Original scientific paper
Religious Upbringing in the Situation of Relativism of Ethics and Pedagogical Pessimism. Religion Teachers Confronted with postmodern Spirit and Need of Permanent Upgrading
Milan Šimunović
; Catholic Faculty of Theology in Rijeka, University of Zagreb,
Abstract
The author's assumption is that, in search of the reasons for
certain disorientation in catechistic process, and especiallv poor
integration of children and young people into Christian community,
it is necessarv, instead of shifting responsibility to some educative
factors, to confront fearlessly with the changes in the vvorld, the
direction and outcome of which we cannot predict. Post-modern
špirit, which has brought confusion and relativism of ethics in the
sphere of thinking and culture of living, has been increasingly less
founded in Christian principles. This should not be the reason for
pedagogical pessimism and resignation, but a challenge for
rethinking and refocusing of the project of religious upbringing.
Recognizing the issues which a modern and transformed man
has become more and more sensitive about, religious upbringing
should try to offer such a project in which Christian view of the world
and life will be represented as something much more important and
promising than anvthing offered on the "wholesale market of life".
Considering the fact that it is in school where Church has one of the
best chances to meet with the young generation, the author thinks
that the catechist's role is of crucial importance in it. But, he/she
must be aware that he/she can obtain adequate competence only by
permanent improving, in order to become a competent mediator of
the encounter between God and man in an unstoppably changing
world. At it, he/she should hold to educative, promotive, religious,
communicative, ecclesiastic and converting competence,
demonstrating that these are the key for a creative process of religious teaching. Of course, it is especially important to involve,
more extensively and in an organized manner, ali educational factors
in that process, particularly the families and parish communities.
Without them, the crisis of religious upbringing, especially of
religious education at school, can only deepen. A new figure of a
catechist and a new way of cooperation of ali educational factors are
a guarantee of more adoption of a Christian project of thinking and
acting, and, by that, to redirection of some negative processes.
Keywords
postmodernism; ethical relativism; new humanism; continuus improvement; new picture of God and man; specific competitions of catechists; interoperability between educational factors (catechists, parents, parochy)
Hrčak ID:
38836
URI
Publication date:
20.6.2003.
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