Marking Times and Transitions

We are living through times in which traditional religious rites of passage are in question in Western societies. Chapter 6 focuses on what rites of passage in relation to childhood looked like at each of the three evangelical churches explored in this book and examines how particular moments of transition were being constructed and marked in children’s lives. The chapter explores the different ways in which those at St John’s (conservative evangelical), St George’s (charismatic evangelical), and Riverside (open evangelical) engaged with traditional rites of passage such as infant baptism and how they often demonstrated ritual creativity in their marking of other moments of transition, such as the move from primary to secondary school. It also examines how these rites reveal different understandings of children’s agency.