In this article I will set out how the sickness of long thinking is a phenomenon today, typified by the increasing loneliness documented among young people, and by an ongoing spiritual hunger prevalent in Western culture. Identity and rootedness, or more accurately, lack of both – both personal and communal – is at the heart of this sickness; only by addressing who and whose we are can healing take place. This is where religious education - here specifically Christian religious education - has a clear and vital function. Identity and rootedness, and discovering who and whose we are, lie at the heart of religious education. First disciple Andrew’s encounter with Jesus presents a paradigm of this. It demonstrates how Christian religious education in its fullest sense can have a transforming effect. In the concluding section I will show how Christian religious education can contribute significantly to the vision and values of the new Junior Cycle in Irish second level schools, and towards healing the sickness of long thinking.