The Church yesterday launched a consultative document on religious education in schools which calls for updated and modern textbooks and syllabi which are more in touch with today’s reality.

In a press conference held at the Curia, Adrian Gellel, sub-committee chairman of the Secretariat for Catechesis explained that the document took four years of extensive research and consultation to be drawn up.

The document states that an increasing number of teachers feel uncomfortable teaching religion mainly because they are no longer able to understand the religious language or are not familiar with religious tradition.

Spiritual education is completely absent from textbooks, resulting in many teachers emphasising learning in a parrot-like manner.

The document states that the religious textbooks “present the material in the scantiest manner” and while this method of teaching was acceptable 20 years ago, it is no longer sustainable in a society that has become more secular and is not familiar with religious stories.

Dr Gellel said the textbooks and syllabi both need to be updated as they no longer reflect today’s times and students and teachers can no longer relate to them.

He explained that the aim of the document was to make a clear distinction between religious education and catechesis.

“Catechesis lessons are there to help the student become a better Christian while the religious education lessons in school help lead to the holistic formation of the student,” he said.

Dr Gellel admitted that there is a very fine line between the two but pointed out that in a study carried out by the Curia, parents said they saw the validity of catechesis lessons.

The consultation document pushes the importance of moving from religious knowledge to religious education – a change in mentality that is proposed through increasing the number of lessons in Church schools, restructuring religious counselling and introducing religious education support teachers in primary schools.

The new changes mentioned in the document aim to empower students with a language that will enable them to live and face the challenges which, as Christians, they will face in their life, said Dr Gellel.

Through the new proposals, it is hoped that the updated religious education lessons will be able to educate students holistically by helping them to construct their personal identity and assist them to live in a community while being morally and ethically responsible.

Another important proposal is introducing students to the “beauty found in other faiths” without losing out on the centrality of the Catholic faith, explained Dr Gellel.

“Such understanding is considered to be central for social conviviality and for living the good life,” he said.

The document can be downloaded from www.maltadiocese.org and will be discussed during a national conference at the Phoenicia hotel on Thursday 12 June at 8pm.