Religious Education

The Religious Education Curriculum at Loreto Normanhurst is unique among Catholic Schools. It has been designed to lead students through a process of exploration which is academic, experiential and formative. It belongs within our new Strategy for learning which places an emphasis on independent, student-centred learning where the student’s own lived experience constitutes the starting point for all learning strategies. The Program, as it has been developed for stages 4, 5 and 6, is faithful to the heart of our Catholic tradition and honours what we value most deeply within our own Ignatian / Mary Ward spiritual heritage. It seeks to contribute to the development of critical thinking skills and to establish a sound level of religious and spiritual literacy in students. It builds on our understanding of our tradition as a constantly evolving reality which requires our participation.

Students not only engage in a rigorous Catholic education but are exposed to the study of religion in its broader context. A substantial examination of the major and other religious traditions of the world is combined with a close study of the religious traditions more commonly found in our own Australian society. In this way our students grow in their awareness of their own rich and relevant religious tradition while acquiring sensitivity to the other religious traditions in our multi-cultural society and the skills and insight necessary to understand and critique their integrity.

The essential characteristics of the specifically Catholic dimension of the curriculum include the following:

• A positive anthropology which points to a benevolent understanding of the human condition.
• A conviction about the sacramentality of life and an understanding that there is always more to be found in the ordinary within our world.
• An emphasis on relationship and community which includes the belief that our tradition is primarily about inclusion of others and exposure of truth.
• A commitment to history and tradition which sees us honouring the legacy of wisdom in such disciplines as art, science and literature.
• An appreciation of wisdom rationality which is found within our emphasis on a reflective way of knowing.
• A unique and precious spirituality which focuses on the transformative potential of Christian discipleship. A spirituality which seeks holiness for all and which understands conversion as a constant process.
• A desire for justice and a respect for values. Students are drawn to want to work for what is right and just, where service to humanity matters and making a difference for the better is what counts.
• A true “Catholicity” where students experience the Catholic world as one which offers a welcome to all. A Catholic experience which desires to understand the power of hospitality for good in the world and is open to the truth of the experiences of all of God’s people.

In the process of developing this curriculum, eight focus areas were identified as essential to our vision of Religious Education.

These are: Religion and Spirituality, Christianity and Catholicism, Scripture, Our Tradition / Charism, Church, Ethics, Prayer and Liturgy, World Religions. 

These focus areas are part of the academic, formative and experiential dimensions of the units of study from Years 7 to 12.  Integral to the structure of the curriculum is a spiral effect. No unit is seen in isolation or complete in itself.  Through the sequencing of the modules and the selection of options within the modules, students are enabled to develop and deepen their religious and spiritual literacy through the successive stages and units of study, building upon the knowledge, skills and experience gained in preceding units. As issues are explored in increasing depth, the curriculum is thus faithful to the developing maturity and understanding of the students.