Religious Studies

The Diocese of Trenton, understanding its essential role of evangelization – to build and sustain the Catholic Church in today’s world and to create a legacy of faith for future generations, calls its catechists to actively proclaim, model and nurture the Good News of Salvation.  It seeks to dynamically fulfill the mission to “make disciples of all nations,” “to baptize in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit,” “to teach observance of all the Lord has commanded us,” and “to know that God is with us always, until the end of time.” (Mt 28: 19-20)
 
Realizing that the Lord’s  missionary command charges all catechists to teach in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the Elementary Religion Curriculum Guidelines seek to assist in the formation of mature disciples by imparting a clear and comprehensive knowledge of the faith, promoting active participation in the liturgical life of the Church, integrating moral formation into a Christian way of life, teaching the rich tradition of prayer and devotion, educating toward a Christian integration of community life, and inculcating a missionary spirit that prepares Christians to witness Christ in society. (NDC: 2005, 60 -62)
 
Purpose
 
Religion Curriculum Guidelines provide a framework for catechists to plan, instruct and   assess students by providing objectives that support the teachings of the Catholic Church in an atmosphere of multi-cultural diversity within parish Religious Education Programs, Catholic Schools and any other venues where catechesis is offered.

The General Directory of Catechesis articulates six tasks (GDC: 1997, #85) that provide the umbrella for religion curriculum objectives that comprise each grade level and are offered for introduction at lower grade levels and development as a child progresses on the faith journey.  These tasks include:

 

• Promoting knowledge of the faith
  • Helping children to know, understand and integrate Catholic beliefs which are found in Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition.
• Liturgical education
  • Helping children to know how the Church worships through full and conscious participation at Mass ad para-liturgies.
• Moral formation
  • Helping children to recognize, understand and express that each person is called as a disciple of Jesus to love, forgive and serve others.
• Teaching to pray
  • Helping children to learn to pray the way Jesus did: adoration, praise, thanksgiving, filial confidence, supplication, and awe.
• Education for community life
  • Building a sense of community life in order to come to an understanding of the Church as Communal life.
• Missionary initiation
  • Assisting children to become disciples of Christ, active in society and able to witness to, share their faith, and act on behalf of that faith for charity and justice.

It is the hope that all Religious Education programs will offer faith formation courses that are not only comprehensive in knowledge of the faith but instrumental in leading all students to a love of God and an active participation in the life of the Church.  Since every culture brings unique expressions of faith to society, every religious education program should strive to be sensitive to cultural diversity and incorporate the prayers and traditions of their multi- ethnic populations.
 
The Goals of Catechesis
 
The goals of catechesis for elementary school catechists emanate from the three major goals of adult catechesis as proposed in the Church document:  Our Hearts Were Burning within Us: A Pastoral Plan for Adult Faith Formation in the United States.
  Specifically, these goals include:
1) to invite and enable ongoing conversion to Jesus in holiness of life,
2) to promote and support active membership in the Christian Community, and,
3) to call and prepare adults to act as disciples in mission to the world.  (OHWB: 2005, #68, 70, 72)
 
Curriculum Guidelines for elementary religious education facilitate the accomplishment of the broader goals for catechesis.  The process of evangelization to proclaim the Word and hand it down to future generations is key to every vibrant religious education program.  “Evangelizing is, in fact, the grace and vocation proper to the Church, her deepest identity.  She exists in order to evangelize.” (EN: 1975, #14)  An integral element in catechesis is learning by discipleship.  Curriculum guidelines strive to bring about that conversion to Jesus Christ that fosters an active decision to walk in the steps of Jesus.  Religious literacy for every student of the Gospel should be a priority so that they will know the truths of the faith and be able to communicate them with clarity.  Finally, religious education guidelines should engender the concept of life long faith formation since faith is a journey that begins at Baptism and ends when we are welcomed home to the Father.
 
With the three major goals of catechesis as an umbrella, religion curriculum guidelines need to support major objectives that encompass a comprehensive learning and living of the faith.   Catechesis should be systematic and comprehensive so that children will be taught all the truths of the faith (i.e. the objective truths revealed by God in the life and work of Jesus Christ and the teaching of the Apostles continuing to our day in the Magisterium). Every grade should offer appropriate key concepts and knowledge that support the six tasks of catechesis mentioned in the “Purpose” for Religion Education Guidelines.  The “tasks,” if accomplished, will send out to the world disciples who know the faith, live the faith, and have missionary zeal to pass it on to future generations.  These disciples will actively participate in the liturgical and communal life of the parish and have a universal understanding of the Church’s rightful place in the modern world.

Outcome-Based Education
 
The Religious Education Curriculum Guidelines contain a set of objectives for the children to meet on every grade level.  These objectives encompass the six tasks of Catechesis which include:

1. Promoting knowledge of the faith
2. Liturgical education
3. Moral formation
4. Teaching to pray
5. Education for community life
6. Missionary initiation

These tasks as stated in the General Directory of Catechesis (GDC: 1997, #85) provide the framework for the religious education outcomes to be met in every level from Pre-Kindergarten through Eighth Grades.  Catechists, in their planning and preparation, should consider a variety of assessment tools to determine that the objectives of the Religious Education Curriculum Guidelines are taught and ultimately learned by the students so that they can pursue their faith journeys to become fully initiated, faith-filled Catholics.