Reorienting the religion curriculum in Catholic schools to address the needs of contemporary youth spirituality

In the light of the changed landscape of contemporary spirituality explored in the previous issue of this journal (Rossiter, G.M. 2010. International Studies in Catholic Education 2, no. 2, 129–47), this follow-up article considers implications for Catholic school religion curricula in Australia, with the likelihood that this would also be relevant to Catholic schooling in other countries. A reorientation of the religion curriculum is proposed, giving more prominence to the critical interpretation and evaluation of cultural meanings. If many of the pupils in Catholic schools will not become actively involved in parishes, then religious education needs to offer more than familiarising them with Catholic theology and religious practice; it also needs to skill them in addressing the spiritual and moral issues they will encounter in life. Attention is given to what this entails in both content and pedagogy