Junior Cert Religious Education
The
aim of Junior Cycle Religious Education is to
provide
students with a framework for encountering and engaging with the variety of religious traditions in Ireland and elsewhere. Such a framework would also
prepare students for the Leaving Certificate course in
Religious Education.
The
syllabus for the Junior Certificate, in common with
the
range of subjects offered at this level, invites the
students
to reflect on their own experiences. The
students’
own experience of religion and their
commitment
to a particular religious tradition, and/or
to
a continuing search for meaning, will therefore be
encouraged
and supported.
Junior
Cycle Religious Education seeks to promote an
understanding
and appreciation of why people believe, as
well
as tolerance and respect for the values and beliefs of
all.
The syllabus is built around a framework of
knowledge,
understanding, skills and attitudes. As part of
a
programme of preparation for the responsibilities of
citizenship,
the course makes particular reference to the
Christian
tradition, acknowledging the unique role of this
tradition
and its denominational expressions in Irish life.