PARABLES AND THE ADOLESCENT PSYCHE THE RECIPROCAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE GOSPEL PARABLES AND ADOLESCENT PSYCHOLOGY IN RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

Abstract

The parables of Jesus occupy a central place in the Greek Religious Education curriculum, nonetheless they are frequently taught as simple moral illustrations rather than as open, provocative narratives that engage the person as a whole. Thus, this present article examines the parables through the lens of developmental, narrative and moral psychology, with particular attention to adolescence as a period of intense cognitive, emotional and identity-related change. Drawing on research on metaphor comprehension, narrative identity, narrative transportation, empathy, moral emotions, attachment and faith development, the article argues that the relationship between parable and adolescent psyche is reciprocal rather than one-directional. On the one hand, parables act upon the adolescent mind by offering metaphorical spaces in which identity, guilt, forgiveness, belonging and responsibility can be rehearsed at a safe distance. And, on the other hand, the adolescent psyche actively reshapes the parable as developmental capacities, emotional needs and personal histories determine which characters are noticed, which meanings are constructed and which questions are raised. The article proposes a reciprocal model of parabolic meaning-making and discusses its implications for Religious Education in general and for the Greek educational context in particular. It concludes that parables are most formative when adolescents are treated as active co-interpreters whose psychological development is both the condition and the outcome of their encounter with the text.