Engaging Religious Plurality Within Australian and New Zealand Catholic Schools: Particularity in Dialogue with Diversity

1. Introduction

Catholic schools in Australia and New Zealand educate young people within a context of unprecedented social, cultural, and religious diversity. The shifting religious demographics of both nations, the rise of student agency, curriculum preferencing, and the imperatives of inclusion and wellbeing have caused Catholic educators to reconsider the purposes, practices, and pedagogies of Religious Education (RE). This volume brings together twelve contributions originally published as individual contributions within a Special Issue of Religions. This integrated work now brings together these papers and sheds light on the evolving landscape of RE, offering conceptual insight, empirical research, practical guidance, and emerging innovations to support Catholic schools as they engage with plurality while remaining faithful to mission.

The collection responds to a central question: How might Catholic schools sustain a distinctive religious identity while authentically engaging the diverse beliefs, cultures, and experiences of their students? Across these chapters, the contributors explore this question through the lenses of curriculum, pedagogy, dialogue, formation, policy, and contextual realities in both Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. The result is a coherent, forward-facing account of contemporary RE, one marked by openness, creativity, and fidelity.

2. Reimagining Mission and Meaning in a Plural Context

The volume opens with Anthony Cleary’s Truth, Beauty and Goodness: Dialogue with the Divine, which frames the challenge of mission in a context where Catholic schools welcome students of many traditions. Cleary argues that RE must reclaim its deepest purpose: mediating an encounter with truth, beauty, and goodness. Rather than being diminished by pluralism, Catholic identity can be enriched through meaningful dialogue, aesthetic sensitivity, and an approach to RE that transcends mere instruction. His chapter sets a theological and philosophical tone for the collection, foregrounding the inextricable relationship between mission and pedagogical renewal.

The theme of context shaping mission is further developed in Paul Sharkey’s Faith Inside an Immanent Frame. Drawing on Charles Taylor, Sharkey examines the lived reality of faith within a culture often characterised by secularity and pragmatism. He considers how leaders and teachers might navigate the tensions between the transcendent claims of the Catholic tradition and the immanent sensibilities of contemporary students. His reflection highlights the importance of interpretive skill, theological literacy, and a renewed attentiveness to the formative ecology of the school.

3. Voices from the Classroom: Students and Teachers

Several chapters foreground the experiences and perspectives of those closest to the work of RE: students and teachers.

Two papers examine the voice of students as a catalyst for curriculum reform in Aotearoa New Zealand. Colin MacLeod’s “There’s a Difference Between Staying a Catholic and Being a Catholic” demonstrates the powerful insights offered by students during the development of the national curriculum Tō Tātou Whakapono—Our Faith. Through focus groups and informal digital dialogues, students articulated what they find meaningful, challenging, and spiritually relevant. Their voices revealed a desire for real-world relevance, honest conversation, and a curriculum that respects diversity without losing depth.

A companion article by Carswell, MacLeod and Lanner, Māori Before English, explores the implications of developing a curriculum in which the Māori language and worldview take precedence. This chapter emphasises the cultural revitalisation integral to Catholic schooling in Aotearoa New Zealand, proposing that RE becomes more authentic and more dialogical when it honours Indigenous epistemologies. The authors illustrate how language, narrative, and place enrich theological learning and strengthen belonging.

The Australian perspective is taken up by Topliss, Lavery, Hicks, and Dickson in The Perceptions of Early Career Teachers Regarding the Teaching of Religious Education. Their qualitative study reveals the complexities faced by early career teachers who navigate curriculum expectations, student diversity, and their own formation needs. The findings underscore the necessity of targeted formation programmes, supportive school cultures, and pedagogical mentoring to assist new teachers in developing confidence and capability in RE.

Hyde and Anning’s Religious Education as a Context offers complementary insights by identifying the distinctive subcultures shaping RE teachers’ work in Catholic secondary schools. Their analysis demonstrates how beliefs, norms, and shared practices form a unique subject culture—one that both enables and constrains innovation. Understanding these subcultures, they argue, is essential for effective school leadership, curriculum implementation, and professional learning.

4. Curriculum, Pedagogy, and Dialogue

At the core of this volume is the ongoing question of curriculum design and pedagogical practice in a plural context.

Larkins and Owen’s Why There Is a Place for Dialogue in Religious Education Today provides a conceptual and practical rationale for dialogical pedagogy. Their chapter suggests that dialogue honours the lived religious diversity of students, promotes critical thinking, and reflects the Church’s commitment to encounter and communion. Drawing on student focus groups, they show how dialogical approaches can build engagement, deepen understanding, and open space for the exploration of meaning.

Rymarz, in Pondering Diversity in Contemporary Culture, expands the discussion by offering a conceptual framework for understanding religious plurality. Through multiple lenses—sociological, cultural, and theological—he argues that a dialogical approach is not merely desirable but essential. The chapter challenges educators to move beyond outdated assumptions about student religiosity and to adopt pedagogies that resonate with contemporary cultural dynamics.

In Something Is Not Working! Reimagining Religious Education in Today’s Catholic School, Graeme Mellor provides a provocative and imaginative exploration of RE’s future. Drawing on powerful cultural metaphors such as the All Blacks, ANZAC narratives, and biblical encounters, he argues that RE must be reimagined in light of the formative contexts shaping young people. This chapter highlights the need for RE to be integrative, imaginative, and grounded in the lived experience of students.

5. Formation and Professional Learning

Formation emerges as a major theme across the collection, particularly with respect to teacher readiness and capability.

Antonella Poncini’s Formation Fit for Purpose responds directly to the formation needs of educators working on the “front line” of Catholic schools. She provides a practical framework for curriculum support that addresses the increasing complexity of RE teaching. Her discussion highlights the interdependence of personal, theological, and pedagogical formation, and emphasises the need for sustained institutional investment.

Sultmann, Lamb, Ivers, and Craig’s empirical paper Student Priorities for Topics, Pedagogies, and Outcomes in Senior Secondary Religious Education provides valuable data for advancing formation and curriculum design. Their findings reveal clear student preferences for relevant topics, dialogical pedagogy, and outcomes that foster personal meaning, ethical insight, and spiritual identity. These insights have significant implications for teacher formation, curriculum renewal, and system-wide policy.

Hall, Sultmann, and Lamb’s Religious Education in Australia: The Voices of Practitioners and Scholars extends this discussion by presenting the outcomes of a national colloquium. Their paper synthesises practitioner insights and scholarly perspectives to identify pressing priorities, including theological depth, renewed curriculum structures, and stronger formation pathways. This chapter acts as a bridge between research, policy, and practice.

6. A Coherent and Forward-Facing Contribution

Taken together, the twelve papers present a rich and multifaceted account of religious education in times of rapid cultural change. Several recurrent themes run across the collection:

• Plurality as reality: Catholic schools now educate diverse communities where dialogue and inclusion are essential.
• Identity through engagement: Maintaining a distinctively Catholic curriculum requires deep engagement with contemporary questions, not withdrawal from them.
• Student and teacher voice: Authentic renewal depends on listening carefully to those who teach and those who learn.
• Cultural and Indigenous perspectives: Honouring context, especially in Aotearoa New Zealand, enriches theological learning and strengthens identity.
• Formation and capability: The future of RE depends on the sustained formation of educators and leaders.
• Innovation and imagination: New pathways, pedagogies, and conceptual frameworks are required to meet contemporary realities.

Collectively, these chapters challenge educators, leaders, and policy makers to move beyond incremental adjustments. They call for a more profound re-envisioning of RE—one that is dialogical, inclusive, theologically grounded, culturally responsive, and pedagogically engaging.

As editors, and as scholars committed to mission and curriculum, we offer this volume in the hope that it supports Catholic educators in the shared work of formation and dialogue. In doing so, we affirm the enduring significance of Religious Education as a vital expression of the Catholic school’s mission in Australia and New Zealand.