Joseph of Nazareth has a high profile among Catholics globally. His name adorns a multitude of schools, Catholic agencies, cities and towns and he is the patron of numerous causes in the Catholic tradition. This elevated position contrasts markedly with his profile in the Bible, where he is consistently silent when he appears in the narratives,…

The prevailing current context of neoliberalism has often been viewed as curtailing the prophetic expression of the Catholic identity of Catholic educational institutions (CEIs). This article proposes that only by reclaiming their prophetic identity can CEIs flourish authentically in the neoliberal era. A faith-based approach to addressing the…

There is clear evidence of increasing secularisation across Europe; nevertheless, the authority of the Christian tradition persists. This study focuses on the case of Spain, a well-founded Catholic origin country, which, in just a few decades has become from being one of the most religious to one of the least among Catholics. This investigation…

This study reports on findings from an online survey which was carried out in Ireland, in May-June 2019, as part of the Adult Religious Education and Faith Development (AREFD) research project being conducted at the "Mater Dei Centre for Catholic Education," Dublin City University. Data provided by 738 respondents to the survey are…

The shortage of teachers who can strongly identify with the religious mission of Catholic schools is at the point of an "existential crisis," according to a system leader in Catholic schools in Western Canada. Drawing upon exploratory interviews completed with ten chief superintendents (who oversee large school districts), this paper…

One strand in the scholarship of Catholic school identity perceives that it has deteriorated since Vatican II (1962-1965) and therefore needs restoration. Unfortunately, this perception is based on an assumption that there is a "singular" Catholic identity. This article demonstrates a basis in theology, social theory, and educational…

This article begins with a brief autobiographical depiction of my religious education. It then charts the ways in which the inadequacies of that religious education caused me to treat my family's traditional religious expressions with suspicion rather than appreciation, undergirding coloniality as a phenomenon within my religious education.…

The increasing religious diversity in educational space has raised a legitimate question on how Catholic theology/catechesis must be taught in Philippine Catholic universities given the institutional mandate to educate students "into the faith of the Church through teaching of Christian doctrine in an organic and systematic way" (Wuerl,…

Pedagogue's fallacy occurs when epistemological principles are applied by educators that in fact do not tell of, or explain, or help understand, the subject at hand. It is identified and introduced in this article to raise an important issue in the construction of pedagogical models of religious education: knowledge is reduced and/or distorted to…

Rather than choosing between either catholic identity, or openness to otherness, the catholic dialogue school envisages, through the dialogue with the other, to stir the (re)discovery of one's own identity, and to introduce once again the Christian voice within the conversation. After introducing this project, I reflect more extensively on how to…

This article is concerned with the role of encounter in the development of identities of compassion in the communities of l'Arche. The relational practices of compassionate care and the welcoming of vulnerability, learned by newcomers to l'Arche communities through encounter with long-term members of the communities, especially those with…

In these last four decades or so, adolescence became understood as the time when young people ask fundamental questions about themselves, each other, the world, and one's past, present and future life that seek unity of purpose and coherence. For most young people the digital media are popular modalities through which they seek, consciously or…

Debates about Catholic higher education in the United States sometimes focus too much on what Catholic colleges and universities should not do, rather than what they should do. This article attempts to reframe those debates away from the negative expressions of Catholic identity (i.e., denying guests a right to speak on campus based on their level…

It can be difficult to define Catholic university identity in universal terms--or to compare one Catholic institution to another--because Catholic colleges and universities in the United States are diverse in terms of size, location, and mission. This article proposes a rough classification system for Catholic universities that takes into account…

A recontextualising approach in religious education has been adopted in the newly revised religious education curricula of the four dioceses in Victoria: the dioceses of Melbourne, Ballarat, Sandhurst and Sale. This approach requires a radical change to the teacher's role from knowledge transmission to one which supports students to grapple with…