Vol. 11, Issue 11, Part A (2025)

Abstract
The 2023 Competence Based Education Curriculum represents a major pedagogical shift in Zambia with specific consequences for Religious Education. This article examines how the new curriculum reconfigures intended competencies, teacher roles, classroom practices, assessment regimes, and learner experiences in Religious Education at primary and junior secondary levels. Drawing on document analysis of the 2023 curriculum framework and RE syllabus excerpts, semi-structured interviews with in-service RE teachers and curriculum officers, classroom observations across urban and rural schools, and a short teacher survey, the study maps policy intentions onto enactment realities. Findings show a tension between competency language that emphasises critical thinking, values articulation, and transversal skills, and entrenched pedagogies privileging rote knowledge and faith-formation. Teachers report uneven pre-service and in-service preparation for Competence Based Education Curriculum (CBC)-aligned RE, limited culturally responsive materials, assessment uncertainty, and contextual pressures from religious communities. Learner observations reveal variability in engagement, higher receptivity where participatory methods are used, and challenges in assessing attitudinal competencies. The article situates these empirical findings within curriculum implementation theory and decolonial critiques, arguing that CBC offers opportunities for democratising RE but requires targeted teacher development, assessment redesign, and materials that respect plural religious identities. Policy recommendations include a phased teacher training programme, RE-specific assessment rubrics, community-engaged resource development, and monitoring frameworks that balance values formation with critical competencies. The study contributes to debates on curriculum reform, religion in public education, and decolonial curriculum practice in Sub-Saharan Africa, and offers actionable guidance for Ministries, teacher educators, and schools implementing CBC in Religious Education.