ABSTRACT
In a predominantly Catholic country like the Philippines, religious education is primarily carried out by Catholic schools in a systematic and programmatic way. Fulfilling this task, however, is not without challenges. One of these is globalization, a situation which gives rise to the relativization and privatization of religion, and fundamentalism. Another challenge is the post-modern spirituality of young people, which considers religious institutions and authority as suspect. Access to a systematic and programmatic religious education is also a challenge, especially for a great majority of young people who belong to families that cannot afford the fees charged by Catholic schools. It is common knowledge that top notch Catholic educational institutions charge exorbitant fees, thus they are branded as elitists. To address these challenges, Catholic educational institutions pour their resources in the training and formation of religious educators, in continuously improving the religious education curriculum and in engendering a harmonized program for religious instruction, pastoral ministry and social apostolate, thus engendering integral Christian formation among the learners. Moreover, support coming from the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines and the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines provide these institutions, especially the small missionary schools, with the support they need to effectively carry out their mission of evangelization.
