Abstract
In the 1970s, there was a creative tension between ecclesiastical interests in the outcomes of Australian Catholic school religious education (RE) and the concerns of religious educators to promote the personal development of their students, whether or not they were churchgoing. Since then, the discourse of RE in this context came to be dominated by ecclesiastical terminology, with ‘Catholic identity’, ‘faith formation’ and ‘new evangelisation’ as the currently most prominent constructs. In critiquing this development, with the hope of reviving a creative tension between ecclesiastical and student-centred concerns, it is proposed that the discourse of RE needs to become more outward looking, and more overtly concerned with what it means to educate young Australians spiritually, morally and religiously for life in an increasingly challenging culture.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Australian Episcopal Conference. (1970). The Renewal of the education of Faith. Sydney: EJ Dwyer.
Bishops of NSW and the ACT. (2007). Catholic Schools at the Crossroads. Sydney: Catholic Education Commission of NSW.
Bryk, A. S., Lee, V. E., & Holland, P. B. (1993). Catholic Schools and the Common Good. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Buchanan, M. (2005). Pedagogical Drift: The Evolution of New Approaches and Paradigms in Religious Education. Religious Education, 100(1), 20–37.
Congregation for Catholic Education. (1977). The Catholic School [online]. Retrieved March 31, 2017, from http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/ccatheduc/documents/rc_con_ccatheduc_doc_19770319_catholic-school_en.html
Congregation for Catholic Education. (1988). The Religious Dimension of Education in Catholic Schools [online]. Retrieved March 31, 2017, from http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/ccatheduc/documents/rc_con_ccatheduc_doc_19880407_catholic-school_en.html
Congregation for the Clergy. (1997). General Directory for Catechesis. Chicago: Liturgy Training Publications.
Conroy, J. C. (Ed.). (1999). Catholic Education, Inside Out, Outside In. Dublin: Lindisfarne.
Crawford, M., & Rossiter, G. (2006). Reasons for Living: Education and Young People’s Search for Meaning, Identity and Spirituality. Melbourne: Australian Council for Educational Research.
Declaration on Christian Education: Gravissimum Educationis. (1965). [online]. Retrieved March 31, 2017, from http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_decl_19651028_gravissimum-educationis_en.html
Dixon, R., Reid, R. S., & Chee, N. (2013). Mass Attendance in Australia: A Critical Moment. Melbourne: Australian Catholic Bishops Conference.
Finn, A. (2011). Parents, Teachers and Religious Education: A Study in a Catholic Secondary School in Rural Victoria. Sydney: Catholic Schools Office, Diocese of Broken Bay.
Fowler, J. (1981). Stages of Faith: The Psychology of Human Development and the Quest for Meaning. New York: HarperCollins.
Lovat, T. (2009). What Is This Thing Called Religious Education? (3rd ed.). Terrigal: David Barlow.
Moran, G. (1970). Catechetics, R.I.P. Commonweal, 18, 299–301.
National Catholic Education Commission. (2012). NCEC 2012 Annual Report. Canberra: NCEC.
Rossiter, G. (1981). Religious Education in Australian Schools. Canberra: Curriculum Development Centre.
Rossiter, G. (1999). Historical Perspective on the Development of Catholic Religious Education in Australia: Some Implications for the Future. Journal of Religious Education, 47(1), 5–18.
Rossiter, G. (2010a). Perspective on Contemporary Spirituality: Implications for Religious Education in Catholic Schools. International Studies in Catholic Education, 2(2), 129–147.
Rossiter, G. (2010b). A ‘Big Picture’ Review of K-12 Australian Catholic School Religious Education in the Light of Contemporary Spirituality. Journal of Religious Education, 58(3), 5–18.
Rossiter, G. (2011). Some Perspectives on Contemporary Youth Spirituality: A ‘Need to Know’ for Church School Religious Education. Religious Education Journal of Australia, 27(1), 9–15.
Rossiter, G. (2013). Perspective on the Use of the Construct ‘Catholic identity’ for Australian Catholic Schooling: Part 1 The Sociological Background and the Literature; Part 2 Areas in the Discourse in Need of More Emphasis and Further Attention. Journal of Religious Education’, 61(2), 4–29.
Rossiter, Graham. (2016). Research on Retreats: A Study of the Views of Teachers and Students About Retreats in Australian Catholic Secondary Schools. Sydney: ACU NSW School of Education [online]. Retrieved March 31, 2017, from http://203.10.46.163/grrossiter/retreats/index.html
Ryan, M. (2013). A Common Search: The History and Forms of Religious Education in Catholic Schools (Rev. ed.). Brisbane: Lumino Press.
Rummery, R. M. (1975). Catechesis and Religious Education in a Pluralist Society. Sydney: EJ Dwyer.
Sacred Congregation for the Clergy. (1971). General Catechetical Directory [online]. Retrieved March 31, 2017, from http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cclergy/documents/rc_con_cclergy_doc_11041971_gcat_en.html
Westerhoff, J. (1976). Will our Children Have Faith? New York: Seabury Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Rossiter, G. (2018). Religious Education: Where to from Here? Reflections on the Trajectory of Australian Catholic School Religious Education 1965–2017. In: Stuart-Buttle, R., Shortt, J. (eds) Christian Faith, Formation and Education. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-62803-5_12
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-62803-5_12
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-62802-8
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-62803-5
eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)