The Use of the Elements of Neuroandragogy in the Religious Education of the Elderly

Abstract

Summary The need to enliven the catechesis of the elderly and to take advantage of the richness and experience of this social group resounds significantly in contemporary catechetical reflection. This is mainly due to the fact that society, and thus the community of the Church, is affected by the problem of the progressive aging of its members. In the catechetical dimension, it becomes important, among other things, to take appropriate steps to adapt the catechesis of the elderly in terms of appropriate content, tools and structure. The suggested specific educational offer should stimulate and encourage to verify and deepen one’s own religious knowledge, help answer nagging questions, especially existential ones in an eschatological perspective, and find a place and role of the elderly in the community of believers. In this study, the notion of old age and aging in the social and theological aspect was first analyzed, then the basic assumptions of neuroandragogy and the most important aspects of catechesis of the elderly were presented. The next part featured practical implications for the use of selected elements of andragogy and neuroandragogy in catechesis and the broadly understood activity and religious education of the elderly.