Foundational Literature and Scholarship
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Balthasar, Hans Urs Von. Unless You Become Like This Child. First American edition. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1991.
Berryman, Jerome. Children and the Theologians: Clearing the Way for Grace. Harrisburg, PA: Morehouse Pub., 2009.
———. Teaching Godly Play: How to Mentor the Spiritual Development of Children. Denver, CO: Morehouse Education Resources, 2009.
———.Berryman, Jerome W. Becoming Like a Child: The Curiosity of Maturity beyond the Norm. New York, NY: Church Publishing, 2017.
———. Godly Play: A Way of Religious Education. 1st edition. San Francisco: Harpercollins, 1991.
———. Stories of God at Home: A Godly Play Approach. New York: Church Publishing, 2018.
———. The Spiritual Guidance of Children: Montessori, Godly Play, and the Future. New York: Morehouse Publishing, 2013.
Hay, David. Something There: The Biology of the Human Spirit. First Edition. West Conshohocken, PA: Templeton Press, 2007.
Hay, David, and Rebecca Nye. The Spirit of the Child. Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2006.
Jerome Berryman. The Search for a Theology of Childhood: Essays by Jerome W. Berryman from 1978-2009. Ballarat, VIC: Modotti Press an imprint of Connor Court Publishing, 2013.
Nye, Rebecca. Children’s Spirituality: What It Is and Why It Matters. London: Church House Publishing, 2009.
Robinson, Edward. The Original Vision: A Study of the Religious Experience of Childhood. Seabury Press, 1983.
Terrien, Samuel. The Elusive Presence: Toward a New Biblical Theology. Wipf & Stock Pub, 2000.
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Arbesman, Janet Tadano. “‘I Know It in My Heart’: Exploring 3- or 4-Year-Olds’ Ideas of God in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd and Godly Play Programs, and Other Mainline Church Schools.” ProQuest Dissertations Publishing, 2007.
Black, Dominic. “Learning from Christianity through Godly Play.” Doctoral, Durham University, 2021.
Eddins, Sharon Lynn, Nancy Grogan, and Brandon Frick. “Healing and Belonging: Godly Play in Pediatric Medicine and the Theology of Disability.” The Journal of Pastoral Care & Counseling 68, no. 3 (2014): 1–12.
Farrell, Joan, Scott Brooks Cope, James H. Cooper, and Leigh Mathias. “Godly Play: An Intervention for Improving Physical, Emotional, and Spiritual Responses of Chronically Ill Hospitalized Children.” Journal of Pastoral Care & Counseling 62, no. 3 September 1, 2008): 261–71.
Fender-Allison, Graham. “Current Trends and Resources in Worship.” The Expository Times 125, no. 4 (January 1, 2014): 167–78.
Folkins, Tali. “Godly Play Sees Child as ‘Full of God, Full of Spirit.’” Anglican Journal 143, no. 4 (2017): 8.
Frady, Kathy. “Rendering Theology with 2-Year-Old Children: A Godly Play and Grounded Theory Combination.” International Journal of Children’s Spirituality 24, no. 2 (April 3, 2019): 183–201.
Gilbert, Judith. “Storytelling and Spiritual Care.” Health and Social Care Chaplaincy (Print) 4, no. 2 (2016): 192–206.
Grajczonek, Jan, and Maureen Truasheim. “Implementing Godly Play in Educational Settings: A Cautionary Tale.” British Journal of Religious Education 39, no. 2 (May 4, 2017): 172–86.
Helm, Judy Harris, Stacy Berg, and Pam Scranton. “Documenting Children’s Spiritual Development in a Preschool Program.” Christian Education Journal 4, no. 2 (September 22, 2007): 268–79.
Hemmings, Maureen. “Godly Play: Entering the Circle.” Religious Education Journal of Australia 28, no. 1 (November 10, 2020): 41–43.
Howard, Lois W. “Using Godly Play with Alzheimer’s and Dementia Patients” Church Publishing, 2015.
Hyde, Brendan. “Action Possibilities Enhancing the Spiritual Wellbeing of Young Children: Applying Affordance Theory to the Godly Play Room.” Religions 13, no. 12 (December 2022): 1202.
———. “Agency and Non-Verbal Communication in Religious Education: A Case Study from a Godly Play Classroom.” Journal of Religious Education, 2010.
———. “Berryman and the Purpose of Religious Education: The Significance of Berryman’s Approach to Religious Education for Catholic Schools.” Journal of Catholic School Studies 83, no. 1 (2011): 20–28.
———. “Connecting to Life: A New, Emerging Learning Disposition within a Godly Play Educational Framework.” Journal of Religious Education 67, no. 2 (July 1, 2019): 115–25.
———. “Godly Play Nourishing Children’s Spirituality: A Case Study.” Religious Education 105, no. 5 (November 17, 2010): 504–18
———. “Kairos Moments and Serendipitous Insights: Lived Experiences of Children as a Means of Grace in the Godly Play Room.” Journal of Beliefs & Values 42, no. 2 (April 3, 2021): 235–46
———. “Montessori and Jerome W. Berryman: Work, Play, Religious Education and the Art of Using the Christian Language System.” British Journal of Religious Education 33, no. 3 (September 2011): 341–53.
———. “Truth as Aletheia in the Godly Play Approach to Religious Education: A Phenomenological Reflection.” British Journal of Religious Education 45, no. 4 (October 2, 2023): 325–33.
———. “Using the Evocative Phenomenological Method in the Godly Play Room to Discover Insights into How Children Are a Means of Grace.” Religious Education 116, no. 3 (May 27, 2021): 266–77
Johnsson, Mats. “The Swimming Pool. The Teachers Role in the Didactics of Dialogue School, Using Godly Play.” ETEN Journal 11 (February 7, 2020).
Keränen-Pantsu, Raili, and Martin Ubani. “The Holistic and Spiritual Relevance of Bible Stories among Finnish 10-Year-Old Pupils: A Classroom Case Study.” International Journal of Children’s Spirituality 23, no. 2 (April 3, 2018): 136–51.
Lord, Kathryn. “The Spiritual Care of Older People in Care Settings: Experiences and Reflections on the Use of Godly Play.” Godly Play, 2018, 345.
McClain, Rebecca L. Graceful Nurture: Using Godly Play with Adults. Church Publishing, Inc., 2017.
Minor, Cheryl V., and Ryan Campbell. “The Parable of the Sower: A Case Study Examining the Use of the Godly Play® Method as a Spiritual Intervention on a Psychiatric Unit of a Major Children’s Hospital.” International Journal of Children’s Spirituality 21, no. 1 (January 2, 2016): 38–51.
Minor, Cheryl V., and Barry Grant. “Promoting Spiritual Well-Being: A Quasi-Experimental Test of an Element of Hay and Nye’s Theory of Children’s Spirituality.” International Journal of Children’s Spirituality 19, no. 3–4 (October 2, 2014): 213–27.
Minor, Cheryl V., and Hannah Sutton-Adams. “Godly Play Went Home: An Exploratory Study of the Experience of Godly Play in Homes during the Covid-19 Pandemic through the Lens of Caregivers.” Relgious Education
Nash, Sally. “Shame in Pastoral Practice: Reflections in the Light of Field Research, Bonhoeffer and Godly Play.” Practical Theology 9, no. 4 (October 2016): 287–300.
O’Shea, Gerard. “A Comparison of Catechesis of the Good Shepherd and Godly Play.” British Journal of Religious Education 40, no. 3 (September 2, 2018): 308–16.
Rossiter, Graham. “Reflections on Issues for Children’s Spirituality and Primary School Religious Education.” Journal of Religious Education 60, no. 3 (September 2012): 14–24.
So, Tae Young. “Godly Play as a Church Curriculum where Theological Aesthetics is Embodied and Represented.” Journal of Christian Education & Information Technology 32 (October 2017): 113–38.
Stonehouse, Catherine. “Knowing God in Childhood: A Study of Godly Play and the Spirituality of Children.” Christian Education Journal 5, no. 2 (2001): 27–45.
Southward, Jane A. “How Do Children Understand Prayer in a Church School? A Video-Based, Constructivist Grounded Theory Study Using a Godly Play Approach.” Canterbury Christ Church University, 2021.
Thomas, Sally. “The Wondering Together Project: An Ethnographic Study of Twelve Families That Examines the Impact of Adopting a Daily Examen Practice Utilizing a Godly Play Inspired Method of Wondering.” Eden Theological Seminary, 2022.
Turner, Elizabeth. “Leave the Bow Untied: Exploring the Role of Godly Play in Facilitating Spirituality in Adults.” Godly Play, 2018, 329.
Wells, Samuel. “Godly Play with Adults.” The Christian Century 134, no. 15 (July 19, 2017): 35–35.
Book Reviews
The Center for the Theology of Childhood of the Godly Play Foundation is interested in the theory, practice, and empirical research concerning children’s religious lives, their spirituality, and the theological implications of what is learned. We are embarking on a project to offer original book reviews of volumes related to the spiritual guidance of children. This project is aimed to serve the international Godly Play community and to draw on it for these reviews, but those generally interested in this field will find them helpful as well.
Playing with Icons: The Spirituality of Recalled Childhood
By John Pridmore
Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk in a Digital Age
By Sherry Turkle
Children’s Bibles in America: A Reception History of the Story of Noah’s Ark in US Children’s Bibles
By Russell W. Dalton
The Grace of Playing: Pedagogies for Leaning into God’s New Creation
By Courtney T. Goto
Becoming Like a Child
By Jerome Berryman
The Spiritual Child
By Lisa J. Miller
Godly Play in Middle and Late Childhood
By The Rev. Dr. Cheryl Minor
I Wonder: Engaging a Child’s Curiosity about the Bible
By Elizabeth F. Caldwell