Religious Education

Religious education addresses how students view themselves and others in their social and religious contexts.  In turn, this helps students understand and respond to the world around them.  Religious education courses help students become self-motivated problem solvers equipped with the skills and knowledge that will enable them to face their changing world with confidence.  This is accomplished through practical experience, discussion, debate, research, reflection, prayer and discernment, and the development of critical and creative thinking skills.  Moreover, religious education courses are sensitive to the rhythms of the liturgical seasons as well as incorporating experiential opportunities for prayer and reflection.  Indeed, such opportunities will help students progress from a simple acquisition of religious knowledge (the "what"), to a consideration of its meaning (the "so what"), to an appropriation of that meaning into their lives (the "now what").  This dynamic informs the structure of the strands across all grades and programs.

In the LDCSB, the Humanities subject areas known as world religions and philosophy come under the realm of Religious Education.  These Humanities/Religious Education courses explore fundamental questions and ideas about human nature and the human condition.

All courses in Religious Education are characterized by the following five big ideas:

• Religious Knowledge and Literacy includes teaching, understanding and using appropriately the language of the faith and Tradition
• Catholic-Christian Anthropology includes the understanding of the Catholic Tradition regarding what it means to be human/a person
• Theological Reflection includes the Christian/human search for meaning and understanding of life in the context of our relationship with God
• Living Moral Lives includes developing one's conscience in order that sound moral choices and judgments in both the personal and social spheres of life can be made
• Celebrating in the Faith Community includes the various ways the Church expresses its faith in worship and prayer, primarily to the actions that demonstrate thankful awareness of God's presence in the world