Children’s Literature and Theology in the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries

In 2002, Peter Hunt, one of the worlds leading scholars of childrens literature, argued in a conference talk: "[R]eligion of all kinds has been virtually silenced in mainstream childrens literature, and this has left both a philosophical and a sociological void, perhaps uneasily filled by myth...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Literature & theology 2016-06, Vol.30 (2), p.125-130
Main Author: Blair, Kirstie
Format: Article
Language:English
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:In 2002, Peter Hunt, one of the worlds leading scholars of childrens literature, argued in a conference talk: "[R]eligion of all kinds has been virtually silenced in mainstream childrens literature, and this has left both a philosophical and a sociological void, perhaps uneasily filled by myth and fantasy. Secondly, religion has actually taken on strong negative connotations." Yet while strongly asserting that childrens literature had been overtaken by secularism, Hunt also noted that the contemporary debates over Philip Pullmans His Dark Materials series (19952000), in tandem with controversies over the banning of J.K. Rowlings Harry Potter books (19972007) on religious grounds in parts of the USA, suggested that religion and childrens books have once more become intertwined, in a highly paradoxical way OA
ISSN:0269-1205
1477-4623
DOI:10.1093/litthe/frw019