Peacemaking at home in the world: grounding children’s spirituality in peace

Abstract

Peace is both a religious and non-religious proposition. Religiously it is articulated within doctrinal categories. In non-religious terms, it is pursued within national and international interests. Non-religious pursuits to peace were often framed within political and some cultural considerations involving adult participants. However, numerous spiritual considerations to peacemaking have traditionally identified children’s dispositions as a material for inquiry. This paper described how children’s perspectives on peace and peacemaking essentially projected aspects of children’s spirituality on peace using some 296 children’s essays and drawings on peace. Results showed how peculiar traits of children’s spirituality grounded on peace were strategically nested on domestic order, the world and environment. Peacemaking is homemaking; it is peacemaking at home in the world.

Keywords:

• peacemaking
• peace spirituality
• children and peace

Acknowledgments

I wish to acknowledge the reviewers’ incisive comments which significantly helped me frame my ideas to clarify and refine the essential points I intended to draw throughout this paper.