When I Was a Child: Children's Interpretations of First Communion

by Susan B. Ridgely

First Communion is generally understood as a rite of passage in which seven- and eight-year-old Catholic children transform from baptized participants in the Church to members of the body of Christ, the universal Catholic Church. This official Church account, however, ignores what the rite actually may mean to its participants. In When I Was a Child, Susan Ridgely Bales demonstrates that the accepted understanding of a religious ritual can shift dramatically when one considers the often neglected perspective of child participants. Bales followed Faith Formation classes and interviewed communicants, parents, and priests in an African American parish and in a parish containing both white and Latino congregations. By letting the children speak for themselves through their words, drawings, and actions, When I Was a Child stresses the importance of rehearsal, the centrality of sensory experiences, and the impact of expectations in the communicants' interpretations of the Eucharist. In the first sustained ethnographic study of how children interpret and help shape their own faith, Bales finds that children's perspectives give new contours to the traditional understanding of a common religious ritual. Ultimately, she argues that scholars of religion should consider age as distinct a factor as race, class, and gender in their analyses.

272 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

Reviews

[Lauren Lawler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent study

This book is very well written. The kindle version has a few grammar mistakes, but it is well organized and does an excellent job of demonstrating the different perception of coming of age rituals from participants, teachers, and leaders. I recommend it to anyone interested in doing an ethnographic study from a child’s perspective or interpreting how a ritual is perceived before and after. The only part that was missing from the reception of the Sacrament was the children’s experience of Reconciliation.

[Jennifer Hill · Rating 2 out of 5]

A few interesting insights, but basically a Protestant anthropologist evaluating Catholic First Communion as a religious initiation rite without really understanding it herself.