Personal Bible Reading and the Faith Formation of Teenagers in a Digital Age

Abstract History shows that the use of the Bible by Christians has changed over the centuries. With the digitization and the ubiquitous accessibility of the Internet, the handling of texts and reading itself has changed. Research has also shown that young people’s faith adapts to the characteristics...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of youth and theology
Authors: Hildebrandt, Judith (Author) ; Barentsen, Jack (Author) ; Kock, Jos de (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Brill 2021
In: Journal of youth and theology
Year: 2021, Volume: 20, Issue: 2, Pages: 165-190
RelBib Classification:HA Bible
KBB German language area
KDD Protestant Church
ZG Media studies; Digital media; Communication studies
Further subjects:B faith formation
B Bible Reading
B Digitization
B Youth
B Teenagers
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Description
Summary:Abstract History shows that the use of the Bible by Christians has changed over the centuries. With the digitization and the ubiquitous accessibility of the Internet, the handling of texts and reading itself has changed. Research has also shown that young people’s faith adapts to the characteristics of the ‘age of authenticity’, which changes the role of normative institutions and texts in general. With regard to these developments this article deals with the question: How relevant is personal Bible reading for the faith formation of highly religious Protestant German teenagers? Answers to this question are provided from previous empirical surveys and from two qualitative studies among highly religious teenagers in Germany. The findings indicate, that other spiritual practices for young people today are more important as a source of faith than reading the Bible. The teenagers interviewed tend to seek an individual affective experience when reading the Bible, so that the importance of cognitive grasp of the content takes a back seat to personal experience.
ISSN:2405-5093
Contains:Enthalten in: Journal of youth and theology
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1163/24055093-02002004