Possibility of bibliotherapy as a method in religious education

Bibliotherapy, i.e healing through books was mentioned as a concept for the first time by a religious instructor, Samuel Crothers, at the beginning of the 20th century. Bibliotherapy was first applied in hospitals as a therapy method in the cooperation of librarians and medical doctors. Over time, the method has also been used out of clinical settings and evolved into two sub-branches: clinical bibliotherapy and developmental bibliotherapy. One of the application areas for developmental bibliotherapy is education. Developmental bibliotherapy aims to contribute to psycho-social development of the students, to maintain their well-being and to prevent them from possible psychological problems of the future. This study examined the possibility of bibliotherapy as a method in the religious education. In the first chapter a theoretical framework for bibliotherapy is established, and in the second chapter developmental bibliotherapy is introduced in the context of education. The components and scope of bibliotherapy are evaluated in terms of religious education in the third chapter. Thus the contribution of bibliotherapy to religious education is discussed and information is given about the principles, limitations and possible texts.