Unbroken demand

How Catholic schools still score today

The Catholic Church is by far the largest provider in the private education sector. Its facilities are still in high demand.

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Education was once the mission of the church and monastery schools were the only educational institutions. But what does the situation look like today - do many parents still choose a Catholic school for their child? And if so, why, what are the great strengths of such educational institutions and what are the challenges? We took a look at the situation.

Did you know that the Catholic Church was in charge of education until 1869? Even over the state school system. Only then did the state take over supervision. Catholic institutions still shape our education system today: "The Catholic Church is by far the largest provider of education in the private sector worldwide and is also in third place after China and India compared to national public education providers," says theologian Marie-Theres Igrec, designated head of education at the Austrian Conference of Religious Orders.

"Around 62 million children and young people worldwide attend more than 210,000 Catholic schools and kindergartens," says Igrec. "If we take all denominational educational institutions together, we are already at over 100 million pupils worldwide."

In relation to the total number of pupils worldwide, that is 4.8 percent at primary level and 3.2 percent at secondary level. 

"The number of pupils at Catholic schools worldwide almost doubled between 1980 and 2020, from 34.6 million to 61.4 million," explains the theologian, who we meet during the annual conference of religious orders in Vienna, "which is partly due to the strong population growth in Africa."

The Catholic Church is the world's largest provider of education in the private sector and is also in third place after China and India when compared to national public education providers.

Theologin Dr. Marie-Theres Igrec

Bild: OÖK/emw

The breakdown is interesting: "If we look at this on a map, two thirds of pupils at Catholic schools are spread across 15 countries," reports Igrec, referring to Quentin Wodon's "Global Education Report" for the statistics.

The situation from India to Austria
Almost nine million children attend Catholic schools in a country where the proportion of Catholics is around two percent: "namely India, where the dioceses and various religious orders operate almost 50,000 institutions," says the education expert.

And the top five also includes four African countries in the sub-Saharan region, namely the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Kenya and Malawi.

In Europe alone, around 8.8 million children attend Catholic schools, 75,000 in Austria.

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European countries are at least among the top 15, including France, Spain, Belgium and Ireland. In general, around 8.8 million children and young people in Europe attend Catholic schools, in Austria there are around 75,000.

Schools embedded differently
"The historical and political-structural embedding of schools could not be more different across the globe, as a look at Europe as an example shows," emphasizes the education expert. 

In some countries, Catholic schools are almost exclusively entrusted with the task of education by the state and are 100% subsidized, while in others they are entirely dependent on funding from the school authorities and school fees - "including the Austrian middle ground".

Religious schools particularly in demand
In Austria, around 75,000 or 6.7 percent of all pupils attend a private Catholic school; of these, 50,000 or 4.5 percent of the total number attend one of the 190 religious schools nationwide. And their demand is enormous, emphasizes Igrec, in many locations it is even "two to three times oversubscribed".

According to the theologian, the good reputation of religious schools is due to their good performance on the performance scale, but also the noticeable efforts to create a good school climate. Religious schools see themselves "not as teaching institutions, but as living spaces", says the theologian.

And they are "places for acquiring not only knowledge, but also social responsibility, solidarity or basic democratic values" - including the promotion of political vigilance and the "ability to intervene" - as well as "places of hope in the midst of spreading fatalism and growing psychological stress".

A welcoming structure is a natural part of Christian educational institutions.

(Bild: stock.adobe.com/Monkey Business )

The next generation of teachers as a challenge
But yes, of course religious schools are also facing challenges such as secularization and pluralization these days. The number of non-denominational pupils is increasing at all locations, "and it is also becoming increasingly difficult to find teaching staff who have been socialized as Christians and perhaps even as Catholics".

It is therefore necessary to "translate the foundation of values in a practicable way, i.e. in concrete terms: what does the Gospel now mean for school management or for the design of lessons, so that it can also be supported by those employees who are far removed from the Church," emphasizes Igrec.

Religious schools in Austria

• The first documented educational institutions in Austria are the Benedictine monasteries of Kremsmünster (documented in the 11th century, but probably as early as the 9th century) and Melk an der Donau (documented in the 12th century).
• The first officially founded religious school is that of the Kremsmünster Abbey Grammar School: in 1549, the then Abbot Gregorius opened the school to the public.
• This was soon followed by the Franciscan grammar school in Hall in Tyrol and the Benedictine monastery grammar school in Admont. The Jesuit order also began to found schools from Feldkirch in the mid-16th century.
• The first religious school for girls was established in the 17th century: Within just three decades, the Ursulines founded schools for girls in Vienna, Klagenfurt, Salzburg and Graz. Mary Ward followed shortly afterwards with schools in Lower Austria.
• When Maria Theresa established a state school system in 1774 with her school reform and the introduction of compulsory education, there were already around two dozen religious schools.
• In the 19th century, numerous religious orders were founded, many of which were dedicated to the education of children. At the beginning of the 20th century, there were already more than 100 Catholic schools in this country and almost 300 schools at the turn of the millennium, the majority of which were religious schools.
• Today, there are around 200 religious schools with around 50,000 pupils (as of 2023).
  (Source: Religious communities in Austria)

Diversity as a great strength
In general, diversity is a great strength of Christianity - "and also something fundamental to Catholicism", says the education expert: "It has always been a strength of Christianity that unity has basically always meant unity in diversity."

And this is also demonstrated by the many different religious communities, which "set very different priorities with their respective charisms and objectives - including in the field of education". And they also score points.

Being a Catholic school today means, among other things, sharpening its profile - "not in the sense of setting itself apart, but in dialog with the demands of the times". This also includes "cultivating a welcoming culture and welcoming diversity within our own ranks".

If you want to know in which areas religious women and men are actually active everywhere, you should take a closer look at the hidden object map of the religious world.

(Bild: www.ordensgemeinschaften.at)

Morocco's special Christian situation
By the way: in Morocco, for example, a country with around 30,000 Christians among 37 million Muslims, there are only twelve Catholic schools attended by around 10,000 pupils. Ten to twelve Christian children attend each of these twelve schools, the rest are Muslims. There are also only 15 Christians among the 600 teachers and 200 other employees.

It was important for the diocese here to have a Christian school profile that could be well supported and shaped by the Muslim side. In this context, Cardinal Cristobal Lopez Romero explained two years ago that the decisive factor was not increasing numbers of Christians and Christian institutions in one place. 

Religious orders in a nutshell

• The Austrian Conference of Religious Orders is the joint representation of the Catholic men's and women's religious orders in Austria. A total of 193 religious orders are members of the Order Conference, of which 104 are women's orders and 89 are men's orders.
• There are currently 3957 men and women religious orders working in Austria - the new Wimmelbuch der Ordenswelt shows exactly in which areas.

Rather, the church fulfills its mission when it contributes to creating a world in which God and his values reign: "Whether the church is larger or smaller, with more or fewer believers, is not one of the goals that are set for us. That is a matter for the employer; he will know how many workers are necessary and appropriate".