The Death of Sunday School and the Future of Faith Formation

The Sunday school model of religious education has been much beloved in our Unitarian Universalist tradition. Half a century ago and at the time of its inception Sunday school was a significant draw for children and families and was popular in dominant culture. Over the past two decades religious professionals and lay leaders have been questioning the effectiveness of this model. Working harder moving things around and investing more money in Sunday school has not increased its effectiveness. These strategies have not worked in part because we have failed to convey that the way we have always done things is no longer serving our Unitarian Universalist congregations. While we have been applying a multitude of technical fixes to this adaptive challenge we have failed a generation of young Unitarian Universalists. Today's reformation calls for the centering of faith formation in the mission of communities of faith.