Past, present and future: the shifting search for meaning in Ireland’s changing Catholic educational context

This article profiles key historical moments that have exerted a major influence on the changing face of contemporary Catholicism in Ireland. It highlights key challenges and future orientations within Irish Catholicism as well as the teaching of Religious Education in Ireland’s Catholic primary school system. Drawing on data from a mixed methods study of Initial Teacher Education students at two Third Level Catholic Colleges in Ireland, it outlines the prevalence of ‘belief fluidity’ and new manifestations of the spiritual search for meaning. It argues that it is vital for Catholic educators to understand the past in order to appreciate the complex contemporary educational landscape. In a contemporary period of rapid transition, characterised by belief fluidity and extra-institutional practices, there are also many opportunities for positive change as well as signs of hope for the future.