Vitality and loyalty in religious education: Renewing forms or perpetuating the myth?

This article seeks to engage with the competing claims to loyalty and vitality in religious education in Australian Catholic schools. It argues that the dominant narrative of religious education in Australian Catholic schools has suppressed alternative stories and may not be the most appropriate narrative for contemporary debate about loyalty and vitality. One alternative story was proposed by William Duncan in Brisbane in 1850. Duncan's views on religious education can serve as an inspiration to religious educators in Catholic schools as they engage with new issues and seek vital and loyal forms of religious education.