Rethinking Catholic religious education in the light of divine pedagogy

Abstract

Teaching has always been central to the identity of the Catholic Church, and consequently, the teaching of religion has always been fundamental to the educational mission of the Church. Over these past two millennia, this was, and still is, reflected in the centrality that the subject, in its various forms, holds in the educational institutions of the Church. Yet the changing context of schools, education, society and Church require a rediscovery and a redefinition of teaching as a ministry essential to the very ontological nature of the whole community of believers, and consequently a redefinition of what is Catholic religious education. [excerpt]