Bogoslovska smotra, Vol. 96 No. 1, 2026.
Izvorni znanstveni članak
https://doi.org/10.53745/bs.96.1.7
Spirituality, Sustainable Development, and Catholic Religious Education: Theoretical Foundations and Curricular Implementation
Tomislav Šegina
orcid.org/0000-0002-3932-0410
; Gimnazija Karlovac, Karlovac, Hrvatska
Sažetak
The article examines the role of spirituality in education for sustainable development within the Croatian school system. It highlights spirituality as a multidimensional and conceptually complex phenomenon encompassing meaning-making, inner growth, relational awareness, and ethical orientation. Drawing on an anthropological understanding of spirituality as a universal human capacity to integrate experience, cultivate moral sensitivity, and develop responsible relationships with oneself, others, and the world, the author positions Christian spirituality as a complementary and profound expression of these dynamics within a theological and sacramental framework. Contemporary scholarship increasingly recognises that sustainable development cannot rely solely on technical competencies or cognitive knowledge. Long-term transformative change requires intrinsic motivation, ethical discernment, empathy, and an embodied sense of interdependence, qualities closely associated with spiritual formation. Within this conceptual framework, the article presents a qualitative analysis of two key curriculum documents: the Curriculum of the Cross-Curricular Theme Sustainable Development for Primary and Secondary Schools and the Curriculum of the Catholic Religious Education. The findings indicate that the cross-curricular curriculum implicitly incorporates spiritual dimensions through its emphasis on responsibility, solidarity, compassion, care for the Earth, and the cultivation of community-oriented perspectives. These elements strongly correspond to core components of anthropological spirituality, particularly its relational and ecological dimensions. In contrast, the Catholic Religious Education curriculum contributes more explicitly to education for sustainable development by fostering gratitude, conscience formation, nonviolence, stewardship of creation, and active commitment to the common good. In doing so, it provides a robust value-based foundation for sustainable practices. Taken together, the results demonstrate that spirituality, whether anthropologically grounded or theologically articulated, constitutes an important pedagogical resource for fostering sustainable attitudes, behaviours, and competencies. The integration of spiritual dimensions within educational frameworks therefore emerges as a meaningful and necessary contribution to cultivating a more just, compassionate, and ecologically responsible future.
Ključne riječi
spirituality; sustainable development; Catholic religious education; education; curriculum documents
Hrčak ID:
349164
URI
Datum izdavanja:
11.7.2026.
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