Vulnerability and Community: Unprecedented Itineraries Beyond the Buffered Self

Abstract

This article examines identity development in light of Charles Taylor’s notion of the “Buffered Self.” Educating in faith toward the deconstruction of unjust identity norms requires finding a pathway out of this constrictive underlying structure. In particular, the manner in which religious educators address the promises and perils that people with disabilities face in the late modern secular context can point the way to more inclusive and genuinely human Christian faith formation. This essay proposes the work of Jean Vanier and l’Arche, and their embrace of human vulnerability, as more inclusive anthropological and communal itineraries beyond the “Buffered Self.” This article is dedicated to the memory of Jean Vanier, the founder of the communities of L'Arche and a prophet of the power of human vulnerability to lead us to communion with God and one another. Jean Vanier died on May 7, 2019 just as proofs of this essay were going to the publisher.