ABSTRACT
This chapter explores how 'coming to ourselves' is as central to the human search for completeness as it ever was. It describes how first disciple Andrew's encounter with Jesus presents a paradigm of the essence of Christian religious education. Evidence across a range of disciplines identifies the fragmented self and an acute spiritual hunger as phenomena in contemporary society. The aim of all Christian education is to facilitate the intellectual and emotional development of mature human persons who will have the capacity to draw upon multiple resources in interpreting their lives. The chapter demonstrates how Christian religious education, in its fullest sense, can have a transforming effect. It then shows how the integrated approach of the new junior cycle offers an opportunity for those charged with the education of young people in the Christian tradition to reclaim the fullness of religious education. The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) has taken an integrated approach towards the new junior cycle.
