ABSTRACT
Religious growth is not something separate from the rest of a child’s development. It is an interpretation of all his experiences, which he relates to what he believes to be the nature of the divine. Religious growth is dependent upon all other growth, since unless a child has a fairly wide range of experiences to draw upon he cannot begin to interpret and relate them to a theological world view. Religious experience, expressed in many biblical passages, is often very abstract, non-concrete and frequently depends upon subtle play upon words. Religious language is absorbed by children naturally as they encounter it in their experience, by overhearing conversation, by attending church services or school assemblies, and by other means. The intellectual immaturity of children, their linguistic limitations and their restricted experience, both personal and cultural, does not mean that religious education in the early years of development must be abandoned.
