Learning from Experience: Liturgical Formation as a Central Component of Religious Education in Schools

Abstract

Religious education in schools was, for a long time, liturgically shaped until liturgical formation was no longer seen as a task of schools but of parish catechesis in many countries. Current approaches try to develop a liturgical didactic that is adapted to the school as a place of learning. Based on the confessional model of religious education in Austria, this paper shows the challenges and significance of liturgical formation in reference to Pope Francis’ letter Desiderio Desideravi. In combining perspectives of religious education and liturgical studies, the necessary conditions for liturgical formation to succeed are shown. A didactic of Catholic liturgy that builds on established didactics and strives for liturgical formation on the cutting edge is presented, adapted to the setting of schools and distinct from parish catechesis. One way of responding to the lack of experience is with the help of performative didactics to enable practical experiences that, framed in reflection, form the basis for engagement with the liturgy. Such a liturgical didactic aims at enabling competence in matters of worship, considering all people, if a renewed understanding of liturgy is taken seriously, according to which worship is the celebration of the whole assembly and therefore requires a corresponding participation of all.