The Need for a “Creative Divorce” Between Catechesis and Religious Education in Catholic Schools

Rossiter, Graham

doi:10.1080/0034408820770103

Cited by 21 publications

(5 citation statements)

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“…The much-debated relationship between catechesis and Religious Education is the ideal space in which to explore how the Catholic school can address its dual commitment to (a) faith formation of the baptised and (b) dialogue with people from other religious and philosophical traditions (Franchi 2017;Whittle 2015;Rymarz 2011;Congregation for Catholic Education 1988;Rossiter 1982). In brief, the contours of the debate are as follows:…”

Section: Identifying Challenges To Authentic Religious Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This is an important text for discussion of the Religious Education/catechesis link. Rossiter's introduction of the term 'creative divorce' (Rossiter 1982), to describe how catechesis and Religious Education's relationship should evolve, had been a radical contribution to the field of Catholic education at the time. In this document, the Roman Curia has seemingly accepted this now famous distinction, although is not clear at all how the radical ideas floated by Rossiter found their way into the mindset of the Roman Curia.…”

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Authentic Religious Education: A Question of Language?

Franchi¹

2018

Religions

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There is much emphasis today on inclusion and diversity in educational systems. As the place of religious belief remains a significant factor in such debates, there is a need for shared understanding of the language and purpose of Religious Education in schools. Given the substantial international footprint of Catholic schools, the conceptual framework of Religious Education in Catholic schools merits serious scrutiny. The Catholic Church’s written teaching on education has a strong focus on the contemporary school as a site of intercultural dialogue. The related teaching on Religious Education in schools, however, remains underdeveloped, with strong voices debating the desirability, or otherwise, of a strong focus on ‘faith formation and practice’ as an outcome of Religious Education. Problematically, terms like ‘Religious Education’ have inconsistent translations in the official documents of the Catholic Church, leading to a plurality of understandings internationally of the ultimate aim of the subject. A presentation of the linguistic inconsistency between English and Italian translations of documents of the Holy See reveals the scale of the challenge. This unsatisfactory arrangement needs reform. Rooted in a close critical study of Catholic teaching on education, the article presents two arguments designed to initiate the reform process: (a) the Catholic Church’s settled teaching on Religious Education must develop greater internal cohesion before it can make a meaningful contribution to intercultural dialogue, and (b) an International Directory of Religious Education, written collegially by qualified lay people and clergy, will build stronger foundations for shared understanding of the aims and scope of Religious Education among key stakeholders in Catholic schools. This shift in direction will harmonise Religious Education expectations in Catholic schools, and offer firmer ground for dialogue with those who manage and teach Religious Education in so-called ‘non-denominational’ schools.

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Section: Identifying Challenges To Authentic Religious Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Authentic Religious Education: A Question of Language?

Franchi¹

2018

Religions

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“…The birth of Religious Education as a distinct discipline has been complex. Although in the academic world there were calls for a distinction from Catechesis (see for instance Istituto di Catechetica dell' Università Salesiana 1971, Moran, 1974, Rossiter, 1982, Scott, 1980, it was only in 1981 that the Universal Church little by little started to acknowledge the peculiarity of Religious Education in comparison to Catechesis. Just two years before, Catechesi Tradendea, an Apostolic Exhortation that was the result of a Synod of Bishops on Catechesis and which was edited by three different Popes, still considered religious instruction to be an integral part of Catechesis (Pope John Paul II, 1979).…”

Section: Birth Pangsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Putting Catholic religious education on the map

Gellel¹

2017

Rev. Pistis Prax., Teol. Pastor.

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This article presents the work published by a publishing company called Catholic Religious Education in Schools (BUCHANAN & GELLEL, 2015). The volume brings together scholars from all six continents to reflect and discuss contextual, pedagogical and theoretical issues related to the teaching of the Catholic religion in a school context. In this sense, it is the first volume in the Catholic world to deal specifically with the theory and contextual issues of religious education as separate from Catechesis. While the former is understood that specifically occurs in formal education, the latter is understood that occur within the faith community environment. In an era of ecumenical and inter-religious and a society increasingly globalized and secularized, such a project may appear to be out of sync with reality. In addition to the work explains the construction of the project and its development proposed presentation of an international reality on the subject.

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“…One way of doing this is to see them as distinct but complementary and to distinguish between cognitive and affective outcomes. This helps to ensure that the focus of classroom learning remains on the cognitive but at the same time acknowledges that affective goals, which often correlate with catechesis, are not overlooked (Hyde and Rymarz 2007;Engebretson et al 2008) A theory of religious education in Catholic schools which recognizes the fundamental distinction between catechetical and cognitive goals was proposed by Rossiter (1982). In a Catholic high school, in this view, the goal of religious education is primarily educative, that is, to provide students with a strong learning environment which increases their understanding and knowledge.…”

Section: Presenting Church Teachingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Faithful dissent and religious education in Canadian Catholic schools: a response to McDonough

Rymarz

2012

International Studies in Catholic Education

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McDonough † proposes that one way of invigorating religious education in Canadian Catholic high schools is to present a wider range of views under the ambit of Catholic teaching including those which are currently regarded as dissenting opinions. These are not in keeping with official teaching but enjoy support in the wider Catholic community. In response to this it is argued that a better understanding of the contemporary discourse on religious education in Catholic schools would accommodate a thoughtful engagement with a range of views. This is in keeping with an educative model of religious education which can distinguish between the educative and catechetical goals of RE. A stronger focus on the educative aspects of religious education is proposed as a more direct way of improving the quality of religious education in schools.

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The Need for a “Creative Divorce” Between Catechesis and Religious Education in Catholic Schools

Cited by 21 publications

References 0 publications

Authentic Religious Education: A Question of Language?

Authentic Religious Education: A Question of Language?

Putting Catholic religious education on the map

Faithful dissent and religious education in Canadian Catholic schools: a response to McDonough

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