RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

                                                           RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

                   In India, there are a number of private schools run by religious institutions, especially for Hindus, Muslim, Christians, Jains and Buddhists.During the era of British rule,Christian private schools were quite prominent and widely attended by both UK (British) and Indian students. Many of the schools established during this era, especially in areas with a heavy Christian population, are still in existence today.

                  In modern-day schools, Hindu students are typically taught the Bhagavad Gita, which explains the ethics and duty of a person, as well as one's relationship with Krishna,God. This is taught in Vaishnavism, the Hindu sect for which the Gita holds the most importance. Students are also taught the Sanskrit language, and Vedic ) philosophy. Other Hindu religious texts, including the Upanishads and ltihasas , are studied in these contexts, in both religious and secular schools.

                  The International Society of Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), has set up a number of schools - gurukulas, as well as modern day schools - which concurrently provide a traditional material and spiritual Vedic education.  Sri Mayapur  International School, perhaps one of the best known of these day schools, is a school for primary and secondary students; the school teaches academic education according to the standard UK curriculum, alongside devotional subjects of bhajan/kirtan singing and instrumentation and also Gaudiya Vaishnava philosophy.ISKCON has instituted a number of seminaries and schools of tertiary higher education. In addition to typical formal education, ISKCON also offers specialized religious/spiritual instructional programs in scriptural texts, standardized by the ISKCON Ministry for Educational Development and the GBC committee on Vaisnava Training & Education, categorized by level and difficulty; in India, they are primarily provided by the Mayapur Institute for Higher Education and Training and the Vrindavan Institute for Higher Education. ISKCON also offers instruction in archana, or murti worship and devotional ceremony, through the Mayapur Academy.

                 In addition to regular formal education, a number of religious institutions have instituted regular informal religious/spiritual education programs for children and adults. ISKCON temples have established a number of such programs.

                 Religious Education in the Catholic school is distinctive because of its focus on the faith development of children and young people within the context of a faith community.  Its central purpose is to assist learners to make an informed, mature response to God's call to relationship.

                 The invitation of Jesus Christ for all people to live life in all its fullness is the challenge that lies at the heart of Religious Education within a Catholic school. Religious Education can respond to this challenge by facilitating regular reflection upon the impact of the message of Catholic Christian faith on learners’ understanding of life and on their personal response to their life circumstances.

                  Religious Education in the Catholic school endeavours to promote the relevance of the Catholic faith to everyday human life and experience. Understanding that God’s grace is at work in all people’s lives, Religious Education makes explicit what has already been experienced to varying degrees in the lives of all learners.

                 Teachers in Catholic schools will be aware of the spectrum of faith commitment among learners. For all learners, Religious Education can contribute to a personal search for meaning, value and purpose in their personal response to the revelation of God and, as such, should be central to their educational development.

faith development

          The development of faith through Religious Education in a Catholic school is understood to be an event of grace, realised in the encounter of the Word of God with the experience of the person.

In showing fidelity to God, Religious Education places stress on the following aspects of Catholic Christian faith:

• the Mystery of the Trinity
• the person of Jesus
• the revelation of God
• the mystery of the risen Christ
• the Church’s liturgy
• the importance of prayer
• the moral life
• witness to Christian values
• the universality of God's presence in life.

In showing fidelity to the person, the religious education of young people takes cognisance of:

• their religious and spiritual situations
• their stage of development in searching for meaning
• the pace and direction possible for them in their spiritual and religious development
• the respect due to their own developing consciences and convictions
• their individual characters and personalities
• their own language, symbols, experience and subcultures
• the questions and issues that arise in their lives.

journeying in faith

       Fidelity to God will always mean being faithful to the fullness of Divine Revelation in Jesus Christ. At the same time, fidelity to the person will require that religious education be presented in ways which enable young people to recognise Divine Revelation as Good News precisely because it offers authentic meaning to the experiences of their lives.

      A person matures in faith through a journey of unfolding encounter with God which takes place within the context of a person’s total experience of life. One of the functions of Religious Education in the Catholic school is to provide learners with structured opportunities to experience this kind of encounter.