"Living and Sharing Our Faith: A National Project of Catechesis and Religious Education" Project Collection

The collection comprises the working documents of a member of the Living and Sharing Our Faith project team. It contains an almost complete set of the Roman Catholic education material for schools, parishes and adults that was produced during the course of the Living and Sharing Our Faith Project.

Holdings include:

• Books and resource packs for teachers, parents and parishes (resource packs include audio and visual material)
• Posters
• Publications and reports relating to the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales

In 1972 the Department of Catechetics (later becoming known as the Department of Christian Doctrine and Formation, and then the Department of Catholic Education and Formation) of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales started a project called "Living and Sharing Our Faith: A National Project of Chatechesis and Religious Education". [Catechesis is the education of children and adult converts in the Christian religion.]

The aim of the project was to study the issues of national religious education and more specifically the theology of education.

When it first started, the project studied the General Catechetical Directory (which had been published by the Vatican in 1972) and looked to create a National Catechetical Directory for England and Wales. The project then researched into religious education and Roman Catholic education, producing guidelines for these and research papers. From the mid- to late-1970s onwards, a large part of the work of the project invloved the publication of books, booklets and other resources that could be used for the teaching of religious education and Catholic education, for children and for adults.

By the first decade of the 21st Century, the project had the following partners:

• The Department of Catholic Education and Formation of the Bishops' Conference of England and Wales
• The National Board of Religious Inspectors and Advisers
• The Catholic Education Service (an agency of the Bishops' Conference of England and Wales)
• The Roman Catholic community

The project was still running in 2001, but appears to have disbanded by 2011.

Most records within this collection are open for access.

Archives and manuscripts are available for consultation by appointment only; we require a 24 hour notice. (Please note that you need to contact us by Thursday afternoon if you wish to visit us on the following Tuesday.) Books can be viewed without an appointment at any time during the archive opening hours.

Opening times: In term time, the Archives and Special Collections are open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday – 10am - 4pm. Outside term time the Archives and Special Collections are open by appointment only.

Appointments can be made by contacting the archivist using any of the methods below:

Email: archives@roehampton.ac.uk

Telephone: 020 8392 3323

Postal address: Archives and Special Collections, Library and Learning Services, University of Roehampton, Roehampton Lane, London, SW15 5SZ.

The Archives and Special Collections are located on the fourth floor of the University Library.

Deposited in 2011 by a former member of the Living and Sharing Our Faith project team.

Description created in June 2015.

Further collections relating to religion that are held by Archives and Special Collections include:

• Records of the Authority and Governance in the Roman Catholic Church Project (carried out by by the Queen's Foundation in Birmingham). This late-20th Century and early-21st Century project aimed to research into authority and governance within the Roman Catholic Church. See reference code: QF
• The Centre for Marian Studies Library, containing published works that can be used to study the Virgin Mary. See reference code: CMS
• The Jewish Resource Centre Collection, containing reference material that can be used to study Judaism. See reference code: JRC