Wellbeing and child voice: Rethinking child voice (and its absence) in Mark's gospel

The Convention of the Rights of the Child has shaped child-centred practices in Australia which recognise that children’s wellbeing is positively affected when children have a voice in issues concerning them directly. Advancements in notions of child voice have also influenced the nascent field of the theology of childhood. In this paper, I demonstrate how the gospel of Mark confronts those who seek to find biblical bases for theologies affirming the voice of children. The silence of children in this sacred, authoritative text is salient in Australia where religious institutions address historic issues concerning child abuse within their organisations. These same denominations remain responsible today, moreover, for the wellbeing of children who participate in education, ministry, and social services. The paper illustrates how an *engaged* reading approach to interpreting Mark’s gospel offers a way of conceptualizing children’s voice and children’s silence with implications for theologians of childhood and for child-centred practices in Christian contexts.