Liberation across Generations? Proposals for Ageless Voting and Paedocommunion Compared

Children’s freedom to participate in key aspects of civic and religious life is significantly limited. Children are citizens of countries, but denied the right to vote. Children are made in the image of God and part of the body of Christ, but they are often denied access to the body of Christ at the communion rail. In this paper, I will compare arguments in favour of ageless voting—the right to vote from birth—with those of paedocommunion—communion from (infant) baptism. For both, the main justification for exclusion is on the basis of rational capacity, and the concern that children cannot make decisions for themselves. In response, I argue that the presence and agency of children at the communion rail and in the voting booth expand, challenge, and renew our understandings of these places, and call us to new responsibilities and engagement across generations.