Parish religious education programs get belated respect - Education Testing Service study - Editorial

National Catholic Reporter, July 29, 1994

A recent study of religious education in the Catholic church could prove to be a solid first step toward solving a giant problem that grows more serious every year: how to educate the vast majority of Catholic school-age children who do not attend Catholic school.

The early reaction of church agencies to the study's findings provides a hopeful sign that those in charge of educating Catholic youth are willing to cooperate in confronting the problem.

The study, conducted by Educational Testing Service of Princeton, N.J., found that the often-maligned, parish-based education programs are on a par with Catholic schools in imparting a basic understanding of church doctrine.

The report upends the widely held view that parish programs are little more than a busywork substitute for the real thing - a full-time Catholic school education. And it gives a much deserved boost to the tens of thousands of dedicated lay professionals and volunteers who labor in relative obscurity.

Catholic schools represent a magnificent accomplishment of the church in America. They provided the path of assimilation into American culture for generations of immigrants. They eventually filled the ranks of American business, politics and academia with bright and disciplined Catholics who often leavened those arenas with a characteristic moral purpose.

And Catholic school graduates - often, no doubt, to the Vatican's chagrin - are largely responsible for the American church's distinctively feisty, intellectually engaged and active laity.

That history presents a strong argument for doing all that is possible to save the Catholic school system. But the obvious bears repeating here: This is no longer the church of immigrants; there is no longer an endless supply of nuns to teach for a pittance; nor are there the strong, stable communities and families whose lives revolved around the local church.

It is estimated that Catholic schools, at their zenith, served no more than 50 percent of the church's school-age population. Today, the most generous estimate places that figure at 20 percent and many say it is closer to 10 percent.

Meanwhile, 80 to 90 percent of school-age Catholic kids attend parish programs that vary widely in quality, content and resources. Or they attend none at all.

While Catholic schools continue to grab up the lion's share of attention, time and, in many parishes, money, the parish programs remain the stepchild of Catholic education.

The Educational Testing Service study, funded by the Lilly Endowment of Indianapolis, shines new light on the department that deals with parish-based education in the National Catholic Educational Association, a group whose main focus is lobbying on behalf of Catholic schools.

NCEA personnel have recently met with representatives of the National Conference of Catechetical Leadership, an independent organization that focuses on parish-based programs. Historically the two groups have been quietly at odds with one another. The meeting also included representatives of the U.S. Catholic Conference.

The promise by all parties - who also served as advisers to the study to continue meeting is a good sign.

Some may continue wishing that the Catholic school system would somehow be resurrected in all its splendor. The reality, however, is that most Catholic school-age children will never attend Catholic school. They still deserve better than second-class treatment.

The report's recommendations that parish programs charge a fee, that lay volunteers be paid, that a "career path" be created for lay ministry, all are forward-looking and speak to changes in the church that are already under way.

Even though the church nationally has paid little attention to parish-based programs, some excellent models exist.

It is time to reward the dedication and creativity of those who have done so much with so little.