Moral Education in a Christian Context by Catherine Dooley

When one compares the characteristics of religious education and moral education, they seem to have many common qualities. They both arise out of the experience of self-consciousness and are subject to the process of maturation. Both involve a searing quality that is first experienced within the self and then in the community. Maturation in both areas depends upon experience. The main experiential determinants of moral development seem to be the amount and variety of social experience, the opportunity to take a number of roles and to encounter other perspectives. The goal in both is maturity. The major emphasis in catechesis is belief in God and the nature of our relationship with him. The conviction that God is, that he is love, and that this is all of a piece with the whole of life does not preclude the value of moral theory (Dooley, 1975, 407).

Religious education can motivate morality. The ultimate principle in Christianity is the great commandment. Where morality would be inspired by the motivation of love, it would be powerfully reinforced. The need of men and women to search for meaning and purpose in life can be enlightened by religious truth which can provide a frame of reference through which all of life can be related, experienced, and interpreted. It would seem that every moral issue is ultimately a religious issue, since it involves persons and therefore a concept of the nature for others, and the claims of love upon each person (Dooley, 1975, 409).

If I were in charge of any DRE or other religious educators, this article would be a “must read” non-negotiable. There is an in-depth understanding with clear and concise presentation of the correlation to morality and religious education. Catechesis would be greatly approved upon with a better understanding of articles such as this.