ENGAGING THE “REBELS WITH A CAUSE”
CHALLENGES IN THE RELIGIOUS EDUCATION OF YOUNG PEOPLE TODAY
Keywords:
Church and Social Issues, Gen Z, Justice and Faith, “Mechanical Type” of Learning, Religious Education, YouthAbstract
This article talks about the challenges that religion educators face in teaching the current generation of young people — the Gen Z or Generation Z. Being born in the mid 1990s to mid-2000s, the Gen Zs comprise the population of students in the Catholic schools today. Recent studies on the characteristics of the Gen Zs show that this generation of young people is very much aware of social issues. Generally, the Gen Zs are passionate to be involved in the promotion of social justice and want to make a positive impact on the society when they join the work force. While the Gen Zs’ passion for justice is a favourable opportunity and resource in religious education, there are some challenges that are needed to be addressed to hopefully help the young people today in appreciating the relevance of the Christian faith to their passion and actions toward a more just society.
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