthy image of God. At the end guidelines are provided for ministry. / M. Diac. (Praktiese Teologie (Jeugwerk))

The research literature within the past decade has documented the importance of religiosity and spirituality in helping many adults around the world cope with major life stressors and events. Still, the role of religiosity and spirituality in adolescence is not well-known as research during this developmental period has been limited by sample size, homogeneity of samples, ethnic restrictions, and use of scales with few items. The goal of the current study is to identify and understand adolescent levels of religiousness and spirituality, as well as their roles on later social, emotional, and behavioral outcomes. The current study relied upon data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health and utilized confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling in order to generate models of the relationships between the various latent variables. The religiosity and spirituality factors in the current study adequately measure religious perceptions and practices of adolescents over time. These constructs also play a role in later emotional well-being and self-esteem. Analyses also found adequate predictive abilities in the other model factors of delinquency, psychological well-being, self-esteem, and the social support. It is concluded from this study that religiosity and spirituality are not interchangeable constructs, and that more robust measures of both factors yield richer results. It is recommended that more comprehensive scales of religiosity and spirituality be developed and investigated in the future.

Text in German / This study analyses, mainly within the scope of the stage theories of Fritz Oser/Paul Gmünder and James W. Fowler, the development of religiosity during adolescence. After an introduction into the social and scientific significance of religiosity, the developmental and functional theories of religiosity are explored. The study then shows, by examining multiple perspectives on the scientific controversy, to what extent the stage theories of Oser/Gmünder and Fowler effectively open up the field of religious development for pastoral and religious educational practice. This clarification of the stages of religious development has many consequences for pastoral care and religious education. Some of the proposed applications either complement or modify significantly the stage theories of Oser/Gmünder and Fowler. Altogether the study provides a critical view of the cognitive-structural theory itself, its empirical reliability and range of applicability, as well as its theological suitability. / Practical and Systematic Theology / M. Th. (Practical Theology)