The conceptual influences of Christianity on disability: the role of Religious Education in the construction of subjects of rights

Abstract

The Christian tradition, from its beginnings, was involved with people with disabilities proposing alternatives to the conditions found in historical social reality through their diaconal practices. These actions contributed to break with the idea of divine punishment. However, ideas related to Christian religiosity were conceptualized as: “ gift of God, God wanted it or God does not give a bigger cross that can not be carried”. With the rise of a human rights era and the struggle of people with disabilities for occupying the social space and citizen participation, these visions eventually became symbols of the stigmatization of disability. In this way, from a bibliographical research, this article intends to point out some aspects that the Religious Teaching, in its pedagogical practice, can contribute to reinterpret the images of the deficiency from an inclusive perspective. It is concluded that concepts such as recognition, knowledge and inclusion need to be understood from a perspective of otherness, corroborating for the construction of the disabled person as subject of rights.