In the following excerpt, 13-year-old Mamie challenges Sister Ima regarding her interpretation of the Adam and Eve story:

Throughout this book, I've elaborated upon adults' growth-oriented, child-sensitive stance toward socialization and children's active participation in church. As Mamie's challenge to Sister Ima's traditional interpretation of original sin suggests, adult–child conflict is an excellent context in which to observe children's active participation in Sunday School. Children, as well as adults, had viewpoints on the particular beliefs and practices they encountered during Sunday School, and sometimes these viewpoints differed from those of their teachers. Adult–child verbal conflicts provide a unique glimpse into the rich diversity of children's perspectives. Verbal conflicts also provide a window into child-sensitive aspects of socialization practices. As we will see in this chapter, some children explicitly disagreed with teachers and elaborated their opposing views. The extent to which children were free to disagree with adults may reflect their status as active interpreters of biblical texts.