On December 11, 2014, the BOE published the programs of the Islamic religion for the primary teaching , distributed in six courses. Two months later, on February 24, 2015, the BOE has also released the Catholic religion programs, for the six primary and four secondary courses. The Catholic plan, which offers a clear and intelligent structure, repeats four thematic blocks in each of the ten courses: man being religious, God in history, Jesus Christ and the Church. Well, while nothing has been said about the Islamic content, the publication of the Catholic curriculum has caused an impressive stir. Why?

In view of what has happened, it could be said that Islam does not attract Spaniards as much as, on the contrary, the Catholic religion, which would show that fortunately Spain is still culturally Catholic. This would be a positive reading of the facts and, from entrance, it should not be discarded. There are, however, other readings of the uproar. It seems that a rather radical and unenlightened secularism -although this may seem contradictory- beats in Spain, perhaps as a reaction to so many centuries of Ancien régime (in fact, it was not closed until 1978).

The day after the monumental brouhaha unleashed in the 8TV talk show, Josep Cuní wanted to lower the tone, affirming that the matter was only a discussion between Catholics. It would be appropriate to add, however, a small precision: a discussion between Catholics, perhaps little informed about their own religion.

It is often forgotten that there is an intellectual vector in the Catholic religion. The Catholic faith does not consist only in practices to satisfy the religious instinct so deeply rooted in the human spirit. In addition to assent, it involves doctrinal contents that must be deepened the more the better, to the point of stumbling, though not always, into the chiaroscuro of mystery.

The fuss generated by the publication of these programs clearly demonstrates that the teaching of religion in primary and secondary schools is now unavoidable, in order not to break the generational continuity. Otherwise, Christianity would be for Catholics an unintelligible antiquity, as when we stumble upon a Neolithic dolmen while walking through the countryside. Sacred history is not enough.