Catholic High Schools Launch New, “Orthodox” Religion Curriculum

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Catholic high schools in Northeast Ohio are preparing to use a new religion curriculum featuring “more traditional” teachings on subjects including sin, heresy, mystery and divine revelation, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports:

“It’s very Gospel-centered, returning to Scripture, returning to the roots of the church,” said [Superintendent of Schools Margaret Lyons]. “It’s more uniform, more thorough, very orthodox.

“We’re teaching that there is a moral code,” she said. “I think there has been a shyness about talking about moral issues.”

More than three-fourths of the Ohio private schools that accept vouchers — public subsidies for private school tuition — are Christian. And about three-quarters of the schools under the special Cleveland voucher program are Catholic.

Non-Catholic students, who make up the majority of students at some Northeast Ohio Catholic schools, are required to take religion classes, the Plain Dealer says:

“We don’t try to make them become Catholic,” said Lyons. “Our goal is that they relate to Jesus Christ, that they relate to God.”

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