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- This is about Catholic Schools. For schools, see Catholic High School (disambiguation).
Catholic schools are educational ministries of the Catholic Church. These schools develop their students through participation in the sacramental life of the Church, study of religion and theology, a full curriculum in secular subjects, and a variety of extra-curricular activities.
Religion is included in the learning experience, and school uniforms are often a requirement for students. While it is common for Catholic schools to require non-Catholic students to take Catholic religion classes and attend the various religious exercises of the school (except in Muslim nations where this is prohibited by law), a requirement that the student must be Catholic to attend a Catholic school is extremely rare.
Australia
In Australia, Catholic schools, like independent and private schools, receive funding from the Commonwealth Government as well as through fees and fund-raising. This is in contrast to state schools which are predominantly funded by State governments. The school lands and buildings are owned by the Church.
While there are some in Australia who advocate the cessation of state aid to non-government (including Catholic) schools, they have not significantly influenced government policy in regard to this matter. Advocates of this policy often argue that by receiving government funds, the taxpayer is subsidising an education system that teaches values that may be inconsistent with the taxpayer's personal beliefs.
Proponents of continued or increased state aid argue that, because a significant fraction of a non-government school's budget is contributed by the parents, non-government school parents effectively subsidise the government. The government would have to spend more money if it had to pay for all non-government students to attend government schools. Also, it is said, the government schools would be crippled by the flood of students entering if any attack on non-government schools caused them to be closed.
Catholic schools in Goulburn, New South Wales had a strike in 1962 over funding, creating a situation where the government schools simply could not take all the Catholic students. It significantly influenced the introduction of state aid for non-government schools. See here.
Canada
In Canada, Catholic schools are referred to as 'separate schools', but they are funded by tax dollars from the public. A UN committee has accused the Ontario Ministry of Education of discriminating against non-Catholics by not funding their separate schools.
Public schools in Québec
Public schools in the province of Québec were organized along confessional lines until amendments to the Education Act took effect on July 1, 1998. Thus there existed parallel Catholic and Protestant school boards, financed and controlled by the province, which assured public education. Prior to 1998, most non-Catholics attended Protestant schools because they did not overly emphasize religious devotion, perhaps due to the variety of beliefs in Protestantism. Catholic schools, on the other hand, incorporated preparatory courses for the Sacraments into the curriculum, celebrated Mass on major feast days, organized retreats and promoted prayer at the beginning of the school day and before meals. Until the changes of 1998, the law required all religion teachers in Catholic schools to be practising Catholics. Religion courses at the time, while dealing with theology and Church history, were more pastoral in nature, especially in elementary schools. It was thus assumed that a non-believer could not properly instruct children in the Faith.The reforms of 1998 organized school boards along linguistic lines--English and French--and reduced their number, among other things. Masses are no longer celebrated in former Catholic schools and teachers cannot lead children in prayer which is not inclusive (for instance, the Hail Mary is particular to Catholics). The move towards secularism, however, is not yet complete. Religion courses are still offered in schools, though students can choose to follow moral education courses instead. Furthermore, while schools in multicultural neighbourhoods quickly removed their crucifixes and requested name changes (most Catholic schools had been named after saints), many schools in Catholic or immigrant neighbourhoods passively resisted the changes. For example, crucifixes still hang on classroom walls in many schools in the east end of Montréal, which is predominantly French and Italian.
Prior to the reforms of 1998, each Catholic and Protestant school board had an English and a French sector. The importance of either sector varied from region to region and board to board.
United States
In the United States, Catholic schools are accredited by independent and/or state agencies, and teachers are generally certified. Catholic elementary and secondary schools receive virtually no government funding and are supported through tuition payments, fund raising and sometimes directly from the (arch-)diocese. Most Catholic schools are operated by a local parish community, a diocese or archdiocese, or a religious order. The majority of Catholic schools in the United States accept students of all religions, ethnic backgrounds and ability. However, it is a common expectation that non-Catholic students take Catholic religion classes and participate in the religious exercises of the school.
See also
External links
- National Catholic Educational Association – more information on Catholic schools in the United States
School types | Roman Catholic education | Religion and society | Christian schools
"Catholic school"