Is critical thinking possible in Catholic religious education classes?

What is it about?

Is it possible or desirable to teach critical thinking to students when you want them to learn and accept Church teachings? Why is it so difficult to do this? We surveyed over a thousand teachers in Catholic schools and argue that one root of the difficulty may be the unconscious beliefs teachers have about what knowledge means and entails with regard to religious beliefs.

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Why is it important?

Critical thinking is important to teach in education, including in religious education. If Catholic—and other faith-based—classes only aim to spoonfeed students with content, chances are, the students will fail to appreciate and own the taught beliefs as their own.

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