Meaning of the term "religious education"

[Jennifer132]

I’m sure that this is an ignorant question, but being new to Catholicism, I am not certain what the term means. Our parish is connected to a school too, so I wasn’t sure if it had to do with the schoolchildren only (my children do not attend the parish school), or if religious education was something akin to Protestant “Sunday School” or something else entirely. The bulletin says that registration is ongoing. So what is elementary religious education, when does it take place, and what happens there?

 

[Lou2U]

At my secular school, RE was like an overview of the different world religions - Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Sikhism, Hinduism and Buddhism were the ones I can remember. We were taught a bit about the different denominations and they weren’t taught in true or false, but “X believes this, Y believes this, Z believes this”.

Since the school is connected to the Parish, I imagine it’ll put more of an emphasis on Christianity and teach it to be true, but it’ll probably cover other religions as well.

Lou

 

[DiZent]

Hi Jennifer.

I am a 3rd grade Catechist aide. Our parish also has a school, and a religious education program. Children who attend the parish school receive religious education as part of the school curriculum. Children who attend public school are registered in the Religious Ed program. I would call it “Sunday School Plus”. Most Parish Religious Ed programs run from Grade K-8, with additional youth programs for teens & young adults & Sacrament prep programs. Some parishes hold the classes on a weeknight or stagger the classes in between Sunday Masses. The Catechists are trained volunteers. There are several different curricula that the parish can choose. We use the same one that the Parish School uses (Faith & Life from Ignatius Press) adapted for a 1x/week class. I like it a lot.

If you have children that will be in public school, definitely find out about the Parish Religious Ed program.

 

[Jennifer132]

Hi Jennifer.

I am a 3rd grade Catechist aide. Our parish also has a school, and a religious education program. Children who attend the parish school receive religious education as part of the school curriculum. Children who attend public school are registered in the Religious Ed program. I would call it “Sunday School Plus”. Most Parish Religious Ed programs run from Grade K-8, with additional youth programs for teens & young adults & Sacrament prep programs. Some parishes hold the classes on a weeknight or stagger the classes in between Sunday Masses. The Catechists are trained volunteers. There are several different curricula that the parish can choose. We use the same one that the Parish School uses (Faith & Life from Ignatius Press) adapted for a 1x/week class. I like it a lot.

If you have children that will be in public school, definitely find out about the Parish Religious Ed program.

Thank you, that was very helpful! Does RE typically cost? And how much?

 

[DiZent]

Thank you, that was very helpful! Does RE typically cost? And how much?

Check with your parish. Ours does have a cost. I think it is around $100/year, but they will work with each family depending on circumstances. No child is turned away for inability to pay. (Grandson’s Confirmation prep is $200, but that includes his retreat). Most of the parents I talk to believe their child is getting something valuable and they are willing to pay the fees. My Protestant friends, however, are aghast that we Catholics pay for Sunday School.

 

[1ke]

I’m sure that this is an ignorant question, but being new to Catholicism, I am not certain what the term means. Our parish is connected to a school too, so I wasn’t sure if it had to do with the schoolchildren only (my children do not attend the parish school), or if religious education was something akin to Protestant “Sunday School” or something else entirely. The bulletin says that registration is ongoing. So what is elementary religious education, when does it take place, and what happens there?

Yes. It is akin to Sunday School although in many places it isn’t on a Sunday. For children preparing for sacraments there is also additional preparation those years.

 

[1ke]

Thank you, that was very helpful! Does RE typically cost? And how much?

That’s going to vary. In our parish it’s free. In others, it may have a cost for books, materials, even teacher stipends. In my experience, religious ed also has waivers available for those unable to pay when a fee is involved.

 

[pianistclare]

Everything 1ke said.
All children who are not enrolled in a Catholic school (where they receive catechesis daily) should be enrolled in Formation.
It’s called:
Religious Ed
Faith Formation
PSR (Parish School of Religion)

They may have different programs for the grades past 5th.
In our Parish we run EDGE for MIddle School kids and LifeTeen for High School students.

We also have Faith Formation (what we call Continuing Conversion) for adults
and RCIA for converts. All of these things fall under the umbrella of Religious Ed.

Cost varies widely, but no one is ever turned away at our parish. It’s just another service we offer.

Paying the tuition is a big help to the Pastor is securing the best materials for the children though.

 

[AdamP88]

I’m sure that this is an ignorant question, but being new to Catholicism, I am not certain what the term means. Our parish is connected to a school too, so I wasn’t sure if it had to do with the schoolchildren only (my children do not attend the parish school), or if religious education was something akin to Protestant “Sunday School” or something else entirely. The bulletin says that registration is ongoing. So what is elementary religious education, when does it take place, and what happens there?

I’m a teacher of RE in Ireland. The way it works here is that in Primary school children are usually prepared for the sacraments as most schools are connected with a parish. In High-School, there is a programme of religious education which covers a variety of faith traditions and philosophies. Most schools in Ireland are Catholic, so those schools are also free to develop their own programmes of Catechetical Catholic RE to instruct about the faith. I see it as an opportunity to teach something of the truth of the faith and try to give students accurate information on he Church. In my opinion, parents are responsible for the primary religious formation of their children. I certainly would not trust the school system to endow my child with a knowledge of the faith.