Religion

Welcome to the Religion Department! At RMC we strive to provide hands-on and engaging religious education programming. Using a variety of teaching strategies, such as debates, discussions, crafts, games, and activities, students have fun while learning about Catholicism and growing in faith. We aim to make religion meaningful and relevant to the lives of our students by integrating faith and culture. By providing opportunities to develop creative and critical thinking skills, we hope to prepare our students to use their faith outside of the classroom to solve problems and contribute to the world.

Courses in Religious Education

Three types of courses are offered in the religious education program at RMC: university (U), university/college preparation (M), and open (O) courses. In grades 9 and 10 all religion courses are open. At the senior level, grades 11 and 12, students choose between course types on the basis of their interests, achievement, and postsecondary goals. Check out the course pathways and course descriptions below!

Course Pathways

Course Descriptions

Grade 9 Discipleship and Culture (HRE 1O)

This course engages students in the examination of the Christian narrative as revealed in Sacred Scripture. Students are invited to a deeper understanding of both the joy and the demands of living out the call to discipleship as it is described in the Scriptures. Students explore discipleship as encountered in the Sacred Tradition of the Church (Sacraments, Liturgical Year and Church Teaching and Law), as part of their ongoing personal growth and faith understanding. Students explore Catholic rituals, teaching, practice, morals and values, and virtues to facilitate a healthy and covenantal relationship with self, God and with others. Using theological reflection, they are challenged to explore the connections and disconnections of ethical concepts (euthanasia, abortion, sexuality, etc.) between the Church and contemporary culture. The course focuses on encouraging students to know and love by following in the footsteps of Jesus. As they learn of his words and deeds, they discover the importance of prayerfully serving the community to bring about the Reign of God.

Grade 10 Christ and Culture (HRE 2O)

This course both invites and challenges the adolescent to personalize the Gospel values and social justice principles that guide Catholics in understanding their role in shaping culture as disciples of Jesus. Students will explore such foundational topics as: what it means to be human, created in God’s image, what is culture, Christ and culture, living together in solidarity, social justice, prayer and sacrament, friendship and intimacy. Connections between the living Church and contemporary culture are explored in terms of what it means to be a responsible Christian adolescent in a secularized, pluralistic world.

Grade 11 Faith and Culture: World Religions (HRF 3O)

This course engages students in the examination of world religions, particularly Judaism, Christianity and Islam, First Nations, Métis and Inuit Spiritualties’, and locally appropriate religious tradition(s), if suitable. This is a survey course that will help students understand the basic similarities and differences between the religious traditions so they can interact with others with acceptance and familiarity. Ontario is a multi-faith global community. Students will deepen their understanding of the various faith traditions in their local community and around the world.

Grade 11 Faith and Culture: World Religions (HRT 3M)

This course engages students in the examination of world religions, particularly Judaism, Christianity, Islam and the First Nations, Métis and Inuit Spiritualities and a locally appropriate religious tradition. This is a survey course that will help students understand the basic similarities and differences between the religious traditions so they can interact with others with acceptance and familiarity. We live in a multi-faith global community. With the knowledge of this course, students ought to be able to understand more clearly the world’s religious affairs.

Grade 12 Church and Culture (HRE 4O)

This course has the aim of assisting students in understanding themselves as moral persons living the way of Christ through an examination of the revelation of sacred Scripture, and the experience and teaching of the Catholic Church. It engages students in critical reflection on significant contemporary moral and ethical issues in light of Scripture, Church teaching, and their own experiences (i.e., Theological Reflection). Social and ecological justice issues are explored along with a study of topics that focus on Christian mercy and forgiveness. The graces and challenges of every day human living, understanding who we are, what we are called to be, and living in relationships, including marriage, and family life are explored from a Catholic perspective. Students are challenged to adopt the Christian stance in the political world.

Grade 12 Church and Culture (HRE 4M)

This course enables students to deepen their understanding of how the Church engages contemporary culture with faith and reason, in pursuit of love, justice, and the common good. Students will have opportunity to learn how living the Baptismal vocation to a virtuous life, filled with the joy of the Gospel and nurtured by the sacraments, can transform them and society from within, allowing God to reign in human hearts. Students will also refine research and inquiry skills.

Grade 12 Philosophy: Questions and Theories (HZT 4U)

This course enables students to acquire an understanding of the nature of philosophy and philosophical reasoning skills and to develop and apply their knowledge and skills while exploring specialized branches of philosophy. Students will develop critical thinking and philosophical reasoning skills as they formulate and evaluate arguments related to a variety of philosophical questions and theories. They will also develop research and inquiry skills related to the study and practice of philosophy.

Philosophy seeks to provide explanations, arguments, and proof for the questions and ideas generated by human wonder. It stimulates the human desire to discover the deepest truths about life and to discern the means of living life to its fullest. In its simplest form, therefore, philosophy can be described as a search for truth, clarity, and life wisdom. This search leads to an exploration of claims concerning the nature of ultimate reality, the nature of human knowledge, human rights and responsibilities, the difference between morality and ethics, human values and beliefs, and which acts of justice best serve the common good. Students also explore certain truths that might never have been discovered by reason alone such as the “notion of a free and personal God who is the Creator of the world, the reality of sin, as it appears in the light of faith, which helps to shape an adequate philosophical formulation of the problem of evil” (Fides et Ratio), the notion of the person as a spiritual being, and the Christian proclamation of human dignity, equality and freedom.

Serving the Other through Mentorship

The Religion mentorship class is a unique course only offered at RMC. In the mentorship class students in the School to Community Pathway Program are partnered with grade 12 peers that take on the role of a “mentor.” The HRE 4O curriculum is taught to the entire class through hands on activities, games, skits, and crafts. Students in the School to Community Pathway Program are provided an opportunity to build skill, relationships, and confidence assisted by their mentors who gain invaluable experience, leaderships skills, and character. By “serving the other” students are given the opportunity to discover and celebrate the human dignity that unites us all.