The Future of Catholic Education - Challenges and Opportunities
Abstract
As religious literacy continues to decline, questions arise as to how best to address the implications for the future of the Church and our society. Catholic schools and colleges have played an important role in this regard. However, because of the inconsistency present in Religious Education in Catholic schools, results have been mixed.
At a recent conference on Religious Literacy in Trinity College, Dublin, stark conclusions were drawn about the level of religious literacy in Irish secondary schools. The suggestion was that if RE was not an exam subject in secondary schools, the time allocated to it was reduced, and allocated to exam subjects. The question arises as to how to encourage schools - already dealing with low religious literacy amongst its staff - to undertake the teaching of RE as an exam subject, and whether this is desirable?
Pope Francis has pointed out on many occasions that the gospel message must be spread through attraction, rather than forced. The world of marketing and advertising is adept at exaggerating claims and attracting people to buy their products. A good Catholic education holds a value beyond price, and does not need exaggeration to promote it. This is already understood in jurisdictions that do not have a long tradition of Catholicism. Indications are that the “Grow In Love” programme for primary schools appears to be successful, suggesting that the present cohort of primary school children will have a better level of religious literacy than previously.
Recent suggestions that the Vatican intends to merge the Congregation for Catholic Education and the Pontifical Council for Culture into a new mega-department for “education and culture” has the potential to open opportunities for Catholic educators to further advance the cause of Catholic education. The GRACE project may have an important role to play in this regard.
The Future of Catholic Education - Challenges and Opportunities
As religious literacy continues to decline, questions arise as to how best to address the implications for the future of the Church and our society. Catholic schools and colleges have played an important role in this regard. However, because of the inconsistency present in Religious Education in Catholic schools, results have been mixed.
At a recent conference on Religious Literacy in Trinity College, Dublin, stark conclusions were drawn about the level of religious literacy in Irish secondary schools. The suggestion was that if RE was not an exam subject in secondary schools, the time allocated to it was reduced, and allocated to exam subjects. The question arises as to how to encourage schools - already dealing with low religious literacy amongst its staff - to undertake the teaching of RE as an exam subject, and whether this is desirable?
Pope Francis has pointed out on many occasions that the gospel message must be spread through attraction, rather than forced. The world of marketing and advertising is adept at exaggerating claims and attracting people to buy their products. A good Catholic education holds a value beyond price, and does not need exaggeration to promote it. This is already understood in jurisdictions that do not have a long tradition of Catholicism. Indications are that the “Grow In Love” programme for primary schools appears to be successful, suggesting that the present cohort of primary school children will have a better level of religious literacy than previously.
Recent suggestions that the Vatican intends to merge the Congregation for Catholic Education and the Pontifical Council for Culture into a new mega-department for “education and culture” has the potential to open opportunities for Catholic educators to further advance the cause of Catholic education. The GRACE project may have an important role to play in this regard.