The Purpose of Religious Education
(a bit of background)
There is no agreed on purpose of Religious Education in Catholic Schools. There are two main schools of thought, official documents, such as Coming to Know, Worship and Love (2008) appear contradictory on which approach should be taken.
Due to the unclear purpose of Religious Education, the information on this website, in regard to Scripture in Religious Education, assumes that the purpose of Religious education is a combination of both points of view. The purpose of Religious Education, therefore, is to provide Christian instruction while at the same time being an extension of catechsis, ensuring to be respectful of diversity. "The Catholic School provides a unique opportunity for catechesis, its role in the education of young people should not be neglected" (Carswell, 2010, p. 12).
- Religious Education, purposed to teach about the Christian faith
- Religious Education, as fostering and growing children in their own Christian walk (Catechesis)
Due to the unclear purpose of Religious Education, the information on this website, in regard to Scripture in Religious Education, assumes that the purpose of Religious education is a combination of both points of view. The purpose of Religious Education, therefore, is to provide Christian instruction while at the same time being an extension of catechsis, ensuring to be respectful of diversity. "The Catholic School provides a unique opportunity for catechesis, its role in the education of young people should not be neglected" (Carswell, 2010, p. 12).
Scripture in Religious Education
(and the wider school)
Religious Education is informed by a number of sources. One
of these sources is Scripture (National Catholic Education Commission, 2008). Scripture
is God’s revelation of himself to humans (Stead, n.d.). It tells of historical events, it encourages
its readers, it proclaims songs of praise, it prophesies and promises what is
to come and it teaches about God’s character.
More than this, it declares the truth about the living God and proclaims
his victory over darkness and that he provided a means of salvation for
humankind. This salvation is recorded in
the Scriptures. Dei Verbum states
that God is not only revealed in the events of history but he is also revealed
in “…a personal way in the present” (Carswell, 2010, p. 1). The Scriptures are relevant for people
(including children) today, just as they were relevant to their original
audiences. “The Catholic Church’s
understanding of scripture accepts the Bible as the inspired Word of God and as
the work of human authors who are conditioned by their time, place, culture and
worldview (Stead, n.d., p. 5).
Just as in any curriculum area, teachers must be knowledgeable of what they are teaching. They therefore must have knowledge of the bible if they are to teach about it and through it. Teachers must have reading and interpretive skills when using it (Stead, n.d.). They must be able to identify the historical issues and the literary form, they must explore the structure, the plot and the characters and they must be aware of the role of the text in the context of the particular book and in the context of the entire Bible (Stead, n.d.). Thompson writes about transformation through education, that is, that schools provide opportunity to shape and develop students by teaching the transformational truths in the Gospel. He says that this transformation begins with the teachers themselves (Thompson, 2008). “We only become gospel shaped educators as, firstly, we read and interpret the bible well. And secondly, we make connections between the written word of God in scripture and all the stuff of twenty first century living…” (Thompson, 2008, p. 20). It is important that teachers have knowledge of the text and that they are able to apply this knowledge to modern times and in fact, their own life. When they are able to this, they are much better positioned to help students to do the same thing.
Watson (2006) writes in response to the growing concern of what society is throwing at children. She says that the world is a noisy place and that children are ‘growing up’ too quickly as they are bombarded with damaging messages from the media about how to live a good life. She says that teachers can speak positively into the lives of children in regard to these messages.
We can do much better than this for our children – we can hold up to them the wonder and freedom of God’s grace and Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf and show them that wise living is living in response to the gospel with loving, grateful hearts and the freedom of living as God’s loved, forgiven, made righteous children (Watson, 2006, p. 6).
Scripture plays a vital part in Religious Education and in the Catholic School as a whole. It provides a basis for what is taught and how it is taught. It provides a way of life for teachers and students alike.
Just as in any curriculum area, teachers must be knowledgeable of what they are teaching. They therefore must have knowledge of the bible if they are to teach about it and through it. Teachers must have reading and interpretive skills when using it (Stead, n.d.). They must be able to identify the historical issues and the literary form, they must explore the structure, the plot and the characters and they must be aware of the role of the text in the context of the particular book and in the context of the entire Bible (Stead, n.d.). Thompson writes about transformation through education, that is, that schools provide opportunity to shape and develop students by teaching the transformational truths in the Gospel. He says that this transformation begins with the teachers themselves (Thompson, 2008). “We only become gospel shaped educators as, firstly, we read and interpret the bible well. And secondly, we make connections between the written word of God in scripture and all the stuff of twenty first century living…” (Thompson, 2008, p. 20). It is important that teachers have knowledge of the text and that they are able to apply this knowledge to modern times and in fact, their own life. When they are able to this, they are much better positioned to help students to do the same thing.
Watson (2006) writes in response to the growing concern of what society is throwing at children. She says that the world is a noisy place and that children are ‘growing up’ too quickly as they are bombarded with damaging messages from the media about how to live a good life. She says that teachers can speak positively into the lives of children in regard to these messages.
We can do much better than this for our children – we can hold up to them the wonder and freedom of God’s grace and Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf and show them that wise living is living in response to the gospel with loving, grateful hearts and the freedom of living as God’s loved, forgiven, made righteous children (Watson, 2006, p. 6).
Scripture plays a vital part in Religious Education and in the Catholic School as a whole. It provides a basis for what is taught and how it is taught. It provides a way of life for teachers and students alike.
Structure of Religious Education in Catholic Schools
Dimensions
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Content Strands
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NOTE: Scripture is given a particular place in the RE curriculum
(National Catholic Education Commission, 2008)