Elementary CCD or Religious Education

The 2010 Official Catholic Directory reported that about 96,600 youngsters were enrolled in the CCD or Religious Education classes of the ten counties of the archdiocese of New York. These generally are the programs for students attending public schools, and the classes often meet an hour or two a week. Adding up the enrollment at about 61 Bronx parishes gives a total of about 11,800, quite a large group of youngsters learning their faith in classes led by mostly unpaid faithful, that is, faith-sharing Christians. By the way, CCD is a colloquialism or short-hand for a Catholic version of Sunday School, usually on a weekday. The term Confraternity of Christian Doctrine dates back to the 1500's, when such classes were organized in Milan.