Does the present religion textbooks at primary level reflect the innovative and challenging spirit of the Second Vatican Council?

Abstract

This dissertation is based on the convinction that the present Religion Primary textbooks do reflect the innovative and challenging spirit of Second Vatican Council. These books are also based on the directions offered in other post-Vatican II documents. First, we made a detailed study of Second Vatican Council major documents, mainly Lumen Gentium, Gaudium et Spes, Dei Verbum, Sacrosantum Concilium, Nostra Aetate and Gravissiumum Educationis. We also made a study of post-Vatican II documents, mainly The General Catechetical Directory of 1971, Evangelii Nuntiandi and Catechesi Tradendae. From the study of these post-Vatican II documents we saw that they provide guidelines on which Religion textbooks and other material could be built. To verify the improvement in the present Religion textbooks, we made detailed analyses of the Religion Primary textbooks used just before the Second Vatican Council. Then in the last chapter, we made an analysis of the present Religion textbooks and their teaching aids. We tried to demonstrate that the content of the present Primary Religion textbooks is built in the Spirit of the Second Vatican Council. While the presentation of this material is done according to the directions of post-Vatican II documents.