Introduction

This is Our Faith provides guidance to teachers on the religious education curriculum which has been developed for children and young people in Catholic schools in Scotland.  In publishing this document, the Church is exercising its rights and duty to determine the content of the religious education curriculum in Catholic schools.

The Church expects teachers in Catholic schools to use this guidance to shape the learning of children and young people in this key area of the curriculum at all stages of primary education and up to Fourth level in secondary school (S3).  It encourages teachers to acquaint themselves thoroughly with this guidance so as to enhance their own understanding of the key aspects of Catholic Christianity which they are expected to teach through the ‘experiences and outcomes’ for Catholic religious education (RERC), published as part of the Scottish Government’s Curriculum for Excellence framework.

The key sources on which This is Our Faith is based are Sacred Scripture and Tradition (expressed in the teaching documents of the Church), the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) and the General Directory for Catechesis (GDC) which are referenced throughout the document.

Publication of This Is Our Faith

This Is Our Faith, the new syllabus for Catholic religious education in Scotland, will be published on 7th November 2011 when it will be launched in the presence of the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland in Edinburgh with an audience of invited guests, including pupils, teachers, parents and clergy.  This significant occasion marks the start of a series of such events in every Diocese, details of which will be provided subsequently.

The main purpose of these events is to give due attention to this significant new document which, with approval granted by the Holy See on 4th August 2011, now governs the teaching of religious education in Scotland’s Catholic schools.  This is the first religious education syllabus to be originated wholly in Scotland and designed to meet the needs of young people in Scotland.  The Holy See’s granting of the Decree of Recognitio is a rare and momentous achievement and pays testimony to the great efforts of so many people who have contributed to the development of the new syllabus.

Copies of This Is Our Faith will be available for purchase from Tuesday 8th November.  Further details will be posted here.