Catholic education: from and for faith

Catholic education arises from the deep structures and earliest traditions of Christian faith. Its commitments throughout the centuries have been to educate both from and for faith. It educates from a faith perspective by drawing upon the universal values of Catholicism to provide a distinctive philosophy, perhaps even more so a spirituality, for its curriculum, purpose and ethos. It educates for faith by proposing Christian faith in ways that all students, regardless of their traditions, can learn from it for their lives. These symbiotic purposes face new challenges in our ‘secular age’ (Taylor, 2007. A Secular Age. Harvard University Press). However, by drawing upon its deepest faith-based convictions, Catholic education can continue to educate effectively from and for faith, and is all the more needed ‘for the life of the world’ (John 6:51).