Adultism is the belief that the adult way of doing or thinking or feeling something is superior to a child’s way of doing or thinking or feeling. It’s assuming that adults know best and deserve to be privileged. In 1995, youth worker and children’s rights advocate John Bell defined adultism as “behaviors and attitudes based on the assumption that adults are better than young people, and entitled to act upon young people without their agreement.” Adultism is the flipside of childism, the belief that children are less than and thus deserve to be property of adults. These two forces—adultism and childism—are the evil forces behind the anti-child world we live in today.
While adultism has led to today’s anti-child world, it is nothing new. Adults have prioritized and privileged themselves since the beginning of time. The Bible itself features several great examples of adultism.
One example would be Chapter 3 of Isaiah, where the Jewish prophet Isaiah describes how God will punish the Israelites for their sins. Isaiah says God will “take away everything Judah and Jerusalem depend on,” including “all the food and water,” “all the heroes and soldiers,” and “all the judges, the prophets, the fortunetellers, and the elders” (3:1-2). Isaiah then says God will replace all those people with children: “He [God] says, ‘I will put young boys in charge of you. They will be your leaders. The people will turn against each other. Young people will not respect those who are older” (3:4-5). In other words, to Isaiah, children being in positions of authority and leadership are signs of societal breakdown. This implies adults in leadership are inherently superior. Isaiah is saying, “Things will be so bad, even children will have power!”—as if the thought of such inferior leadership should strike terror in everyone’s hearts. (This is a curious prejudice considering that, just a few chapters later in 11:6, Isaiah describes his vision of God’s Kingdom being one where “a little child shall lead.”)
Another great example of adultism in the Bible is 1 Corinthians 13:11: “When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, and I made plans like a child. When I became a man, I stopped those childish ways.” In this passage, the abusive and violent zealot Saul—who later rebrands himself as the Apostle Paul—speaks about childhood as if it is less than adulthood. Being a child, talking like a child, thinking like a child, and planning like a child are all negative things—“childish ways”—that need to be suppressed or overcome so that one can “become a man”—the ultimate goal for every child. This prioritizing of the adult way is adultism. Saul is saying, “Grow up, already”—as if there is something wrong about not being an adult.
Saul’s preference for adulthood is antichrist. Jesus never said, “Stop your childish ways.” In fact, Jesus said the opposite in Matthew 18:3: “You must change your thinking and become like little children. If you don’t do this, you will never enter God’s kingdom.”
Saul doubles down on his adultism in the next chapter of 1 Corinthians. In Chapter 14, he tells his readers to “don’t think like children,” that they should “be like full-grown adults.” Saul’s adultism is seen in other epistles as well. For example, 2 Timothy 2:22 assumes the worst of young people, declaring, “Stay away from the evil things a young person like you typically wants to do.” Ephesians 4:14-15 urges adults to “no longer be like babies,” meaning, “people who are always changing like a ship that the waves carry one way and the other” and “influenced by every new teaching we hear from people who are trying to deceive us.” Saul’s negative portrayals of children are ironic considering 1 Timothy 4:12 urges young people to “let no one despise you for your youth.” Apparently, Saul himself was the one doing the despising.
Just like how the Bible contains racist and sexist beliefs and practices, the existence of adultism in sacred texts should never be seen as blessing or baptizing evil. Adultist beliefs and practices within our holy scriptures must be identified, named, and challenged directly. Here are suggestions for doing so:
Identifying adultism: Whenever you read a passage in the Bible about children, ask yourself: How are children being portrayed here? Are normal stages of child development cast as evil? Is being a child or acting like a child assumed to be worse or inferior to being or acting like an adult? Are children and their many unique life stories, strengths, and weaknesses in all their diversity being represented, or is this a caricature of only some children? Is the author making claims about children as a group—for example, how they get emotional when hungry or tired, or how they make foolish choices sometimes—that are equally true for adults as a group, but only applying the claims to children?
Naming adultism: Once you start noticing adultism, you will probably also start noticing something else: it’s everywhere! The challenge now is to explicitly name what is going on. You don’t need to use a philosophical word like adultism to explain to other people their adultist beliefs and practices. Explain what is going on in a way anyone—children included!—can understand. Skip the big words and just say something like, “Hey, this word or phrase or action seems to be putting adults on a pedestal in an unfair and unrealistic way.” Or, “Hey, the way you explained that seems to be assuming the best about adults yet the worst about children.” You can even invite children into this process! Ask children, “When you read this verse or hear this statement about children, how does it make you feel about being a child? Do you think Jesus would describe children that way?”
Challenging adultism: After you start noticing adultism and naming it in everyday life, it’s time to challenge it, too! It’s not sufficient to say, “Hey, this is wrong.” We also need to think about how to be active bystanders and right the wrong. Starting with the words of Jesus is always a good place to begin. Compare the words you are reading in other parts of the Bible with what Jesus teaches about children. Use Jesus’ words as the standard to push back against antichrist beliefs and practices elsewhere. Challenging other parts of the Bible, or other people’s interpretations of it, with Jesus’ teachings is not sacrilege. Jesus himself did these very things, reinterpreting and expanding our understanding of the Tanakh and pushing back against Jewish religious leaders’ interpretations of it. He even challenged his own disciples’ understandings.
So, think about how Jesus’ teachings should impact how you read other Bible verses and passages. And then start speaking up! Get uncomfortable. Interrupt everyday conversations, challenge your pastor’s sermon, and disrupt Bible study when you encounter adultism. Don’t be rude, but do be persistent and invite others into the process. Ask people, “How can we rephrase this statement or reinterpret this passage or change our behavior in a way that honors children?”