Baptised children - "The marginalised Christians?" : a study about children and church worship in the Ankole diocese of the Church of Uganda (Anglican)

Abstract

This study is thus about worship and the children in the Christian church. The Ankole diocese of the church of Uganda, which is the case study, baptises children and therefore it has Christians from infancy. Baptised children in the diocese are not allowed Holy Communion, and often, they are not allowed to worship regularly with the adult Christians. While the church has explained the reasons why children are treated the way they are, the explanations do not satisfy the theological presuppositions in these churches, and thus, the situation appears to many as both contradictory and conflicting This work intends to consider the actual treatment of baptised children in the Ankole diocese and critically analyse the relationship between this treatment and the church theology not only on the denominational level but also by considering the theology of the church universal in consideration. The scriptures will be used as a tool in this analysis because it is normative for the church. The biblical teaching on children will therefore be a major factor in this work. Also, other doctrinal statements which are relevant for the understanding of the status of baptized children in the Anglican church will be used in the analysis.