Coming of age is a young person's transition from childhood to adulthood. The age at which this transition takes place varies in society, as does the nature of the transition.... Particularly in western societies, modern legal conventions which stipulate points in late adolescence or early adulthood (most commonly 16-21 when adolescents are generally no longer considered minors and are granted the full rights of an adult) are the focus of the transition.....
...Some
[Christian] traditions withhold the rite of Holy Communion from those
not yet at the age of accountability, on the grounds that children do
not understand what the sacrament means. In some denominations, full
membership in the Church, if not bestowed at birth, often must wait
until the age of accountability and frequently is granted only after
a period of preparation known as catechesis. The time of innocence (before one has the ability to understand truly the laws of God and
that God sees one as innocent) is also seen as applying to
individuals who suffer from a mental disability which prevents them
from ever reaching a time when they are capable of understanding the
laws of God. These individuals are thus seen as existing in a
perpetual state of innocence by the grace of God.
Society
contents itself largely to live with many fictions, a primary one
being that all individuals – perhaps with the exception of the
mentally ill or disabled – uniformly attain the age of
accountability requirements at precisely 21 years of age or somewhat
younger. This assumes physical and mental maturity have been reached.
Mental maturity entails not only a fully developed mind physically
but also in terms of having received through word and deed sufficient conceptual
indoctrination—most essentially concepts with ethical aspects that
bear upon individual and social behavior and that lead to what is
commonly referred to as responsible behavior. Those who have been
favored with almost ideal nurturing environments themselves are prone
to make an assumption that such blessings are a given for
everyone—and if not, are of negligible importance in any case. One
of the most cogent arguments for mercy thus eludes them and they
remain content to demand justice without mercy—which is ironic
since mercy was something they received in spades in their own
development years. They fail to realize that what they received as a
matter of course constituted a blessing simply not available to
everyone. Likewise those adjudged most guilty in our society are
from another point of view the most innocent—not having received
the benefits of sufficient guidance and training—certainly a sad
thing, and a due cause for mercy.
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