Religious education in need of revision

Religious education in schools needs to be revised and strengthened, according to a consultative document issued by the Secretariat for Catechesis within the Archdiocese of Malta.

The document says the situation in schools calls for a revision in the contents, methods and materials in use for religious education as well as the development of new syllabi and support structures.

The Church has been slow to respond to changes in education and society, "meaning various areas are in need of immediate attention," the document states.

It identifies the need to review the textbooks, strengthen teachers' ongoing formation and consolidate religious counselling in schools in order to reflect the requirements of the community.

The document was presented after four years of extensive research and consultation, Adrian Gellel, chairman of the subcommittee set up to prepare it, said.

The need to strengthen religious education in schools was evident at every level of the Church, Dr Gellel pointed out.

The way religion is taught in schools did not reflect developments in education and the will to move from religious knowledge to religious education, away from the cognitive towards the affective to avoid it being an "arid" subject.

Even though the distinction is fine, in today's context, scholastic religious education is not parish catechesis, Dr Gellel said. The former, he explained, contributes to the holistic development of students by providing the "language" and skills to access and express their religious and spiritual dimensions.

The current syllabi and texts were designed in the 1980s and 1990s for primary and secondary schools respectively and their time is now over. Their language does not necessarily reflect the needs of today's society which, being increasingly secular, may find it hard to comprehend religious language.

"The text is not flexible enough and teachers do not find the necessary support to teach students with different learning aptitudes," the report says. "On the whole, it seems that religion teachers feel left alone and not supported well enough by the institutional Church; they feel well supported by the education authorities but not by society in general."

Dr Gellel said the plan was to prepare the new syllabi, together with a strategy for the development of textbooks, by December, with the first textbooks being introduced in two years. Among the initiatives proposed is the increase in the minimum number of religious education lessons in primary and secondary Church schools to three per week, where it was not already the case.

The document also suggests the setting up of a Religious Education office to cater for the needs of schools, teachers and students, including the promotion of research, the preparation of syllabi and textbooks and the ongoing formation of teachers.

It suggests the restructuring of religious counselling and the introduction of religious education support teachers in primary schools.

The need to strengthen the award process of the certificate of suitability for religious education teachers has also been specified. The document mentions the growing number of teachers who feel uncomfortable teaching religion, a major reason being that younger generations of teachers are no longer able to comprehend religious language or are not familiar with religious tradition.

It also points out that more children are being taught religion at primary level by teachers who may not be practising Christians or have rejected Christianity outright.

Dr Gellel said that cases where teachers were not happy teaching the subject were isolated and cases where the certificate of suitability was removed were rare.

Nevertheless, "it may be the right time for education authorities to consider the introduction of school-based religious education teachers, who would support the primary class teachers, teaching the subject instead of those who do not feel comfortable".

The document, available on www.maltadiocese.org, will be discussed at a national conference open to the public on June 12 at 6 p.m. at the Hotel Phoenicia. Its aim is to get feedback on the proposals to prepare a national policy for the approval of the Maltese Episcopal Conference.