Suffer the Children: A Review Article

After my first attempt at getting a scholarship for a PhD, I tried to get a journal article published to increase my chances for the next round of scholarship applications.

First I needed a topic… During my reading for my research proposal I had come across a small theological movement called Child Liberation Theology. It had barely received any attention in academic journals, and I also noticed that Suffer the Children (Pais, 1991), which was arguably the earliest book of the movement, had never been reviewed in an academic context.

I found a journal with an editor who was sympathetic to Child Liberation Theology and then I made contact. I was up front about my reason for trying to get published, and floated the idea of either a book review of Suffer the Children or a literature review of Child Liberation Theology. He suggested doing a combination of the two, and in the end he accepted my ~2,500 word article with only superficial edits.

In retrospect it feels quite surreal how smoothly this part of the process went.

As for the research behind the article, Child Liberation theology is about doing theology from the perspective of child abuse, so some of the reading was pretty heavy. I also found Suffer the Children itself to be a challenging read as I disagreed with much of it. On the bright side, I was pleased that I was able to uncover the historical context behind the movement.

As you are reading, please bear in mind that my aim was not to agree or disagree with Pais’s theology, but to present it in a reasonably impartial way and to situate it in its historical and theological context. If I have succeeded, it should give you a picture not of my theology, but of Pais’.

Content warning: contains discussion of child abuse.

Click here to read Suffer the Children: A Review Article