Professional Documents
Culture Documents
We are aware of the changing patterns of religious belief and practice in Ireland and elsewhere. Since the 1930s and 1940s, there have been many changes in religious belief and practice in Ireland:
Some religious practices have died out, e.g. the strict Lenten fast, monthly confession and the Eucharistic fast from midnight. Others have become less popular, e.g. fewer people say the Family Rosary or take part in the Procession of the Blessed Sacrament. Many homes no longer contain religious pictures or statues, e.g. Sacred Heart picture. As a result of the decisions taken by the Second Vatican Council (1962 1965), there have been important changes in the way the Mass is celebrated. Since Vatican II, the Eucharist is usually celebrated in the language of the people rather than in Latin. The priest faces the people and they may choose to receive Communion in the hand. In the past, people received Communion only on the tongue. Between 1981 and 2005, there was a big decline in the number of people attending religious
We are able to name and identify the factors that influence the religious beliefs of the adolescent.
questions of meaning and we are able to articulate our own questions of meaning.
Questions of Meaning from Childhood to Adulthood While children, teenagers and adults all ask questions of meaning, there are differences as well as similarities in the kind of questions that they ask. During adolescence, teenagers develop the ability to reflect and to think about their lives. In trying to make sense of the world around them, they begin to ask questions that they never asked before. For example, when they see or experience birth, sickness, goodness or death, they often ask abstract questions about the meaning or purpose of these experiences: Why do people suffer and die? What is life all about? Why be good? Teenagers also begin to ask questions about what will make them happy. All human beings want to be happy. The search for happiness is part of the search for the meaning or purpose of life. How can I find happiness? What do I want to do with my life? What is my goal/purpose in life?
We are able to identify evidence of the human search for meaning in contemporary culture.
. No person or created thing can make you fully happy. God made us like little egg cups with a dip in the centre; an emptiness inside that only God can fill. We will always be restless, we will always be searching until we find God. (Ann Lee) You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in Thee.
We can articulate our own images of God and we can identify their sources.
Parents
Parents have a big influence on childrens images of God. Usually, children first hear about God from their parents. The messages they hear are varied, for example: God loves you and will always take care of you or God is watching you, so you better be good. These messages influence childrens images of God. Parents also influence their childrens images of God by the way they relate to their children. Research suggests that young children who are strictly disciplined by their parents tend to see God as a punisher. On the other hand, children who see their parents as loving and powerful tend to imagine God as loving and powerful.
Community of Faith
The stories, beliefs and religious practices of a community of faith help to shape a persons image of God. Research suggests that there are some differences in the way people of different religions think about God. Film In many films, for example Bruce Almighty, God is shown as a man dressed in white. This image of God encourages people to imagine God as a human being, usually male. In contrast, the three monotheistic religions Judaism, Christianity and Islam teach that God is Spirit and does not have a body.
We can differentiate between the faith of the child and that of the adult and we have a sense of the development from one to the other.
Stages of Faith Our images of God change as we grow from childhood to adolescence and on to adulthood. Just as our relationship with our parents changes as we get older, so also does our relationship with God. Usually, as people grow older, they pass through different stages of faith: Childhood Mature Adolescent
We can identify evidence of religious belief in stories from two religious traditions.
Sr Stanislaus Kennedy
We can identify points of conflict and points of contact between the scientific and the religious world views of creation.
In the past, there was a lot of disagreement between the worlds of science and religion concerning creation. In recent history, however, there have been moments of harmony between them: In 1951, Pope Pius XII welcomed the theory of the Big Bang, saying that it should lead scientists to the Creator. In 1992, Pope John Paul II said that the Church had made a mistake in the way it treated Galileo. He also suggested that there are points of contact between religion and science each helps us to understand different aspects of reality. Science sets out to answer the How? questions, e.g. How did the universe and life begin? Religion, on the other hand, tends to ask the Why? questions, e.g. Why do the universe and life exist? Since religion and science search for truth by asking different questions, we need both in order to make sense of life and of the world.