Religion And Social Harmony Final
NATIONAL CATHOLIC EDUCATION COMMISSION
The Contribution of Religion and Religious Schools to Cultural
Diversity and Social Cohesion in Contemporary Australia
Submission to the Australian Multicultural Foundation
July 2002
1.
Introduction
1.1
In Australia approximately 30% of all school children attend non-government schools, and all but a very small number of those schools are associated with religious organizations. Approximately two-thirds of non-government school students attend
Catholic schools, and most of the remaining schools are Christian-based, with a small number of Jewish schools, Muslim schools and schools based on other faiths.
1.2
The 1998 “Adelaide Declaration” on the National Goals for Schooling in the 21st
Century states that “Schooling provides a foundation for young Australians’ intellectual, physical, social, moral, spiritual and aesthetic development.” Religious schools are well-suited to providing the kind of educational environment and experience that fulfils these expectations of schooling. The Declaration also states that
“Governments set the public policies that foster the pursuit of excellence, enable a diverse range of educational choices and aspirations, safeguard the entitlement of all young people to high quality schooling, promote the economic use of public resources, and uphold the contribution of schooling to a socially cohesive and culturally rich society.” Publicly supported religious schools contribute to all these public policy goals. 1.3
In respect of the historic contribution of Catholic schools in particular to Australian society, they have always had both a religious and a social dimension to their mission.
They enabled many people to take their place in society, helping them to make the often difficult journey from poverty to modest prosperity. In the post-war years, when migrants came in large numbers, Catholic schools enabled their sons and daughters to integrated successfully and rapidly into Australian
The Contribution of Religion and Religious Schools to Cultural
Diversity and Social Cohesion in Contemporary Australia
Submission to the Australian Multicultural Foundation
July 2002
1.
Introduction
1.1
In Australia approximately 30% of all school children attend non-government schools, and all but a very small number of those schools are associated with religious organizations. Approximately two-thirds of non-government school students attend
Catholic schools, and most of the remaining schools are Christian-based, with a small number of Jewish schools, Muslim schools and schools based on other faiths.
1.2
The 1998 “Adelaide Declaration” on the National Goals for Schooling in the 21st
Century states that “Schooling provides a foundation for young Australians’ intellectual, physical, social, moral, spiritual and aesthetic development.” Religious schools are well-suited to providing the kind of educational environment and experience that fulfils these expectations of schooling. The Declaration also states that
“Governments set the public policies that foster the pursuit of excellence, enable a diverse range of educational choices and aspirations, safeguard the entitlement of all young people to high quality schooling, promote the economic use of public resources, and uphold the contribution of schooling to a socially cohesive and culturally rich society.” Publicly supported religious schools contribute to all these public policy goals. 1.3
In respect of the historic contribution of Catholic schools in particular to Australian society, they have always had both a religious and a social dimension to their mission.
They enabled many people to take their place in society, helping them to make the often difficult journey from poverty to modest prosperity. In the post-war years, when migrants came in large numbers, Catholic schools enabled their sons and daughters to integrated successfully and rapidly into Australian