Beginning with the 2012-2013 school year with the class of ’16, the religion department is implementing a new curriculum recommended by the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops. Sophomores, juniors, and seniors will follow the current religion courses they are scheduled to take. By the fall of 2015, all four grades will follow the new curriculum.

According to Religion Department Chair Joseph Gallen, the bishops “aim to have consistency at Catholic schools across the United States [with the new courses].” Each course will be one semester long.

Among the new classes, fall courses consist of Introduction to the Bible for freshmen, The Paschal Mystery for sophomores, Sacraments for juniors, and a choice of Scripture, Social Justice, or Medical Ethics for seniors. Seniors will be the only grade given electives for religion, whereas juniors and seniors currently have this option.

According to Gallen, a few of the seniors’ electives, such as Medical Ethics and World Religions, were not on the bishops’ list of curriculum, but will still be options because they are currently offered at JC.

Kailey Tracy is the Copy Chief for the Patriot and jcpatriot.com