Religious literacy at Radford

By Andy Fleming, Associate Chaplain

In our context, a sense of self and spirituality have gained greater traction over traditional Sunday church. Anecdotally, religious literacy has fallen somewhat by the wayside. Although many of us have grown up in a nominally Christian country and may have participated in religious events and holidays such as Christmas and Easter (or in religious holidays such as Ramadan and Diwali), western society’s collective knowledge and understanding of religion has diminished overtime.

On the Thursday of Week 2, Year 8 students visited four different religious worship centres as part of their Religious and Values Education (RaVE) excursion. While they didn’t experience worship in every place, they gained insight into the similarities and differences between the religions' customs and traditions, and the way they worship. In discussions in my own RaVE classes, students have shared that through their learning, they have developed a greater appreciation of and respect for those who live in faith. This will hold them in good stead as they move in a world in which they will continuously have relationships with people who have a different faith to their own.

At the Education and Wellbeing Committee (EWC) forum tomorrow evening (Thursday, 3 November at 5:30 pm), Head of History, Philosophy and RaVE, Nick Ewbank, and I will be presenting on Religious Literacy and Spirituality at Radford. Our programs, Godly Play (Pre-Kindergarten to Year 2) and RaVE (Years 3 to 10) aim to develop religious literacy. Students are invited to participate in chapel services (Years 3 to 12), which are part of their spiritual formation. Chapel provides an opportunity for students to engage with and reflect on their own sense of spirituality and God. Students can take an active or passive role in the liturgy through singing, prayer, and stillness and in community with their peers. RaVE and chapel are two important and complementary elements of each student’s spiritual growth. My hope is for each student to experience an enriching spiritual journey of discovery for themselves.

May you experience God’s peace in the week ahead,
Chaplain Andy