Montessori and Jerome W. Berryman: work,play, religious education and the art of using the Christian language system

For more than 30 years, the thinking and writing of Jerome W. Berryman has made a significant and unique contribution to the religious education of children and adults in faith-based contexts. Claiming to be influenced primarily by the work of Maria Montessori, his writings reveal the purpose of religious education to be teaching children the art of using the Christian language system to play at the edges of knowing and being so as to creatively discern meaning and purpose in life. However, a close examination of his many journal articles and books reveal some anomalies in his approach to religious education when compared with the Montessori Method, in particular his focus on play as opposed to work, as well as creativity and the creative process, as opposed to Montessori’s grounding of the imagination in reality. These anomalies, explored in this paper, raise questions about the extent to which Berryman is, in fact, a true Montessorian.     

A comparison of Catechesis of the Good Shepherd and Godly Play

Abstract

Catechesis of the Good Shepherd and Godly Play are the two best known variants of Montessori style Religious Education programmes. While they have much in common, there are also obvious differences. This article offers a brief outline of the distinctive features of each programme, including some analysis of their effectiveness in terms of contemporary educational research. The article identifies four areas of significant difference, namely, the understanding of the Imago Dei, the stance taken towards sacraments and sacramentality, pedagogy and the conduct of the sessions themselves. The author argues that these differences create a natural constituency for each programme. Godly Play with its heavy emphasis on the Scriptures as ‘story’ and the interpretation of the Imago Dei in terms of a ‘symbolic/language’ mediation of divine reality fits in well with the insights of mainline Protestant and Evangelical Churches. Catechesis of the Good Shepherd interprets the Imago Dei in terms of sacramentality and ontological similarity – grace building on nature through the use of the material/spiritual composition of the human person. This is better suited for use in Catholic, Orthodox and Anglo-Catholic contexts.