Autism and the Church: Bible, Theology, and Community

by Grant Macaskill

An estimated 76 million people worldwide are affected by autism―current figures suggest that 1 in 100 people live somewhere along the autism spectrum, though many remain undiagnosed. Frequently, autism occurs alongside other conditions, such as anxiety or depression. Yet despite autism’s prevalence and impact, the church remains slow to adapt, with responses that are often poorly informed and irresponsible. In  Autism and the Church  Grant Macaskill provides a careful, attentive, and sustained analysis of the reality of autism within the church and how this should be approached theologically. Macaskill demonstrates that attempts to read the Bible with reference to autism are often deficient because they move too quickly from the study of particular texts to claims about the condition and how it should be viewed. This leads some Christians to see autism as something that should be healed or even exorcised. Macaskill instead invites readers to struggle with the biblical canon, in ways shaped by the traditions of the early church, to a process of interpretation that calls upon the church, following Christ’s teaching, to cherish those who experience autism as part of the diverse gifting of Christ’s body. Accordingly, he calls churches to consider the implications of autism in their congregations and to explore how best to accommodate the particular needs of autistic people in public worship and pastoral care, while valuing their distinctive contribution. In short, Macaskill challenges the church to "think biblically" about autism. Autism and the Church  teaches readers that those with autism belong to the church, demonstrating that, if responsibly read, the Bible provides a resource that enables the church to recognize the value of those with autism. Macaskill shows how the Bible can help both individuals and church bodies flourish, even as the church deals faithfully with the opportunities and challenges that come with understanding autism. He writes as a biblical scholar intimately familiar with the experience of autism, dealing honestly with the real difficulties that can accompany the condition, while challenging misconceptions.

Genres: Autistic Spectrum Disorder, Disability, Theology, Christianity, Faith, Nonfiction

239 pages, Hardcover

Published November 1, 2019

Reviews

[Alex Connell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish I could give it more than 5 stars. A brilliant look at a really complex topic.

A must read for pastors and church leaders.

[Jon Coutts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extremely helpful. I would love to see it read by everybody. Pastors, parents, persons with autism. It is full of understanding. More than that, it is a wise and accessible guide into careful biblical interpretation and a communal kind of church.

[Stephen Bedard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would give this book more than five stars if I could. This book is a solidly biblical look at autism by a respected scholar. This book will help you to navigate theological in how to embrace autistic people as well as giving you insight as to what it is like to have autism. A fantastic resource.

[Leslie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book that all church leaders should read.

[Niamh]

Note on language for potential readers: Grant Macaskill disagrees with the use of high/low functioning but he does at times use the phrase profound autism... so one might make the case he doesn't really move away from that paradigm.

Overall, I enjoyed the book. The book at times reflects his religious background, for example, his discussion on the elect which is not something that all churches really share, but overall he tries to make it fairly accessible for a variety of denominations. This is important to note because if one wants to implement the insights, how rigidly one holds onto certain liturgical practices may be a difficulty as different denominations will vary. One of the interesting points he makes is that so often local churches are reactive rather than proactive and that this needs to not be on the level of institutions/leadership but also laypeople. This is interesting to consider how this can be done, which he does not provide an answer to, and for me is something that I am interested in further exploring.

[Aimee O'Connell · Rating 5 out of 5]

In his new book, Autism and the Church, Bible scholar Grant Macaskill describes in meticulous detail how autistic people come to find themselves on the periphery of the community, even and especially in places designed to be welcoming, such as our churches. In part, autism itself makes large spaces and big gatherings overwhelming to the senses. A bigger problem, according to Professor Macaskill, is the continued reliance of our social institutions (including churches) on the economy of social capital. Like its financial counterpart, social capital is the net value of what an individual brings to any given group. Unlike money, social capital’s value is skewed by perception (what others think we can offer) instead of actual value (who we are as children of God).

Whether it is the need for different space with reduced sensory overload, the systematic manner of autistic thinking or the awkwardness with which autistics conduct conversations, Professor Macaskill acknowledges the unfortunate fact that autism does not fit cleanly into what we have come to expect from church experiences as a community. Yet each child, teen and adult with autism brings a multitude of gifts, ideas and needs to the table of worship which do, in fact, fit perfectly into the Gospel message of God’s love and design for what a Christian community is meant to be. Professor Macaskill does a splendid job of outlining and explaining this in practical terms backed by solid Scriptural references. He also includes caveats for how to avoid misuse of Scripture in approaching the question of welcoming those who present with a poverty – even bankruptcy – of social capital.

Grant Macaskill’s approach speaks to me as an autistic Catholic Christian with clarity and perspective that I have yet to see overtly discussed in either autistic or Christian circles. In my experience, the institutional response to autism has been geared toward the deficit. Keeping with his social capital framework, “acceptance” has happened when others have created special and exceptional programs and categories for me and fellow autistics, highlighting our social poverty; or, by outright exclusion, presented as an incentive for us to increase those traits the group finds valuable until we finally qualify as insiders. Neither way acknowledges the reality that our autism physically and emotionally compromises our ability to play into group dynamics and then drains us of the energy we need to maintain our participation. As a result, I have often remained on the periphery as a matter of survival, and have doubted my worth to many communities.

For this reason, the wide-sweeping methodologies and cookie-cutter recommendations which have proliferated in educational settings and trickled into other areas such as sports, churches, clubs and service organizations have not helped autistics feel more included. Why? What we really need is relationship: to be known for who we are and the gifts which we have as individuals. In applying institutional norms to autistic people, we’re still being grouped and reduced to numbers… and not thriving. What we really need is relationship. Grant Macaskill does a masterful job of describing how autistics can thrive in the community through application of St. Paul’s theology of weakness and relationship. His conclusions are both challenging and encouraging to Christians and church leaders, in that he reaffirms what we already hold as our core belief: that each one of us is, first and foremost, a beloved child of God. Seeing one another for our God-given gifts, instead of appraising our value in terms of how well we fulfill institutional norms, will not only keep our focus on the truth of the Gospel message we proclaim, but is vital to celebrating autistic persons and families as important and essential members of the Body of Christ.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Its been a month or so since finishing this book. I went into this book hoping for some sort of theological framework on which to hang my own Autism diagnosis, something to make heads and tails of what it meant for me and for God. That may have been asking too much for this book, and I am grateful it did not grant me the satisfaction. Dr. Macaskill, instead, asks of the church what it means for us to be a community that can be welcoming and valuing autistic Christians. What are we saying by who we select for leadership, who we want to lead worship. How might the ways we talk about experience of salvation not line us with the experience and expression of our siblings with ASD? How should we adjust our understanding of community to recognize and value (not just include and accommodate) those with disabilities - neurological or otherwise. As someone who is serving the church in a position of professional ministry, these ponderings will stick with me - I hope - for a long time.

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great resource for churches to consider not just out to serve individuals and families who deal with Autism Spectrum Disorders, but to consider how the church engages with myriad disabilities. A very worth-while read.

[Nik Robbins · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book quite a lot. The author gets almost everything right and up to date about autism (my only quibble would be that allistic is a better term than neurotypical to mean someone who is not autistic because not everyone who is neurodivergent is autistic). The author has a rather traditional evangelical approach to the Bible. But it is an approach that takes the Bible seriously and need not necessarily conflict with a more modernist critical view of the text. What the author says about autism in relation to the Bible and the church all seems to me to be essentially correct.

The traditional evangelical background of the author did however lead me to have some concern when he mentioned in the introduction that part of the final chapter would deal with gender identity. In much of the book, however, he expresses rather progressive views along with his quite traditional Biblical exegesis. The section on gender and sexuality is not exactly progressive per se though. But I would describe it as open minded in the sense of open to differences of opinion. The author spends much of this (relatively short) section of the book defending the inclusion of those who take a pro-LGBTQIA (he uses the full acronym) stance in the Body of Christ although he does not clearly identify himself among them. In a sense this is disappointing, but in another sense, coming from a traditional minded evangelical author, it is encouraging. However much of what the author says about autism could apply to the LGBTQIA community as well and it would be nice if a more consistently progressive author would take those arguments to their logical conclusion in this regard.

Overall I believe that this is a book that is useful for all Christians, not just those who share the author's background, especially since it is the only book dealing with the confluence of autism and Christianity that I am currently aware of. It is an important topic and I am glad someone has finally written a whole book about it.

[Chuck Ransford · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a great starting point to the discussion about autism and the church. While I did not necessarily agree with every theological point being made (particularly about moral issues such as sexuality), I do think the author did a fantastic job of discussing the autistic in the life of the church. His discussion of the image of God and how persons with autism fit into the social life of the church are the worth the price of the book, in my opinion.

[Kenny Robertson · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I’ve read this year. So helpful to see a theology of disability borne from traditional theological & Biblical categories, rather than creating new ones. Would highly recommend anyone in Christian leadership read at least the first chapter

[Gracewellworn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. It has changed the way I think about Autism, the way I think about the body of Christ, the way I think about the church. While reading this I was able to hear the people in my life with ASD, in a whole new way.
Thank you Grant!!

[Craig Hurst · Rating 5 out of 5]

While there were a few points of disagreement (most notably in chap 6), this was a good book.

[Rebecca van den Ham · Rating 5 out of 5]

I especially liked Chapter 2 on how to read the Bible, specifically to learn how to relate to the autistic, but also just in general. How to translate what Jesus said to how we should practice it.

[Tyler Noe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perhaps the best book I have read on the relationship between Autism and the local Church.