Integrating intercultural perspective in catholic religious education in the Philippines

Religious education in the Philippines is generally Catholic by orientation. This is attributed to the three hundred years of how the early Spanish missionaries came to the Philippines and evangelized its people. In recent years, however, the educational demographic landscape in the Philippines has been changing resulting to what we call the phenomenon of multiculturalism where students of varied nationalities, cultures, religions, and belief systems share the same classroom and facilities. It is in this context that this study argues for the possibility of integrating an intercultural approach to Catholic religious education in the Philippines. To fulfill this objective, the study investigated the general situation and challenges of Catholic Religious education in the Philippines. It also discussed what is intercultural education from a Catholic perspective and proposed the inclusion of interreligious dialogue in the Catholic religious education curriculum with three integral components: 1. Religious literacy 2. Christian witnessing 3. Promotion of a Culture of Dialogue.