The Irish State is committed to ensure that all children, in accordance with their abilities’ should have ‘formative experiences in moral, religious and spiritual education’, while maintaining due regard for the rights of the child and their parents to freedom of religion. This holistic approach to education of allows for the inclusion of Religious Education as a legitimate activity of the State. Within the context of the new Junior Cycle, the recently published Specification for Junior Cycle Religious Education2 offers a real opportunity for the Catholic community to look at the provision of Christian Religious Education (CRE) in Catholic post primary schools.