Theology

History

As long as there has been a Deaf community and sign language, it is more than likely that there have been signs related to issues of religion and God and a Deaf spirituality and prayers to the deity in sign language; human culture is saturated with such issues, and Deaf culture is unlikely to be an exception. However, the earliest recorded theology in sign language is thought to have come from early Judaism; deaf people without speech are allowed to marry by use of signs. Caution over how much this is “theology” in signs is to be used; all discussions around this topic are over whether deaf people without speech could make a legally binding contract, and there is no evidence of a religious ceremony or ritual conducted by means of signs (which may simply mean it was not seen as important to record whether such things had taken place). The earliest recorded use of signs for religious purposes comes from monastic communities who live together in silence. Deaf children from noble families, educated by monks, would have picked up and developed signs in a religious context, and by 1631 we have evidence of signs being used to give access for a few, privileged people, to sermons, prayers and the Lord’s supper (also called Holy Communion or Mass).

The next notable development in Deaf theology (at least in the UK) occurred in 1830, when four Deaf men in Edinburgh set up the first formal meeting of Deaf people for worship; the start of what has come to be known as “Deaf church.” Deaf churches are now found throughout the world in various Christian denominations and exist to provide access to the worship of God for deaf people in their own language. From the beginning of Deaf churches there has been a tension between the (usually) Deaf-led Deaf churches and those that were provided by well-meaning hearing people for the benefit of deaf people. In the former, the language used is good-quality indigenous sign language, worship incorporates aspects of Deaf culture, and there are opportunities for all deaf people in the church to develop in their faith, to participate in a variety of ways, and to be trained in leadership. In the latter, the signs may be subordinate to the written and spoken language and be required to follow the set word order of a particular denominational liturgy (order of worship), and only a few deaf people, usually with a high level of speech and education, have been given the opportunity to develop in faith and participate in leadership. These churches often focused on welfare provision for deaf people to the exclusion of all other aspects of church life and theology. Many churches today are somewhere between these two extremes, and there are some interesting anomalies around. For example, churches in Scandinavian countries have a very highly developed, culturally Deaf liturgy (reflecting the high status of sign language in those countries) but considerably fewer deaf priests and ministers than the UK (where the quality of sign language and Deaf culture in worship is patchy).

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