So last month, there were a few articles floating around Patheos about various bishops in the United States announcing that they were “restoring the order” of the sacraments, by moving confirmation ahead of reception of First Eucharist, and, in the case of Denver, as reported here, having both of these occur in third grade.
The objective? The concern, so far as I understand it, is that in having confirmation in eighth grade, as a sort of capstone to religious ed classes, it has become “the sacrament of farewell,” as students and parents alike tend to view confirmation as the end, not of classes but of sustained efforts to practice the faith, even to the point of mass attendance.
My first reaction, in reading this was, simply, how will churches keep kids coming to religious ed, and to church, even as long as 8th grade if the longstanding carrot isn’t there? After all, this is the norm in most (or many, anyway) Protestant churches, and in Jewish circles, too, where the label “confirmation” is even used for more liberal congregations.
But it strikes me that there’s an irony to the way we do religious education: once kids have reached high school, they have reached the age where they are really able to learn in a more rigorous way — theology, church history, etc. — and it’s precisely then that religious ed is replaced by “youth group” with its emphasis on social activities and service projects. True, if they attend a Catholic high school, they’ll get coursework in religion, but most kids don’t do so.
So in a perfect world, public school kids would have the same opportunity for a meaningful religious education program, with instruction in scripture, church history and the great theologians of the church, as well as a more “adult” understanding of Catholic moral teachings, as those at Catholic high schools. But how? Not the Mormon “seminary” (see here and here), in which instruction is offered on a “release time” basis during the school day, in heavily-Mormon areas, or before the school day, in other parts of the country. But then what? A Catholic Khan Academy, supplemented by weekly discussion groups? And with what sort of carrot, besides the genuine desire of some teens to know more about their faith, or the desire of their parents, anyway? An “AP test” in Catholicism? In this day and age, even if the coursework were acknowledged as serious, it would hardly provide the sort of recognition that teens seek, as they try to build their college application resumes.
So brainstorm with me, please. What ideas do you have?
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