Meth 2009 1

11:00 KW Where Today’s young people “are”

A New Warning • “The catechetical deficiencies of our young people” • “The diminished appreciation of the sacramental nature of the church and the uniquely real At the June 2003 US Bishops’ presence of Christ in meeting in Saint Louis the Eucharist.”

A New Warning “There is a certain malaise sense of malaise in the catechetical world.” At the June 2003 US Bishops’ meeting in Saint Louis

What is Adolescent Catechesis? Exploring the Possibility of a New Framework

Issue/Question The GDC (1997) and RTV (1997) situate adolescent catechesis within compelling, but different, frameworks. Is there a new framework that synthesizes the insights of both and helps set a direction for adolescent catechesis?

Catechesis is a moment in the process of evangelization (GDC 48, 63) 6. Inspire Missionary 1. Love and Charity Spirit 5. Continuing Education 2. Witness In the Faith 3. Proclamation of 4. Initiation the Gospel

Catechesis is most closely associated with stages 4 and 5, but it is also concerned with stages 1-3 (52) and has a role in stage 6 (86). STAGE 4 STAGE 5 Continuing Initiation Education into in the Faith the Faith Homilies Incorporation and The Sacraments into other The Practice Catechesis of the forms Sacraments of Initiation Community of Charity Catechesis

Catechesis is one of the eight components of youth ministry. Each one enhances and supports the others. A comprehensive approach provides balance among all eight (RTV, p. 26). Advocacy Prayer/ Catechesis Worship Pastoral Youth Community Care Ministry Life Leadership Evangeli- Development zation Justice/ Service

Discussion What might a new framework that synthesizes the insights of the GDC and RTV look like? How would a new framework contribute to the re- thinking of adolescent catechesis?

Some things to think about: -- What are the key insights about adolescent catechesis presented in the GDC and RTV? How do the understandings of catechesis articulated in each compare? -- What is the relationship between the components of youth ministry and stages of evangelization, the frameworks within which the RTV and the GDC situate catechesis?

Some things to think about: • RTV points out that there are a variety of schemas used to identify the Church’s ministries (see RTV, p. 59, n. 8). • The names and the number of ministries vary. Consider that the 8 YM components and the 6 tasks of catechesis may reflect two of the various schema. • How would the tasks of catechesis be articulated if the RTV’s eight-part schema were used instead of the GDC’s six-part schema? • What would the component framework look like if the GDC schema were used? • Is there a more useful schema for envisioning youth ministry, including adolescent catechesis, that is different from both the GDC and RTV?

Some things to think about: The GDC (87) draws on Canon 773 to define two principle means of catechesis: 1) transmission of the Gospel message and 2) experience of the Christian life (apprenticeship). How do the two means relate to catechesis and the other 7 components as envisioned in the RTV?

For Reference Six Tasks of Catechesis (GDC 85-86): -- promote knowledge of the faith -- liturgical education -- moral formation -- teaching to pray -- education for community life -- prepare people to participate actively in the life and mission of the Church

Catholic Identity Last time you taught, what was the topic….???

Faith Identity August 29, 2005: Which best describes you. Web Survey Spiritual, but NOT religious 32% 24% Religious, but NOT spiritual 3.3% 9% Religious and Spiritual 51% 55% NOT spiritual and NOT religious 11% 8% Don't know 2.2% 4 %

Hardwired to Connect: The New Scientific Case for Authoritative Communities Children are biologically ‘hardwired’ for close attachments to other people and for moral and spiritual meaning.

National Study on Youth and Religion

Purpose of Study: This study focused on 13-17 year olds to: • Research the shape and influence of religion and spirituality in the lives of U.S. adolescents. 2. Identify effective practices in the religious, moral, and social formation of young people 3. Describe the extent to which young people participate in and benefit from the programs and opportunities that religious denominations are offering to their youth.

Finding #1: Religion has a significant presence in the lives of many U.S. teens today.

Finding #2: Contrary to many popular assumptions and stereotypes, the character of teenage religiosity in the U.S. is extraordinarily conventional.

Finding #3: Religious education is failing – if by that we mean helping people understand what they believe.

“Many teenagers know abundant details about the lives of favorite musicians and television stars or about what it takes to get into a good college, but most are not very clear on who Moses and Jesus were.” -Dr. Christian Smith

17 year old, white Catholic boy from Wisconsin: “My religious beliefs, what’s good and bad, like you know, if you kill or rape someone, I think you’re screwed, give up on life ‘cause it’s over.” Then he added, “I’ll never stop being Catholic, even if I stop believing in God, I’ll still be Catholic.”

15 year old conservative Protestant Hispanic boy from Texas: “I’m sure God exists and like, helps people and answers their prayers, that’s pretty much it.” [Do you believe in Jesus?] “Ah, yes…I think (little laugh). I don’t know, I don’t know.”

Finding #4: Most U.S. teens have a difficult to impossible time explaining what they believe, what it means, and what the implications of their beliefs are for their lives.

17 year old mainline Lutheran boy from Colorado: “Uh, well, I don’t know, um, well, I don’t really know. Being a Lutheran, confirmation was a big thing but I didn’t really know what it was and I still don’t. I really don’t know what being a Lutheran means.”

“Indeed, it was our distinct sense that for many of the teens we interviewed, our interview was the first time that any adult had ever asked them what they believed and how it mattered in their life.” -Dr. Christian Smith

Finding #5: Regardless of the denomination, most U.S. teens are “Moralistic Therapeutic Deists”

15 year old Hispanic conservative Protestant girl from Florida: “God is like someone who is always there for you, I don’t know, it’s like God is God. He’s just like somebody that’ll always help you go through whatever you’re going through. When I became a Christian I was just praying and it always made me feel better.”

14 year old Jewish girl from Washington: “I guess for me Judaism is more about how you live your life. Part of the guidelines are like how to live and I guess be happy with who you are, ‘cause if you’re out there helping someone, you’re gonna feel good about yourself, you know?”

14 year old white Catholic boy from Pennsylvania: “ ‘Cause God made us and if you ask him for something, I believe he gives it to you. Yeah, he hasn’t let me down yet. God is a spirit that grants you anything you want, but not anything bad.”

16 year old white mainline Protestant boy from Texas: “Well, God is almighty, I guess [yawns]. But I think he’s on vacation right now because of all the crap that’s happening in the world, ‘cause it wasn’t like this back when he was famous.”

The Creed of Moralistic Therapeutic Deism - A God exists who created and orders the world. - God wants us to be good and fair. - Central goal of life is to be happy and feel good about oneself. - God does not need to be particularly involved in one’s life, except when needed to resolve a problem. - Good people go to heaven when they die.

Finding #6: Highly religious teens appear to be doing much better in life than less religious teens.

“At the very least, what appears to be clearly not true is the idea that the religious teenagers are essentially no different from non-religious teenagers.” -Dr. Christian Smith

“Catholic teenagers, who represent nearly one-quarter of all U.S. teens, stand out among the U.S. Christian teenagers as consistently scoring lower on most measures of religiosity.” -Dr. Christian Smith

U.S. CP MP BP RC J LDS NR Made a personal commitment 55 79 60 74 41 21 69 13 to live for God. Shared own religious faith with 43 56 51 41 37 58 72 -- someone not of faith Youth Group participation rate 52 64 64 44 32 41 75 -- (involved in YG/YG available) * Only one religion is true 29 46 26 31 19 9 67 5 Okay to practice religions 51 36 59 40 58 78 36 70 besides own Evangelization: “people should 43 27 39 42 55 75 15 66 leave everyone else alone” Okay to pick and choose beliefs 46 36 53 34 54 71 31 62 without accepting whole faith Believers need to be involved in 32 35 27 45 32 20 60 14 a religious congregation * This question was only asked of teens who attend Mass more than twice a year.

Baylor Religion Survey America’s Four Gods • Authoritarian • Benevolent • Critical • Distant

high Believe that God is Engaged Type B: Type A: Benevolent God Authoritarian God Type D: Type C: Distant God Critical God low high Believe that God is Angry

Baylor Religion Survey America’s Four Gods • • Authoritarian 31.4 % Authoritarian • • Benevolent 23.0 % Benevolent • • Critical 16.0 % Critical • Distant 24.4 % • Distant

Baylor Religion Survey American Black Protestants’ Four Gods • Authoritarian 68.0 % • Benevolent 12.0 % • Critical 20.0 % • Distant 0 %

Baylor Religion Survey American Catholics’ Four Gods • Authoritarian 22.6 % • Benevolent 28.2 % • Critical 18.6 % • Distant 29.2 %

The Catholic Church in America Catholic Identity defined by: • Attendance at Mass • How Important is the Church to You Personally • Locus of Moral Authority

Can you be a GOOD CATHOLIC without this? Percentage saying yes 1987 1993 1999 2005 Without believing that Jesus 23 23 physically rose from the dead Without believing that in the Mass, the bread and wine 38 36 actually become the body and blood of Jesus Without donating time and money 44 52 56 44 to help the poor Without obeying the church hierarchy’s teaching regarding 44 56 53 44 abortion

Can you be a GOOD CATHOLIC without this? Percentage saying yes 1987 1993 1999 2005 Without donating time and money 57 60 58 to help the parish Without obeying the church hierarchy’s teaching on divorce 57 62 65 66 and remarriage Without their marriage being 51 61 68 67 approved by the Catholic church Without obeying the church hierarchy’s teaching on birth 66 73 72 75 control W/out weekly church attendance 70 73 77 76

Because we live in a world that almost always appears to be of our making, in which, so to speak, God no longer appears directly but seems to have become superfluous, even out of place.

A true education must awaken the courage to make definitive decisions, which today are considered a mortifying bind to our freedom. In reality, they are indispensable for growth and in order to achieve something great in life, in particular, to cause love to mature in all its beauty: therefore, to give consistency and meaning to freedom itself.

Head know

Heart feel

Hands do

am/ home Feet

• We can not allow the language of faith to be a foreign language. • Evangelization and catechesis are what all the RTV components are about….

Benedict on Message When you have so little time you can't say everything you want to say about "no." Firstly you have to know what we really want, right? Christianity, Catholicism, isn't a collection of prohibitions: it's a positive option. It's very important that we look at it again because this idea has almost completely disappeared today. We've heard so much about what is not allowed that now it's time to say: we have a positive idea that now it's time to say: we have a positive to offer. idea to offer.

A true education must awaken the courage to make definitive decisions, which today are considered a mortifying bind to our freedom. In reality, they are indispensable for growth and in order to achieve something great in life, in particular, to cause love to mature in all its beauty: therefore, to give consistency and meaning to freedom itself.

Meth 2009 1

by D. Scott Miller on Jun 30, 2009

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Meth 2009 1 — Presentation Transcript