Education was once the responsibility of the church and monastery schools were the only educational institutions. But what does that look like today? Do many parents still choose a Catholic school for their child? And if so, why, what are the major strengths of such educational institutions, what are the challenges? We have looked at the situation.
Do you actually know that the Catholic Church was responsible for education until 1869? And even through the state school system. Only then was supervision taken over by the state. Catholic institutions continue to shape our education system today: “The Catholic Church is by far the largest private sector education provider worldwide and also ranks third among national public education providers, after China and India,” says theologian Marie- Theres Igrec. designated head of the Austrian Education Department Order Conference.
“About 62 million children and young people attend more than 210,000 Catholic schools and kindergartens worldwide,” says Igrec. “If we take all denominational educational institutions together, we already have more than 100 million students worldwide.”
In relation to the global total number of students, this is 4.8 percent in primary education and 3.2 percent in secondary education.
“The number of students in Catholic schools worldwide has almost doubled between 1980 and 2020 from 34.6 to 61.4 million,” explains the theologian, whom we meet at the order’s annual meeting in Vienna, “which is partly due to is due to the strong population growth in Africa.”
The distribution is interesting: “If we look at this on a map, two-thirds of students in Catholic schools are spread across fifteen countries,” reports Igrec, referring to statistics from Quentin Wodon’s “Global Education Report.”
The location from India to Austria
Nearly nine million children attend Catholic schools in a country where the share of Catholics is around two percent: “namely India, where dioceses and various orders operate almost 50,000 institutions,” says the education expert.
And in the top five are four African countries in the sub-Saharan region, namely the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Kenya and Malawi.
European countries can at least be found in the top 15, including France, Spain, Belgium and Ireland. Overall, around 8.8 million children and young people in Europe attend Catholic schools; in Austria there are about 75,000.
Schools are embedded differently
“The historical and political-structural integration of schools could not be more different around the world, as the exemplary view of Europe shows,” the education expert emphasizes.
According to this fact, in some countries Catholic schools are almost exclusively entrusted with the educational task by the state and are 100 percent subsidized, while in other countries they are completely dependent on financing by the school authorities and on school fees – “including the Austrian middle class” .
There is particular demand for religious schools
In Austria, approximately 75,000 or 6.7 percent of all students attend a Catholic private school; Of these, 50,000 or 4.5 percent of the total attended one of 190 religious schools across the country. And their demand is enormous, Igrec emphasizes; in many locations it is even “two to three times oversubscribed”.
According to the theologian, the good performance on a performance scale, but also the noticeable effort to create a good school climate, contribute to the good reputation of the religious schools. Religious schools see themselves “not as educational institutions, but as living spaces,” says the theologian.
And they are “places where not only knowledge is acquired, but also social responsibility, solidarity or fundamental democratic values” – including the promotion of political vigilance and “competence to intervene” – and also “places of hope in the midst of spreading of fatalism and growing psychological stress”.
Young teachers as a challenge
But yes, of course religious schools are now also confronted with challenges such as secularization and pluralization. The number of students with no religious affiliation is increasing in all locations, “and it is becoming increasingly difficult to find teaching staff who are Christian and perhaps even Catholic.”
It is therefore necessary to translate “the foundation of values in a practical way, that is to say specifically: what does the Gospel mean for school management or for lesson planning, so that it can also be supported by those employees who are far removed from the church,” Igrec emphasizes.
Diversity as a great strength
Overall, diversity is a great strength in Christianity – “and also something fundamentally Catholic,” the educationist said: “It has always been a strength of Christianity that unity has always essentially meant unity in diversity.”
And this is also reflected in the many different religious communities, which “set very different priorities with their respective charisms and objectives – including in the field of education.” And score points with it.
Nowadays, being Catholic means, among other things, sharpening your profile – “but not in the sense of demarcation, but in dialogue with the demands of the time”. This also includes “cultivating a welcoming culture and welcoming diversity within our own ranks.”
The special Christian situation of Morocco
By the way: in Morocco, for example. B., a country with about 30,000 Christians among the 37 million Muslims, there are only twelve Catholic schools attended by about 10,000 students. There are ten to twelve Christian children in each of these twelve schools; the rest are Muslim. Even among the 600 teachers and 200 other employees, there are only 15 Christians.
It was important for the diocese here to have a Christian school profile that the Muslim side could easily support and help shape. In this context, Cardinal Cristobal Lopez Romero declared two years ago that the decisive factor was not the increase in the number of Christians and Christian institutions in one place.
Rather, the church fulfills its mission when it contributes to creating a world in which God and his values reign: “Whether the church is larger or smaller, with more or fewer believers, is not one of the goals set for us. That is up to the employer; he will know how many employees are necessary and appropriate.”
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
