Religious Education
In Italian schools, there is always an hour of religious education according to the Catholic tradition: the question we ask ourselves is what the actual educational impact of such teaching is. In some cases, the personal value and commitment of particularly brilliant teachers make that hour truly an important moment of growth and culture. But in many other cases, too many cases, the hour of religion has little educational value. In essence, students often perceive the religious hour as little more than a break. Unless they encounter the "exceptional" teacher mentioned above, they actually spend it as a moment of rest or review for the following lessons. Unfortunately, this is the reality in many schools. Why does this happen? The fundamental reason is that religious education is considered an optional matter; there is the possibility of opting out, there are no grades or makeup classes (which have replaced the old September referral). It is not a true discipline among others: it is considered something similar to religious assistance and as such entirely optional. The consequence is that in most cases, students receive no religious instruction at school. They learn much more about Greek and Roman religion than about Christianity. What is indirectly taught about religion is part of history, literature, philosophy, and art; but it is always about historicizations: the doctrinal core of Catholicism is not addressed at all in school. Even exceptional teachers who manage to deeply engage students during the religious hour focus on ethical and civil discussions, but they too expose little of the organic Catholic doctrine considered not interesting enough for students in the context of the religious hour.
But this is a serious deficiency in the school system: regardless of whether one is faithful or not, everyone should have a clear idea of the principles of Catholicism because it is still the central part of our culture and civilization. All the principles of our civilization stem from it, even those that deny Catholicism itself. No one would think that a non-communist should not know Marx: why should a non-Catholic not know the principles of Catholicism? From this point of view, it is not even conceivable to transform the religious hour into a history of religions. All religions are part of humanity, just like all philosophical, artistic, and literary thought; but clearly in Italian schools, philosophical, literary, and artistic thought that has interested Italy is predominantly taught. Consequently, since Christianity is the cultural basis of our civilization, it is Christianity that should be addressed in religious education: perhaps other religions can also have a place on the margins compared to Christianity itself, as is commonly the case with all other manifestations of culture.