RECENT news from the NCCA indicates that the religious education course committee is working hard to develop Junior and Leaving Certificate programmes in RE but that the new programmes are unlikely to be introduced before the academic year 1998-99.
RE will be an optional subject at both levels, Albert O Ceallaigh, who is director of the NCCA, stresses. Schools will decide for themselves whether they wish to offer the new RE exam programmes and also whether they wish to continue their current RE classes and other religious activities.
The NCCA has recently commenced work on the second drafts of the syllabuses, according to Anne Looney, who is education officer of the RE course committee.
Feedback from the consultation process, which followed the publication of the first drafts of the syllabus, is extremely positive, she adds. The main criticism has been that the courses are too long.
The introduction of state examination programmes in RE has been a thorny issue and the 1878 Education Act together with a number of articles in the Constitution have been regarded as barriers to the setting-up of such courses.
The 1878 Act debars the State from investing public money in religious education. "This means," says O Ceallaigh, "that RE teachers may be unable to gain access to funding for in-service training." However, the deletion of this section of the Act is under consideration as part of the new Education Bill, according to the Department of Education.
Meanwhile, article 44.2.3. of the Constitution states that: "the State shall not impose any disabilities or make any discrimination on the ground of religious profession, belief or status". And article 44.2.2 declares "the State guarantees not to endow any religion.
The NCCA is adamant that the new syllabuses will not create any constitutional problems.
"We have approached the subject from an educational point of view rather than a religious one there's a huge difference," Anne Looney says. According to the NCCA, the syllabuses are based on sound educational principles and it is knowledge, skills and understanding that will be assessed, rather than religious faith. "The draft syllabuses for RE in the curriculum for the Junior and Leaving Certificates arise out of the educational aims that are stated in the White Paper on Education," says O Ceallaigh.
"The White Paper states that one of the aims of education is to foster an understanding and critical appreciation of the values - moral, spiritual, religious, social and cultural which have been distinctive in shaping Irish society and cultural - which have been traditionally accorded respect in society The White Paper adopts an holistic approach to education - it regards the aim of education as not simply utilitarian i.e. to get jobs. Because of this definition the council believes that RE should take its rightful position within the school curriculum."
RE is currently going through a difficult period, O Ceallaigh says, and has been marginalised within the school curriculum. In many schools RE periods are being used to study other subjects - particularly in the exam years. "The problem is that RE is not an exam subject," he says. "Pupils have an expectation that they will be assessed in what they're taught and their achievements certificated as they are in other subjects."
The aim of Junior cycle RE is to provide students with a framework for encountering and engaging with the variety of religious traditions in Ireland and elsewhere, according to the NCCA.
The first draft of the Junior Certificate syllabus proposes a curriculum containing five sections entitled `The question of faith'; `Communities of faith'; `The foundations of religion' (a choice of either `Christianity' or `Major world religions'); `The celebration of faith' and `The moral challenge'.
The first draft of the Leaving Certificate programme contains two parts. In part one, students are required to study section one
`The search for meaning' - and either section two - `World religions', or section 3 `The origins of Christianity'. In part two, students are required to study three out of seven sections - `Women, religion and the Christian tradition', `Issues of justice and peace', `Religion and spirituality in Ireland'. `Spirituality: worship, prayer and ritual', `The Bible: literature and sacred text', `Religion and science' and `Moral decision making'. However, these drafts are subject to change.
But are these courses intended for Catholic children only?
"There's no way that a child's faith or non-faith is an issue - anyone can take these courses," Anne Looney stresses.
"We have representatives from the four major Christian churches on the course committee and we have consulted with representatives from a wide range of faiths including Buddhists, Jews, Muslims and also humanists." However, a special place is reserved for Christianity in the syllabuses because the Christian religions are those which have the greatest influence in our society, she says. "Wherever we are we encounter Christianity it shapes our lives and impacts on our society."
"It's important that we expose children to the ethical traditions of the major religions and actively promote the values of tolerance and mutual understanding. There are agreed RE syllabuses in Northern Ireland and in other parts of the world, and it's high time that we have them in this country," says Looney.
