​At Saint Mary's Catholic College​ there are two distinct dimensions of Religious Education: there is the classroom teaching of the learning area Religion, and there is the faith development that is encouraged through the Religious Life of the College. These two dimensions complement each other.

Vision for Religious Education

​​The school and colleges of the Archdiocese of Brisbane aspire to educate and form students who are challenged to live the gospel of Jesus Christ and who are literate in the Catholic and broader Christian tradition so that they might participate critically and authentically in faith contexts and wider society.

​Teaching Religion at Saint Mary's Catholic College is prepared through the Archdiocesan Religion Curriculum P-12. Using progressive and engaging resources and strategies teachers offer a variety of inquiry learning opportunities using this curriculum.​

​​Prep to Year 10 Topic Scope and Sequence​

​Senior Study of Religion

​​Unit One

​​Students are introduced to the five major world religions of Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism, and to Australian Aboriginal spiritualties, as a foundation to the course of study. Through a study of sacred texts and religious writings, students explore how these texts offer insights into life, provide guidance for living, and may express a relationship between a people and a higher being. As Unit 1 progresses, there is a particular focus on the sacred texts of Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

Unit Two

​​The rituals are studied under two categories: lifecycle rituals and calendrical rituals. Lifecycle rituals mark rites of passage in the biological and sociological cycle of human life; calendrical rituals occur at a particular time of the week, month, year or mark​ a period of time since a significant event.

Unit Three

​​Students continue to build on Units 1 and 2 to examine the religious-ethical principles that are evident within the traditions of Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism. They are required to understand the religious foundations that form and inform ethical principles within different religious traditions. Students apply religious-ethical principles and theories to real-life contexts and evaluate how they influence people, society and culture.

Unit Four

Students consider how religion affects and influences people's understanding of culture, history, politics and social interaction. Within this context, issues of rights and religion-state relationships are considered. Students investigate how religions seek to share or are shaped by their social, cultural and political contexts. They examine how the dynamic or religion in different times and places has interacted with the nation-state, as well as religion's contributions to society and culture.

{Source: QLD Curriculum and Assessment Authority - Study of Religion Syllabus.]

Senior Religion and Ethics

​Unit One

Module 1: Being Spiritual: what's in it for me?

Students will learn that spirituality gives meaning and direction to people's lives. They will consider​ the features of Benedictine spirituality and whether mainstream religious expressions of spirituality such as the Benedictine tradition meet the needs of people in the modern age. Students will respond to the question "How do I 'Listen with the ear of your heart' ("God in all things")" and apply it to my life?

Module 2: How do I know what is good and evil?

​Students will have the opportunity to reflect on the teachings of the Catholic Christian tradition about the reality of good and evil experienced by human beings. They will explore the essential ingredients of truth, beauty, goodness and evil and how these are expressed in everyday life.

Unit Two

​​Module 3: How do signs, symbols and rituals create a spiritual expression?

In this unit, students will learn about spirituality and ritual in the Catholic Christian tradition. They will have the opportunity to explore, experience and express their own spirituality, and to learn about the spirituality of others.

​Module 4: How can religious diversity advance Australia fair?

​Attitudes to religion and spiritualty in Australia are diverse. This unit will examine the place of the Catholic Christian tradition in Australia. It will also allow students to investigate cultural and religious diversity and critique the apparent contradictions and stereotypes that are present in Australia today.

Unit​ Three

​Module 5: How does world peace being with me?

Peace and Conflict is concerned with practical questions of how to realise peace and justice in the world. This unit explores how religion and in particular the Catholic Christian tradition can play an important part in establishing, promoting and maintaining peace. it will give students opportunities to investigate the cause of war, violence and injustice; explore non-violent and peaceful approaches at all levels of social organisation as well as the political, professional and personal behaviours necessary to bring about a more just and peaceful world.

Module 6: Why do we need a sacred story to live by?

The purpose of story and story-telling is to help share who we are, where we have come from and who we might become. In this unit, students will have opportunities to explore and appreciate the power of story and how it captures, recalls and preserves the life experiences of people no matter what age, period, culture or belief. This unit focuses on how, throughout the ages religion and in particular the Catholic Christian religion, has fulfilled the innate need of humans to hear and tell stories and to have a story to live by.

Unit Four

Module 7: How can we teach the world about justice?

Social justice issues should always evoke a religious and ethical response. In this unit, students will have the opportunity to investigate a diversity of local, national and international approaches to social justice concerns and link these with different ethical and religious responses. Students will explore active means of participation in responding to social justice concerns and reflect on personal involvement in social justice outreach.

Module 8: Where do I draw the line?

​Ethics and morality is a unit designed to invite students to explore what influences decision making when it comes to choosing right from wrong. It challenges students to think about where they draw the line when it comes to their own behaviour and what behaviour they are willing to accept from others. Religious values and beliefs, ethical frameworks, politics and law all contribute to the way society understands right and wrong. Ethics and morality then, are about responding to the daily challenges of living, drawing on the sources of value within us, between us and beyond us.​​