Truth, Beauty and Goodness: Dialogue with the Divine

Abstract

The nature of Catholic schools is ever-changing, as they increasingly draw upon young people from a wide variety of social, cultural and religious backgrounds. This has often impacted upon religious instruction and people’s commitment to and support of the mission and ecclesial identity of the school. For the greater part, Catholic schools are pluralistic in nature. This diversity has become more pronounced in recent decades with the emergence of cultural postmodernity, characterized by a significant shift in people’s core values, and their religious beliefs and practices. Catholic schools can effectively respond to these challenges, and to the diversity of their own communities through the provision of a robust Religious Education curriculum that is engaging, promotes dialogue and is characterized by quality pedagogical practices. Through the integration of the Liberal Arts, Sydney Catholic Schools found that Religious Education can be enriched by the search for ‘truth, beauty and goodness’, which represents a dialogue with the divine.

1. Introduction: The Vision of Christian Education

This year marks the sixtieth anniversary of the Second Vatican Council’s, Gravissimum Educationis, the Declaration on Christian Education. This seminal document provided a clear articulation of the nature and purpose of education, highlighting the preeminent role of parents as the first educators of their children in faith and life. While the acquisition of knowledge is an important part of education, Gravissimum Educationis highlighted that schools needed to offer holistic educational opportunities that promoted a love of learning, developed talents and social skills and fostered the full development of the human person. It has long been considered the ‘bedrock’ upon which Catholic schools have drawn their inspiration, evolved and flourished (Cleary 2015).

Gravissimum Educationis affirmed that all people have a universal and inalienable right to a quality education which is in accord with their cultural and religious background. This right does not spring solely from the fact that education can help people realize their full potential, develop social consciences and become people who can contribute to society; rather, it proceeds from their inherent human dignity. According to the declaration, “a true education aims at the formation of the human person in the pursuit of his ultimate end and of the good of the societies of which … he is a member.” Education should be directed towards both individual and social ends.

Through education, young people learn to responsibly exercise personal freedom, contribute to society through service, and develop their capacity for critical thinking and moral reasoning. Education can lead to empowerment and self-actualisation, and it is essential to the informed exercise of all other rights. Gravissimum Educationis detailed the distinctiveness of a Christian Education, where young people are “introduced to the knowledge of the mystery of salvation, become more aware of the gift of Faith they have received” (Vatican II 1965, n. 2), learn how to worship God through liturgy and through prayer aligning theirs to their beliefs by aligning their personal lives to religious values and truths.

The Declaration on Christian Education recognized that for young people to discover their inherent talents and capacities and fully, actively and meaningfully contribute to society, the culture and atmosphere of Catholic schools must be “animated by the Gospel spirit of freedom and charity” (Vatican II 1965, n. 8). It acknowledged that the mission of Catholic schools rested upon the partnership between the home and the school, and for this to be effective and bear fruit, there needed to be a congruence of values and a shared sense of purpose and mission from both teachers and parents.

This concept of ‘shared mission’ has become a salient and recurring theme in many of the Church’s core documents relating to Catholic education. It was framed as a “spirituality of communion” by St Pope John Paul II (2001, n. 43). This communion was the relationship between parents and teachers, and also that of consecrated people and the lay faithful. The spirituality of communion is a recognition of the diverse gifts of the spirit that exist within ecclesial communities, including Catholic schools, and the relationship of reciprocity that can emerge. The spirituality of communion is desired as the “living breath of the educational community” (Congregation for Catholic Education 2007, n. 16).

In the years following the promulgation of Gravissimum Educationis, the Catholic Church has consistently reframed and clarified the fundamental objectives of Catholic education. This has been in response to the ever-increasing effects of cultural postmodernity, which has impacted adversely upon the societal status of religion and has practical applications for the context of faith-based schools. According to Pope Francis, the secularism that has characterized postmodernity has tended to “reduce the faith and the Church to the sphere of the private and personal” (Francis 2013, n. 64). This trend has contributed to a growing relativism, which undermines absolute truths and promotes divergent interpretations of moral and spiritual principles.

Catholic schools are mission focused. By contributing to the evangelizing and catechizing nature and mission of the Church, they respond to the changing religious landscape, which has been increasingly associated with a rise in secularism and religious indifference. This can be considered to be an example of the ‘new evangelisation’, which was conceived as a response to the problems associated with cultural postmodernity.

2. The Impact of Cultural Postmodernity

The emergence of what has been termed ‘postmodernity’ in the latter half of the twentieth century has been used to help interpret and explain marked changes in religious beliefs and practices, especially in developed western societies. While there is no agreement between sociologists, philosophers and anthropologists as to the time of transition between modernity and postmodernity, the complex cultural shift in the 1960s is often considered to be a defining moment.

Cultural postmodernity has given rise to individualisation and ‘detraditionalisation’, both of which have impacted upon religious beliefs and practices throughout the Western world. As with many other social institutions, the authority of the Christian churches, and the plausibility of their narrative has been challenged. The privatization of faith has become increasingly prominent, as individuals have curated their own sets of social norms, values, and epistemological frameworks. In certain cases, the estrangement from numerous religious institutions is not solely attributable to a decline in belief, but rather to a perceived dissonance between individual value systems and the doctrinal tenets upheld by these churches. This phenomenon is particularly pronounced among younger demographics, where it manifests as ‘loose affiliation’ or ‘religious nominalism,’ indicating a disconnection that may allow for a personal spiritual identity without full adherence to institutional practices or beliefs (Cleary 2015).

Postmodernity has been characterized by a shift in the relationship between religion and spirituality. While the period has witnessed a decline in the public status and social prominence of religion, and its regular practice by adherents, there has been a significant growth in the number of people who describe themselves as ‘spiritual’ rather than ‘religious’ (Weigel 2013).

The proliferation and diffusion of spiritualities, including those which are secular in nature, does not mean however that people have totally abandoned the traditional form of ‘religious’ spirituality. Often young people draw upon an eclectic mix of religious and cultural influences in developing their bricolage of belief and practice, a trend noted by Hervieu-Léger (2006), who suggested the religious traditions “increasingly serve as symbolic repositories of meaning, available for individuals to subjectively use and reuse in different ways.” It is most apparent that many of those who self-describe as ‘spiritual’ represent a number of variations on the human search for God.

Despite the documented decline in religious practice and the rejection of metanarratives associated with postmodernity, sociologists have also pointed to a revival of religion in some parts of the Western world. According to Taylor (2007), many avowed ‘secularists’ eventually engage in forms of spiritual searching or return to religion itself because “life is fuller, richer, deeper [and] more worthwhile” (p. 5). The religio-spiritual dimension can help bring a sense of wholeness, purpose and meaning. The trend of ‘anatheism’ (Kearney 2010) has been especially common amongst groups of young people, and it suggests caution about making ‘generational generalizations’. Put simply, each and every generation is diverse and is characterized by divergent beliefs, values and practices.

3. The Contemporary Context of Catholic Schools

As increasingly multicultural, multi-faith societies, Australia and New Zealand are pluralistic in nature, and people are generally respectful of the diversity of other people’s beliefs and religious adherence. In recent decades, both nations have witnessed significant changes in people’s religious affiliations, beliefs and practices. These changes, largely adverse in nature, have been the result of the range of ideologies, ‘isms’, and socio-cultural trends associated with postmodernity. Postmodernity has given rise to a split between faith and culture, and the fragmentation of families and communities. It has been characterized by “pluralistic social norms and beliefs” (Hodge 2014) and a milieu of indifference to the Christian message.

Catholic schools do not exist within a social vacuum. Rather, they are influenced by, and sometimes reflect, the fabric and nature of the wider society. Catholic schools draw people together from diverse backgrounds and with different sets of beliefs. Shifts in demographics have impacted upon the religious profile of Catholic schools. While many students may identify as being ‘Catholic’, students are also drawn from other Christian denominations and Faith Traditions, and some are of no faith at all.

The plurality of Catholic schools extends beyond religious diversity, however, and encompasses socio-cultural, intellectual, social and psychological differences. Skeie (2002) asserts that distinctions do exist within pluralistic contexts: ‘traditional plurality’ represents a cohesive diversity and ‘modern plurality’ is associated with fragmentation. Skeie (2002) details the benefits of schools responding to and reflecting the “many forms of difference that constitute human life”, asserting that within Religious Education curricula and classrooms plurality should be accepted and respected. This can be achieved through a genuine dialogue that focuses on human concerns, not those of a particular social, cultural or religious group. A similar argument was made by Jackson (2013), who suggested that to be effective, the provision of Religious Education must recognize students’ diverse experiences and worldviews. Jackson’s work detailed the impact of postmodernity as contributing to the growing plurality of school communities.

Catholic schools are institutions of socialization, specifically religious socialization. They are concerned with the transmission of faith and contribute to the continuity of a religious tradition. However, this does not mean they are immutable. Rather, as institutions they will often experience changes in core values, norms, rituals and beliefs (Hervieu-Léger 1998). Hervieu-Leger has written extensively on the changes associated with postmodernity, referring to “ruptures of memory and to a reorganization of values” (1998). Therefore, this cultural discontinuity compels institutions of socialization to revisit and redefine their mission.

In 2022, the Congregation for Catholic Education released the instruction, ‘The identity of the Catholic school for a culture of dialogue’. Drawing upon a treasury of Church documents, the instruction highlights the unique positioning of Catholic schools as the ‘most valuable resource for the evangelisation of culture’ (Congregation for Catholic Education 2022, n. 95). At the same time, it recognized that some communities experience an ‘identity crisis’ because of divergent interpretations of being ‘Catholic’. This ambiguity is unhealthy, for it can lead to conflict and reduce the effectiveness of a school’s evangelical intent.

The instruction is highly relevant for Catholic schools in Australia and New Zealand because it explores how a unity of identity can be forged in the most diverse of communities. The Congregation affirms that, ‘everyone has the obligation to recognize, respect and bear witness to the Catholic identity of the school … this applies to the teaching staff, the non-teaching personnel, and the pupils and their families’ (n. 39). This emphasis upon ‘shared responsibility’ is very important because the community of the Catholic school involves an intersection of the Church, the family and the school. It will succeed in achieving its goals only if all these groups work together in a spirit of co-operation, respect each other’s role rights and expertise and share the same goals.

No community is impervious to change. Shifts in demographics, beliefs, attitudes and practices can change the very nature of a community. A new pastoral reality requires a renewal of missionary focus. As per the instruction, this missionary focus represents a model of “Church which goes forth in dialogue with everyone … and at the same time we need the courage to bear witness to a Catholic culture, that is universal, cultivating a healthy awareness of our own Christian identity” (n. 72).

If properly addressed, Catholic schools can create a culture of dialogue which is meaningful and which responds to the split between faith and culture.

Animated by the spirit of the Gospel, Catholic schools must be places of welcome, hospitality and service, where the seminal truths and values of a Catholic worldview are celebrated and shared, and a spirit of genuine community is fostered. Most importantly however, they must be Christocentric in nature and purpose and derive their identity from the person of Jesus Christ. They exist in the hope that all members will have a personal encounter with Jesus and be empowered in their Christian witness and discipleship.

As affirmed by the Congregation for Catholic Education, this ‘personal relationship with Christ enables the believer to look at the whole of reality in a radically new way’ (n. 20).

4. A Religious Typology of Catholic School Students

By their very nature, large groups of people are heterogeneous and generally comprise of a number of sub-groups. This remains true even when the group has a targeted audience, such as a faith-based school, and the participants share a common sense of purpose. While having common experiences, the various sub-groups and individual participants tend to interpret and value them differently. This is true of Catholic schools, which tend to be diverse in nature.

The existence of sub-groups has significant implications for the mission, vision and values of Catholic schools, for schools’ prioritization and understanding of Catholic identity and the teaching of Religious Education. Undertaking ethnographic research in three Catholic high schools in England, Casson (2012) identified eight different sub-groups or Catholic identities. Critically, it was found that religious socialization was a process, where a “student’s views of their Catholic identity appeared to be varied, fluid and fragmentary”.

In 2014, Sydney Catholic Schools introduced a Survey of Religious Attitudes and Practices. The survey involved students in Years 5, 7, 9 and 11. While school participation was optional, the survey was completed by students from 135 of the 147 systemic schools. Since then, the survey has been conducted on a biennial basis, and it has involved all systemic schools in the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney. This has enabled a longitudinal analysis of the research data.

The survey was developed to gain a deeper understanding of the ‘religiosity’ of young people in the Archdiocese of Sydney, and to inform approaches to, and models of, youth ministry and Religious Education. The survey includes ‘like’ questions to other empirical research with young people to enable comparisons between different population samples. The survey data (2014, 2016, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2024) showed that there were four main sub-groups in relation to religious attitudes and practices. The sub-groups are identified as: committed, involved, searching and disengaged.

4.1. Committed Students

Committed students demonstrated a high level of religiosity, marked by deep engagement with their faith through active participation in church life and regular worship. They prioritized personal prayer in their daily routines and felt comfortable discussing their beliefs with others. Their religious identity and commitment were further strengthened by peer support, which provided emotional stimulation and fulfilment, enhancing their sense of community and enriching their spiritual experiences. Committed students affirmed their support of Church teachings.

4.2. Involved Students

Students who actively engaged in their religious community demonstrated a strong appreciation for the significance of religion, emphasizing that an authentic expression of faith should be reflected in their Church participation. However, it is notable that their engagement did not consistently translate into regular religious practices, particularly in terms of Mass attendance. These students placed considerable value on personal prayer, indicating that their faith was primarily enacted through adherence to the teachings and exemplary life of Jesus Christ. Furthermore, they exhibited confidence in discussing their faith with family and peers, and many articulated a desire to deepen their understanding of their religious beliefs (Cleary 2018).

4.3. Searching Students

Searching students were ad hoc in their religious practices, some integrating both communal worship and individual prayer into their routines, others not. As a collective, they acknowledged the significance of religion, identifying it as a crucial source of personal meaning and a determinant of their everyday choices. These searching students recognized the necessity of respecting diverse religious beliefs and expressed a degree of comfort in adhering selectively to various religious teachings. Overall, they tended to prioritize personalized spirituality over strict adherence to a specific religious tradition, particularly emphasizing the enhancement of their relationship with the divine. Religion was viewed as important if it brought individuals a sense of meaning and purpose in life.

4.4. Disengaged Students

Disengaged students attributed little value to the importance of religion and this was reflected in their limited or no engagement in Church activities and having an absence of personal prayer in their daily lives. Those who acknowledged some value in religion typically distanced themselves from Mass attendance, viewing it as emblematic of ‘institutional religion.’ A notable segment of these disengaged students identified as atheist. Conversely, many individuals who professed belief in God displayed a lack of interest or commitment to religious tenets and practices. Some students did recognize social justice and outreach as a positive aspect of religious engagement. Disengaged students rarely or never spoke about religion with family and friends.

The profiles of the sub-groups provide general characteristics and should be considered accordingly. Individual student responses varied, meaning that the personal religiosity of some students did not always correspond with a single sub-group profile. Furthermore, each sub-group had sub-groups.

Analysis of the longitudinal survey data shows that students from Sydney Catholic Schools are drawn from across the religio-spiritual spectrum. The value of the data is multifaceted. Importantly, it not only points to the existence of various sub-groups, but it provides valuable insights into the worldviews of young people within those groups. This can enable a more intentional approach to the planning and teaching of Religious Education, both in content and pedagogy, so that it becomes a coherent and attractive source of influence, formation and socialization (Rymarz and Cleary 2017).

5. Restless Hearts

The Catholic Church teaches that “the desire for God is written in the human heart” (Catechism of the Catholic Church 1997, n. 27) and this desire results in a restless searching for the transcendent. It is from this notion of searching that the human person is described as homo viator, a life-long pilgrim (John Paul II 1998, n.7). The quest for the transcendent is not unique to any one creed or Faith Tradition. Rather, it might be described as an innate human characteristic.

Successive popes have put forward the view that despite living in an era characterized by secularism, where “God seems to have disappeared from the horizon of some people or to have become a reality that meets with indifference” there is a “reawakening of the religious sense” (Benedict XVI 2011), and that this reawakening has resulted from the religiosity of the human person, and their ‘restless heart’ (St Augustine Confessions, 1). Pope Benedict XVI suggested the human person is not just homo sapien but is also homo religiosus, concerned with the existential questions in life, and longing for the transcendent.

The image of the human person as homo religious and homo viator, yearning for the transcendent may not always be how teachers perceive their students, especially given the social statistics that point to the decline of religion and a lessening of young peoples’ belief in God. But despite this, it is clear that young people are searching for meaning in life, and often this search involves existential questioning Some young people find a sense of meaning through socialization, solidarity with others, or the achievement of a personal milestone, whereas others identify ‘epiphany moments’ in which they have had the realization of the transcendent.

Catholic schools are in a unique and privileged position because they can seek out ways to provide an environment which is conducive to the promotion of religious plausibility, opportunities for religious socialization and to strengthen the religious commitment of young people (Cleary 2015). While drawing students from across the religio-spiritual spectrum, Catholic schools still typically attract students with a level of religiosity or openness to faith that differentiates them from many young people in the general population where lives and worldviews are far removed from the Christian Tradition. At the same time, these faith-based institutions are highly diverse.

Rymarz (2024) has argued that a coherent response to the changed cultural realties of Catholic schools and the wider society, is that Religious Education curriculums are academically robust and prioritize dialogue, student engagement and pedagogical methodology. In faith-based schools, even those which are highly diverse, an emphasis on the knowledge of one’s own religious tradition, beliefs and practices strengthens religious plausibility and socialization and enables meaningful and genuine dialogue with people of other faiths (Griffiths 2001).

Catholic schools typically respond to the diversity of their communities through a common unifying goal: an interior journey of spiritual renewal centred on a search for meaning and an ultimate encounter and relationship with Jesus Christ. This ultimately, is the raison d’etre of Catholic schools. For this to be made possible, all young people are recognized as travellers, “thirsty for new horizons, hungry for justice and peace, searching for truth, longing for love, open to the absolute and the infinite” (Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People 1998, p. 24).

6. Truth, Beauty and Goodness

At World Youth Day XXIII, Pope Benedict challenged young people, “do not be fooled by those who see you as just another consumer in a market of undifferentiated possibilities, where choice itself becomes the good, novelty usurps beauty, and subjective experience displaces truth” (Benedict XVI 2008a). He was aware that truth, beauty and goodness transcend time, place and points of difference. They are at the heart of what it means to be human, and innately we are each drawn to them and fulfilled by them. Properly understood, truth, beauty are not siloed. Rather, a correlation and unity exists between them. For example, experiences are not solely beautiful—they are equally true and good.

Truth, beauty and goodness are transcendentals because they point to the divine, and for people of faith, God is revealed through each and is considered the source of each. They “are things that all people value and … are avenues of encounter with created reality, with another, and with God” (Salkeld 2023, p. 248). They often act as provocations to enduring and existential questions and they can help nurture our desire for God. Truth, beauty and goodness are not solely divine attributes. Rather, they are central to our own humanity as well. Through them, people can appreciate that they are created in the image and likeness of God, and that “their truth, their beauty and their goodness all reflect the infinite perfection of God” (Catechism of the Catholic Church 1997, n. 41).

The appreciation of beauty is highly significant as a human experience. We often encounter phenomena that can be classified as beautiful—whether through an inspiring musical composition, a masterful piece of art, or the awe-inspiring aspects of the natural world. These encounters operate on various cognitive and emotional levels. For some individuals, there is a profound appreciation for human creativity and innovation. For others, certain experiences transcend conventional categories, eliciting a sense of the sublime that is genuinely breathtaking (Cleary 2022).

Each however has a common thread: it makes us feel good; it uplifts our spirits and awakens within us an appreciation of what is good, true and beautiful. These moments appeal to our esthetic sense. Despite our differences we yearn for this sense to be stimulated and fulfilled. The appreciation of beauty is not determined by the postcode of one’s residence or one’s social, religious, or cultural background. It is deeply innate to the human person.

Human flourishing is not accidental. Rather, it must be nurtured through a consciousness that we were made for higher things. Beauty is central to this, for it ennobles us and brings meaning and profound joy to our lives. This approach is not something new for the church, because throughout her history, art, music and literature have been central to both catechesis and evangelization. St Pope John Paul II (1999, n. 10) reflected, that “true art has an affinity with faith … and remains a kind of bridge to religious experience”. The search for what is true, good and beautiful, and the contemplation of these things has inspired believers in every generation. Ultimately, we know too, that despite a myriad of societal changes, today’s younger generations are no different.

7. The Liberal Arts

The search for what is true, good and beautiful is typically borne out in the Liberal Arts approach to education. Through the Liberal Arts students learn how to responsibly exercise personal freedom for the betterment of self and others, how to contribute to society, and how to develop their capacity for critical thinking and moral reasoning. They experience an integral development of their humanness, where they flourish as virtuous and articulate individuals, and in which all facets of the human personality are drawn out.

The Liberal Arts is a highly effective way of engaging with educational communities that are diverse in nature because the approach serves to develop and nurture individual personalities, affirming their universal rights and acknowledging those of others, to fully, actively and meaningfully participate in and contribute to our society. In a very real way, the Liberal Arts reflect the etymological roots of education, which comes from the Latin e-ducere, meaning ‘to lead or draw out.’ The Liberal Arts is ‘freeing’ in nature, because it offers an education which will draw out people’s inherent talents and capacities, so that they might have life and have it to the full.

Traditionally, the Liberal Arts were a way of education that had its roots in Greek civilisation and philosophy, which were then built upon by great Christian thinkers like St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas. The fruits of this classical approach to learning can be seen in great literature, philosophy, music, art, science and other areas of human endeavour. This classical approach to education remains highly relevant today. This is evidenced in the Alice Springs (Mparntwe) Declaration (Education Council 2019) which highlights the importance of a wholistic education which prioritizes young peoples intellectual, physical, social, emotional, moral, spiritual and esthetic development and wellbeing.

Through the Liberal Arts, students can not only excel academically, but also develop a profound connection with the enduring legacy of human thought. Through this approach, students

• seek truth,
• find and apply wisdom,
• strive for excellence, and
• discover virtue, wisdom and joy.

The Liberal Arts awaken within students an appreciation of and desire for what is good, true and beautiful, and an understanding of the interrelationship between them. In Evangelii Gaudium, Pope Francis reflected, “proclaiming Christ means showing that to believe in and to follow him is not only something right and true, but also something beautiful, capable of filling life with new splendour and profound joy, even in the midst of difficulties. Every expression of true beauty can thus be acknowledged as a path leading to an encounter with the Lord Jesus” (Francis 2013, n. 167).

While Catholic schools are generally pluralistic in nature themselves, the Liberal Arts pedagogies and content have an explicitly religious emphasis. Through them, students learn about the Catholic Tradition, and the place of the Church in a modern pluralistic society. Students come to value and appreciate the nature of Divine Revelation and the role of faith and reason in the Catholic Tradition and the lives of Catholics. The religious identity of Catholic schools is not compromised or diluted or presented with ambiguity. Nor is it presented with triumphalism. Rather, the religious identity of Catholic schools is informed by dialogue that promotes universal truths, the common good and mutual respect.

The Liberal Arts are not utilitarian or transactional in nature. They are directed towards both individual and social ends, with a core goal of nurturing within students, virtues and good habits in order to contribute to the common good. They recognize that if a young person acquires knowledge, but not the capacity for moral reasoning, they are diminished personally. To this end, an explicit intention of Liberal Arts pedagogies is the nurturing of the intellectual, emotional, social, moral and spiritual capacities of each student. In saying this, the Liberal Arts do not assume that all students have the same interest s, talents and abilities. Rather, they are differentiated in their content and delivery, so as to address the diversity of student needs and to draw out their uniquely inherent talents and capacities. The approach is inspired by the assurance of Jesus, ‘I have come so that you may have life and have it to the full’ (John 10:10).

8. Integrating the Liberal Arts into Religious Education

In 2018, the NSW Educational Standards Authority (NESA 2018), endorsed Studies in Catholic Thought as a Content Endorsed Course for students in Years 11 and 12 in Catholic schools across NSW. The course introduces students to the theological, historical, religious, ethical and philosophical aspects of the Catholic Tradition. While the course specifically deepens students’ awareness and appreciation of the depth and breadth of the Catholic Tradition, and the richness of its patrimony, it has been well received by students from a range of religious and cultural backgrounds. This is important because the cultivation of human values sits at the heart of Catholic education and the “teaching of the Catholic religion is called to develop the disposition for a respectful and open dialogue” (Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelisation 2020, n. 315).

Both students and teachers have affirmed the robust nature of the course, the intensive study of the Catholic Tradition—its historical foundations and development, and the explicit connections between faith and life. The course is viewed as stimulating and challenging as it integrates a range of academic disciplines. While the acquisition of knowledge, especially that of Scripture and Tradition, is central to Studies in Catholic Thought, the programme also promotes a love of learning, and the nurturing of students’ critical capacity to make decisions on the basis of sound reasoning. They learn how to responsibly exercise personal freedom for the betterment of self and others and how to function and contribute to society.

Following the successful introduction of Studies in Catholic Thought in 2018, the Mission and Identity directorate of Sydney Catholic Schools began a process of embedding Liberal Arts pedagogies and content into the Years 3-10 Religious Education curriculum. Through their study of Religious Education, students were provided with opportunities to explore theology, philosophy, ethics, history, art, architecture, music and poetry. This diversification of the curriculum has enriched teaching and learning programmes considerably and has stimulated students’ sense of Catholic imagination.

The integration of the Liberal Arts into Religious Education was implemented systematically, driven primarily through teacher professional development. The K-10 Religious Education curriculum of the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney has a five-strand structure:

• Strand A: Scripture and Jesus
• Strand B: Church and Community
• Strand C: God, Religion and Life
• Strand D: Prayer, Liturgy and Sacraments
• Strand E: Morality and Justice

For each year/grade level, each strand has explicit objectives, outcomes, compulsory scripture, statements of learning and essential questions. Each strand also has the same number of indicative teaching and learning hours. The scope and sequence of teaching and learning units has been designed from the perspective of a matrix model. That is, teachers will integrate content and resources vertically within a stand across a range of year levels, and horizontally into the other strands at the same year level. This has been done to great effect.

The integration of the Liberal Arts into Religious Education is a collaborative project between the Mission and Identity directorate of Sydney Catholic Schools and classroom teachers of Religious Education. Its starting point has been a ‘teach the teacher’ model to develop people’s awareness of Liberal Arts content and pedagogies, and where possible identify Liberal Arts animators or champions across the 147 schools in the Archdiocese of Sydney. This has been actively supported by critical external friends with expertise in the field, including the academic staff of Campion College, a Liberal Arts College, and Dr Peter Mudge.

The professional development experiences have focused on an individual strand of the Religious Education curriculum each day. They are highly practical in nature and involve the sharing of resources and teaching strategies for individual units, as well as explicit connections to other units through the use a matrix model. The professional learning experiences model Liberal Arts pedagogies, e.g., Socratic dialogue (Clark and Jain 2016), the place of enduring and existential questions (D’Souza 2016) and the explicit use and integration of the transcendentals: truth, beauty and goodness (Caldecott 2009). The approach is designed so that teachers continue to work together as professional learning communities after strand days and use the Liberal Arts to develop and modify their Religious Education programmes as they are trialled ‘in situ’. In their evaluations, teachers have validated the approach as being highly effective.

Dr. Peter Mudge supported the Liberal Arts integration with teachers of Years 9 and 10 Religious Education. He used the metaphor of a planet and its six moons to describe Liberal Arts examples that should be chosen (Mudge 2024). According to Mudge, each unit should have a foundational stimulus which relates to other Liberal Arts examples from a range of disciplines, including: Scripture, Creation, Art & Film, History, Architecture, Classical Writing, Sacred Music, and Philosophy and Theology. Importantly, the treatment of these works should not be cursory or shallow but enable students to explore their interrelated nature. Mudge asserts that examples should be chosen which will be of interest to students, not too ‘cerebral’ in nature and which are open to layers of interpretation. By using this selection criteria, teaching and learning resources will have a broad-based appeal to a diverse range of students.

Truth, Beauty and Goodness were the pillars upon which Liberal Arts pedagogies and content were integrated within the Religious Education curriculum. In Evangelii Gaudium, Pope Francis highlighted the value of the ‘way of beauty’ (via pulchritudinis), not as “fostering an esthetic relativism which would downplay the inseparable bond between truth, goodness and beauty, but rather a renewed esteem for beauty as a means of touching the human heart”(n. 167).

The ‘way of beauty’ has become the principal driver of the Liberal Arts in Religious Education. This has been intentional. Truth and goodness are often contested, and given our highly secularized and relativistic culture, they “have a diminished ability to move minds and hearts. But the via pulchritudinis still has the power to capture the imagination and win souls” (Conley 2024). The experience of beauty is transformative, for it evokes within us a sense of wonder and awe and deepens our capacity for contemplation and reflection. It is transcendent in nature for it points beyond itself: “beauty, kind of a mirror to the divine, vivifies young hearts and minds” (Benedict XVI 2007).

9. Conclusions

The social and cultural milieu of Western nations poses significant challenges to the mission and conduct of faith-based schools. It is within this culture that a great number of people develop a personal spirituality which rarely draws upon religious traditions. It is a spirituality which can be described as secular, individualistic, subjective and self-reliant.

Catholic schools are distinguished by their religious dimension, characterized by the transmission of faith, the interrelationship between faith and culture, and an atmosphere that promotes the authentic development of the whole person. Central to this development is the priority given to religious instruction, enabling young people to know, understand, celebrate and live-out their faith (Cleary 2015). In Australia and New Zealand, Catholic schools tend to be diverse, drawing upon students from a range of Religious Traditions and from across the religio-spiritual spectrum. As has been the case, this diversity need not be an impediment to the success of Catholic education. For the greater part, Catholic schools are pluralistic in nature and offer an education where “interreligious encounter is unavoidable” (Congregation for Catholic Education 2013, n. 55). In these contexts, there is an openness to plurality and difference, and an integral and respectful humanism is developed. This promotes tolerance and solidarity and helps foster the personal and spiritual growth of each person.

This positive milieu can be in part attributed to the search for truth, beauty and goodness promoted through the integration of the Liberal Arts in Religious Education. Insights from the Liberal Arts can help students “to read insightfully, think rigorously, and speak articulately … and bring creativity, beauty and well-reasoned ideas into the world” (Mudge 2024). They have stimulated the imagination and our sense of wonder and awe, nurtured a sense of empathy and inspired curiosity. They have helped us explore the great and enduring questions about life and death, the nature of suffering, belief in God and our personal search for meaning. Ultimately, they have been our dialogue with the divine. A dialogue with the divine is not restricted to one religious group or another. Rather, it is an innately human characteristic. This ‘hungering for God’ was a key message of Pope Benedict XVI at World Youth Day in Sydney. He said,

There are times when we might be tempted to seek a certain fulfilment apart from God … but where does this lead? … God is with us in the reality of life, not the fantasy! It is embrace, not escape, we seek!

(Benedict XVI 2008b)