The Five Content Strands
Religious Education in a Catholic school takes seriously the mission of the Church to engage with the Gospel and Catholic Tradition in all its wisdom, complexity and challenge. The content of the learning in Religious Education is organised around five strands.
Strand Overviews
A statement for each strand encapsulates the Catholic theological understandings to be explored and developed with students throughout their years of Catholic education. The strands are interconnected and the statements note these connections.
STRAND A
Scripture and Jesus
God’s revelation is freely and lovingly communicated through: the natural world; the tradition of the people of Israel; the early Christian Church; and most particularly through Jesus Christ. The Scriptures are texts of faith, mediating this interaction. Christians engage with the Bible as the living Word of God in human words, giving meaning to their lives. They also use it in liturgy and ritual, and pray with it as a means of encounter with Jesus Christ (link to Prayer, Liturgy and Sacrament). Texts of other traditions are appreciated in the light of the relationship that Christians have with the Bible (link to God, Religion and Life). This content area grapples with the questions, ‘How can I know God? What does God ask of me?’
STRAND A – Scripture and Jesus
God’s revelation is freely and lovingly communicated through: the natural world; the tradition of the people of Israel; the early Christian Church; and most particularly through Jesus Christ. The Scriptures are texts of faith, mediating this interaction. Christians engage with the Bible as the living Word of God in human words, giving meaning to their lives. They also use it in liturgy and ritual, and pray with it as a means of encounter with Jesus Christ (link to Prayer, Liturgy and Sacrament). Texts of other traditions are appreciated in the light of the relationship that Christians have with the Bible (link to God, Religion and Life). This content area grapples with the questions, ‘How can I know God? What does God ask of me?’ Read More…
STRAND B Church and Community
Church is the community of Jesus’ disciples, united in and through the Word of God as expressed in Scripture and the living Tradition (link to Scripture and Jesus). The Word of God continues to be encountered, celebrated and lived out in the Church. The mission of the Church is to build up the common life of believers and to reach out in dialogue and shared action for the common good (link to God, Religion and Life). Each generation of the Church discerns the message of the Word of God for the contemporary context (link to Morality and Justice). This content area grapples with the questions, ‘Where do I belong? How can I make a difference?’
STRAND B – Church and Community
Church is the community of Jesus’ disciples, united in and through the Word of God as expressed in Scripture and the living Tradition (link to Scripture and Jesus). The Word of God continues to be encountered, celebrated and lived out in the Church. The mission of the Church is to build up the common life of believers and to reach out in dialogue and shared action for the common good (link to God, Religion and Life). Each generation of the Church discerns the message of the Word of God for the contemporary context (link to Morality and Justice). This content area grapples with the questions, ‘Where do I belong? How can I make a difference?’ Read more…
STRAND C
God, Religion and Life
Human beings seek meaning, value, and happiness in life, both individually and in relationships with others. Many religious traditions propose that this search is met and responded to by a transcendent power. From this encounter with the transcendent come worldviews, rituals and ethical norms that characterise a religious tradition (link to Prayer, Liturgy and Sacrament). Christians recognise this transcendent other in the relational Trinitarian God (link to Scripture and Jesus) who is both the source and fulfilment of the human quest for unity, truth, beauty and goodness (link to Morality and Justice). This content area grapples with the questions, ‘What is life? How do I find meaning?’
STRAND C – God, Religion and Life
Human beings seek meaning, value, and happiness in life, both individually and in relationships with others. Many religious traditions propose that this search is met and responded to by a transcendent power. From this encounter with the transcendent come worldviews, rituals and ethical norms that characterise a religious tradition (link to Prayer, Liturgy and Sacrament). Christians recognise this transcendent other in the relational Trinitarian God (link to Scripture and Jesus) who is both the source and fulfilment of the human quest for unity, truth, beauty and goodness (link to Morality and Justice). This content area grapples with the questions, ‘What is life? How do I find meaning?’ Read more…
STRAND D Prayer, Liturgy and Sacraments
Public rituals and personal prayer practices are central to many religious traditions, which express the human quest for spiritual union (link to God, Religion and Life). Catholics understand sacraments as the mediation of divine grace through rituals, of the supernatural through the natural, where the sacred is encountered in the everyday. As the source and summit, the Eucharist leads members more deeply into the communal life of the Church (link to Church and Community) and the mystery of Christ’s life, death and resurrection, providing nourishment for Christian living (link to Scripture and Jesus). Prayer and sacraments promote an inner, personal response and a commitment to the Church’s mission in the world (link to Morality and Justice). This content area grapples with the questions, ‘Where is God? In whom do I trust?’
STRAND D – Prayer, Liturgy and Sacraments
Public rituals and personal prayer practices are central to many religious traditions, which express the human quest for spiritual union (link to God, Religion and Life). Catholics understand sacraments as the mediation of divine grace through rituals, of the supernatural through the natural, where the sacred is encountered in the everyday. As the source and summit, the Eucharist leads members more deeply into the communal life of the Church (link to Church and Community) and the mystery of Christ’s life, death and resurrection, providing nourishment for Christian living (link to Scripture and Jesus). Prayer and sacraments promote an inner, personal response and a commitment to the Church’s mission in the world (link to Morality and Justice). This content area grapples with the questions, ‘Where is God? In whom do I trust?’ Read more…
STRAND E Morality and Justice
In the light of the Scriptures, the human person is understood to be created ‘in the image and likeness of God’ (Gen 1: 26) and called into a new existence through Christ (link to Jesus and Scripture). This call gives rise to the unique freedom, dignity, and responsibility of human beings. It requires a process of moral discernment that holds together our nature as humans and the Christian vision of freedom and dignity in all areas of life: personal and relational integrity, economic and political participation, technological and ecological responsibility. Christians cooperate with all people to foster human flourishing, right relationship and the common good (link to God, Religion and Life). This content area grapples with the questions, ‘Who ought I be? How must I respond?’
STRAND E – Morality and Justice
In the light of the Scriptures, the human person is understood to be created ‘in the image and likeness of God’ (Gen 1: 26) and called into a new existence through Christ (link to Jesus and Scripture). This call gives rise to the unique freedom, dignity, and responsibility of human beings. It requires a process of moral discernment that holds together our nature as humans and the Christian vision of freedom and dignity in all areas of life: personal and relational integrity, economic and political participation, technological and ecological responsibility. Christians cooperate with all people to foster human flourishing, right relationship and the common good (link to God, Religion and Life). This content area grapples with the questions, ‘Who ought I be? How must I respond?’ Read more…
