Another or a New “Century of the Child”? Theologies of Childhood, the UNCRC and Rights-Based Activism

 

Presented May 27, 2021 online (Religion and Thoughtful Activism: Online Academic and Community Conference)

Abstract:

In 1900 Ellen Key designated the next hundred years “the century of the child”, calling for humanity to abandon religious dogmatism in favor of a scientific worldview centered on child care. The events of the twentieth century evidenced a mixed response to this polarized summons. A number of rights-based initiatives at the international level were implemented, culminating in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), but each of these legal responses followed recognition of large-scale negligence and violence toward children. Despite widespread ratification, the UNCRC has encountered both criticisms for universalizing the experience of childhood and difficulties in implementing its articles, particularly those granting participation rights to children. Members of religious communities have been vocal in both supporting and opposing the UNCRC and children’s rights generally, reflecting a variety of what may be called “theologies of childhood”. In this paper I will explore both positive and negative contributions of these theologies to the advancement of children’s rights, as well as offer a model of what thoughtful inter-religious activism on behalf of children may look like if our global community is to avoid repeating the previous century’s ill-treatment of children.