by John Stoer

Anyone who sets out to review critically a programme or scheme of Catholic religious education, henceforth RCRE, must recognise how difficult it is to write a good programme. On the one hand it must faithfully present Catholic Christianity and, on the other, it must try to interest and engage young people. The comments that follow on the scheme for Scotland, This is Our Faith (2011 & 2015), henceforth TIOF, must be understood in that context. The purpose of this critical review is not to offer a comprehensive analysis but to identify its main strengths and weaknesses, and hopefully encourage discussion. The focus is on classroom teaching and learning and given the nature of my own experience, much of what follows refers to secondary RCRE.