Passing on the Faith in Schools

John Callanan, SJ

Issue 360, vol.90, Winter 2001

But, for today's young people, it is all a matter - between birth and death - of "living in the now". Theirs is an existence full of noise, movement ("action"/"buzz"), confusion - as if being constantly churned in some gigantic washing-machine. For them, money is God; it gives tham independence (Over 70% are in the work-place as well as in school). Purposely, the consumerist culture allows little time for silence and reflection. If reflective time were allowed, youth might cotton on to the fact that they are as it were being fed a diet of popcorn - enjoyable the moment you consume it, but ultimately unsatisfying.

The first chink in the enveloping consumerist world-view would seem to come when students notice signs of appalling selfishness among their companions. They will even tell you that they are not prepared to let greed consume them...A group whose eyes glazed over when the teacher attempted to lecture them on tenets of religion, suddenly evidenced soaring interest-levels when invitations were offered to participate in faith-in-action projects.

Adolescents are also pulled up short when, out of the corner of a usually unreflective eye, they advert to the life-without-landmarks character of the contemporary scene as it whizzes past : no longer (they notice) do you have, as high-lights of people's lives, marriage, one-job-for-life, company loyalty, promotion, retirement. And the young begin to think the unthinkable : not only might the future not be better than the past -but it might even be worse. So a window of opportunity opens up for quiet reflection on all this - like the option of meditation instead of R.E. class - the offer is snapped up. Says Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor of Westminister : "What I think young people want is the time and space to listen - perhaps to an alternative voice". Scheduled religious education in schools may be helping provide this time and space.

John Callanan, SJ is a writer and Chaplain at Greendale Community School, Dublin.