Religious Education at Schools in Europe: Part 1: Central Europe 9783737005135, 9783847105138, 9783847005131

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Wiener Forum für Theologie und Religionswissenschaft / Vienna Forum for Theology and the Study of Religions

Band 10, 1

Herausgegeben im Auftrag der Evangelisch-Theologischen Fakultät der Universität Wien und der Katholisch-Theologischen Fakultät der Universität Wien von Karl Baier und Christian Danz

Die Bände des Wiener Forums für Theologie und Religionswissenschaft sind peer-reviewed.

Martin Rothgangel / Martin Jäggle / Thomas Schlag (eds.)

Religious Education at Schools in Europe Part 1: Central Europe

In cooperation with Philipp Klutz and Mûnika Solym‚r

V& R unipress Vienna University Press

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MIX Papier aus verantwortungsvollen Quellen

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Bibliografische Information der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek verzeichnet diese Publikation in der Deutschen Nationalbibliografie; detaillierte bibliografische Daten sind im Internet über http://dnb.d-nb.de abrufbar. ISSN 2197-0718 ISBN 978-3-8471-0513-8 ISBN 978-3-8470-0513-1 (E-Book) ISBN 978-3-7370-0513-5 (V& R eLibrary) Weitere Ausgaben und Online-Angebote sind erhältlich unter: www.v-r.de Veröffentlichungen der Vienna University Press erscheinen im Verlag V& R unipress GmbH. Gedruckt mit freundlicher Unterstützung des Rektorats der Universität Wien und dem Amt für Unterricht und Erziehung der Erzdiözese Wien. Ó 2016, V& R unipress GmbH, Robert-Bosch-Breite 6, 37079 Göttingen / www.vr-unipress.de Alle Rechte vorbehalten. Das Werk und seine Teile sind urheberrechtlich geschützt. Jede Verwertung in anderen als den gesetzlich zugelassenen Fällen bedarf der vorherigen schriftlichen Einwilligung des Verlages. Printed in Germany. Cover image: Ó Erich Foltinowsky Druck und Bindung: CPI buchbuecher.de GmbH, Zum Alten Berg 24, 96158 Birkach Gedruckt auf alterungsbeständigem Papier.

Contents

Preface: Religious Education at Schools in Europe . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Friedrich Schweitzer Comparing Religious Education in Schools in European Countries: Challenges for International Comparative Research . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Martin Jäggle / Philipp Klutz Religious Education at Schools in Austria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Ana Thea Filipovic´ Religious Education at Schools in Croatia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Ludmila Muchov‚ Religious Education at Schools in the Czech Republic . . . . . . . . . . .

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Martin Rothgangel / Hans-Georg Ziebertz in cooperation with Philipp Klutz Religious Education at Schools in Germany . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115 Mûnika Solym‚r Religious education at schools in Hungary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149 Cyprian Rogowski Religious Education at Schools in Poland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185 Stefan Hirschlehner Religious Education at Schools in the Principality of Liechtenstein . . . . 209 Tibor Reimer Religious education at schools in Slovakia

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223

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Stanko Gerjolj / Andrej Saje Religious Education at Schools in Slovenia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249 Thomas Schlag Religious Education at Schools in Switzerland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269 Contributors

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309

Preface: Religious Education at Schools in Europe

At a time when educational issues are increasingly determining social and political discourse and major reforms of the education system are being discussed and implemented, and a time when migration has become a significant phenomenon, contributing to changes in the religious landscape of the European continent, it is highly appropriate to focus our attention on the concrete situation regarding religious education (RE) in Europe. Of course, the subject area is conceived and organised in different ways across the continent, including the 47 member states of the Council of Europe. With few exceptions, religious education has been established as a specific subject in publicly funded schools, while, in a few cases, studies of religion are included as a dimension of other parts of the curriculum. At the same time, it is a subject area that is undergoing considerable change. (In this series, authors use the term ‘religious education’ in a variety of ways, partly according to the history of their own education systems). Beyond the all-important tasks of taking stock and making international comparisons, the aim in this series of books is to create a foundation for further action in the field of education, especially with regard to interfaith expertise. In stark contrast to a move in the direction of religion being a ‘private matter’ and towards ‘religion-free schools’, supranational organisations are, for the first time in Europe, addressing issues relating to religion and education. While 9/11 may be seen as the triggering event here, there are wider reasons for such a development. When the OSCE (Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe) deals with the issue of religion and belief in education within the scope of its programme ‘Tolerance and Non-Discrimination’, the topic has obviously become an important one for the future of Europe and for security and cooperation on the continent. In their Toledo Guiding Principles (OSCE 2007), the OSCE sees teaching about religions and beliefs as part of a high-quality education system that expands pupils’ horizons, makes the complexity of religions and world views comprehensible for pupils in an interdisciplinary way, and provides them with suitable information and skills to develop an impartial

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approach, as well as encouraging freedom of religion and belief, as reflected in the human rights codes. The Council of Europe in turn, in several of its documents, has focused on the religious dimension of intercultural dialogue, paying particular attention to the issue of dealing with religious diversity in schools. It values religious diversity highly and demands that it be given appropriate space, rejecting any restriction of religion to people’s private lives as well as rejecting the notion of ‘religion-free schools’. The Council of Europe publication Religious Diversity and Intercultural Education: a Reference Book for Schools (Council of Europe 2007) provides a checklist that makes clear the extent to which the whole school is required to play a part, while the 2008 Recommendation from the Committee of Ministers, the Foreign Ministers of the 47 member states, is a major step in encouraging policy makers, schools and teacher trainers to prioritise the development of inclusive forms of education about religions and beliefs in their countries (Council of Europe 2008). A guidance on implementing the Recommendation for policy makers, schools and teacher trainers in the member states was published in 2014 (Jackson 2014a; discussed in Jackson 2014b). The phenomenon of migration is triggering contentious discussions on suitable responses to the challenges it sometimes creates. Irrespective of the topicality of this issue, it is becoming increasingly clear that education and religion can play an important role in clarifying issues such as identity and belonging, ethnicity and culture. Such clarifications are important both for the future of migrants as well as for the attitude of the population of a country towards migration. Since religion is, for many people, a crucial element in how they interpret themselves and the world around them, its recognition and appropriate representation is critical for the recognition of the individual. The complex issue of religious education in public schools also concerns the school in its entirety as well as many of its subjects of instruction and projects. We will focus our attention on the organisational form of religious education, i. e. the subject of religion or its alternatives, in which the issue of religion(s) is an integral part. We acknowledge here that we are not dealing with the topic exhaustively, even though we are making an important contribution towards an understanding of the issues involved. The project ‘Religious Education at Schools in Europe’ (REL-EDU), which is divided up into six volumes (Central Europe, Northern Europe, Western Europe, Southern Europe, South-Eastern Europe, Eastern Europe) (cf. www.rel-edu.eu), aims to research the situation with regard to religious education in Europe. The chapters in each regional volume outline, first of all, the organisational form of religious education in the particular countries covered. This is done on the basis of thirteen key issues, which were clarified with the authors from the various countries at two symposia held at the University of Vienna in 2011 and 2012, in

Preface

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order to achieve as much coherence as possible for the publications. The formulation of key issues allows specific points of comparison between different countries in Europe, thereby facilitating a comparative approach and further research into specific aspects of the comparison. The publication by Rothgangel and Schröder (2009) served as a kind of predecessor project, one which was also conducted based on key issues. In addition, earlier internationally oriented predecessor projects should be referred to. Since a comprehensive discussion of the corresponding literature is being undertaken in the methodological contribution by Friedrich Schweitzer in this volume, at this point four published projects will be mentioned as examples. The following five-volume work from the mid-1970s was a pioneering publication on the subject of religious education: – Schultze, H., and H. Kirchhoff, eds. 1975–1977. ‘Christian Education in Europe’ (German title: Christliche Erziehung in Europa), Stuttgart/München: Calwer/Kösel (5 volumes: England, the Netherlands, Sweden, France, Poland). The fact that research into the area of religious education has become more international in recent years and that comparative research on the topic is uncircumventable is shown by the following three publications: – Jackson, R., S. Miedema, W. Weiße, and J.-P. Willaime, eds. 2007. Religion and Education in Europe. Developments, Contexts and Debates. Münster : Waxmann. – Kuyk, E., R. Jensen, D. Lankshear, E. Löh Manna, and P. Schreiner, eds. 2007. Religious Education in Europe. Situation and current trends in schools. Oslo: IKO. – Lähnemann, J., and P. Schreiner, eds. 2009. Interreligious and Values Education in Europe. Map and Handbook. Münster : Comenius. Below, the thirteen key issues mentioned above are introduced briefly1. The first three key issues examine the frameworks of society, law and politics. Here, historical explanations should be very useful in helping us understand the status quo.

1 In the German edition of this volume (Jäggle, M., M. Rothgangel, and T. Schlag. eds. 2013. Religiöse Bildung an Schulen in Europa. Teil 1: Mitteleuropa, Göttingen: V& R unipress) there were used only twelve key issues. The key issue ‘11. Empirical Research concerning religious education’ is added, also the chapters Croatia and Liechtenstein. All Chapters are updated.

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1.

Preface

The socio-religious background of the country

This brief insight into the socio-religious situation deals, in particular, with important changes, such as those that follow in the wake of migration.

2.

Legal framework for religious education and the relationship between religious communities and the state

The relationship between churches, religious groups and the state is regulated differently in each country, with consequences for the different legal frameworks that exist for religious education.

3.

Developments in the country’s education policy

Across Europe, efforts at reform to the education system are being made, which also have direct and indirect effects on religious education. After outlining these framework conditions, in addition to the issues four to six key aspects of religious education come to the fore:

4.

Role of religiously sponsored schools, including any changes and developments, legal relationships

The place of religiously sponsored schools in the education landscape of each country reveals much about state and societal recognition of the importance of churches and religious groups in the education system, as well as about the commitment to education of the churches and religious groups.

5.

Conceptions and tasks of religious education

The conceptions and tasks of religious education expresses how it is typically positioned between the religious communities, the school and young people – as well as society as a whole. It is in the interrelationship between these different players that the challenge of religious education lies.

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6.

Practice / reality of religious education in different schools

Depending on the type of school in question, religious education can present different frameworks, challenges and difficulties. In issues seven to ten, important contextual phenomena in religious education at the level of the school are addressed, and a targeted concentration on ecumenical and interfaith cooperation and the education of religion teachers undertaken.

7.

Observations on alternative subjects / learning areas like ethics, philosophy etc.

Consideration of subjects / learning areas offered ‘parallel’ to religious education is important, as their availability or non-availability as well as their relationship to religious education (e. g. as an alternative subject or as an elective subject) has not only an indirect effect on the way in which religious education is provided, it also affects what kind of ethical and religious education those pupils who do not attend religion class receive.

8.

Dealing with religious diversity

The question of how to deal with diversity and which forms of cooperation the different religious players within society can come up with has become a critical challenge in European countries.

9.

Religion in school outside of religious education

Does religion have a role to play in school beyond that of a specific subject offered to pupils? The answer to this question reveals to what extent the whole climate of the school is religion-friendly.

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10.

Preface

Training of teachers of religious education: institutes, structures, priorities issues

This point addresses an important structural determinant which, based on the empirically proven importance of the character of the religion teacher for the religious education of pupils, deserves special attention. Since the aim here is not merely to take stock of the situation but instead to make suggestions for the next steps required in the area of religious education, it was important to formulate concrete desiderata as well as challenges for each country and direct the reader towards further sources of information.

11.

Empirical Research concerning religious education

For a long time empirical research concerning religious education was neglected. In the last ten years, however, there have been more and more empirical studies. Of special interest are the relevant studies in the respective country and the different areas addressed in empirical research.

12.

Desiderata / challenges for religious education in a European context

Here, the results for each country from the analysis of the key issues mentioned above are examined with a view to finding out which topics or issues would be important for further work in the area of religious education in Europe.

13.

Further information (e. g., relevant literature on religious education, institutions, websites)

The selection of additional sources of information should facilitate further research in the field of religious education in the respective countries. Based on these key issues, the articles listed here lead to interesting results, the comparative analysis of which is reserved for a later publication. We are greatly indebted to the Rectorate of the University of Vienna and the ‘Amt für Unterricht und Erziehung der Erzdiözese Wien’ for their support concering the printing costs of this book. We also would like to thank Ms. NoÚmi

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Lakmaier for the translation of some chapters and Mag. Rotraut Lakmaier for the proof-reading. Vienna, 14/4/2015

Martin Rothgangel / Martin Jäggle / Thomas Schlag

References Council of Europe, eds. 2007. Religious Diversity and Intercultural Education: A Reference Book for Schools. Strasbourg: Council of Europe Publishing. Council of Europe. 2008. Recommendation CM / Rec (2008) 12 of the Committee of Ministers to member states on the dimension of religions and non-religious convictions within intercultural education. https://wcd.coe.int//ViewDoc.jsp?Ref=CM/Rec(2008)12& Lan guage=lanEnglish& Ver=original& BackColorInternet=DBDCF2& BackColorIntranet= FDC864& BackColorLogged=FDC864. Jackson, R. 2014a. Signposts – Policy and practice for teaching about religions and nonreligious worldviews in intercultural education. Strasbourg: Council of Europe Publishing. Jackson, R. 2014b. The Development and Dissemination of Council of Europe Policy on Education about Religions and Non-religious Convictions. Journal of Beliefs and Values: Studies in Religion & Education 35, no. 2: 133–43. OSCE. 2007. The Toledo Guiding Principles on Teaching about Religion or Belief in Public Schools. Warsaw: Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights. Rothgangel, M., and B. Schröder, eds. 2009. Evangelischer Religionsunterricht in den Ländern der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Empirische Daten – Kontexte – Entwicklungen. Leipzig: Evangelische Verlagsanstalt.

Friedrich Schweitzer

Comparing Religious Education in Schools in European Countries: Challenges for International Comparative Research

The aim of the present volume – and of the volumes to follow in this series – is to present the different ways in which religious education is organized and taught in schools in European countries. The first task in this context is to provide information about the current situation and its different social, cultural, legal, and educational backgrounds. Yet it is easy to see that this endeavour inevitably implies a comparative perspective. How do the different countries compare in respect to religious education at school? Are there common characteristics shared by at least a number of countries or must the model used in a particular country be viewed exclusively as an individual case that can only be appreciated and evaluated in its own national context? From a different point of view one may also wonder if the major differences to be observed can really be attributed to the national contexts or if there are similarities, for example, between teachers in different countries that are much stronger than the differences related to their respective nationalities. In other words, liberal teachers in Austria, for example, could be much closer to their liberal colleagues in the United Kingdom than to their conservative colleagues in their home country. Catholic religion teachers in Germany could have more in common with Catholic teachers in the Netherlands than with their Protestant colleagues in Germany, etc. Such questions indicate that the presentation of the different ways in which religious education is organized and taught in schools in European countries, leads on to questions and problems that usually are discussed in comparative education. This is why this chapter addresses questions of comparative research in religious education which can be considered an emerging field of study. Comparative research has special presuppositions. It takes up specific interests and, most often at least today, also requires international cooperation. Clear beginnings of comparative approaches in religious education can be found at least 100 years ago. In his considerations on the future of religious education in the United States, George Albert Coe, for example, refers to the experiences in different European countries as his case studies (Coe 1913). In 1930, Otto Eberhard went even further and published a volume ‘Welterziehungsbewegung’

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(Eberhard 1930) – a title that, in today’s language would probably read ‘A Global Educational Movement’. The book, which covers new developments in education around the world, was written from a Christian ecumenical perspective as well as in the spirit of the educational reform movements of the time. Since the 1970s, international cooperation and dialogical exchange in religious education in Europe and beyond became much more established and widespread than was the case at earlier times. While certain international initiatives at an institutional level, for example, in relationship to the international Sunday School movement, the ecumenical movement, or educational reform movements go back as far as the time of the late nineteenth century, regular seminars and established groups like the ‘International Seminar on Religious Education and Values’ (ISREV), the ‘International Academy of Practical Theology’ (IAPT) or the ‘International Society for Empirical Research in Theology’ (ISERT), to only mention the most important ones, did not come into existence before the last 40 years. There were, however, important precursors on a more practical level (cf. Schreiner and Holt 1995). Such groups or associations now serve as an informal yet increasingly stable institutional basis for international exchange which obviously is valued by a growing number of researchers in the field of religious education cherishing international contacts and cooperation. Such associations and conferences tend to be not denominationally oriented and bring together people with different denominational and religious affiliations. At the same time, the traditional denominational borderlines in Europe can still be felt. For example, there are Catholic forms of cooperation, especially in Southern Europe which should also be mentioned here.1 Regular German-Italian, German-French and since recently again GermanPolish meetings of Catholic religious educators belong to this category. The results of such meetings have become available in print as well. The seminar ‘Comparative Religious Education in Europe’ took place from 1997 to 2006 every year at VIU (Venice International University). The participants, of Catholic, Protestant or Orthodox affiliation, came from six European countries. The question of the religious and cultural development in Europe was the core interest for the work of these meetings (cf. as a collection of essays: Bock et al. 2007). Since 2002, there has been a German/Polish journal with articles in German and in Polish (always in both languages: Keryks. Mie˛dzynarodowy Przegla˛d Katechetyczno-Pedagogicznoreligijny/Internationale Religionspädagogisch-katechetische Rundschau). Given the growing and continued interest in international exchange, it is surprising that not more systematic work was actually done on topics of international comparative religious education in the past, although interest in this 1 I am grateful to the editors of the present volume for pointing these out to me.

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field of research is now growing rapidly. In the years since the turn of the new century, international comparative studies have come to play an important role in religious education research. My own perspective is based on comparative work that I have been involved in, concerning religious education in the United States and in Germany (Osmer and Schweitzer 2003), concerning Protestant and Roman Catholic forms of religious education in Germany in past and present (Schweitzer et al. 2002; Schweitzer et al. 2006; Schweitzer and Simojoki 2005; Schweitzer et al. 2010) as well as concerning non-formal types of religious education (confirmation work) in different European countries (Schweitzer, Ilg and Simojoki 2010). The attempt of internationalising the fields of religious education and practical theology has been very important to me (cf. Fowler, Nipkow and Schweitzer 1991; Schweitzer and van der Ven 1999; Osmer and Schweitzer 2003).2 It must also be mentioned, however, that my background is German and that readers should be aware of the limitations of any national perspective, including my own.

1.

What Is Comparative Research in Religious Education? – Initial Considerations

Within the present volume, models of religious education used in different countries will be the first object for comparison. This includes not only comparisons between different countries but also between different denominational types of Christian religious education (Orthodox, Protestant, Roman Catholic) and of Jewish or Muslim religious education as well as of non-denominational types (multifaith, religious studies, etc.) and a so-called alternative subject ‘ethics’ that may also address topics related to religion. So comparisons can take different directions – international, interdenominational, interreligious. Comparative studies are used in a variety of fields, including education, religious studies, history, economy, sociology, law, etc. (for a helpful general overview cf. Kaelble and Schriewer 2003; for comparative education see Bray, Adamson and Mason 2007; Cowen and Kazamias 2009; for the German discussion see Allemann-Ghionda 2004; Waterkamp 2006; Adick 2008). Such studies are not based on a single methodology but increasingly make use of all methodologies current in the respective fields – analytical, empirical, historical, 2 This chapter builds upon earlier publications on international comparative research in religious education (cf. Schweitzer 1998 and 2004). In the following, I am using parts of these earlier publications without referencing it in detail. Some of the ideas in this chapter were presented at international conferences in Lund/Sweden, Dribergen/The Netherlands, Ottawa/ Canada, and Rome.

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etc. This indicates that comparative research in religious education should also not be seen as limited to one particular methodology but must be conceived of as an umbrella term for many different approaches. Moreover, comparative work tends to be interdisciplinary and often even multidisciplinary. Generally speaking, comparative approaches make use of comparisons between either different phenomena or between the same phenomenon in different contexts. An example for comparing different phenomena in the field of religion is the comparison of Christianity and Hinduism. Studies across different contexts, such as Hinduism in India and in the UK, would be an example of studying the same religion in different contexts. This example also shows that the phenomena to be compared must have something in common – Christianity and Hinduism are, or at least are considered, religions (an assumption which is less automatic than one might assume at first glance – the notion of religion as an entity has itself come under discussion, and it is an open question if and to what degree religion can be separated from culture, etc.). Without something in common, however, comparison would not make much sense – just like common lore has it: apples are no oranges. For purposes of comparison, there must always be a common point of reference (‘tertium comparationis’). This is also obvious in the case of comparing the same phenomenon in different contexts, like different ways of integrating the younger generation through schooling in different societies. In this case, we can learn more about the possible functions of schooling but also about different ways of working with young people which may lead to innovations in the countries compared or in other countries that may try to learn from their example. Comparative research in religious education obviously can focus on how the same phenomenon – religious education or an aspect of it, like different ways of teaching, textbooks, styles of group work, etc. – appears in different denominational, religious, and/or regional or national contexts. Looking at religious education from this perspective can broaden our horizons in that it makes us think about questions which do not occur in our own context. At this point, this initial understanding of religious education may suffice. The understanding will become more detailed in the following, especially concerning different methodologies.

2.

Reasons and Expectations

It is important to be clear about the different possible reasons for doing international comparative research in religious education. These reasons are closely related to the expectations which, in turn, will influence and shape this kind of research, including its methodology.

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The starting point for any interest in comparative religious education most naturally is the assumption that this approach has something to add to this field, just like with comparative research in other fields. So what does comparative research in religious education have to add to this field? In my understanding, we can distinguish between general reasons for comparative research in religious education and more specific reasons related to our contemporary situation, among others, in Europe. Among the general reasons I count motives such as Christian ecumenism, interreligious education and dialogue, internationalization, globalization, etc. Among the specific reasons, the effects of European unification are a good example. This process of unification is related to internationalization and globalization. At the same time, it is more limited and more defined. It is creating a new political and economic situation that also affects education. While the binding agreements on which the Union is founded leave matters pertaining to education to the individual member states, it has become obvious that the unification does in fact also affect education. Comparative assessment studies like PISA on student achievement are a well-known example of such international effects, political and legal adaptations based on non-formalized political cooperation within Europe are another case in point. If research in religious education should play a role in such processes, it can no longer be limited to just one country. Especially since September 11, 2001, European political institutions have increasingly become interested in matters of intercultural and interreligious education (cf. Council of Europe 2005) which also indicates a growing need for international research. International associations or seminars in religious education indicate the potential of international exchange and dialogue. It is probably not unfair to say that, at least compared to other fields of education especially in German speaking countries, religious education has in fact become much more international or internationally minded, given the various international networks in this field and the considerable number of international conferences now taking place on a fairly regular basis. This situation implies a certain achievement but there also are a number of severe limitations. Strong national boundaries still prevent research in religious education from becoming truly international. If an analyst would compare research in religious education with research in medical science, for example, one major difference would probably be very obvious. Medical discoveries or inventions in one European country will often have an immediate effect on the medical praxis in any other country, at least within Europe where comparable medical systems are in existence. This is clearly not the case with discoveries or inventions in the field of religious education. German or Austrian religious educators may be interested in religious education in the Netherlands or in

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Belgium but what research is done there, only has minimal effects on what people will accept as good practice in Germany or Austria. There are interesting implications to this observation. One traditional argument for the need for a national focus of research in education points to the political context in which educational praxis is embedded. Education is always strongly influenced by national factors such as political decisions on the curriculum, etc. It is also influenced by regional or even local traditions and challenges such as the actual composition of the respective population. Moreover, it must be in line with the training of teachers available in the respective country because without the appropriate personnel especially schools cannot be sustained, etc. Yet while all these factors continue to play their role in the present, it can also not be overlooked that international parameters are of increasing influence as well. I have mentioned international student assessment as one example. Other aspects refer to the effects of globalization and to certain educational movements or ideas that are of international influence (cf. Schweitzer 2001) – i. e., transnational influences that are also much discussed in comparative education. It is also interesting to note what kind of research has really gained international attention in the field of religious education in the past. If there has ever been a lingua franca in religious education – an international language and a means of international communication –, it has certainly been the psychology of education or the psychology of religion. Throughout the twentieth century, psychological research has been operative in this way – from William James and Edwin Diller Starbuck, from Freud and Jung in Austria and Switzerland in the first half of the century, all the way to Piaget, Kohlberg, Erikson and Fowler in later times (cf. Fowler, Nipkow and Schweitzer 1991). Many of their theories have been challenged, among others, because they are not sensitive enough to different contexts. Yet they continue to stand for the possibility of international research in the field of religious education. This observation underscores the open question how far we can extend international research in religious education to more practical issues—models of teaching and learning, the curriculum as a theory of what contents are indispensable, organizational models, etc. International comparative research in religious education is one attempt of extending existing boundaries within research and of making them more permeable. Comparative research in religious education is still at an early point of its development. Yet a first attempt of summarizing some of the main reasons and expectations for it may be of help for future work. The aspects described in the following are not meant to be exhaustive. They have grown out of my own experience with this kind of work, often together with colleagues from other

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countries, other denominations, and sometimes other religions, and also often in the context of international seminars or research projects.

2.1

The need for integrated international research in religious education is clearly growing

As can be seen from the increasing number of international conferences, the idea of creating a steady type of exchange between representatives of religious education from different countries has become quite popular. At a time of internationalization and globalization, international exchange seems timely and natural. Yet from my point of view, this kind of exchange only makes sense in the long run if the intended process of learning from each other can be based on systematic (comparative) research. In this understanding, comparative research is the attempt of carrying on the work of international consultations on a different level and with a different time structure which should allow for more detailed exchanges and more thorough theoretical analysis. Such research is the more or less natural outcome of earlier informal encounters and exchanges, and it should be pursued in order to increase the yield of international cooperation. Moreover, for religious education as an academic discipline, international research has become increasingly important for producing the credentials for a field of study which, according to today’s understanding of the academic world, has to compete with other disciplines which have turned international as well.

2.2

Research in religious education must include international comparisons in order to evaluate national models and to capture international developments

Many research questions cannot be adequately addressed as long as we limit ourselves to only one denominational, religious, or national context. In many cases, a particular country has opted for a certain model, for example, of religious education within the state school. Consequently it is difficult to really find out about the outcome and consequences of different models. Germany, for example, has based religious education, for the most part, on some kind of cooperation between state and church while Sweden, for example, has opted for a stronger separation between state and church and consequently for a religious studies approach in religious education. In France, there is no religious education in state schools. It is very hard if not impossible to do research about alternative options within one of these countries because such options do not really exist there or, at best, only to a very limited degree. Yet international

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comparative research on the effects of the different types of religious education in Germany and Sweden and of the non-availability of religious education in French state schools could be highly interesting. Another aspect of the need for international comparative research has to do with the increasingly international or even global nature of the phenomena under study. Models of schooling and aims of education have long ceased to only be at the discretion of national politicians even if the politicians often try to make their national audiences forget about the many invisible hands that are operative internationally. Moreover, cultural developments like pluralization and individualization clearly are not limited to just one country, and the forces that fuel them, most likely also thrive on factors like international media, international marketing, etc. While most of my examples in this chapter, in line with the scope of the present volume, come from the context of the school and of religious education at school, there is no reason why comparative research should not apply to other fields. In the case of religious education, the relationship between formal, informal and non-formal forms is of special importance. It has been established by a number of empirical studies that religious education or nurture in the family is of great influence on how students perceive religious education at school (cf. Bucher 2000). Most of my arguments apply no less to religious education in school than to educational settings in the congregation, nurture or education in the family, youth work, adult education, etc. The most recent example along these lines is the international study of confirmation work in different European countries (see below).

2.3

International comparative research in religious education can challenge assumptions otherwise taken for granted

Explanations for certain developments in religious education are often based on assumptions which can be tested in new ways by applying them to similar or parallel developments in a different context. According to my experience (cf. Osmer and Schweitzer 2003; Schweitzer and Simojoki 2005), it seems that such assumptions and explanations developed in one particular context, often will not stand this test. This makes comparative research even more attractive. Comparative research can lead to new and challenging questions and insights which probably could not have been reached otherwise. One example for this concerns the relationship between theology, religious education, and democracy. The standard German textbook view claims that liberal theology, childoriented education, and antidemocratic attitudes went hand in hand at the beginning of the twentieth century and that the approaches to religious education

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developed at that time must be considered politically suspect. This argument was often used by later Barthian religious educators in order to convince people of their not so liberal theology. If we compare the developments of religious education in Germany and in the United States, we come to realize that liberal theology and child-oriented education can also be closely related to democracy (for example, with J. Dewey or G.A. Coe, cf. Osmer and Schweitzer 2003). In other words, in light of international comparison, the standard text book account is in much need of correction!

2.4

Intercultural, ecumenical, and interreligious dialogue must include the ways in which different cultures, denominations, and religions practise religious education

Intercultural, ecumenical, and interreligious dialogue and cooperation which is becoming more and more important for religious education, should not only focus on doctrines, rituals, forms of ethics, etc. It should also include some indepth understanding of how religious education is seen in different national, denominational, and religious traditions. Otherwise the dialogue will be lacking in an important respect—which, in this case and in the context of religious education, clearly would be a contradiction in terms. How can we be interested in other religions as a topic for religious education while omitting all considerations concerning education in such traditions? Without addressing religious education, the dialogue will not include the ways in which a denomination or religion deals with new generations and in which new generations respond to the demands of the older generation. So far, the various forms of intercultural, ecumenical, and interreligious dialogue have, for the most part, tended to neglect such questions. While the literature on different religions and on comparative theology is clearly growing, the same is not true for education and religious education as viewed from the perspective of different religions (as exceptions see Tulasiewicz and Brock 1988; Tulasiewicz and To 1993). Comparative research in religious education could play an important role in filling this gap, thus contributing to the dialogue between different denominations, religions, and cultures, and at the same time creating new possibilities for religious education itself.

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Political reasons make it desirable to develop shared international standards for religious education

For political reasons, the process of internationalization and globalization in general and of the political unification of Europe in particular make it highly desirable to develop a more comprehensive understanding of religious education. Standards for religious education, for example, should no longer be based on one national situation alone but should apply – speaking for the situation in Europe – at least to the different countries within the European Union, among others in order to give them more weight in the political arena. Saying this, it is important to note that such standards should not be confused with the now current standards for assessment formulated by government agencies like OfSTED in the UK but that they refer to what religious education professionals – on the basis of their academic expertise – have reason to expect to be made available for children and youth in different countries. In a first attempt at setting forth such standards or professional criteria (cf. Schweitzer 2002 for more details), I suggested the following examples which seem especially important to me in respect to RE in schools: (a) Religion must and can be taught in line with the criteria of general education (educational quality). (b) Religious education is of relevance to the public and must be taught in line with this relevance (contribution to general education). (c) Religious education must include some type of interdenominational and interreligious learning, in line with the increasingly pluralist situation in many countries (dialogical quality, contribution to peace and tolerance). (d) Religious education must be based on the children’s right to religion and religious education (child-centred approach based on children’s rights, cf. Schweitzer 2000). (e) Religious education teachers must be professionals in the sense that they have reached a level of self-reflexivity based on academic work which allows for a critical appropriation of their religious backgrounds and biographies (professional teaching). Another example for the attempt of identifying standards is called the ‘Toledo Guiding Principles on Teaching About Religions and Beliefs in Public Schools’ (ODIHR 2007). These principles advocate a religious studies type of religious education (‘teaching about religion’) as a minimum requirement for schools. Clearly such guidelines or standards set forth by individuals or working groups are no more than a first beginning for the process of identifying expectations towards religious education which are based on a broad professional consensus and can count on widespread international support. It is also evident,

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however, that formulating shared expectations becomes more and more important.

3.

Obstacles for Comparative Research

If there are good reasons for comparative research in religious education on the one hand and if, on the other hand, it has nevertheless taken a long time before this kind of research has become a serious topic, two conclusions are possible: Either the reasons stated above are not quite as good as they appear to be, or there must be specific obstacles that have prevented comparative research from flourishing. Since I am convinced that the reasons for comparative research stated above are in fact good, I want to focus on the issue of obstacles. Three prime obstacles seem to play a crucial role: First, there is the problem of language. Comparative research most often involves working with at least two different languages. This seems to raise special problems in the field of religious education. While the degree of internationalisation in religious education is comparatively high, the same cannot be said about religious education’s ability to work in different languages. International conferences are typically held in English. Publications will only be read beyond one’s own country – or will only be accepted for publication – if they are in English. This monolingualism clearly distinguishes religious education unfavourably from other fields, for example, in theology, e. g. exegesis or church history. Serious comparative research is impossible without securing the linguistic presuppositions. The fact, that, for example in Germany, there are a number of studies referring to the UK and basically none referring to Scandinavia is telling in terms of what languages researchers are familiar with. In terms of the considered importance of research topics, however, it does not make sense at all. Second, there is the problem of how comparative research fits with the tasks of training educators and teachers. How much knowledge about international developments should be required from a highschool teacher? What is the use of becoming familiar with the pedagogies in other countries in terms of improving one’s own work in a local grade school? I do not think that answers to these questions are impossible. Yet the existing religious education literature does not go very far in telling students why they should be interested in comparative research or in international discussions and developments (as an exception cf. Heimbrock 2004). At the same time, at least some teacher students have become rather mobile, in Germany, for example, because they combine two subjects in their studies – for instance, a modern language and religious education. Such students often also develop an interest in comparing religious education in the

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two countries they are familiar with and may be natural candidates for doing comparative research. Third, there is the issue of financing comparative research. Doing research in several locations tends to be more expensive. Researchers need travel grants and other kinds of support in order to be able to do their work. The general climate for international cooperation within research foundations, however, has probably never been better. It seems to be up to religious education itself if this field will profit from this openness or not. Moreover, national research funds and foundations have started to launch cooperative international programs. If we want research in the field of religious education to play a stronger role in such contexts, the international character of this research must be described and defined more clearly on an international basis that includes comparative aspects. Such developments, however, can also be ambivalent. As the EU, for example, is turning into a major sponsor of research, its so-called research frameworks increasingly define possibilities for applications in a given period of time. It is no coincidence that religious education has never played a significant role in any of these frameworks, and successful research proposals from religious education with the EU have been rare. The continued exclusion of this field of research can only be justified with a very narrow understanding of research that limits it to science and economy. It is an important political task for the future to challenge politicians to overcome such unhealthy limitations.

4.

Existing Studies: A Preliminary Typology

A limited chapter is not the place to review the existing studies pertaining to comparative religious education. In addition to this, as to my (limited) knowledge, no systematic bibliography or overview has become available so far which would make it very difficult to do a systematic review. Among others, such a review would have to be aware of the literature in different countries (and languages!) as well as in different academic disciplines (religious education, general education, history, sociology, cultural studies, religious studies, etc.). What I want to offer in the following is a preliminary typology of international comparative studies from the perspective of religious education. Such a typology could be attained in a deductive manner by making the reasons for this kind of research as described above the basis for categories that correspond to different expectations. This procedure would be very abstract, however, and it would probably not be helpful for future research. For this reason I prefer to base my typology on existing research while, at the same time, using this research as a starting point for more far-reaching considerations concerning future directions in comparative research.

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Country Reports and Country-By-Country Comparisons

The starting point for international comparative research in education in general is often seen in the attempt of learning from other countries. This interest typically referred to countries with supposedly advanced systems of education. The result consisted in a report on education in a particular country, maybe with some additional considerations on what the report might mean for one’s own country. Taking Germany as an example, studies on religious education in the UK (Haussmann 1993; Meyer 1999; Knoblauch 2011), the United States (Kwiran 1987), in Israel (Schröder 2000), and Poland (Rogowski 1995) were published. Such studies are certainly most interesting to read, and they offer helpful information for all those who are not familiar with the country under study. Yet they also indicate that more systematic comparisons and more detailed perspectives are needed. Another critical question refers to the location of the authors. Studies on religious education in ‘other countries’ are often written by domestic authors and for domestic audiences. In other cases, the respective studies are the result of doctoral dissertation written by ‘foreign’ students in Germany. Some of the obvious shortcomings of reports written by domestic authors have been overcome by asking specialists from other countries. Systematic reports of this kind have become available, for example, in a series edited by the Comenius-Institute in the 1970s (Christliche Erziehung in Europa, for example volume 1 on England: ed. by Schultze and Kirchhoff 1975). The authors of this series were not from Germany but from the countries described. The (brief) presentations on religious education in the different European countries edited by Elza Kuyk et al. (Kuyk et al. 2007) also come from an international authorship. A similar but much more extensive collection of this kind has been published on Muslim religious education (Aslan 2009). Recently, international handbooks have become available that attempt to cover most countries in the world (for example, Davis and Miroshnikova 2013; the Springer Publishing House has produced a whole series ‘International Handbooks of Religion and Education’ covering different aspects, sometimes including country reports). In another step, collections of this kind can be extended into comparative studies that systematically describe religious education in two or more countries and, in addition to this, offer explicitly comparative interpretations and evaluations (for an early example cf. Ouellet 1985). A recent example for this kind of study refers to religious education in Norway and England (Br”ten 2013) – an outstanding study that also includes extensive considerations on the methodology of comparative research. This implies that research cannot limit itself to only one location, denomi-

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nation, or religion in order to examine it from one’s own perspective but should increasingly focus on at least two different situations or locations and should include some kind of mutual two-way or multiple perspectivity or mutual comparison (like religious education in the UK as perceived from a Dutch perspective – religious education in the Netherlands as perceived from a UK perspective). The attempt to work with this kind of multiple, or at least mutual, perspectivity marks one of the main differences between earlier studies presented by single authors and more recent studies carried out by a team of authors. In our book Religious Education between Modernization and Globalization (Osmer and Schweitzer 2003), for example, we try to describe and to compare the development of religious education theory in two different countries, Germany and the United States, and also in continuous international conversation concerning the interpretation and evaluation of the respective national developments, always paying heed to the different perspectives.

4.2

Problem-Centred Comparative Studies

With its focus on religious education as an academic discipline, our study on religious education in the US and in Germany mentioned in the preceding paragraph (Osmer and Schweitzer 2003) can also be considered an example for what I want to call problem-centred studies. Other examples refer to the role of religious education as “a contribution to dialogue or a factor of conflict in transforming societies of European countries” (the REDCo-Project, cf. Jackson et al. 2007 and the other volumes in the series ‘Religious Diversity and Education in Europe’, Waxmann Publishing House). On a smaller scale, ENRECA (European Network for Religious education in Europe through Contextual Approaches) has produced a number of studies, for example, on ‘religious competence’ (Heimbrock, Scheilke and Schreiner 2001; for later publications of this network also see the series ‘Religious Diversity and Education in Europe’ mentioned above). The Comenius-Institute has organized a number of related international consultations and projects around current issues of religious education, for instance, religious education’s relationship to theology (Schreiner, Pollard and Sagberg 2006). As an example from the United States, the study on ‘controversies around the world’ concerning religion in schools (Thomas 2006) can also be mentioned in this context. Textbooks from different Islamic countries were the object of extensive comparative research by a group of German scholars cooperating with a number of colleagues from the countries under study (Hock, Lähnemann and Reiss 2006). The main research question referred to the ways in which Christianity is

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presented to children and youth (the corresponding question had been researched earlier in reference to Islam in German textbooks). From a religious studies point of view that makes the ‘objective’ presentation of different religions the sole perspective of interpretation and evaluation – as opposed, for example, to educational criteria – Wanda Alberts examines different models of religious education in European schools (Alberts 2007). Her results are quite critical of most models, not only including traditional denominational models but also the multifaith model in the UK, because, according to her understanding, none of them is objective enough. The only exception to this criticism would be the Swedish model, which, by Swedish analysts, is often considered in poor shape. Such discrepancies again indicate the need for approaches that are open to multiple perspectives and evaluations. Taking into account Robert Jackson’s comparative discussion of the relationship between religious education and plurality (Jackson 2004) next to Albert’s different views raises further questions concerning an approach based on religious studies alone. A smaller study consisting of case studies in a number of European countries can also be placed in the category of problem-centred comparative studies (Smyth, Lyons and Darmody 2013). Its focus is on the place of religion in school, with a special emphasis on children’s views.

4.3

Integrated International Empirical Studies

In recent years, for the first time in history, major empirical studies conducted in different countries have become available in the field of religious education. Four major projects belong into this category. The first two of them are related to religious education at school. The REDCo-Project (cf. Jackson et al. 2007), already mentioned above among the problem-centred studies, included extensive qualitative and quantitative research on students’ views of religious education, especially in relationship to learning about different religions (Knauth et al. 2008; Valk et al. 2009). One major finding of this project is the importance of religious education at school in terms of giving adolescents an opportunity for interreligious learning that would otherwise not be available to them. The TRES network (‘Teaching Religion in a multicultural European Society’) included an empirical study on religion teachers in 16 European countries (Ziebertz and Riegel 2009). Among others, teachers were asked about their goals and about their preferences for ‘teaching religion’, ‘teaching about religion’ and ‘teaching from religion’. This threefold distinction, however, which was originally developed in the UK, does not seem to be applicable to these teachers (Popp

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2013). Most of them tend to combine the different goals. In their practice, contrary to the theoretical assumptions, the different goals are not mutually exclusive but are most often held by one and the same teacher. Religious education does not only take place in formal settings but also in informal and non-formal ways. One of the most important programs offered by Protestant Churches in Europe is confirmation work. A recent empirical study on this program carried out in seven European countries was not only based on one of the largest samples of studies on youth in Europe (more than 20,000 adolescents) but also offers interesting insights into the situation of institutional religion as viewed from the perspective of adolescents (Schweitzer, Ilg and Simojoki 2010). ‘Youth in Europe’ was the title of a study on the religious interests and attitudes in a number of European countries and beyond (Ziebertz and Kay 2005, 2006; Ziebertz, Kay and Riegel 2009). The study yielded important insights in commonalities and differences of the respective outlooks of adolescents which, in turn, can be considered an important presupposition for religious education.

4.4

Comparative Historical Studies

Many of the studies mentioned in the preceding sections include references to historical developments in the different countries involved. A few of the studies cover at least some periods of history, such as the twentieth century, but a comparative history of religious education in different countries has not been written. It could be an interesting task for future work to give historical approaches a more prominent place in comparative research in religious education.

5.

Suggestions for the Methodology of International, Interdenominational, and Interreligious Comparative Research in Religious Education

Given the still limited number of systematic studies conducted in the emerging field of comparative religious education it is obviously too early to offer a summary of methodological considerations (the most elaborate treatment of such questions so far can be found with Osmer and Schweitzer 2003 and Br”ten 2013). More work has to be done before we can have something like a general methodology. My intentions in this section are much more modest. What I can offer is based on experiences from my own work and on an analysis of the

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respective studies carried out by others. Most of all it is meant to be of help to those who are interested in doing similar kinds of work. Comparative research is not a methodology of its own, at least not in the usual sense. There is no special methodology that could or should be used exclusively in comparative work, nor are the existing studies in this field based on a single methodology. If we look at these studies, we find empirical procedures as well as historical and analytical approaches. There are quantitative studies, for example, on youth and religion in Europe but there also are qualitative case studies on how schools respond to cultural and religious plurality. There are analytical studies, for example, comparing the meaning of the term ‘religious education’ in different countries such as the U.S. and the UK, and there are historical studies that trace religious education’s responses to modernization and globalization in twentieth century Germany and in the U.S. One conclusion from this observation could be that comparative studies should make use of whatever methodologies will fit their respective purposes. This conclusion is actually shared by major representatives of general education (cf. esp. the overview: Allemann-Ghionda 2004). According to this understanding, no special methodology for comparative research can be – or should be – identified. The decisive question is, just like with all research, if the methods applied can really lead to the data and insights aspired. Yet general educators also maintain that, over the course of time, comparative education has learned some important lessons, and such lessons may be of interest for religious education as well. In earlier times, as mentioned above, comparative education was often meant as some kind of international espionage. In this view, researchers should go to other countries in order to collect intelligence concerning the most advanced techniques of teaching and of organizing education. The academic spies were then expected to return to their home countries and to immediately put their knowledge into practice there. Yet while the history of comparative education has known quite a few examples of this kind of enterprise, it includes very few instances that could substantiate the hopes for immediate profits. Education just seems to be a very contextual matter so that what works in one place, will often not work in another, and what techniques or strategies seem to produce the best effects in one country, will fail in the next or will even have opposite effects in a different location. Moreover, it is in fact quite difficult to clearly discern the factors that are responsible for educational success. The current PISA debates are a good point in case. Many European countries have come to look at Finland as a successful model. Yet until today, it remains an open question what exactly others might be able to learn from Finland and how Finnish achievements could be adapted to the situation in another country. In other words, comparative research should be highly sensitive to contextual issues. Upon first glance, it seems to be very easy to compare, for example, text

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books or individual pedagogies. Yet upon closer scrutiny, such one-to-one comparisons turn out to be a most tricky matter. One-to-one comparisons, for example, of religious education in the schools of two or more different countries may be the approach that appears to be most natural and conducive. Yet contrary to their ‘prima facie’ plausibility, such comparisons are especially demanding and even questionable because the general situation in the respective countries as well as the schools are also different and because contextual effects of this kind are hard to control. At first glance, limited one-to-one comparisons seem to be easier to handle and much more manageable than larger-scale comprehensive comparisons. Yet it has been a repeated experience in general education that the results of such comparisons will not stand the test of educational praxis. At some point, for example, John Hull and I had a literary dispute on the understanding of ‘control’ in religious education, especially in relationship to what he calls ‘church control’ in German religious education (cf. Schweitzer 2006). One of the results from our exchange can be seen in the agreement that it is quite difficult to become clear about the meaning of something like ‘control over religious education’ as long as one does not take account of the systemic nature of religious education, its position within a certain type of educational and legal system, its embedment in different cultures of school and society, etc. As it turns out, UK law and German law are not only different in terms of content – they also differ in type as legal specialists call it. One-to-one comparisons of individual religious education clauses are certainly possible but they will not tell us much about the reality that they refer to. Legal provisions concerning ecclesial control of religious education in one country may go hand in hand with practices that mean less effective control than in other countries where such provisions do not apply. One-to-one comparisons should not be excluded altogether. They can still play a role in comparative research. It should be clear from the beginning, however, that the results gained by this approach will be of limited validity, and that one-to-one comparisons can neither be considered the basic model nor define the scope of comparative research. One way of doing comparative work without limiting oneself to one-to-one comparisons is to take, for example, general contemporary challenges as a starting point. By addressing issues such as cultural and religious plurality or the relationship between commitment and neutrality in religious education, comparisons may gain a point of reference that allows for more complex understandings. It is quite conceivable, for example, that religious education is trying to take up the issue of plurality in one country by changing the requirements for teacher training while another country tries to readjust the curriculum and a third country is focussing on the composition of student groups in religious education in order to create more plural learning environments. If this is a real possibility – and there are in fact examples for all three strategies in Europe – any

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approach that is limited to either teacher training, curriculum development or organizational models would necessarily fall short of what should be addressed. No doubt, there will always be some use in one-to-one comparisons, be it of textbooks, syllabi, teaching methods, etc. But researchers should be quite aware of the inherent limitations of this approach. In my own research, using a more general point of reference which goes beyond particular aspects of religious education praxis or theory, has proven to be decisive in respect to methodology (cf. Osmer and Schweitzer 2003; Schweitzer and Simojoki 2005). In this case, comparisons were based on the process of social modernization and of globalization which two countries or, in the case of a different study, two denominations within the same country had to – and in many ways still have to – struggle with. The comparative question was how religious education has responded to and dealt with the challenges of modernization and globalization and, since these processes are still with us today, what lessons we can learn from this for the future. The assumption guiding this approach was that modernization and globalization can be considered as a process which, at least to some degree, was or is identical for different countries like the United States and Germany, and that the reference to this process will allow for a more comprehensive type of analysis than the oneto-one approach mentioned above. The approach based on theories of modernization and globalization has its limitations as well. Among others it does not account for the contingent aspects which are part and parcel of all national histories. The general accounts of the theories of modernization do not include, for example, the catastrophic experiences of wars or of National Socialism in Germany. Quite obviously, there is no ideal way of doing research. The lesson to be learned here just like in many other cases should be that responsible ways of carrying out research always hinge upon the awareness of one’s own limitations and of the limited nature of all knowledge based on any type of methodology. There is nothing intrinsically wrong with such limitations. Yet if they are overlooked, they easily turn into distortion and prejudice. Internationalization and globalization bring to mind additional questions for research. Obviously, these processes are strong candidates in terms of the contemporary challenges mentioned above. How do internationalization and globalization affect the religious development of young people? And how should religious education respond to their effects? Yet there is an even more far-reaching question that we should consider in this context. If it is true that globalization is weakening the nation state and that international and global forces are becoming more and more influential within the individual nation states, would it not be time to reconsider our ways of thinking about religious education in our respective countries altogether?

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Should we not be prepared to identify ourselves not only as British, Norwegian, or German religious educators but also – at least – as European religious educators? Saying this, I do not want to plead for a new identity that we should just pick up because it would seem in line with our times or with European politics. By raising the question of European religious education I am referring to knowledge structures and to knowledge barriers erected by text book knowledge, by training systems and examination requirements. As mentioned above, in Germany, for example, a future religious education teacher can still pass his or her final exam without much knowledge about the development of religious education, for example, in the UK, and it is probably no different in other European countries. Yet if Europe is becoming a more and more influential context for religious education, such limitations do not make much sense any more. They go back to a time when the nation state was the only determining force for religious education. There are at least a whole number of patterns in religious education that are clearly international. Several influential movements in religious education in the twentieth century were of international scope. Movements like the progressivism after the turn of the twentieth century or the early ecumenical movement of the 1920s brought together people not only from many different countries but even from different continents. Another example is the international Sunday School movement that has spread over many countries all over the world. None of these movements in religious education has received sufficient attention in research, and none of them has been accepted into the prescribed body of textbook knowledge. Consequently, they have also not been allowed to influence our selfunderstanding as national representatives of religious education in any meaningful sense. Another example of international patterns can be seen in the clear parallels to be found in the development of religious education in different countries. Such parallels have been identified in twentieth century USA and Germany (Osmer and Schweitzer 2003). Despite important differences related, among others, to German national socialism, we found a basic pattern of child-oriented models of religious education in the first decades of the twentieth century, followed by approaches that were focussed on theological identity between the 1930s and the 1950s, and finally by understandings that are more sophisticated psychologically and more pluralist in terms of their aims starting in the 1960s. There also are interesting parallels between the UK and Germany mostly in the second half of the twentieth century (cf. Schweitzer et al. 2010; Copley 2003). It is an intriguing question if there might be something like a general European or western pattern of religious education that can be identified through comparative research, and if so, how this pattern could be explained.

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In recent years, we have come to accept that we have to think of the general religious situation in our individual countries through the lense of international tendencies that are not limited to one national location—tendencies like secularization or pluralization. Could it not be the case that we also have to think about religious education within a much more international horizon in order to fully understand what is going on in our own backyards? If we come to affirm this understanding, comparative research on religious education no longer can be a specialty but must turn into a basic requirement for all serious research in our field. Comparative research depends on international team work. Many studies cannot be done by one researcher alone, not because of the workload but mainly because of the required in-depth familiarity with different contexts, locations, and traditions. Much more than most of us have occasion to experience and to learn in our standard contexts of work and study, all researchers are influenced by the context in which they think and work in their academic everyday life. Ideally, comparative research in religious education should be a joint enterprise carried out by mixed teams that comprise representatives from the different countries, denominations, or religions under study. Comparative research in religious education is a dialogical endeavour, and this requirement is not a burden but is the real promise of this kind of work.

References Adick, C. 2008. Vergleichende Erziehungswissenschaft. Eine Einführung. Stuttgart: Kohlhammer. Alberts, W. 2007. Integrative religious education in Europe: a study-of-religions approach. Berlin: de Gruyter. Allemann-Ghionda, C. 2004. Einführung in die Vergleichende Erziehungswissenschaft. Weinheim: Beltz. Aslan, E., ed. 2009. Islamische Erziehung in Europa/Islamic Education in Europe. Wien: Böhlau. Bock, I., J. Dichtl, H. Herion, and W. Prügger, eds. 2007. Europa als Projekt: Religiöse Aspekte in einem politischen Kontext. Berlin: LIT. Br”ten, O. 2013. Towards a methodology for comparative studies in religious education: a study of England and Norway. Münster : Waxmann. Bray, M., B. Adamson, and M. Mason. 2007. Comparative Education Research: Approaches and Methods. Dordrecht: Springer. Bucher, A. A. 2000. Religionsunterricht zwischen Lernfach und Lebenshilfe. Eine empirische Untersuchung zum katholischen Religionsunterricht in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Stuttgart: Kohlhammer. Coe, G.A. 1913. Religious Education. In Monroe’s Cyclopaedia of Education, Vol. V, ed. P. Monroe, 145–50. New York: Macmillan (Reprint 1968. Detroit: Gale Research).

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Copley, T. 2003. Teaching religion: Fifty years of religious education in England and Wales. Repr. Exeter : University of Exeter Press. Council of Europe, Parliamentary Assembly. 2005. Education and Religion. Recommendation 1720/2005. Cowen, R., and A.M. Kazamias, eds. 2009. International Handbook of Comparative Education. 2 vls. Dordrecht: Springer. Davis, D.H., and E. Miroshnikova. 2013. Routledge International Handbook of Religious Education. London/New York: Routledge. Eberhard, O. 1930. Welterziehungsbewegung. Kräfte und Gegenkräfte in der Völkerpädagogik. Berlin: Furche. Fowler, J.W., K.E. Nipkow, and F. Schweitzer,eds. 1991. Stages of Faith and Religious Development: Implications for Church, Education, and Society. New York: Crossroad. Haussmann, W. 1993. Dialog mit pädagogischen Konsequenzen? Perspektiven der Begegnung von Christentum und Islam für die schulische Arbeit. Ein Vergleich der Entwicklungen in England und der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Hamburg: EB-Verlag Rissen. Heimbrock, H.-G. 2004. Religionsunterricht im Kontext Europa. Einführung in die kontextuelle Religionsdidaktik in Deutschland. Stuttgart: Kohlhammer. Heimbrock, H.-G., C.T. Scheilke, and P. Schreiner, eds. 2001. Towards Religious Competence. Diversity as a Challenge for Education in Europe. Münster : LIT. Jackson, R., S. Miedema, W. Weiße, and J.-P. Willaime, eds. 2007. Religion and Education in Europe. Developments, Contexts and Debates. Münster : Waxmann. Hock, K., J. Lähnemann, and W. Reiss. 2006. Schulbuchforschung im Dialog. Das Christentum in Schulbüchern islamisch geprägter Länder (Beiheft Zeitschrift für Mission 5). Frankfurt am Main: Lembeck. Kaelble, H., and J. Schriewer, eds. 2003. Vergleich und Transfer. Komparatistk in den Sozial-, Geschichts- und Kulturwissenschaften. Frankfurt/New York: Campus. Knauth, T., D.-P. Jozsa, G. Bertram-Troost, and J. Ipgrave, eds. 2008. Encountering Religious Pluralism in School and Society. A Qualitative Study of Teenage Perspectives in Europe. Münster : Waxmann. Knoblauch, C. 2011. Interreligiöser Dialog beginnt an den Wurzeln. Religionsunterricht und Religious Studies auf der Suche nach interreligiösem Verständnis. Eine Analyse und empirisch-explorative Vergleichsstudie beider Konzeptionen. Ostfildern: Schwabenverlag. Kuyk, E., R. Jensen, D. Lankshear, M. Löh, and P. Schreiner, eds. 2007. Religious Education in Europe. Situation and current trends in schools. Oslo: IKO. Kwiran, M. 1987. Religionsunterricht in USA – ein Vergleich. Edukative und methodische Perspektiven amerikanischer Religionspädagogik. Ein pragmatischer Ansatz. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang. Meyer, K. 1999. Zeugnisse fremder Religionen im Unterricht. ‘Weltreligionen’ im deutschen und englischen Religionsunterricht. Neukirchen-Vluyn: Neukirchener Verlag. ODIHR. 2007. Toledo Guiding Principles on Teaching About Religions and Beliefs in Public Schools, Prepared by the ODIHR Advisory Council of Experts on Freedom of Religion or Belief. Warsaw: OSCE.

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Osmer, R.R., and F. Schweitzer. 2003. Religious Education between Modernization and Globalization: New Perspectives on the United States and Germany. Grand Rapids: W.B. Eerdmans. Ouellet, F. 1985. L’ ¦tude des religions dans les ¦coles. L’exp¦rience am¦ricaine, anglaise et canadienne / Fernand Ouellet. Corporation Canadienne des Sciences Religieuses. Waterloo, Ontario: Wilfrid Laurier University Press. Popp, D. 2013. Religion und Religionsunterricht in Europa. Eine quantitative Studie zur Sicht europäischer Religionslehrerinnen und -lehrer. Berlin: LIT. Rogowski, C. 1995. Die Entwicklung der katholischen Religionspädagogik in Polen und in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland nach dem II. Vatikanischen Konzil. Eine vergleichende Untersuchung. Paderborn: Bonifatius. Schreiner, P., and M. Holt, eds. 1995. Who’s Who in RE in Europe. Informationen zu Religionslehrervereinigungen und religionspädagogischen Institutionen in Europa. Münster : Comenius-Institute. Schreiner, P., G. Pollard, and S. Sagberg, eds. 2006. Religious Education and Christian Theologies. Some European Perspectives. Münster : Waxmann. Schröder, B. 2000. Jüdische Erziehung im modernen Israel. Eine Studie zur Grundlegung vergleichender Religionspädagogik. Leipzig: Evangelische Verlagsanstalt. Schultze, H., and H. Kirchhoff, eds. 1975. Christliche Erziehung in Europa. Vol. 1: England. Stuttgart/München: Calwer/Kösel. Schweitzer, F. 1998. Towards Comparative Research on Religious Education in Europe: Reasons – Obstacles – Methodological Considerations. Informationes Theologiae Europae 7: 143–52. Schweitzer, F. 2001. Religious Education Beyond the Nation State: The Challenge of Supranational and global developments, In The Fourth R for the Third Millennium: Education in Religion and Values for the Global Future, ed. L.J. Francis, J. Astley, and M. Robbins, 159–76. Dublin: Lindisfarne Books. Schweitzer, F. 2002. International Standards for Religious Education – In Conversation with John M. Hull, Panorama 14: 49–56. Schweitzer, F. 2004. Research in Religious Education: International-InterdenominationalInterreligious. In Towards a European Perspective on Religious Education. The RE Research Conference, March 11–14, 2004, University of Lund, ed. R. Larsson, R., and C. Gustavsson, 191–200. Författarna: Artos & Norma. Schweitzer, F. 2006. Let the captives speak for themselves! More dialogue between religious education in England and Germany. British Journal of Religious Education 28, no.2: 141–51. Schweitzer, F., and A. Biesinger. 2002. in cooperation with Boschki, R., C. Schlenker, A. Edelbrock, O. Kliss, and M. Scheidler. Gemeinsamkeiten stärken – Unterschieden gerecht werden. Erfahrungen und Perspektiven zum konfessionell-kooperativen Religionsunterricht. Freiburg im Breisgau/Gütersloh: Herder/Gütersloher Verlagshaus. Schweitzer, F., A. Biesinger, J. Conrad, and M. Gronover. 2006. Dialogischer Religionsunterricht. Analyse und Praxis konfessionell-kooperativen Religionsunterrichts im Jugendalter. Freiburg im Breisgau: Herder. Schweitzer, F., W. Ilg, and H. Simojoki, eds. 2010. Confirmation Work in Europe: Empirical Results, Experiences and Challenges. A Comparative Study in Seven Countries. Gütersloh: Gütersloher Verlagshaus.

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Schweitzer, F., and H. Simojoki. 2005. Moderne Religionspädagogik. Ihre Entwicklung und Identität. Gütersloh: Gütersloher Verlagshaus. Schweitzer, F., H. Simojoki, S. Moschner, and M. Müller. 2010. Religionspädagogik als Wissenschaft. Transformationen der Disziplin im Spiegel ihrer Zeitschriften. Freiburg im Breisgau: Herder. Schweitzer, F., and J.A. van der Ven, eds. 1999. Practical Theology – International Perspectives. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang. Smyth, E., M. Lyons, and M. Darmody, eds. 2013. Religious Education in a Multicultural Europe. Children, Parents and Schools. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Thomas, R.M. 2006. Religion in Schools: Controversies around the World. Westport/Ct/ London: Praeger. Tulasiewicz, W., and C. Brock, eds. 1988. Christianity and educational provision in international perspective. London: Routledge. Tulasiewicz, W., and C.-Y. To. 1993. World Religions and Educational Practice. London/ New York: Cassell. Valk, P., G. Bertram-Troost, M. Friederici, and C. B¦raud, eds. 2009. Teenagers’ Perspectives on the Role of Religion in their Lives, Schools and Societies. A European Quantitative Study. Münster : Waxmann. Waterkamp, D. 2006. Vergleichende Erziehungswissenschaft. Ein Lehrbuch. Münster : Waxmann. Ziebertz, H.-G., and W.K. Kay, eds. 2005. Youth in Europe I. An international empirical Study about Life Perspectives. Münster : LIT. Ziebertz, H.-G., and W.K. Kay, eds. 2006. Youth in Europe II. An international empirical Study about Religiosity. Berlin: LIT. Ziebertz, H.-G., W.K. Kay, and U. Riegel, eds. 2009. Youth in Europe III. An international empirical Study about the Impact of Religion on Life Orientation. Berlin: LIT. Ziebertz, H.-G., and U. Riegel, eds. 2009. How Teachers in Europe Teach Religion. An International Empirical Study in 16 Countries. Berlin: LIT.

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Religious Education at Schools in Austria

Introduction During the second century Christianity was brought to the area of Austria by Roman soldiers, but the migration of peoples (‘Völkerwanderung’) destroyed the first ecclesiastical establishments. In the seventh century the restart came from the west. The oldest monastery, St. Peter/Salzburg, was founded in 696, and the oldest convent, Nonnberg/Salzburg, in 714. In the census of 2001 73.6 % of Austria’s population were Roman Catholic, 4.7 % were Protestant, 4.2 % Muslim, 2.3 % Orthodox Christian, 12.0 % did not belong to a religious community. Since then Roman Catholics have become fewer, Orthodox Christians and Muslims increased. 16 churches are members of the ‘Ecumenical Council of Churches in Austria’, the Roman Catholic Church is a full member. Also 16 churches and religious societies are recognized by the state. Religious education is integrated in the public kindergarten (except in Vienna) and a compulsory denominational subject in public schools (with few exceptions) for pupils who are members of a legally recognized church or religious society. The others can offer RE as an optional subject. Every church and religious society is responsible for RE at school, designates the teachers and determines the curriculum and the text books. A common RE is organized by the evangelical churches and also by the orthodox churches. At present, two hours of RE per week are generally stipulated by the state. The state and the churches – as well as other religious societies – are considered independent and autonomous partners of equal rank. Through legal recognition, they receive the status of a public body, allowing them to perform duties of public interest, including social, cultural and political duties.

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1.

The socio-religious background of the country

1.1

General information

As of January 1st 2015, 8.6 million people were living across Austria’s 84,000 km2. For many years now, positive net migration has been leading to population growth, with 9.2 million inhabitants forecast for Austria by 2030. At the beginning of 2015, 13.3 % of Austria’s population held foreign citizenship. The figure was highest in Vienna, at 25.5 %. Most foreign nationals in Austria are from former Yugoslavia (3.9 %) and Turkey (1.3 %) (Statistik Austria 2014a, 2015a-b). The last time that precise figures on religious affiliations in the country were collected was during the 2001 census. At that time, 73.6 % of the population were Roman Catholic, 4.7 % were Protestant, 4.2 % Muslim, 2.3 % Orthodox Christian, 12.0 % had no religion and 2.0 % did not state their religion. Austria’s religious landscape varies considerably from one province to the other. For example, while Protestants made up over 10 % of the population in the provinces of Burgenland and Carinthia, they accounted for only 2 % of the population of Vorarlberg. Similarly, the proportion of Muslims varied from a high 7.8 % in Vienna to a low of barely 1 % in Carinthia. Within Austria, the metropolis of Vienna (with 1.8 million inhabitants in 2014) occupies a special position, not least in terms of religious affiliation. In 2001, the proportion of Catholics in the city had dropped to below 50 % (49.2 % to be precise) for the first time. Muslims accounted for 7.8 % of the city’s population, while Orthodox Christians and Protestants made up 5.8 % and 4.7 % of the population, respectively. One quarter of the population of the country’s capital city belong to no particular religion (25.6 %) (Statistik Austria 2007; further information Klutz 2014). After the post-Reformation peace treaties, the Catholic faith of the Hapsburgs was established in Austria, sometimes by using force. For some centuries, Catholicism was the Austrian people’s ‘fate’ and became a sort of sociocultural matter of course. The fact that the major holidays of the year are celebrated in a Catholic manner, that children are baptised and the dead receive a Christian burial is, to this day, a given (Zulehner 2011, 169–206). That being said, this state of affairs has been changing over the past few decades. Austrian society is evolving from a more or less Catholic monoculture, where other denominations were more tolerated than accepted, into an increasingly diverse one in terms of world views. Sociocultural matters of course are coming undone. Religion and even commitment to a church are moving into the sphere of a thoroughly socially embedded ‘choice’ (Berger 1980) while processes of distancing oneself from or growing closer to a particular religious community are becoming the norm. The historical difficulties Austria has had with religious diversity (difficulties

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whose effects can still be felt to this day) can be seen especially clearly in the history of the country’s Jewish population, from the Vienna Gesera, the major Jewish pogrom of 1420/21, to the expulsion and extermination of the Austrian Jews between 1938 and 1945. The beginnings of a policy of recognition of religious diversity can be found in the Patent of Toleration introduced by Joseph II in 1781, under which Protestants (Lutheran and Reformed) and Orthodox Christians, followed by Jews in 1782, were granted freedom to practice their religion – even if this was subject to certain restrictions.

1.2

Developments

On the basis of a long-term study (1970–2010), Zulehner (2011) describes current developments as a ‘Verbuntung’ (diversification) in the landscape of world views one finds within Austria. The atheist-leaning ‘secularists’ made up 26 % of the population of Austria in 2010. 5 % of the population are intensively ‘involved in their church’, working within church-based groups and projects and attending church services on Sundays. They are familiar with their religious community’s faith building and feel at home there. One-quarter of the population can be considered ‘religious’ (24 %). They are similar to the segment of the populace who are ‘involved in their church’, except that the ‘religious’ group’s relationship with their church has been diluted and their level of commitment is low. The largest group of people are the ‘sceptics’ (45 %). Developments over the past forty years show a clear shift away from church involvement and religiosity towards secularism and scepticism. This pattern will more than likely continue in the coming years – unless there will be some serious crises and an associated reversal of trends. The first signs of this are already in sight. For example, the number of young people, in particular, who wish to abandon their freedom – freedom which they are guaranteed and which was hard won – because they see it as a cumbersome burden is probably growing at present, not just in Austria but in other countries too. For more and more young people, the willingness to subjugate oneself to a higher authority, whether political or ecclesiastical, is now ‘in’. Just as there has been a longitudinal shift away from religiosity towards secularism over the decades, at present there is a clear divide between age cohorts when a cross-section of the population is looked at. Young people tend to be secular and sceptical while the older generation are disproportionately represented among those who are involved with their church and even more so among those who can be classified as religious. The long-term study also allows individual age cohorts to be followed over a period of forty years. Here, the statistical series are not simply linear. Of the 14 % of 29 year-olds belonging to the segment of people who were involved with their church in 1970,

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only 5 % still belonged to that category by the time they were 49 years of age in 1990. However, their numbers are not decreasing to a very low level any more – instead they are increasing slightly.

1.3

Religion among young people

Even though religion may not be an area of priority in Austria, its importance for young people in the country is growing. 32 % of the country’s young people view religion as ‘important’. At the same time, the number of young people who see religion as ‘not being important at all’ is also increasing, which would indicate a polarisation of opinion. Significant differences can be observed between urban and rural areas. Young people in Austria’s towns and cities describe themselves less often as religious than those in rural regions (29 % versus 36 %) and more often as ‘non-religious’ (47 %) than their rural counterparts (37 %) (Polak 2008, 138–9, 167–9). From a sociological perspective, processes of transformation in the religiosity of young people can be seen. “While socio-religious processes of erosion are continuing in rural areas and church-based religiosity with deep cultural roots is less of a matter of course than previously, urban young people, though rejecting traditional religious jargon, are developing forms of religiosity which are influenced by the image of a loving God, with whom one has an inner relationship and to whom one prays, in the search for appropriate modes of religious practice.” (Polak 2008, 185; further information Kögler and Dammayr 2015)

2.

Legal framework for religious education and the relationship between religious communities and the state

Under the Austrian legal system, the state abides by the principle of religious neutrality. According to § 15 of Austrian’s Basic Law, “[e]very Church and religious society recognized by the law has the right to joint public religious practice, arranges and administers its internal affairs autonomously, and retains possession and enjoyment of its institutions, endowments and funds devoted to worship, instruction and welfare, but is like every society subject to the general laws of the land.” (§ 15 StGG) In accordance with § 17 “[t]he Church or religious society concerned shall see to religious instruction in schools.” In Austria, the state and the churches – as well as religious societies – are considered independent and autonomous partners of equal rank. Through legal

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recognition, they receive the status of a public law corporate body, allowing them to perform duties of public interest, including social, societal politico-cultural duties, “the fulfilment of which the state supports because it sees them as being supports for the common good.” (Federal Chancellery 2011) The relationship between the state and the Roman Catholic Church is regulated under international law by, amongst others, the Concordat of 1933/34. Other individual churches, the ‘Israelitische Kultusgemeinde’ (official name for the Jewish Community of Austria) and the ‘Islamische Glaubensgemeinschaft’ (Islamic Community) have their own legal regulations. The churches finance themselves individually by way of a ‘Kirchenbeitragssystem’ (basically a church tax system). The compensation payments for expropriations made during the Nazi occupation of Austria represent freely available state subsidies to the Catholic Church. Those providing pastoral care in the army and in prisons usually work under state employment contracts. State payments are made for services provided by churches in the social, charitable and educational sectors, as well as grants for construction work for monument protection projects. In the area of education, the state covers the costs of faculties of theology that are part of state universities, the costs of denominational RE within the country’s education system as well as the personnel costs for teachers in religiously sponsored schools, which are established under public law (‘Öffentlichkeitsrecht’ in German). Under § 14 (5a) of the Federal Constitutional Law (in German: ‘Bundesverfassungsgesetz’ or B-VG for short), schools are required to enable young people “to assume responsibility in a way that is oriented towards social, religious and moral values. Every young person should (…) have an open mind towards the political, religious and ideological views of others” (§ 14 Abs. 5a B-VG). As far back as 1962, the so-called ‘target paragraph’ of § 2 of the SchOG (‘Schulorganisationsgesetz’ or School Organisation Act) obliged schools to play a part in the development of young people in accordance with “moral, religious and social values” (§ 2 Abs. 1 SchOG). This means that schools are obliged to provide religious education and that the subject must be integrated into the school as a whole. RE of their own denomination is a compulsory subject for pupils if they are members of a church or religious society recognized by the law (BKA 2014a).1 At present, 16 churches and religious societies possess this legal status, 1 These are the Catholic Church, the Protestant Church Augsburg Confession (= Lutheran) and Helvetic Confession (= Reformed), the Greek Orthodox Church (including the Bulgarian Orthodox, Romanian Orthodox, Russian Orthodox and Serbian Orthodox Churches), the Jewish Religious Association, Islamic Religious Community in Austria, the Coptic Orthodox Church in Austria, the Old Catholic Church in Austria, the Evangelical Methodist Church in Austria, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormons) in Austria, the Armenian Apostolic Church in Austria, the New Apostolic Church in Austria, the Austrian Buddhist

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of which fifteen have established curricula for RE. In part-time compulsory vocational schools outside of the provinces of Tyrol and Vorarlberg, RE is only offered as an optional subject. Pupils without any religious affiliation or who belong to a church or religious society that is not recognized by the law, such as those who are members of an officially registered confessional community, can avail of RE as an optional subject (BekGG 1998; BKA 2014b).2 Because RE is denomination-specific, pupils who belong to a recognized church or religious community by the law cannot attend RE classes provided “by a church or religious societies other than their own” (BMBF 2007). As an internal affair, RE is “provided, managed and directly supervised” by the churches and religious societies. Through its school supervisory bodies, the state has the right and the duty to supervise RE “in terms of organisation and school discipline.” (BMBF 2007) It also bears the costs for the teaching staff and the books of RE, which, like those for other subjects, are provided free of charge. The curricula are created and established under the responsibility of the churches and religious societies and publicized by the responsible federal ministry. The teaching materials may “not be in contradiction with the principles of citizenship education” (§ 2, Abs. 3 RelUG). In accordance with the principle of religious and ideological freedom, pupils may opt out of attending RE classes at the beginning of the school year. Varying use is made of this opt-out clause, depending on the region, school type and individual school (Ritzer 2003, 13–4, 139–43). RE can be taken as an examination subject for the secondary academic school or the full-time vocational school/college leaving examination, provided that the pupil has attended RE classes for the entire upper level of secondary school (known as ‘Sekundarstufe II’ in Austria) (BMBF 2007). In certain circumstances, the RelUG (‘Religionsunterrichtsgesetz’ or Religious Education Act) provides for the pooling together of classes and schools in order to create groups of pupils for RE. This type of amalgamations mainly pertain to smaller churches and religious communities (§ 7a, Abs. 1 RelUG). At present, two hours of RE per week are generally stipulated by the state. Deviations from this are possible, provided the churches and religious societies recognized by the law have had an opportunity to make a statement on the issue in advance (§ 2 Abs. 2 RelUG). If the number of pupils taking part is too small, the two hours lessons are reduced to one. The number of lessons per week can be increased if the churches and religious Religious Society, the Syrian Orthodox Church in Austria, the Jehovah’s Witnesses in Austria, Islamic Alevite Religious Community in Austria, Free Churches in Austria. 2 These are the Old Alevite Religious Community in Austria, Bah‚’† Religious Community of Austria, the Christian Community – Movement for Religious Renewal – in Austria, Hindu Religious Community in Austria, Islamic-Shiitic Religious Community in Austria , Church of Seventh-Day Adventists, Pentecostal Church of God in Austria, Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity in Austria.

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societies recognized by the law bear the costs of this themselves (§ 7a Abs. 2–4 RelUG).

3.

Developments in the country’s education policy

The requirement for differentiation and individual support, the frightening fact that there are so many young people in Austria who cannot read properly after completing their compulsory schooling, that the education system reinforces pupils’ social starting points (favouring the socially privileged) and the aboveaverage level of expenditure by the state on education – expenditure that is not reflected in the success of the Austrian school and education system (OECD 2012) – are all topics that are currently being discussed in the area of state education policy. In recent years, the following points have been introduced: (a) Kindergarten: a nationwide education plan for kindergartens (BMBF 2014a), with an associated Catholic ‘Framework Plan for Religious Education’ for kindergartens in Austria (St. Nikolaus-Kindertagesheimstiftung, Wien and, Caritas für Kinder und Jugendliche, Linz, 2010) and an obligatory kindergarten year (agreement reached in 2009). (b) Orientation towards competences: educational standards for the 4th and 8th grades;3 a competences-oriented school leaving examination (BMBF 2015), in which the subjects of religion and ethics are also included (BMBF 2012ab). The new curriculum currently being developed for Catholic RE in primary schools already incorporates the aims of these educational standards. The new school leaving examination is making a contribution towards the development of educational standards in the Austrian education system. Pupils in the AHS (‘allgemeinbildende höhere Schulen’ or academic secondary school – upper level) must prepare a pre-academic project while those in BHS (‘berufsbildende höhere Schulen’ or full-time vocational schools/colleges) must prepare a diploma project dealing with vocational or industrial issues, which must then be presented at the oral element of the school leaving examination. In the written standardized and competenceoriented school leaving examination, the pupils sit end-of-year examinations at the same time in the standard subjects – with due consideration for the different school types. The tasks required of them in these examinations are the same throughout Austria. (c) Secondary school (lower level; known as ‘Sekundarstufe I’ in Austria): New secondary schools (‘Neue Mittelschule’ or NMS for short) – a new type of secondary school (grades 5 to 8) – will be introduced across Austria by 2015/ 3 https://www.bifie.at/.

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16, while still retaining the lower cycle of the general secondary schools.4 The new secondary schools (NMS) aim to to provide all pupils with a common secondary school education, thereby preventing too early a separation of pupils after primary school. Characteristics of the new secondary school include, amongst other things, smaller classes, teaching according to the general secondary school curriculum for the secondary school stage and cooperation between teachers in primary schools and those in secondary schools.5 Insofar as the new secondary school organizes its teaching by subject areas and projects, RE must be integrated into this, without having its own separate position in the timetable. In addition, the ramifications for RE, where the subject is not compulsory across the board, are considerable, as this makes a structured treatment of the topic of religion impossible. The expansion of all-day schools has consequences for all afternoon extracurricular activities, including those offered by the churches. (d) Academic secondary school and full-time vocational school/college (upper level; known as ‘Sekundarstufe II’ in Austria): A new model of upper secondary school education is to be introduced in all academic secondary schools and full-time vocational schools/colleges in Austria by the 2017 school year. A significant feature of the new upper secondary school stage is its modular system that retains the class group system. Under this system RE is treated equally, with compulsory and optional modules. Since January 2009, work has been done on the concept of ‘PädagogInnenbildung NEU’, which translates roughly as a ‘new type of teacher training’. Key questions in this discourse include the implementation of the Bologna study structure, the admission process for teacher training courses as well as the option of those from other professions moving into the field of education. Issues like these are also relevant for negotiations on a new law on service and salary (BMBF 2014b). The Bachelor programmes (240 ECTS) are established, the Master programmes (60–90 ECTS) are being prepared.

4 AHS = ‘allgemeinbildende höhere Schule’ (secondary school); BMHS = ‘berufsbildende mittlere/höhere Schule’ (full-time vocational school/college); HS = ‘Hauptschule’ (general secondary school). 5 http://www.neuemittelschule.at/.

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Role of religiously sponsored schools, including any changes and developments, legal relationships

Schools that are run by the churches or religious societies have their legal basis in the Private School Act of 1962 (‘Privatschulgesetz’ or PrivSchG; Rinnerthaler 2007; Kalb 2007; Schinkele 2007).6 Churches and religious societies which are recognized by the law, amongst others, are entitled to establish a private school.7 Teachers in denominational private schools that are established under public law (‘Öffentlichkeitsrecht’ in German)8 are considered to be ‘lebende Subventionen’ (living subsidies), who are paid entirely by the state and who may only be assigned to a denominational private school if they agree to this. The higher authorities of the church or religious societies have the right to rescind the assignment of a teacher if the latter’s employment “becomes untenable for religious reasons” (§ 20 Abs. 2 PrivSchG). In the 2013/14 school year, there were 689 private schools in Austria out of a total of 6,015 schools (11.5 %). Almost 10 % of the country’s pupils were attending a private school in 2013/14. There were significant regional differences in this regard, with 18.6 % of pupils in Vienna attending a private school, the highest figure in the country (Statistik Austria 2014b-c). Religiously sponsored schools are represented in almost all types of schools in Austria and account for one-half of all private schools. The Roman Catholic Church has the largest number of schools – in total (for a historical overview, see Engelbrecht 2000). The Protestant Church operates 24 schools (Schwarz 2007), the ‘Israelitische Kultusgemeinde’ (Jewish Community) seven and the Islamic Community six. The proportion of secondary schools as well as full-time vocational schools/colleges under denominational patronage is particularly high. For example, 59 of Austria’s total of 346 general secondary schools (17.1 %) and 65 of the country’s total of 530 full-time vocational schools/colleges (12.3 %) are under the patronage of the Roman Catholic Church (Statistik Austria 2014d). In the 2013/14 school year, 75,730 out of Austria’s total of 1,134,863 school pupils (6.7 %) were attending a school under denominational patronage (Statistik Austria 2014e). 6 The Private School Act governs the requirements for the establishment and operation of private schools (§§ 3–12), the awarding of public status (§§ 13–6), the subsidising of private schools (§§ 17–21) as well as common provisions (§§ 22–30). 7 In addition, legal entities other than Austrian and domestic ones are also entitled to establish a private school “if they or their authorised representative bodies are reliable from a moral point of view and if no negative effects may be expected on the Austrian education system”. (§ 4 Abs. 2 PrivSchG). 8 Amongst other things, this public status gives the right to issue school certificates which are equal to those issued by public schools. (§§ 13–6 PrivSchG).

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A higher percentage of pupils whose native tongue is not German were enrolled in public schools than in private ones, with pronounced regional differences. The percentage of pupils whose mother tongue is not German is highest in Vienna, where they make up 48.5 % of pupils in public schools and 35.1 % of those in private schools (Statistik Austria 2014c).

5.

Conceptions and tasks of religious education

Common to all churches and religions societies which are recognized by the law is the fact that they support the (religious) educational mission of the school through the denominational RE they provide. In all its curricula, the self-understanding of Roman Catholic RE is seen “as a service to the pupils and to the school” which “takes pupils’ different levels of Church socialization and religious experience seriously by way of a differentiated, individualized approach” and which “wishes to reach out to all pupils, no matter what kind of attitude towards religion they may have”. Denominational in nature, it takes its position “from an orientation towards biblical revelation and Church tradition”. “Ecumenical and interfaith matters should, where possible, be considered, thereby representing a lived dialogue between different denominations and religions.” It is constantly asserted that: “The pupils, their lives and their faith are always at the heart of RE. Therefore, the RE curriculum deals both with human life and the Christian faith, as it has developed over the course of history and as it is lived in Christian communities.” In this way, Catholic RE sees itself “as a guide for pupils on their way towards becoming mature adults”. (Catholic Curriculum 2006) Similarly, Protestant RE, which is compulsory for members of the Lutheran Church, Reformed Church and Evangelical Methodist Church, describes itself as “a service for pupils” and as “an opportunity for the school”, which, “as an independent subject, can realize the religious and ethical dimension of the school’s comprehensive educational mission” and which has the responsibility of “creating opportunities for encounters with biblical propagation, as attested to in the Holy Scripture and in the confessions of faith, as well as bringing about encounters with the social educational mission through mutual dialogue.” As a basic principle, the “lives of the pupils and teachers (…) in their entire breadth, diversity and differentiation, are the main focus” of Protestant RE. (Protestant Curriculum 2005) Orthodox Christian RE “is part of the missionary dimension of our Church and is seen by us as having both a denominational and a collective orientation”. Its objectives include “strengthening pupils’ religious identity”. It is important to be “rooted in one’s denomination”, to find “support and trust within it” and

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so be better able “to easily interact with people from other cultures and those of other religions and world views in a spirit of tolerance and mutual respect”. Equally, it is important that the “life-worlds of the pupils be at the core of the RE provided”. (Orthodox Curriculum 2011) Islamic RE aims to enable young people “to adopt their own viewpoint while at the same time respecting and accepting the viewpoints of pupils of other religions and world views”. Furthermore, Islamic RE “sees itself as a service to pupils and to the school”. It position comes “from an orientation to the sources of Islam while at the same time taking the concrete life-worlds of the pupils as its starting point”. Its most important aim is “the creation of an identity that identifies Austria as the homeland and Islam as a personal belief system. It is only through allegiance to the state of Austria that people of different beliefs and identities can live together in a responsible, constructive and meaningful way.” (Islamic Curriculum 2011) The (interfaith) ‘Austrian Religious Education Forum’ (‘Österreichisches Religionspädagogisches Forum’) argues that denominational RE opens up “perspectives for a successful, meaningful life”, allows “existential orientation as well as critical reflection” and offers “a framework for authentic encounters with religion, the learning of religious language and the growth of one’s religious identity”. It is precisely the denominational religion teachers in the schools who are the “qualified experts in the field”, who can encourage “the development of pupils’ religious technical, social and personal competences in a way that goes beyond indoctrination”. (ÖRF 2010) There is an absence of structured policy discussion on the issue of Roman Catholic RE, with the most recent official policy document – which did not attract much attention at the time and was expressly stated as being only a recommendation – being released back in 1981 (Österreichische Bischofskonferenz and Österreichische Kommission für Bildung und Erziehung 1981). All Roman Catholic curricula are almost identical in terms of how they describe the purpose and self-understanding of RE, although there has been a fundamental debate in the area for some time, with Church representatives wishing to see young people’s level of knowledge on their faith increased. In Austrian Protestant discourse on the subject, there does not seem to be any similar conflict. The new Orthodox Christian curricula represent cautious steps in the direction of modern RE. The new curricula for Islamic RE constitute documents for a paradigm change in the direction of a clear ‘staging’ of religion in an Austrian context and an orientation towards young people, which must now be converted into reality.

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Practice / reality of religious education in different schools

The level of recognition that RE receives within a school is increasingly achieved by the teachers rather than by the subject itself. How RE plays out in practice varies widely from region to region and from one type of school to the other, and is influenced by the religious affiliations of the pupils within the school. The more homogeneous the school’s pupils are in terms of creed, the easier it is to organise RE for them – not least in terms of timetabling. The more pluralistic a school is in terms of religion, the more difficult it will be to organise RE for the different churches and religious societies. If, in addition, there is an increased tendency within the school for pupils to opt out of RE, it moves entirely to the outer perimeters of school awareness and to the edge of the school day and in some cases may even be provided outside of the school building itself. The school administration can accelerate or slow down this process. Because pupils have the right to opt out of RE within the first five days of a new school year, it is only after this period has elapsed that the subject can operate on a secure basis (BMBF 2007). For the respective denominational education authorities, the allocation of teachers of RE to different schools is a complex task. It can happen that teachers of RE – especially those from smaller denominations – have to teach at more than ten schools in order to have a full teaching load. Even though one hour of RE can be taught for groups of as few as three children, this is not guaranteed. RE is therefore organised for groups made up of different classes and grades, and it even happens that collective classes for pupils from several schools are sometimes established. In vocational schools where pupils have at least one full day or two half-days of classes per week RE only takes place in occasional instances, whereas in so-called ‘lehrgangsmäßige Berufsschulen’ (part-time vocational schools with continuous lessons for at least eight weeks per year) RE is normally integrated into the timetable. Only those teachers who have been assigned the task of teaching religion in the respective school by their church or religious society may teach the subject. In their base school, teachers of RE are regular members of the teaching staff and are obliged to participate in teacher conferences. Catholic and Protestant RE is organized by the responsible diocesan education authorities, while Islamic and Orthodox Christian RE (www.schulamt-islam.at and www.orthodoxekirche.at, respectively) is organized by offices responsible for the provision of the subject throughout Austria. Islamic RE, which has been offered in Austria since 1982/83, is still being expanded. In the 2010/11 school year, 430 teachers of Islamic RE were working in around 2,000 schools, where they taught around 57,000 pupils. Orthodox Christian RE began in 1991/ 92, its expansion gaining a new vitality with the establishment of the Orthodox

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Education Office in 2005. In 2014/15 84 teachers in 825 locations, half of which are in Vienna, teach the subject to over 11,200 pupils.9 Unless a specific school has rules to the contrary, RE must be taught through the German language. Because of the large number of teachers of Orthodox Christian and Islamic RE who come from an immigrant background, this can sometimes still present problems. Likewise, the significance of the fact that Orthodox Christian and Islamic RE are provided for all Orthodox and all Muslim pupils, respectively, cannot be overestimated. The motivations for pupils opting out of RE or for choosing to attend such classes were surveyed in a quantitative study by Georg Ritzer. Most first-time opt-outs from RE occur during the transition from the lower secondary to upper secondary school stages (Ritzer 2003, 49–50).10 Once pupils have opted out of RE for the first time, it is unlikely that they will attend again, as it is easier “to lose pupils from the RE class than it is to encourage them to attend after they have opted out in the first place”. (Ritzer 2003, 191) In his longitudinal study, Ritzer investigated how participation in RE or ethics classes could have an impact on selected spheres of competences (‘the dimension of meaning’, ‘dealing with pluralism’ and ‘knowledge’). The results are sobering. “RE can impart knowledge and encourage critical discussion on the contents of the classes. It cannot be reliably expected to bring about changes in habits. Here, RE can make only a modest contribution.” (Ritzer 2010, 425) RE in Austria enjoys a high acceptance among the Austrian people (69 % consider RE to be either ‘very important’ or ‘important’). Zulehner sees (Zulehner 2011, 191; for important changes in the structure of the longitudinal study over recent decades, see Zulehner 2011, 17–20) signs “that the importance of RE will increase in the future, not for religious reasons but rather for reasons of identity and politics”. This is because interest from so-called ‘cultural Christians’ “who wish to lay claim to Christianity for the sake of European identity and therefore wish to see its position strengthened is increasing. (…) Here, religion is used to shape a European identity. (…) It is hoped that religion will ensure the survival of ‘Christian’ values, which are the intrinsic element within the ‘dominant culture’. Moreover, the adoption of these values is demanded of immigrants.” (Zulehner 2011, 318)

9 According to information from the Orthodox Education Office. For the numbers of Catholic and Protestant religion teachers, see page 56 (9. Religion in school outside of religious education). 10 Young people in Austria reach the age of religious majority at 14 years. This means that the first time they can exercise their religious majority and opt out of RE is when they are making the transition from lower secondary to upper secondary education (§ 1 Abs. 2–3 RelUG).

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Observations on alternative subjects / learning areas like ethics, philosophy etc.

There is no obligatory subject in Austria for pupils who do not attend RE. However, the number of pupils for whom RE is not a compulsory subject or who opt out of RE or who cannot attend any RE for their specific denomination is increasing. The subject of ethics was introduced as a school pilot project for the first time in eight secondary academic schools in three Austrian provinces in the 1997/98 school year (Bucher 2001, 15)11 (§ 7 SchOG). According to estimates by the Federal Ministry of Education and Women’s Affairs (in German: ‘Bundesministerium für Bildung und Frauen’ or BMBF for short), around 14,000–15,000 pupils were attending ethics in the 2011/12 school year. In 2001, Anton A. Bucher presented an academic evaluation report on the school pilot project of ethics on behalf of the then Federal Ministry for Education and the Arts (Bucher 2001; Clark-Wilson 2011; Bucher 2014, 72–90). In the 2013/1412 school year, ethics was taught at the secondary academic school (upper level) and full-time vocational school/college in 221 schools out of Austria’s total of 876 secondary academic and full-time vocational schools/ colleges (25.2 %). In schools under denominational patronage, attendance in RE is compulsory, which is why such schools do not offer any alternative subject. On average, 43.8 % of the secondary academic schools not under denominational patronage have already introduced ethics, although there are major regional differences, with the subject being offered in the vast majority of such schools in Salzburg (81.0 %) and Vorarlberg (83.3 %).13 Since the introduction of ethics is at present only possible as a school pilot project and the costs must be borne by the respective school, its introduction is crucially dependant on the school itself and on the federal education authority (§ 7 SchOG). The fact that ethics education remains a topic of discussion in Austrian education policy and that different interested parties take part in the discourse about it became clear in a parliamentary conference held on 4th May 2011 (Parlamentarische Enquete des Nationalrates 2011). In October 2012, the Federal Minister for Education, the Arts and Culture submitted a report to the National Assembly on possible models for ethics education at the secondary academic school or full-time vocational school/college, the associated costs and unresolved questions on the 11 As these pilot projects are autonomous school projects, this led to a situation where the subject had different names in different schools. 12 In the 2014/15 school year, the figure was 216 schools. 13 These figures are based on unpublished data from Statistics Austria and the Federal Ministry of Education and Women’s Affairs.

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issue. The three models are: a) ethics as an independent (extra) compulsory subject for all pupils, b) ethics as an ‘alternative compulsory subject’ to religion and c) ethics as a curricular component of an existing compulsory subject.14 In the meantime, there exists a ‘Federal Working Group of Ethics Teachers in Austria’ (‘Bundesarbeitsgemeinschaft der EthiklehrerInnen Österreichs’ in German) which, amongst other things, represents the interests of teachers of ethics and is committed to ethics education becoming part of mainstream education.15

8.

Dealing with religious diversity

In Austria there is a good ecumenical and interfaith atmosphere, which has developed over many years. Because of the large number of institutions, initiatives and collaborations in the area, here it is only possible to mention just a sample. The ‘Ecumenical Council of Churches in Austria’ (in German: ‘Der Ökumenische Rat der Kirchen in Österreich’ or ÖRKÖ for short)16 with sixteen member churches, including the Roman Catholic Church as a full member, is the most important ecumenical organisation. As a collective document from the churches, the social mission statement of the ÖRKÖ17 is the only one of its kind in the world. All the churches represented in the council or having observer status participate in the annual project ‘Lange Nacht der Kirchen’ (literally the ‘Long Night of Churches’, where churches offer programmes free of charge)18. An interfaith school diary – published collectively by several Christian churches, the Islamic Community and the Jewish Community – has been published every year in Vienna until 2013/14, with over 100,000 copies being produced and distributed.19 A project for cooperative denominational RE (in German: ‘konfessionellkooperativer Religionsunterricht’ or KoKoRu for short) is collectively supported by four Christian churches in Vienna and has been put into practice in selected schools since the 2002/03 school year (Bastel 2006). With an eye towards those schools and types of school where denominational RE is proving very difficult from an organisational point of view, a pilot project started in Vienna and Carinthia in the 2012/13 school year that aims to provide RE for which the churches and religious communities bear collective responsibility. 14 15 16 17 18 19

http://www.parlament.gv.at/PAKT/VHG/XXIV/III/III_00357/imfname_271036.pdf. http://ethik.univie.ac.at/bundes-arge-ethik/. www.oekumene.at. http://www.sozialwort.at/. http://www.langenachtderkirchen.at/. http://www.lggs.at/.

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The largest denominational university college of teacher education in Austria, the University College of Teacher Education of Christian Churches Vienna/ Krems (known as Kirchlich Pädagogische Hochschule Wien/Krems in German), is unique in Europe in terms of its ecumenical and interreligious cooperation and in terms of how it trains denominational teachers of RE from different churches and religions (Roman Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox, Old Catholic, Oriental Orthodox, Free Churches, Islamic Alevite and Islamic) together. The university college is supported by the Roman Catholic Church, the Protestant Church (Lutheran and Reformed), the Orthodox Churches,20 the Oriental Orthodox Churches,21 and the Old Catholic Church. In the Faculty of Catholic Theology at the University of Vienna, ‘Ecumenism’ has been a compulsory practical theological module since 2008, one which “facilitates encounters with other denominations as well as ecumenical explorations” and encourages the “capability for denominational self-reflection in ecumenical encounters” as well as promoting “knowledge and understanding of ecumenism”.22 In the light of the increasing linguistic and cultural diversity in Austria’s schools, ‘Intercultural Learning’ is an obligatory educational principle for all schools providing general education (BMBF 2014c). The significance of young people’s first language led to the creation of ‘Native Language Instruction’ as an optional subject or as a special-interest subject (‘Unverbindliche Übung’ in German), which, although available in principle for every language, is currently offered in 25 different languages in addition to German.23 There are tensions between the promotion of linguistic diversity and its acceptance by society. Xenophobia, anti-Semitism and Islamophobia are not just an Austrian phenomenon but are nonetheless a specific problem in Austria (Rosenberger and Seeber 2011, 179–88). Legal recognition of religious diversity does not result in social acceptance of such diversity, although it is a necessary prerequisite for it. For example, legal recognition of Islam in the year 1912 and the establishment of Islamic RE promote the integration of Muslim pupils and facilitate numerous collaborations on an equal footing in the school environment. Legally recognized ethnic groups who have Austrian citizenship and have been resident in the country for a long time but who “have a first language other 20 Bulgarian Orthodox, Greek Orthodox, Romanian Orthodox, Russian Orthodox and Serbian Orthodox Churches. 21 Armenian Apostolic, Syrian Orthodox and Coptic Orthodox Churches. 22 See the module descriptions, for example, for the specialist theology degree programme: http://ssckaththeologie.univie.ac.at/fileadmin/user_upload/SSC/SSC_kath/Studienpl%C3%A4ne_STEOP_ NEU/Studienplan_A_011_Version_11W__STEOP_.pdf. 23 www.muttersprachlicher-unterricht.at. http://medienservicestelle.at/migration_bewegt/2015/ 02/18/muttersprachlicher-unterricht-32-800-schuelerinnen/.

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than German and have their own ethnic identity” (§ 1 Abs. 2 VoGrG) have a special legal position. These are the Croatian, Slovenian, Hungarian, Czech, Slovak and Roma ethnic groups. Burgenland and Carinthia each have their own Minorities Education Act and, accordingly, there is also bilingual RE in designated schools in these regions.

9.

Religion in school outside of religious education

In accordance with § 2a of the RelUG (‘Religionsunterrichtsgesetz’ or Religious Education Act), teachers as well as pupils must be free “to participate in religious services for the school as well as religious exercises or events held by the churches and religious societies that are recognized by the law, for special occasions in school or public life, in particular at the beginning and end of the school year” and must be excused from class for such purposes. In schools where the majority of pupils are Catholic, lessons are usually cancelled for everyone for such services (marking the beginning of term, Christmas, Easter, end of term). Increasingly, Service of the Word and interfaith celebrations are also held within the school (in the gymnasium, the auditorium or the function room). The Catholic Church sees these as ‘religious exercises’ where “religious experience can be expressed and religious activities practized” (Österreichische Bischofskonferenz and Österreichische Kommission für Bildung und Erziehung 1981, 87). Legally speaking, religious exercises are not school events but rather religious affairs (Schwendenwein 1980, 34–55). The Christian year (Advent/Christmas, Lent/Easter) manifests itself differently in different regions and school types (e. g. through the presence of the Advent wreath in classrooms, the Advent celebration, decoration of the school building, etc.). At the beginning of each school year, schools receive a state decree informing them of the major holidays of the churches and religious societies that are recognized by the law. The school is thereby requested to take account of these where required and where possible. On the days in question, the affected pupils have the right to absent themselves from class. One characteristic feature of the Austrian legal and practical position is, for example, the fact that Muslim girls may not, under any circumstances, be prevented from wearing a headscarf at school. In schools where “the majority of pupils belong to a Christian denomination, the school patron must attach a cross in every classroom” (§ 2b RelUG). Religious school life is also characterized by the presence and the work of clergy within the school. These usually have a small teaching load. The few, that work full-time, are usually members, of an order/congregation (e. g. the Salesian

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Cooperators of Don Bosco or the Jesuits) with the traditional apostolate school and education In the 2014/15 school year, 197 of the total of 637 Protestant teachers of RE in Austria had a rectorate (30.9 %), as these are usually connected with schools through a teaching assignment.24 Orthodox Christian RE also boasts a large percentage of clergy (22 out of the total number of 84 teachers are clergy, or 26.2 %).25 In the case of Roman Catholic RE, the proportion of clergy teaching the subject is significantly smaller (410 out of the total number of 7,338 teachers of RE, or 5.6 % in 2013/2014).26 Events such as (religious) ‘orientation days’ are a focus of school chaplaincy. These one-day or multi-day extracurricular events held by Catholic and Protestant patrons are aimed at entire classes from the eighth grade up. Like other extracurricular events, orientation days have their legal basis in the Education Act (§§ 13, 13a SchUG) as well as in the Religious Education Act (§ 2a Abs. 1, 2 RelUG). Participation in ‘orientation days’ can be seen as ‘participation in religious exercises or events’, with pupils being given the right to not to attend lessons. While ‘orientation days’ were initially catechetical in their origins (e. g. youth retreats), the needs and issues of the young people involved are now the focus of attention.27 The number of events is increasing while the total number of pupils participating in them remains constant.28 The ecumenical initiative ‘lebens.werte.schule’ should be mentioned here. Translating into English literally as ‘life.values.school’ or ‘school worth living’ (‘lebenswert’ meaning ‘worth living’), it is a collaborative project of the University of Vienna and the University College of Teacher Education of Christian Churches Vienna/Krems. Its goal is “making the religious dimension of school life and school development accessible to everyone and making this fruitful for the community”. Its “aim is to make the school capable of being democratic and to make a contribution towards the education of the human being”.29 Two aspects are addressed above all: (a) How do we deal with pluralism and diversity in the school? (b) How do young people acquire self-esteem before each assessment? A good school may be judged by how it perceives people and their differences and how it handles social inequality as well as cultural and religious diversity. 24 According to information from Oberkrichenrat Karl Schiefermair ; http://www.evang.at/. 25 According to information from the Orthodox Education Office. 26 According to information from the Archiepiscopal Office for Teaching and Education Vienna. 27 http://www.orientierungstage.at. 28 http://media.katholische-jugend.at.s3.amazonaws.com/74124_statistik_10_11.pdf. 29 www.lebenswerteschule.at.

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Sustainable school development is based on the extent to which individual, social, cultural and religious differences are seen as an asset for the school (Jäggle, Krobath, and Schelander 2009; Jäggle et al. 2013; Krobath, LehnerHartmann, and Polak 2013). The most important Catholic feast days are also statutory holidays when the schools are closed. Exemption from going to school for religious reasons for pupils belonging to other churches and religious societies that are recognized by the law, is specially regulated so that all pupils may suitably celebrate their own feast days without any interference from school-related obligations.

10.

Training of teachers of religious education: institutes, structures, priorities issues

The training of teachers of RE takes place in post-secondary and tertiary educational institutions, both public and private, and must meet the general standards set out for teacher training in Austria. Training for teachers of RE consists of subject-specific (theology), subject-didactic, educational-academic and school-based practical elements. The corresponding curricula require the approval of the respective church or coordination with the religious community. The eight-semester course of study30 for teaching religion in primary schools culminates with the awarding of a Bachelor of Education degree and can be completed at four colleges of education under denominational patronage31, while three other courses of study can also be studied under denominational patronage32. Those training to be teachers in general secondary schools and in new secondary schools can also choose religion as a second subject.33 In all colleges of education it is possible, while studying to be a teacher in a primary school, to also acquire an extra teaching qualification for Catholic RE,34 entitling the holder to teach religion for a small number of hours. Accounting as they do for almost one-third (33.7 %) of all primary school 30 A part-time course of study lasting ten semesters is also offered. 31 Private University College of Education of the Diocese of Linz, Catholic University College for Education Graz, Edith Stein Religious College of Teacher Education in Innsbruck (with campuses in Feldkirch, Salzburg and Stams), University College of Teacher Education Vienna/Krems. 32 A private course of study for teaching Islamic RE in schools of compulsory education (Vienna), the Catholic University College of Education in Carinthia (Klagenfurt) and a private course of study for teaching Jewish religious education in primary schools (Vienna). 33 The first subject is German, English or Mathematics. 34 For information on how this extra teaching qualification is acquired, see, for example, http://www.kphvie.ac.at/institute/institut-ausbildung-religion/studieninformation/lehr gang-religion.html.

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teacher training students, the denominational university colleges of education are of major significance in this area (2013/14: 5,185 out of the total number of 15,393 such students), thereby showing the high level of commitment of the churches towards teacher training (Statistik Austria 2014f). Training of secondary school teachers of RE takes place in universities (i. e. in the tertiary education sector). Austria has four Catholic faculties of theology (Graz, Innsbruck, Salzburg, Vienna) and one Protestant faculty of theology in state universities as well as one Catholic faculty of theology in a private university (Linz).35 In the 2006/07 academic year, a chair for ‘Islamic Religious Education’ was established at the University of Vienna,36 in 2014 at the University of Innsbruck.37 The completion of one of the four-semester Master’s degrees in Religious Education (currently available: Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox and Islamic), for which students require a relevant six-semester Bachelor’s degree before they can be admitted, entitles the degree holder to teach religion in academic secondary schools or in full-time vocational schools/colleges. Within the context of a fiveyear teaching degree, Catholic or Protestant RE can be chosen as one of the two subjects of study. Upon completion of the degree in Theology, the graduate is entitled to teach RE in all schools of compulsory education, even if the curriculum of the degree does not deal specifically with RE in schools. Because Protestant rectorates usually stipulate a teaching obligation of eight hours per week in schools, this is already taken into account in university courses in Protestant Theology and, in particular, in non-university training of pastors.38 The denominational university colleges of education offer courses of further training for Christian teachers of RE. In Vienna, a postgraduate private university training course for Islamic RE (known by its German acronym of IHL) is provided.39 The costs for training at state universities and university colleges of education are borne entirely by the universities/colleges and, thereby, the state. In the case of institutions under denominational patronage, only the teaching staff is financed by the state. There are no binding rules on how one acquires a teaching qualification for the subject of ethics, with various types of training being offered in Austria’s universities and university colleges of education. At present, there are study options available in the universities of Vienna and Graz, whereby qualifications for teaching ethics in academic secondary school and full-time vocational 35 36 37 38 39

Catholic Private University Linz. http://www.islamische-religionspaedagogik.at/home.html. http://www.uibk.ac.at/irp/. § 7 Abs. 3 OdgA, in: http://www.evang.at/. http://www.ihl.ac.at/.

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schools/colleges can be acquired. In the University of Vienna, a four-semester university course was established in the 2000/01 winter semester – initially in the form of ‘individuelles Diplomstudium’, where students can basically design their own programme of study. The interfaculty course comprises 48 hours of class contact hours per semester (96 ECTS points; European Credit Transfer System) and relies on the existing courses offered by the faculties that are assigned to the curriculum of the course (Kampits and Staubmann 2011). Since the 2010/11 academic year, students can take an interfaculty Master’s degree in ‘Applied Ethics’ at the University of Graz, for which 120 ECTS points are awarded. The optional thematic module of ‘Education’, worth 27 ECTS points, can only be attended after the teacher training course has been completed.40

11.

Empirical Research concerning religious education at schools

(a)

Studies on students’, parents’ and (RE) teachers’ perspectives on RE

Bastel, H., and H. Miklas. 2006. “Ich bin informierter und persönlich gestärkt in meinem Glaubensverständnis” oder Zusammenarbeit der ReligionslehrerInnen verschiedener christlicher Konfessionen – ein empirisches Forschungsprojekt, In Das Gemeinsame entdecken – Das Unterscheidende anerkennen. Projekt eines konfessionell-kooperativen Religionsunterrichts. Einblicke – Hintergründe – Ansätze – Forschungsergebnisse, ed. H. Bastel, M. Göllner, M. Jäggle, and H. Miklas, 43–57. Wien: LIT. Baum, D. 2008. Grundschul-Religionsunterricht aus Kinder- und Elternsicht. Eine vergleichende empirische Studie mit religionspädagogischer Perspektive an ausgewählten Volksschulen in OÖ. Linz: Trauner. Bucher, A. A. 1996. Religionsunterricht: Besser als sein Ruf. Empirische Einblicke in ein umstrittenes Fach. Innsbruck: Tyrolia. Bucher, A. A., and H. Miklas, eds. 2005. Zwischen Berufung und Frust. Die Befindlichkeit von katholischen und evangelischen ReligionslehrerInnen in Österreich. Wien: LIT. Jäggle, M. 1992. Die Situation des Religionsunterrichts an Volksschulen in der Großstadt Wien. Eine empirische Untersuchung. 2 Bde. PhD diss., University of Vienna. Khorchide, M. 2009. Der islamische Religionsunterricht zwischen Integration und Parallelgesellschaft: Einstellungen der islamischen ReligionslehrerInnen an öffentlichen Schulen. Wiesbaden: VS. Klutz, P. 2015. Religionsunterricht vor den Herausforderungen religiöser Pluralität. Eine qualitativ-empirische Studie in Wien. Münster : Waxmann. Lehner-Hartmann, A. 2014. Religiöses Lernen. Subjektive Theorien von ReligionslehrerInnen. Stuttgart: Kohlhammer.

40 http://www.uni-graz.at/ethik/.

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Miklas, H., H.-E. Pollitt, and G. Ritzer. 2015. “Ich wünsche mir aufrichtige Anerkennung unserer Arbeit …”. Berufszufriedenheit, Belastungen und Copingstrategien evangelischer ReligionslehrerInnen in Österreich. Münster : Waxmann. Pollitt, H.-E., M. Leutold, and A. Preis, eds. 2007. Wege und Ziele evangelischer Schulen in Österreich. Eine empirische Untersuchung. Münster : Waxmann. Ritzer, G. 2003. Reli oder Kaffeehaus. Eine empirische Spurensuche nach Einflussfaktoren zur Beteiligung am und Abmeldung vom Religionsunterricht bei über 1500 SchülerInnen. Mit einer Handreichung zur Evaluierung der Einflussfaktoren an Schulen. Thaur : Thaur. Ritzer, G. 2010. Interesse – Wissen – Toleranz – Sinn. Ausgewählte Kompetenzbereiche und deren Vermittlung im Religionsunterricht. Eine Längsschnittstudie. Münster : LIT. Rosenberger, K. 2013. Differenzfähigkeit bei Lehramtsstudierenden. Eine Vignettenstudie. Wiesbaden: VS/Springer. Schelander, R. 2009. Austria. Facing plurality. In How Teachers in Europe teach Religion. An international empirical Study, ed. H.-G. Ziebertz and U. Riegel, 21–9. Münster : LIT. Strutzenberger, E. 2012. “Dass Religion auch hier mitspielt…”. Zur Bedeutung von Religion in der Schulentwicklung. Eine empirische Studie. PhD diss., University of Vienna. van Dellen, A. (forthcoming). Religion(en) in der Schule? Konzeptionelle Überlegungen zu einer diakonischen Präsenz von Religion(en) an öffentlichen Schulen in Österreich. PhD diss., University of Innsbruck. Wagner, G. 1998. Unterricht in kleinen Gruppen – am Beispiel des Evangelischen Religionsunterrichts in Österreich. PhD diss., University of Vienna.

(b)

Evaluation of ‘Ethics’

Bucher, A. A. 2001. Ethikunterricht in Österreich. Bericht der wissenschaftlichen Evaluation der Schulversuche “Ethikunterricht”. Innsbruck: Tyrolia. Bucher, A. A. 2014. Der Ethikunterricht in Österreich. Politisch verschleppt – pädagogisch überfällig! Innsbruck: Tyrolia, 72–90. Clark-Wilson, C. 2011. Ethikunterricht in Österreich 2010. Eine Replikationsstudie zu den Ergebnissen der wissenschaftlichen Evaluation der Schulversuche Ethikunterricht Anton A. Buchers (2001). Master thesis, University of Vienna.

(c)

Studies on classroom interaction, curricula and textbooks

Juen, M. 2013. Die ersten Minuten des Unterrichts. Skizzen einer Kairologie des Anfangs aus kommunikativ-theologischer Perspektive. Münster : LIT. Narrative Exegesis and Subject-oriented Biblical Didactics (since 2013) – University of Graz41. 41 http://bibel-didaktik.uni-graz.at/de/. http://static.uni-graz.at/fileadmin/bibel-didaktik/abstract_eng.pdf.

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Spichal, J. 2015. Vorurteile gegen Juden im christlichen Religionsunterricht. Eine qualitative Inhaltsanalyse ausgewählter Lehrpläne und Schulbücher in Deutschland und Österreich. Göttingen: V& R unipress. Weiß, T., I. Kromer, and P. Miklusˇcˇ‚k. 2014. “Erlösung ist, wenn man schulfreihat!”. Erste Ergebnisse einer qualitativ-empirischen Studie zur Erfassung und didaktischen Bearbeitung von Erlösungsvorstellungen 10- bis 14-jähriger SchülerInnen der Sekundarstufe I in Österreich. Österreichisches Religionspädagogisches Forum 22: 161–71.

12.

Desiderata / challenges for religious education in a European context

Competences and educational standards In the light of the introduction of a competence-based school leaving examination and of educational standards from primary school onwards, the issue of competences and educational standards in the area of RE is one that requires academic research. Collective and cooperative RE Especially for those schools where denominational RE is proving very difficult to organize for whatever reason, a form of RE for which the churches and religious societies bear shared responsibility and which is open to all should be developed. At the University of Vienna, a qualitative empirical research project was looking at the question of what level of acceptance RE under the collective responsibility of the churches and religious societies would find in public schools (Klutz 2015). Conceptualisations for a diaconal presence of religion(s) at public schools A PhD thesis at the University of Innsbruck aims to outline conceptualisations for diaconal RE which continue the immediate presence of the church and religion at public schools. By conducting a quantitative, school-type specific statistical analysis in all provinces of pupil denominations and religions which are recognized by law, as well as a qualitative content based examination of articles in print media regarding religion in schools, the challenges connected to RE will be addressed. Building on this, the notion of a ‘diaconal aspect’ regarding RE will then be elaborated upon and further developed (van Dellen forthcoming).

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School development and religion The question of religious education cannot be aimed only at a specific subject and its position in the school. Instead, the question will, in future, focus more and more on the school itself, how it perceives religion and how it handles (religious) diversity. Religion, therefore, comes into focus as an issue of organisational culture and school development. Training Not least because of the forthcoming ‘PädagogInnenbildung NEU’ (new teacher training model), the curricula for teacher training of teachers of RE must be further developed. Curricula have yet to be developed for nationwide teacher training for the subject of ethics. Groundwork is necessary for both.

13.

Further information (e. g., relevant literature on religious education, institutions, websites)

13.1

Journals

Publication of the Catholic ‘Christlich-pädagogische Blätter’ (Christian Education Papers), which appeared every quarter, was suspended in its 124th year in the year 2011. Meanwhile, the interfaith ‘Austrian Forum on Religious Education’ (Österreichisches Religionspädagogisches Forum) appears once a year and was published for the 23rd time in 2015. The quarterly publication ‘Schulfach Religion’ (Religion as a School Subject) has been published for 33 years (as of 2014) by the Association of Teachers of Protestant RE in academic secondary schools. The quarterly publication ‘Das Wort. Evangelische Beiträge zu Bildung und Unterricht’ (The Word. Protestant Reviews on Education and Teaching), meanwhile, is published by the Protestant Education Authority in Vienna. Since 2013 there is a new journal concerning on the practice of RE in Austria (‘Reli plus’).

13.2

Further literature

Aslan, E. 2002. Religiöse Erziehung der muslimischen Kinder in Deutschland und Österreich. Stuttgart: Institut für Islamische Erziehung. Aslan, E. 2009. Muslime in Österreich und das Modell Österreich. In Islamische Erziehung in Europa: Islamic Education in Europe, ed. E. Aslan, 325–50. Wien: Böhlau.

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Bader, G. 2010. Religiöse Bildung und Wertevermittlung in der Schule? Zum Anspruch und Profil eines kompetenzorientierten Religionsunterrichts. Österreichisches Religionspädagogisches Forum 18: 11–6. Bucher, A.A. 2011. Eine unendliche Geschichte: Ethikunterricht in Österreich. Österreichisches Archiv für Recht & Religion 58: 25–36. Feichtinger, C. 2014. Religionenlernen im Ethikunterricht. Ein Versuch aus der Perspektive einer angewandten Religionswissenschaft. Österreichisches Religionspädagogisches Forum 22: 143–51. Fiechter-Alber, E. 2004. Welche Ethik in der Schule? Grundlagen ethischen Lehrens und Lernens. Mainz: Grünewald. Habringer-Hagleitner, S. 2006. Zusammenleben im Kindergarten. Modelle religionspädagogischer Praxis. Stuttgart: Kohlhammer. Habringer-Hagleitner, S., and M. Steiner. 2014. Der Religionenvielfalt in elementarpädagogischen Bildungseinrichtungen gerecht werden. Suchbewegungen von PädagogInnen anhand von zwei Praxisbeispielen und was sich daraus folgern lässt. Österreichisches Religionspädagogisches Forum 22: 75–83. Jäggle, M. 2011. Zehn Thesen zum Diskurs um den (konfessionellen) Religionsunterricht in Österreich. Österreichisches Archiv für Recht & Religion 58: 2–12. Jisa, W. 2011. Religions- und Ethikunterricht in der pluralistischen Gesellschaft – Neue Formen des Religionsunterrichts und ihre religionsrechtliche Einordnung. Österreichisches Archiv für Recht & Religion 58: 37–42. Katzinger, G. 2010. Der Religionsunterricht an österreichischen Schulen. Rechtliche Rahmenbedingungen. Österreichisches Religionspädagogisches Forum 18: 53–7. Khorchide, M. 2009. Der islamische Religionsunterricht zwischen Integration und Parallelgesellschaft: Einstellungen der islamischen ReligionslehrerInnen an öffentlichen Schulen. Wiesbaden: VS. Khorchide, M. 2011. Der islamische Religionsunterricht in Österreich – was kann Deutschland aus dem österreichischen Modell lernen? In Interreligiosität und Interkulturalität. Herausforderungen für Bildung, Seelsorge und soziale Arbeit im christlichmuslimischen Kontext, ed. J. Freise and M. Khorchide, 99–118. Münster : Waxmann. Klutz, P. 2014. “Wenn der konfessionelle Religionsunterricht mancherorts an Grenzen gerät” – Was Schulfallstudien an der Sekundarstufe II in der Großstadt Wien der Religionspädagogik zu denken geben. Österreichisches Religionspädagogisches Forum 22: 115–24. Kögler, I. 2011. Religionslehrerin oder -lehrer sein in der Krise der Kirche: Kritische Solidarität und eigene Glaubwürdigkeit. In “Nur wer sich ändert, bleibt sich treu.” Religionsunterricht in einer Kirche im Lernprozess, ed. L. Rendle, 35–48. München: Deutscher Katecheten Verein e.V. Krobath, T., and G. Ritzer, eds. 2014. Ausbildung von ReligionslehrerInnen. Konfessionell – kooperativ – interreligiös – pluralitätsfähig. Wien: LIT. Lehner-Hartmann, A. 2014. Religionsunterricht neu denken? Gesellschaftliche, demografische und inhaltliche Herausforderungen an einen (katholischen Religionsunterricht der Zukunft. Österreichisches Religionspädagogisches Forum 22: 103–13. Paechter, M., M. Stock, S. Schmölzer-Eibinger, P. Slepcevic-Zach, and W. Weirer, eds. 2012. Handbuch Kompetenzorientierter Unterricht. Weinheim: Beltz.

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Prettenthaler, M. 2004. Ökumene-Lernen im Religionsunterricht. Anspruch ohne Resonanz? Hamburg: Kovacˇ. Scharer, M. 2009. Der Synodenbeschluss zum Religionsunterricht in der Schule: heute gelesen und im Blick auf morgen weitergeschrieben. Österreichisches Religionspädagogisches Forum 17: 30–8. Scharer, M. 2010. Wenn das Herz am Output hängt. Kommunikativ-theologische und religionsdidaktische Überlegungen zu Bildungsstandards und Kompetenzorientierung in Religion. Österreichisches Religionspädagogisches Forum 18: 16–26. Scharer, M. 2014. ‘Learning (in/through) Religion’ in der Gegenwart der/des Anderen. Unfall und Ernstfall öffentlicher Bildung. Österreichisches Religionspädagogisches Forum 22: 93–102. Scharer, M., A. van Dellen, and M. Steixner. 2011. Diakonischer Religionsunterricht. In Solidaritätsstiftende Kirche. … auf dem Weg zu einer zeitgemäßen Caritas, ed. J. Niewiadomski and G. Schärmer, 139–43. Linz: Wagner. Schelander, R. 2009. Austria: facing plurality. In How Teachers in Europe Teach Religion. An International Empirical Study in 16 Countries, ed. H.-G. Ziebertz and U. Riegel, 21–9. Berlin: LIT. Schelander, R. 2011. Entwicklung der empirischen Forschung in der österreichischen Religionspädagogik der letzten 10 Jahre. Ein Literaturbericht. Österreichisches Religionspädagogisches Forum 19: 5–8. Sejdini, Z. 2011. Curricula and Textbooks for Islamic Religious Education in Austria. In Islamic Textbooks und Curricula in Europe, ed. E. Aslan, 65–78. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang. Sejdini, Z. 2015. The Contribution of Islamic Religious Education to Citizenship Education in Austria. In Islam and Citizenship Education, E. Aslan, and M. Hermansen, 77–87. Wiesbaden: Springer Verlag. Shakir, A. 2011. Vorzüge des Religionsunterrichtes für die Identitätsbildung junger Menschen. Österreichisches Archiv für Recht & Religion 58: 51–60. Stockinger, H. 2014. Religiöse Differenz in elementarpädagogischen Einrichtungen. Österreichisches Religionspädagogisches Forum 22: 85–91. Themenheft Bildung – Religion – Kompetenz. Kompetenzorientiert Religion unterrichten. 2010. Österreichisches Religionspädagogisches Forum 18. Themenheft Kompetenz in Diskussion. 2011. Christlich pädagogische Blätter 124, no. 3. Themenheft Religions- und Ethikunterricht in der pluralistischen Gesellschaft. 2011. Österreichisches Archiv für Recht & Religion 58, no. 1. Weirer, W. 2009. Religionsunterricht in pluralen Kontexten. Zwischenbilanz subjektiver Wahrnehmungen und Beobachtungen. Österreichisches Religionspädagogisches Forum 17: 28–9. Weirer, W. 2011. “Religionsbekenntnis: o.B. (normal)” Thesen zur Zukunft des Religionsunterrichtes. Christlich pädagogische Blätter 124: 117–21. Weirer, W. 2012a. Zwischen den Stühlen? Konfessioneller Religionsunterricht in gemeinsamer Verantwortung von Staat und Kirchen. , Österreichisches Archiv für Recht & Religion 59: 31–46. Weirer, W. 2012b. Ziel: Pluralitätsfähigkeit. Herausforderungen universitärer ReligionslehrerInnenbildung in Österreich. Journal für LehrerInnenbildung 12, no. 4: 25–8.

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References Bastel, H., M. Göllner, M. Jäggle, and H. Miklas, eds. 2006. Das Gemeinsame entdecken – Das Unterscheidende anerkennen. Projekt eines konfessionell-kooperativen Religionsunterrichts. Einblicke – Hintergründe – Ansätze – Forschungsergebnisse. Wien: LIT. Berger, P.L. 1980. Der Zwang zur Häresie. Religion in der pluralistischen Gesellschaft. Trans. W. Köhler. Frankfurt am Main: Fischer. Bucher, A. A. 2001. Ethikunterricht in Österreich. Bericht der wissenschaftlichen Evaluation der Schulversuche “Ethikunterricht”. Innsbruck: Tyrolia. Bundeskanzleramt, ed. 2011. Religionen in Österreich. Wien: Bundeskanzleramt, Bundespressedienst. Engelbrecht, H. 2000. Relikt oder Zukunftsmodell? Zur Geschichte der katholischen Privatschulen in Österreich (mit Schulverzeichnis). Wien: öbv & hpt. Jäggle, M. 2010. Lebenswerte Schule. Schulpastoral in Österreich. In Diakonia: internationale Zeitschrift für praktische Theologie 41, no. 3, 184–9. Jäggle, M., T. Krobath, and R. Schelander, eds. 2009. lebens.werte.schule. Religiöse Dimensionen in Schulkultur und Schulentwicklung. Wien: LIT. Jäggle, M., T. Krobath, H. Stockinger, and R. Schelander, eds. 2013. Kultur der Anerkennung. Würde – Gerechtigkeit – Partizipation für Schulkultur, Schulentwicklung und Religion. Baltmannsweiler : Schneider. Kalb, H. 2007. Arten von Privatschulen, deren Öffentlichkeitsrecht und die Rechtsstellung von Lehrern und Schülern – ein Überblick. In Das kirchliche Privatschulwesen – historische, pastorale, rechtliche und ökonomische Aspekte, ed. A. Rinnerthaler, 315–43. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang. Kampits, P., and R. Staubmann, Der fakultätsübergreifende Lehrgang “Ethik” an der Universität Wien: Entstehung und Aussichten. http://ethik.univie.ac.at/fileadmin/user_up load/inst_ethik_wiss_dialog/Kampits__Staubmann_2011_Uni_Wien_Lehrgang_Ethik_ in_Information_Philosophie.doc Klutz, P. 2014, Skizzierung der religiös pluralen Landschaft Österreichs. Ein Beitrag zur kontextsensiblen Wahrnehmung. In Ausbildung von ReligionslehrerInnen. Konfessionell – kooperativ – interreligiös – pluralitätsfähig, ed. T. Krobath and, G. Ritzer, 47–60. Wien: LIT. Klutz, P. 2015. Religionsunterricht vor den Herausforderungen religiöser Pluralität. Eine qualitativ-empirische Studie in Wien. Münster : Waxmann. Kögler, I., and M. Dammayr. 2015. Jugend und Religion in Österreich. In Interdisciplinary Journal for Religion and Transformation in Contemporary Society 1, no. 1, 152–76. Krobath, T., A. Lehner-Hartmann, and R. Polak, eds. 2013. Anerkennung in religiösen Bildungsprozessen. Interdisziplinäre Perspektiven. Göttingen: V& R unipress. OECD. 2012. Bildung auf einen Blick 2012. OECD-Indikatoren. http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/education/bildung-auf-einen-blick-2012-oecd-indikatoren_eag-2012-de. Österreichische Bischofskonferenz and Österreichische Kommission für Bildung und Erziehung, eds. 1981. Österreichisches Katechetisches Direktorium. Wien: Österreichische Bischofskonferenz, and Österreichische Kommission für Bildung und Erziehung.

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ÖRF. 2010. Positionspapier des ÖRF 2009 zum konfessionellen Religionsunterricht. In Österreichisches Religionspädagogisches Forum 18: 62. Parlamentarische Enquete des Nationalrates. 2011. Werteerziehung durch Religions- und Ethikunterricht in einer offenen, pluralistischen Gesellschaft. Parlamentarische Enquete des Nationalrates. (Mittwoch, 4. Mai 2011; Stenographisches Protokoll). http:// www.parlament.gv.at/PAKT/VHG/XXIV/III/III_00234/fname_218887.pdf. Polak, R., in cooperation with J. Uhlik and K. Renner. 2008. Lebenshorizonte: Religion und Ethik. In Lieben – Leisten – Hoffen. Die Wertewelt junger Menschen in Österreich. ed. C. Friesl, I. Kromer, and R. Polak, 126–213. Wien: Czernin. Rinnerthaler, A., ed. 2004. Historische und rechtliche Aspekte des Religionsunterrichts. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang. Rinnerthaler, A., ed. 2007. Das kirchliche Privatschulwesen – historische, pastorale, rechtliche und ökonomische Aspekte. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang. Ritzer, G. 2003. Reli oder Kaffeehaus. Eine empirische Spurensuche nach Einflussfaktoren zur Beteiligung am und Abmeldung vom Religionsunterricht bei über 1500 SchülerInnen. Mit einer Handreichung zur Evaluierung der Einflussfaktoren an Schulen. Thaur : Thaur. Ritzer, G. 2010. Interesse – Wissen – Toleranz – Sinn. Ausgewählte Kompetenzbereiche und deren Vermittlung im Religionsunterricht. Eine Längsschnittstudie. Münster : LIT. Rosenberger, S., and G. Seeber. 2011. Kritische Einstellungen: BürgerInnen zu Demokratie, Politik, Migration. In Zukunft. Werte. Europa. Die Europäische Wertestudie 1990–2010: Österreich im Vergleich, ed. R. Polak, 165–89. Wien: Böhlau. Schelander, R. 2009. Austria. Facing plurality. In How Teachers in Europe teach Religion. An international empirical Study, ed. H.-G. Ziebertz and U. Riegel, 21–29. Münster : LIT. Schinkele, B. 2007. Umfang und Bedeutung des kirchlichen Privatschulwesens im österreichischen Schulsystem. In Das kirchliche Privatschulwesen – historische, pastorale, rechtliche und ökonomische Aspekte, ed. A. Rinnerthaler, 287–314. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang. Schwarz, K.W. 2007. Das Privatschulwesen der Evangelischen Kirche in Österreich – eine Bestandsaufnahme. In Das kirchliche Privatschulwesen – historische, pastorale, rechtliche und ökonomische Aspekte, ed. A. Rinnerthaler, 421–40. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang. Schwendenwein, H. 1980. Religion in der Schule. Rechtsgrundlagen. Das österreichische Religionsunterrichtsrecht. Graz: Styria. St. Nikolaus-Kindertagesheimstiftung, Wien and Caritas für Kinder und Jugendliche, Linz, eds. 2010. Religionspädagogischer BildungsRahmenPlan für elementare Bildungseinrichtungen in Österreich. Linz: Unsere Kinder. van Dellen, A. (forthcoming). Religion(en) in der Schule? Konzeptionelle Überlegungen zu einer diakonischen Präsenz von Religion(en) an öffentlichen Schulen in Österreich. PhD diss., University of Innsbruck. Zulehner, P.M. 2011. Verbuntung. Kirchen im weltanschaulichen Pluralismus. Religion im Leben der Menschen 1970–2010. Ostfildern: Schwabenverlag.

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Legal foundations (http://www.ris.bka.gv.at/) BekGG. 1998. Bundesgesetz über die Rechtspersönlichkeit von religiösen Bekenntnisgemeinschaften BGBl. I Nr. 19/1998 i.d.j.g.F. B-VG. 1930. Bundes-Verfassungsgesetz BGBl. Nr. 1/1930 i.d.j.g.F. PrivSchG. 1962. Privatschulgesetz BGBl. Nr. 244/1962 i.d.j.g.F. RelUG. 1949. Religionsunterrichtsgesetz BGBl. Nr. 190/1949 i.d.j.g.F. SchOG. 1962. Schulorganisationsgesetz BGBl Nr. 242/1962 i.d.j.g.F. SchUG. 1986. Schulunterrichtsgesetz, BGBl. Nr. 472/1986 i.d.j.g.F. StGG. 1867. Staatsgrundgesetz RGBl. Nr. 142/1867 i.d.j.g.F. VoGrG. 1976. Volksgruppengesetz BGBl. Nr. 396/1976 i.d.j.g.F. Vereinbarung. 2009. Vereinbarung gemäß Art. 15a B-VG über die Einführung der halbtägig kostenlosen und verpflichtenden frühen Förderung in institutionellen Kinderbetreuungseinrichtungen BGBl. I Nr. 99/2009.

Curricula (http://www.ris.bka.gv.at/) Lehrplan für den Evangelischen Religionsunterricht an allgemein bildenden höheren Schulen (Oberstufe), BGBl. II Nr. 192/2005. (= Protestant Curriculum 2005) Lehrplan für den katholischen Religionsunterricht an der Oberstufe der allgemein bildenden höheren Schulen BGBl. II Nr. 226/2006. (= Catholic Curriculum 2006) Lehrplan für den orthodoxen Religionsunterricht an mittleren und höheren Schulen (Sekundarstufe II), BGBl. II Nr. 225/2011. (= Orthodox Curriculum 2011) Lehrpläne für den islamischen Religionsunterricht an Pflichtschulen, mittleren und höheren Schulen, BGBl. II Nr. 234/2011. (= Islamic Curriculum 2011)

Austrian Federal Chancellery (http://www.bka.gv.at/) BKA. 2014a. Gesetzlich anerkannte Kirchen und Religionsgemeinschaften in Österreich. BKA. 2014b. Staatlich eingetragene religiöse Religionsgemeinschaften.

Federal Ministry of Education and Women’s Affairs (https://www.bmbf.gv.at/) BMBF. 2007. Durchführungserlass zum Religionsunterricht. BMBF. 2012a. Die kompetenzorientierte Reifeprüfung. Ethik. Richtlinien und Beispiele für Themenpool und Prüfungsaufgaben. BMBF. 2012b. Die kompetenzorientierte Reifeprüfung aus Religion. Grundlagen, exemplarische Themenbereiche und Aufgabenstellungen. BMBF. 2014a. Bundesländerübergreifender BildungsRahmenPlan für elementare Bildungseinrichtungen in Österreich. BMBF. 2014b. PädagogInnenbildung NEU. BMBF. 2014c. Das Unterrichtsprinzip ‘Interkulturelles Lernen’. BMBF. 2015. Standardisierte, kompetenzorientierte Reifeprüfung an AHS. Fachleitfäden.

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Statistik Austria (http://www.statistik.at/) Statistik Austria. 2007. Bevölkerung nach dem Religionsbekenntnis und Bundesländern 1951 bis 2001. Statistik Austria. 2014a. Vorberechnete Bevölkerungsstruktur für Österreich 2013–2075 laut Hauptszenario. Statistik Austria. 2014b. Schulen im Schuljahr 2013/14 nach Schultypen. Statistik Austria. 2014c. Schülerinnen und Schüler mit nicht-deutscher Umgangssprache im Schuljahr 2013/14. Statistik Austria. 2014d. Schulen im Schuljahr 2013/14 nach dem Schulerhalter. Statistik Austria. 2014e. Schülerinnen und Schüler im Schuljahr 2013/14 nach dem Schulerhalter. Statistik Austria. 2014f. Lehramt-Studierende an Pädagogischen Hochschulen 2013/14. Statistik Austria. 2015a. Bevölkerung zu Jahresbeginn seit 1981 nach zusammengefasster Staatsangehörigkeit. Statistik Austria. 2015b. Bevölkerung zu Quartalsbeginn seit 2009 nach Staatsangehörigkeit und Bundesland.

Ana Thea Filipovic´

Religious Education at Schools in Croatia

Introduction Again since 1991 religious education is an integral part of the panorama of school education in Croatia. The return to religious traditions favoured a denominational RE at that time. The majority of pupils and parents belong to the Catholic Christianity. Until today the pupils agree to the denominational RE, which is principal open to other religious traditions and worldviews. Nevertheless, new questions are pressing in a continually changing school-educational and societal landscape: What form does RE take in every day live? Under which aspects its impacts can be measured? How does RE achieve the objectives and tasks of schools in the Croatian society? How could the religious background and the religious rights of pupils and parents be respected by achieving an education for religious and worldview understanding at the same time? How can a school culture be developed, and how can an agreement of values be found? The following remarks describe the situation and attempt to answer some of these questions.

1.

The socio-religious background of the country

Croatia is a traditionally Catholic country. Between the seventh and the ninth century the people was Christianised. After the great schism in 1054 the Croatian kings declared their loyalty to the pope. This is continued as well after the handover of the crown to the Hungarian king at the beginning of the 12th century, during the personal union with Hungary until 1918, last as part of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy.The Croatian people’s Catholic identity has been preserved throughout the new Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenians (after 1929 called the Kingdom of Yugoslavia), and even during the years of the Croatian integration into the Peoples’ / Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1945–1991). The 1953 census shows, that even under the Communist dicta-

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torship, which was known for its anti-religious and anti-church propaganda, 73.9 % of the Croatian population identified as Roman Catholic and 11.3 % as Orthodox. Despite their political marginalization, the churches were of great importance to national identity in that time. After the communist systems of the Eastern Block had collapsed and the Yugoslavian state had fallen apart, 93 % of the Croatian population voted for independence from Yugoslavia in a referendum. Croatia declared its independence in 1991. The 1991 census shows that back then 76.6 % of the population identified as Roman Catholic and 11.2 % as Orthodox (Nikodem 2004, 264). Once the Socialist State and its single party system had collapsed, affiliation to the traditional churches and ecclesiastical practices experienced a renaissance. The Catholic Church as a majority was afforded a new position within society. Bilateral agreements between Croatia and the Holy See in 1996 and 1998 legally affirmed this position. On the model of these agreements the state also regulated relations with all other religious communities in the country (see chapter 2). One of the consequences of the Yugoslav-Serbian war against Croatia’s independence was a change in the ethnic and religious structure and affiliation of the population. Many members of the Serbian-Orthodox church either emigrated or adapted to the new zeitgeist in Croatia, and outwardly abandoned their national and religious identity. After Croatia declared independence the number of Croatian people belonging to the Catholic Church initially increased; over the past decade it has, however, slightly fallen again. The Orthodox population has decreased. A comparison between the 2001 and the 2011 census shows that the number of Muslims and the number of Protestants has hardly changed at all. Equally the number of people subscribing to Eastern religions, other nonChristian religions and other ideologies has remained largely stable. Over the past decade the number of people who describe themselves as atheists, agnostics, and sceptics, has increased again. Census 2001

Census 2011

Republic of Croatia (population) Catholic Orthodox

% % 4,437,460 100 4,284,889 100 3,903,551 87.97 3,697,143 86.28 195,969 4.42 190,143 4.44

Protestant Other Christian

11,824 10,569

0.27 0.24

14,653 12,961

0.34 0.30

Muslim Jewish

56,777 495

1.28 0.01

62,977 536

1.47 0.01

Eastern Religions

969

0.02

2,550

0.06

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(Continued) Census 2001 Other Religions, Religious Movements and World 524 Views

Census 2011

% 0.01

2,555

% 0.06

Agnostic and Skeptical Non-believers and Atheists

1,547 98,376

0.03 2.22

32,518 163,375

0.76 3.81

Not stated Unknown

130,985 25,874

2.95 0.58

93,018 12,460

2.17 0.29

Table 1: Population according to religious identity –comparison between 2001 and 2011 census (Drzˇavni zavod za statistiku 2011)

Regarding possible changes caused by the migration, Croatia has been more emigration than immigration, both recently and historically. Over the last few years, however, more and more young and educated citizens have been leaving the country. The majority of immigrants comes from the neighbouring countries such as Bosnia and Herzegovina (Bozˇic´, Kuzmanovic´ and Barada 2013, 377). As far as religion is concerned most immigrants are either Catholic or Muslim. Additionally there have been increased numbers of Chinese immigrants as well as business people from Western countries. On the whole, immigration to Croatia is still very low, and has not yet been seriously addressed in any scientific studies or literature.

2.

Legal framework for religious education and the relationship between religious communities and the state

Following a decision by the Croatian ministry for education, culture and sport on the 20th June 1991, confessional RE was reintroduced at all primary and secondary schools (year 1–12) in the academic year 1991/92. It had at that point been absent for 40 years. The move to reintroduce it had originally been suggested by the Croatian conference of bishops and leaders of other religious communities. Curricula for Catholic, Orthodox, Islamic, Jewish, Adventist, Mormon and Protestant RE were proposed and approved (Ministarstvo prosvjete i kulture Republike Hrvatske 1991). The 1991 law for public education laid the legal foundations for this development. On the 18th of December 1996 a contract to collaborate on all questions of religion and culture was agreed between the Republic of Croatia and the Holy See. It came into force on the 11th of February 1997 and from then on legally guaranteed Catholic RE a long-term future (Ugovor izmed¯u Svete Stolice i Republike Hrvatske o suradnji na podrucˇju odgoja i kulture 1997). An agreement of

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implementation of Catholic RE and religious education in all public schools and pre-schools followed and was signed by the Croatian government and the Croatian conference of bishops on the 29th of January 1999 (Ugovor o katolicˇkom vjeronauku 1999). Accordingly to that agreement pupils can choose whether to take RE or not. For those who chose to take it, it becomes a compulsory subject and they need to sign a document to show their commitment. (Parents or legal guardians sign for pupils under the age of 15.) RE is taught under the same conditions as all other subjects. As a general rule a RE class should consist of a minimum of seven pupils. In all primary and secondary schools (year 1–12) RE is allocated two lessons per week. The Catholic conference of bishops is responsible for the content of the curriculum, which is then checked by the relevant ministry to ensure educational standards are high, before it is approved. RE textbooks are approved by diocesan bishops in agreement with the Croatian conference of bishops. Teachers of RE need to have the relevant level of training for the age group they are teaching, as all teachers must. Furthermore RE teachers require the Missio Canonica (Ugovor o katolicˇkom vjeronauku 1999, article 1–6). Similar agreements were reached with other religious communities and faith groups. Such groups have enjoyed equal rights in the public domain since the beginning of democracy in Croatia. A new law to regulate the legal position of religious communities was adopted in 2002 (Zakon o pravnom polozˇaju vjerskih zajednica 2002). Following this, a contract dealing with issues of shared interests between the Croatian government and the Serbian Orthodox church was signed on the 20th of December 2002, and came into force the same day (Ugovor o pitanjima od zajednicˇkog interesa izmed¯u Vlade Republike Hrvatske i Srpske pravoslavne crkve 2002). A similar contract was agreed with the Islamic community in Croatia on also the same day. (Ugovor o pitanjima od zajednicˇkog interesa izmed¯u Vlade Republike Hrvatske i Islamske zajednice 2002). The contract between the Croatian government and the Protestant Church was signed on the 4th of July 2003, as was the one with the Christian Reformed Church (Ugovor o pitanjima od zajednicˇkog interesa izmed¯u Vlade Republike Hrvatske i Evangelicˇke crkve 2003). Contracts with the Pentecostal Church, the Christian Adventist Church, the association of Baptist Churches and the Republic of Croatia were also signed that day (Ugovor o pitanjima od zajednicˇkog interesa izmed¯u Vlade Republike Hrvatske i Evand¯eoske crkve 2003). Similar contracts were also agreed between the Croatian government, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, the Croatian Old Catholic Church and the Macedonian Orthodox Church. These were all signed and came into force on the 29th of October 2003 (Ugovor o pitanjima od zajednicˇkog interesa izmed¯u Vlade Republike Hrvatske i Bugarske pravoslavne crkve 2003). The Jewish communities and the Jewish faith group Bet Israel had originally agreed a

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joint contract with the government in 2008. This was, however, later succeeded by two new separate contracts: One between the government of Croatia and the coordination of Jewish communities in Croatia, which was signed on the 6th of November 2010 (Ugovor o pitanjima od zajednicˇkog interesa izmed¯u Vlade Republike Hrvatske i Koordinacije zˇidovskih opc´ina u Hrvatskoj 2010), and one with the Jewish faith community Bet Israel in Croatia, which came into force on the 27th of October 2011 (Ugovor o pitanjima od zajednicˇkog interesa izmed¯u Vlade Republike Hrvatske i Zˇidovske vjerske zajednice Bet Israel 2011). Regulations concerning RE in all the above-mentioned contracts were dealt with in the same way as in the contract with the Catholic Church. The only significant difference being that smaller religious communities can hold RE classes outside of schools, but they still need to fulfil the same educational requirements. However, stringent governmental checks on all curricula and all textbooks are difficult due to the minority status of many of these communities. For this reason many situations are tolerated in practice, which are not acceptable in strict accordance with the rules.

3.

Developments in the country’s education policy

Developments in educational politics were influenced by trends and developments in society more widely. When Croatia abandoned the socialist- and Marxist-ideological school system in the early 1990’s, the country tried to build on former pedagogical traditions on the one hand, and to catch up with European developments in the field of education on the other. Despite some opposition, it was decided to maintain the existing structure of a compulsory primary education, consisting of four years of general classroom based teaching (one teacher per class) followed by four years of specialized teaching (different teachers teach different subjects). For secondary/further education (usually four years) it was decided to revert to the old system of either for years of grammar school or four years of vocational training, thereby abolishing the 1978 reform. The 1978 reform had determined that the first two years of secondary school were to consist of general education for all pupils, allowing them to specialize in either grammar school or vocational training only in the last two years. Croatian educational politics was conscious of the fact that the traditional education system had its advantages, despite having often been more focused on abstract rather than practical knowledge. Hence, it was decided to adapt the old school system, rather than to abolish it completely. The transition from a closed, ideological education system to a democratic one was also marked by efforts and desires to integrate with Europe. In Europe the past twenty years saw many educational reforms, devised to serve socio-

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political and economic goals in order to create a standardized educational platform within the European Union, which is able to compete economically on a global level. The rational behind creating this standardized educational platform is to foster greater mobility for students and learners. It is focused on usable, practical knowledge and the acquisition of skills needed for lifelong independent learning, in order to foster the necessary flexibility for finding work in an insecure job market. The 1992 Maastricht treaty (especially articles 126 and 127) offered a legal foundation for the introduction of national educational policies in the European Union, enabling nations to work more intensely together and to coordinate activities in view of the common goal to encourage lifelong learning. The Council of Europe’s Lisbon Agenda of 2000 aimed to promote a transition from rhetoric to reality and consequently to effectively further the coordination and assimilation of national educational policies. In December 2006 the European Commission, in its role as executive body for the European Union, published and recommended a common European frame of references on key competences for lifelong learning (The European Parliament 2006). In April 2008 the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union published their recommendations for the establishment of the European Qualifications Framework for Lifelong Learning with the aim to attain greater transparency and transferability of qualifications at all levels of the education systems. Qualifications should be described in terms of learning outcomes (European Parliament 2008). The European Qualifications Framework ties in with the Bologna Process, which is concerned with higher education and the Copenhagen Process, which is concerned with vocational training. Efficiency, standardization and transparency of the various educational systems, measurability and external evaluation of learning outcomes, defined as competences, are key concerns in the above-mentioned recommendations by the European Union. Croatia promptly adopted the European Union’s recommendations for a common framework in educational reform, as did many other transition countries, and viewed this as synonymous to the modernisation of educational structures and policies. As a result of the assimilation of the Croatian education system to the European Union’s requirements as part of the country’s accession negotiations, Croatia has already instigated a number of institutional and organizational changes, which are to provide the infrastructure for further alignment of its education system to the European Union’s recommendations and guidelines as well as for an improvement in the quality and transparency of education. To this end the ministry for science, education and sport has established a number of centres and agencies over the past years: the agency for science and higher education, the agency for in-school education and learning, the agency for vocational training, the agency for adult education, the national centre for external evaluation of education, the centre for teacher training.

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Additionally national education standards, a national curriculum and a national qualification framework were put into place. Vocational curricula are drawn up and subject specific curricula are currently being drawn up. Many different experimental school programs are being tested out. The national higher education entrance qualification exam, which is conducted and assessed by the national centre for external evaluation of education, is comprised of a number of compulsory subjects as well as elective subjects; RE is one of the latter. Since the national higher education entrance qualification exam was introduced in 2009/ 2010, around 200–300 pupils register to take the exam in RE every year. In this context many disadvantages of the so-called orientation towards European educational policies have become apparent. Assessment is focused primarily, not to say exclusively, on cognitive ability. The model of centralized administration and the assurance of quality are favoured over others. Reforms appear superficial and without any real quality enhancement at their heart. Teachers are burdened with additional administrative and bureaucratic tasks and are often overworked. Despite much declarative reference to the Croatian tradition it is the experience of other countries and the theories underlying the reforms (e. g. curriculum theory), which are being used as points of reference in specialist discussions. A few aspects of the education system’s modernisation are more welcome; the integration of pupils with special needs into mainstream schools is one of them. The introduction of certain programs has, however, been met with ideological and value based resistance. This was the case when sex education was introduced, which is still seen as a contentious subject. (Filipovic´ 2009; Zˇiljak 2007).

4.

Role of religiously sponsored schools, including any changes and developments, legal relationships

The country’s former educational pluralism was abolished when Croatia became part of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1945. This meant above all that private schools and faith schools were forbidden. During this time, from 1945–1990, all schools were state run and under the political and ideological control of the Communist Party. All educational institutions that had belonged to the Catholic Church were confiscated and nationalized (70 secondary schools, 90 primary schools, more than 100 nursery schools and 45 boarding schools; Biondic´ 1994, 153). The few remaining classical grammar schools run for the education and training of seminarians (candidates for the priestly ministry) were not recognized by the state. The political democratization of the Croatia since 1990 has been closely

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linked with the process of returning private property or paying compensation to former owners. The transition from state-planned rules, which governed most aspects of public life, to market driven ones opened up possibilities for the establishment of private schools, among them religiously sponsored schools. The law, which regulates the legal position of religious communities, now enables these communities to open nursery schools, schools and universities, so long as these are run in compliance with legislative requirements; thus faith schools obtained public status (Zakon o pravnom polozˇaju vjerskih zajednica 2002, article 11). Since the coining of the legal term “private school with public statue” the new state started to collaborate with private individuals and private interest groups, among them religious communities, in areas concerning the public good. Educational pluralism has been slowly re-emerging, and some private and alternative schools have been founded. Private schools and faith schools are financially substituted by the state. Currently in Croatia there are 12 Catholic grammar schools, one Islamic and one Orthodox grammar school, one secondary school with a grammar school curriculum run by the Christian Adventist Church, as well as a secondary school and a medical school also with a grammar school curriculum and a medical school curriculum respectively run by the Baptist Church (Ministarstvo znanosti 2012). Furthermore there are five Catholic and one Jewish primary school and 53 nursery schools run by religious communities (Drzˇavni zavod za statistiku 2012). In 2005 1.9 % of children attended Catholic nursery schools and 1.1 % of pupils went to Catholic grammar schools (Hoblaj et al. 2005, 303). Out of all 2072 primary schools 13 are private schools or faith schools (Drzˇavni zavod za statistiku 2013). This indicates that the total number of pupils who attend faith schools is still very low and that state run schools are still dominating the field.

5.

Conceptions and tasks of religious education

When Catholic RE was reintroduced into all primary, and secondary schools in 1991, the bishops of Croatia emphasized that its most important characteristic was to familiarize pupils with the Christian faith in a systematic and holistic way. (This was supposed to distinguish the RE from the aims of parish catechesis). The Christian catechesis was defined as a holistic and deep introduction as possible into the experience of personal faith, which is learned, celebrated und lived in the Christian community (Poruka hrvatskih biskupa 1991, no. 2). However, during the initial adjustment period most RE teachers were former catechists from the parish communities. Furthermore the textbooks used for RE in primary schools during the early years and the syllabus/curriculum, on them

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they were based, had previously been used for parish catechesis. Consequently RE in this early phase still had the flavour of the old parish catechesis, which had developed as a consequence of church and religion having been excluded from public life. Parish catechesis had been focused on strengthening Christian identity in the face of atheist indoctrination and the prohibition to practice religion in public. It aimed to strengthen the bond between families and parish communities. During the first few years the goals of RE in schools and ecclesiastical catechesis overlapped. As new RE teachers are completing their training, new curricula are being developed and new textbooks for RE in schools are being written, the intended distinction between RE and catechesis is becoming clearer. In 1995 the resolution of the Joint Synod of the bishoprics in the Federal Republic of Germany “RE in Schools” was translated into Croatian, which led to the educational rational behind RE being reinforced further (Zajednicˇka sinoda 1995). The new curricula and new textbooks are now pupil focused. They now define the aims, interpretations and content of the Christian faith in such a way, that pupils are able to make a connection between their personal situations and religious issues. The newest textbooks clearly show that the main focus during the first couple of years of school is to directly engage children with the general content of the Bible and other religious ideas. Already from the third year onward it becomes, however, apparent that biblical pericopes become increasingly framed by the teachings of Jesus. During the last few years of secondary school textbooks encourage sophisticated reflection on the message of the gospel, the teachings and life of the church, and their relevance to our contemporary world. The new curriculum for Catholic RE is equally committed to skills orientation, gender equality and tying in its content with other subjects. Curricula and textbooks are subject to two separate inspections, one by the church authorities and one by the ministry for science, education and sport. This can lead to difficulties when it comes to representing the teachings of the church while at the same time having to comply with for instance the state’s requirement to respect different sexual orientations.

6.

Practice / reality of religious education in different schools

While Catholic RE is assigned two lessons per week in Croatian primary and secondary schools (year 1–8), it is mostly only afforded one in secondary high schools (year 9–12). This is the case despite the fact that the contract between the government and the Croatian conference of bishops gives a guarantee for two lessons per week throughout primary and secondary schools. Smaller religious communities (especially those with small numbers of

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children in schools) are allowed to teach their own RE classes at their own venues. In primary schools there is no alternative subject to Catholic RE for children from different religious communities and children of no religious persuasion. Schools make sure that these pupils are kept occupied with other activities while their Catholic classmates attend RE; this could either be done by sending them to a subject of their choice (IT, a foreign language etc.) or by keeping them in the library or another room under the supervision of an adult. In April 2012 the ministry suggested that RE should always either be the first or the last lesson of the day. Implementing this suggestion in reality tuned out to be impossible. A particular problem has arisen in the newly restructured medical schools. Their duration has been increased from four to five years, and much greater emphasis is now placed on practical work experience. As the new structure of these schools only includes general education subjects, RE among them, during the first two years, the curriculum is in direct conflict with the contract, which guarantees RE throughout secondary education. The centre for the external evaluation of education, which conducts the national school leaving exams, has so far only provided material for exams in Catholic RE. It is to be assumed that under new regulations the same body will also provide materials for RE exams for other religious communities, provided there is enough interest from students in these elective subjects and the costs are not too high respect to the small number of interested students.

7.

Observations on alternative subjects / learning areas like ethics, philosophy etc.

There is currently no alternative subject to confessional RE in Croatia’s primary and secondary schools (year 1–8). Although a relatively small number of pupils choose not to take RE classes, there have been increasing complaints that these pupils are being discriminated against. It is felt that it ought to be the schools’ duty to provide some kind of alternative occupation or at least reliable supervision for these pupils. In secondary schools, both grammar schools and vocational schools (year 9–12) pupils can choose between confessional RE and ethics classes. During the 1990’s the ethics curriculum was mostly comprised of information about the world religions, while in recent years the subject has been primarily focused on the teaching of philosophical ethics.

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Dealing with religious diversity

The various forms of confessional RE offered lend expression to the religious diversity within schools. Additionally the curricula for RE also include information about other religions and about other Christian denominations. In order to allow for the various religious communities to represent themselves, teachers often deal with this content by inviting representatives from other religions into the classroom, or by visiting religious communities with their pupils. Ecumenical initiatives, which pupils are able to get involved in, usually take place during the week of prayer for Christian unity, which takes place annually from the 18th to the 25th of January.

9.

Religion in school outside of religious education

The contract between the Holy See and the Republic of Croatia ensured that schools and other educational institutions are also allowed to use schools’ resources and school premises in order to organise other religious activities, provided there is agreement between the governing body of the church and the school authority (Ugovor izmed¯u Svete Stolice 1997, article 4). The implementing agreement between the government and the Croatian conference of bishops stipulates that all initiatives and events that take place in public schools need to respect Catholic tradition and belief. It further states that as a rule mass should be celebrated in churches, but that on special occasions it can also be held on school premises, provided the school administration agrees. Students and teachers participate on a voluntary basis (Ugovor o katolicˇkom vjeronauku 1999, article 11). In actual practice it appears that services at the beginning and at the end of the school year, although organized by the schools, are generally held in churches. This practice is often encouraged by RE teachers, but needs to be approved by the school administration. Schools also celebrate special periods in the Christian calendar such as advent and lent and holidays such as Easter and Christmas. For these occasions teachers of all subjects work together to decorate classrooms and to organize concerts, school plays, and services for the children. During the days of bread in October the priest comes into school for the blessing of the bread. He also comes to bless the school during the time of the blessing of homes. Although the contract allows priests to hold a few RE lessons a year, this rarely happens, apart from in small villages where the priest and the RE teacher are often one and the same person. During open days RE teachers often offer events of a religious character, such as meditation, meditative dance etc. Sometimes schools organize initiatives for

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relief organisations such as Caritas as well as table-top sales and mission exhibitions. Whether schools offer any pastoral care or similar activities usually depends on the good will of RE teachers and the school administration.

10.

Training of teachers of religious education: institutes, structures, priorities issues

Teachers of RE for all age groups are trained to the same standards as teachers of other subjects. The training consists of either a five-year University degree in Catholic theology (also known as philosophical-theological studies) or a fiveyear course in religious education studies and catechetics. Before the academic reforms instigated by the Bologna process, the second route mentioned only used to take eight semesters.1 RE teachers who attended further education college and studied theology or religious education for six/four semesters can still teach RE in primary schools if they completed their training before 1991/1992 (Ugovor o katolicˇkom vjeronauku 1999, article 6). There are, however, not many of these teachers left. All Catholic-Theological Faculties (in Zagreb, Split und Öakovo/Osijek), which train future RE teachers, became part of the public universities during the period of political change in 1991. The TheologicalCatechetical College in Zadar, established in 1992 by the code of canon law, opened in 2013/14 a theological-catechetical department as a part of the public University of Zadar. The first training route for RE teachers, the philosophical-theological University degree, comprises subject-specific, subject-didactic and practical school training elements with an emphasis on the acquisition of theological (and philosophical) knowledge. The second route, the training course in religious education studies and catechetics, focuses somewhat less on philosophicaltheological content, but places more emphasis on teaching psychologicalpedagogical knowledge with a focus on how to convey faith in an educational setting. Once RE teachers have completed their Masters diploma (in accordance with the Bologna Process), they are initially employed on a temporary basis. After their initial placement year (traineeship) they have to pass their professional examination like all other teachers. As RE teachers need a canonical mandate (Missio canonica) in order to work (Ugovor o katolicˇkom vjeronauku 1999, article 3), schools who are looking for a new RE teacher initially turn to the 1 2001 Croatia became a member of the Bologna Process. Until 2005 all curricula had to be adapted to the reforms of the Bologna Process. Cf. Bolonjski process i Euorpski prostor visokog obrazovanja, in http://public.mzos.hr/Default.aspx?sec=2268.

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diocesan office for education, who will then send candidates out to individual schools and gives them a temporary Missio. Only teachers who pass their professional examination and who have a certain amount of in-school experience receive a permanent Missio. As pupil numbers are falling it is becoming increasingly difficult for newly qualified RE teachers to find employment. Additional difficulties can occur if the Missio canonica is withdrawn. Consequently it is becoming more and more urgent to introduce a study route that will qualify RE teachers to teach another subject as well as RE. Most protestant RE teachers are trained at subject specific faculties in Croatia: at the theological faculty “Matija Vlacˇic´ Ilirik” in Zagreb, who offers a degree in Protestant theology as part of the University of Zagreb, at the Evangelical Theological College in Osijek and at the Adventist Theological College in Marusˇevec (near Varazˇdin). The two last mentioned colleges are privately run. Orthodox, Islamic and Jewish RE teachers are trained outside of Croatia. As far as employment in schools and a mandate from their religious communities is concerned these teachers need to fulfil similar requirements as their Catholic colleagues.

11.

Empirical Research concerning religious education at schools

RE in Croatia’s schools was universally introduced in the academic year of 1991/ 1992. It took several years to find or newly train enough qualified RE teachers to meet demand. Additionally, the circumstances of war from 1991–1995 made the functioning of schools and thus RE impossible in some regions. Although there has been a need to empirically assess the general situation and acceptance of RE ever since it was reintroduced (Pranjic´ 1993; Jerkovic´ 1998, 165–7), other tasks have always been more urgent: The training and continued professional development of RE teachers, the creation of new curricula and new textbooks, the introduction of statutory regulation for RE, the establishment of a catechistic national office and the diocesan offices for education and the structuring of the placement year for RE teachers. The need for an extensive empirical study has only recently started to feel truly pressing. Statistical data on the number of pupils who attend RE, as provided by the diocesan offices for education shows that on average 93.6 % of primary and secondary school pupils and 75.4 % of grammar and vocational school pupils attend Catholic RE classes. Participation in the South and in the East of the country is higher than in the North and in the Northwest (Mandaric´ 2011, 109–10). For instance: During the academic year of 2012/13 96.4 % of primary and secondary school pupils and 95.8 % of grammar and vocational school

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pupils chose to attend RE in the archdiocese of Split-Makarska (Statistika – Pohad¯anje vjeronauka 2012, 38–41). On a cross-country level, a slight, but not significant decline in participation can be observed, although total pupil numbers have remained stable. In 2008 a quantitative empirical study on RE was conducted in the archdiocese of Zagreb. 995 pupils in their last two years of secondary school and 109 RE teachers took part in the study. The survey focused on the position of RE in the general school system, the identity of the RE teacher and on the pedagogicaldidactic profile of RE. The study showed a generally good acceptance of RE its profile and its teachers among pupils (Mandaric´ and Razum 2011, 225–31). ˇ rpic´ 2000, 384–7), also clearly However, this as well as other studies (Hoblaj and C shows that there is plenty of room for improvement when it comes to the quality of RE. In order to achieve differentiated, forward-looking results, a wider study, with qualitatively better questions would be necessary. It would also need to involve pupils of all ages, be conducted across the country and include RE of all churches and religions. There are some partial qualitative studies, which have honed in on parents of children who have chosen not to attend RE (Ancˇic´ and Puhovski 2011). All in all calls to abolish confessional RE in public schools and to replace it with a subject that merely informs about faith and religions have been growing louder over the past two decades and especially over the past few years (Marinovic´-Bobinac 2001). While this call has some legitimacy and could contribute to the introduction of an alternative subject in primary and secondary schools, many of these people and their groups are of the Marxian opinion that faith and religion are out-dated forms of human consciousness. In addition they have a generally negative stance toward the Catholic Church and its influence on society.

12.

Desiderata / challenges for religious education in a European context

In the Catholic context greater openness and greater readiness to engage in dialogue with other Christians (and other people of faith) as well as with nonreligious people, would be an important step, which could contribute to a consensus on important societal questions and values. A culture of dialogue would also impact positively on RE in schools (Filipovic´ 2012). Similarly, religious education and religious didactics would benefit greatly from increased dialogue with national experts in general education didactics and methodology. Educational methodology in Croatia, for instance, is currently developing into an independent sub- and inter-discipline.

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The drawing up of an alternative to confessional RE and its introduction in primary and secondary schools would also be useful. Greater collaboration between the Christian churches and other religious communities would also be very fruitful in order to further develop the school culture and their values, and could lead to religion and faith being perceived and handled better within schools even outside of RE classes.

13.

Further information (e. g., relevant literature on religious education, institutions, websites)

13.1

Journals

ˇ asopis za vjeronauk u ˇskoli, katehezu i pastoral mladih. [Magazine for religious Kateheza. C education, catechesis and youth ministry] Published from 1979 to 2012; is fairly scientific; was published by Salesians of Don Bosco. Katehetski glasnik. [The Catechesis Bulletin]. Published since 1999; contains important information and subject-specific articles; published by the Catechistic National Office. ˇ asopis za promicanje religioznog odgoja i vrjednota krsˇc´anske kulture. [Magazine Lad¯a. C for the promotion of religious education and values of the Christian culture]. Published since 2006; publishes subject-specific didactic material and articles. Published by the education office of the archdiocese Zagreb. This magazine is distributed nationally. Svjedok. Godisˇnjak Katehetskog ureda Splitsko-makarske nadbiskupije [Yearbook of the catechistic office of the archdiocese of Split-Makarska]. Published since1994; publishes important data, information, reports, didactic models and some subject-specific articles. Intended only for the archdiocese it is published in.

13.2

Encyclopaedia, documents, curricula

Pranjic´, M., ed. 1991. Religijsko-pedagosˇko katehetski leksikon. Zagreb: Katehetski salezijanski centar. Poruka hrvatskih biskupa o vjerskom odgoju u ˇskoli i zˇupnoj zajednici. 1991. AKSA Prilog 24: 19–21. Zajednicˇka sinoda biskupija Savezne Republike Njemacˇke. 1995. Vjeronauk u ˇskoli. Zagreb: Katehetski salezijanski centar. Hrvatska biskupska konferencija. 2006. Plan i program katolicˇkoga vjeronauka u osnovnoj ˇskoli. Zagreb. Republika Hrvatska, Ministarstvo znanosti, obrazovanja i ˇsporta, and Hrvatska biskupska konferencija, Nacionalni Katehetski ured. 2009. Plan i program katolicˇkoga vjeronauka za cˇetverogodisˇnje srednje ˇskole. Zagreb.

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Republika Hrvatska, Ministarstvo znanosti, obrazovanja i ˇsporta, and Hrvatska biskupska konferencija, Nacionalni Katehetski ured. 2014. Plan i program katolicˇkoga vjeronauka za trogodisˇnje srednje ˇskole. Zagreb.

13.3

Further literature

Filipovic´, A.T. 2011. U sluzˇbi zrelosti vjere i rasta osoba. Katehetska i religijskopedagosˇka promisˇljanja u suvremenom kontekstu. Zagreb: Glas Koncila. Filipovic´, A. T., I. Marijanovic´. 2013. Razvojni pravci i suvremeno pozicioniranje metodike nastave katolicˇkoga vjeronauka, In Metodike u suvremenom odgojno-obrazovnom sustavu, ed. D. Milanovic´, A. Bezˇen, and V. Domovic´, 94–113. Zagreb: Akademija odgojno-obrazovnih znanosti Hrvatske. Hilger, G., S. Leimgruber, and H.-G. Ziebertz. 2009. Vjeronaucˇna didaktika. Prirucˇnik za studij, obrazovanje i posao. Zagreb: Salesiana. Mandaric´, V. B., R. Razum, and A. Hoblaj, eds. 2011. Vjeronauk izazov Crkvi i ˇskoli. Empirijsko istrazˇivanje na podrucˇju Zagrebacˇke nadbiskupije. Zagreb: Glas Koncila. Mandaric´, B.V., and R. Razum. 2015. Vazˇnost odgoja u danasˇnjem svijetu. Doprinos vjeronauka odgojnom djelovanju ˇskole. Zagreb: Glas Koncila. Pavlovic´, A. 2005. Putovima vjerskoga odgoja. Mostar : Crkva na kamenu. Pazˇin, I. 2010. Vjeronauk u ˇskoli. Izabrane teme. Öakovo: Katolicˇki bogoslovni fakultet u Öakovu. Pazˇin, I., ed. 2006. Za trajni odgoj u vjeri. Katehetske ˇskole za vjeroucˇitelje u osnovnim i srednjim ˇskolama. Zbornik radova. Zagreb: Nacionalni Katehetski ured Hrvatske biskupske konferencije. Pranjic´, M. 1994. Srednjosˇkolski vjeronauk u Republici Hrvatskoj. Zagreb: Katehetski salezijanski centar. Pranjic´, M. 1996. Religijska pedagogija. Naziv, epistemologija, predmet i omed¯enje. Zagreb: Katehetski salezijanski centar. Pranjic´, M. 1997. Metodika vjeronaucˇne nastave. Teorijske osnove i prakticˇni modeli. Zagreb: Katehetski salezijanski centar. Razum, R. 2008. Vjeronauk izmed¯u tradicije i znakova vremena. Suvremeni izazovi za religijskopedagosˇku i katehetsku teoriju i praksu. Zagreb: Glas Koncila. Razum, R., ed. 2011. Vjeronauk nakon dvadeset godina: izazov Crkvi i ˇskoli. Zbornik radova sa znanstvenog simpozija. Zagreb: Glas Koncila. Sˇimunovic´, J. 2014. Bozˇja remek djela u ˇskoli. Pastoral sakramenata i govor o sakramentima u nastavi katolicˇkoga vjeronuaka u osnovnim i srednjim ˇskolama u Republici Hrvatskoj. Zagreb: Glas Koncila. Sˇimunovic´, M. 2011. Kateheza prvenstvena zadac´a Crkve. Identitet i prespektive hrvatske pokoncilske kateheze i katehetike. U obliku balance. Zagreb: Krsˇc´anska sadasˇnjost.

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Important websites

www.mzos.hr (ministry for science, education and sport) www.azoo.hr (agency for education and training) www.ncvvo.hr (national centre for external evaluation of education) www.nku.hbk.hr (Catechistic national office of the Croatian conference of bishops)

References Ancˇic´, B., and T. Puhovski. 2011. Vjera u obrazovanje i obrazovanje u vjeri. Stavovi i iskustva nereligioznih roditelja prema religiji i vjeronauku u javnim ˇskolama u Republici Hrvatskoj. Zagreb: Forum za slobodu odgoja. Biondic´, I. 1994. Boljsˇevicˇka ateizacija hrvatskog ucˇiteljstva, In Uloga Katolicˇke crkve u razvoju hrvatskog ˇskolstva , ed. M. Pranjic´, N. Kujundzˇic´, and I. Biondic´, 149–77. Zagreb: Katehetski salezijanski centar. Bozˇic´, S., B. Kuzmanovic´, and V. Barada. 2013. Strani radnici u Hrvatskoj. Porijeklo, status, orijentacije. Migracijske i etnicˇke teme 29, no. 3: 367–404. Drzˇavni zavod za statistiku Republike Hrvatske. 2011. http://www.dzs.hr/Hrv/censuses/ census2011/results/htm/usp_04_HR.htm. Drzˇavni zavod za statistiku Republike Hrvatske. 2012. Priopc´enje 49, no. 8.1.8. (Zagreb, 8. lipnja 2012). Drzˇavni zavod za statistiku Republike Hrvatske. 2013. Priopc´enje 50, no. 8.1.2. (Zagreb, 29. travnja 2013). European Parliament/Council, Recommendation of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 April 2008 on the establishment of the European Qualifications Framework for lifelong learning (Text with EEA relevance). In Official Journal of the European Union EN (6. 5. 2008), C111/1. Filipovic´, A.T. 2009. Vjeronauk pred zahtjevima vrednovanja. Nova prisutnost 7, no. 2: 245–64. Filipovic´, A.T. 2012. Vjeronauk i drusˇtveno povezivanje. Neka obiljezˇja hrvatskoga drusˇtva i Crkve kao izvor pitanja i zadataka za izobrazbu vjeroucˇitelja. Kateheza 34, no. 2: 173–80. ˇ rpic´. 2000. Bitne vrednote u odgoju mladih narasˇtaja s posebnim Hoblaj, A., and G. C osvrtom na sˇkolski vjeronauk. Bogoslovska smotra 70, no. 2: 359–93. Hoblaj, A., N. Loncˇaric´-Jelacˇic´, and R. Razum. 2005. Crkva i odgoj u Hrvatskoj. Istrazˇivanje za europsku komparativnu studiju. Bogoslovska smotra 75, no. 1: 289–313. Jerkovic´, M. 1998. Odgojni utjecaj zˇupe i sˇkolskog vjeronauka na mladog krsˇc´anina. Bogoslovska smotra 68, no. 1–1: 155–69. Mandaric´, B.V. 2011. Prihvac´enost vjeronauka kao sˇkolskog predmeta. In Vjeronauk nakon dvadeset godina: izazov Crkvi i ˇskoli. Zbornik radova sa znanstvenog simpozija, ed. R. Razum, 93–119. Zagreb: Glas Koncila. Mandaric´, V.B., and R. Razum. 2011. Zakljucˇna razmisˇljanja. In Vjeronauk izazov Crkvi i ˇskoli. Empirijsko istrazˇivanje na podrucˇju Zagrebacˇke nadbiskupije, ed. V.B. Mandaric´, R. Razum, and A. Hoblaj, 225–31. Zagreb: Glas Koncila.

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Marinovic´-Bobinac, A. 2001. Hrvatska ˇskola izmed¯u tradicionalnog i modernog. Neki empirijski pokazatelji. Petrinjski zbornik 4, no. 1: 201–8. Ministarstvo prosvjete i kulture Republike Hrvatske. 1991. Glasnik Ministarstva prosvjete i kulture Republike Hrvatske/Posebno izdanje. Nastavni planovi i programi vjerskog odgoja i obrazovanja. Zagreb. Ministarstvo znanosti, obrazovanja i sporta. 2012. Odluka o upisu ucˇenika u srednje ˇskole u ˇskolskoj godini 2012./2013. (31. svibnja 2012), Sˇkole vjerskih zajednica s pravom javnosti. http://public.mzos.hr/Default.aspx?art=11753. Nikodem, K. 2004. Religijski identitet u Hrvatskoj. Dimenzije religijskog identiteta i socioekolosˇke orijentacije. Socijalna ekologija: ˇcasopis za ekolosˇku misao i sociologijska istrazˇivanja okoline 13, no. 2–4: 257–85. Poruka hrvatskih biskupa o vjerskom odgoju u ˇskoli i zˇupnoj zajednici. 1991. AKSA Prilog 24: 19–21. Pranjic´, M. 1993. Stanje i perspektive srednjosˇkolskog vjeronauka u Republici Hrvatskoj. Kateheza 15, no. 3: 169–221. Statistika – Pohad¯anje vjeronauka u osnovnim sˇkolama 2012/2013. 2012. Svjedok, no. 19: 38–9. Statistika – Pohad¯anje vjeronauka u srednjim sˇkolama 2012/2013. 2012. Svjedok, no. 19: 40–1. The European Parliament and the Council of the European Union. 2006. Recommendation of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2006 on key competences for lifelong learning. Annex: Key Competences for Lifelong Learning – A European Reference Framework. Official Journal of the European Union L 394, EN (30.12. 2006): 10–8. http:// eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/site/en/oj/2006/l_394/l_39420061230en00100018. pdf. Ugovor izmed¯u Svete Stolice i Republike Hrvatske o suradnji na podrucˇju odgoja i culture. 1997. Acta Apostolicae Sedis 89: 287–96; for Croatioa: Narodne novine – Med¯unarodni ugovori, no. 2/1997: 24–6. Ugovor o pitanjima od zajednicˇkog interesa izmed¯u Vlade Republike Hrvatske i Srpske pravoslavne crkve u Republici Hrvatskoj (20. 12. 2002). 2003. Narodne novine, no. 196/ 2003. Ugovor o pitanjima od zajednicˇkog interesa izmed¯u Vlade Republike Hrvatske i Islamske zajednice u Hrvatskoj (20. 12. 2002). 2003. Narodne novine, no. 196/2003. Ugovor o pitanjima od zajednicˇkog interesa izmed¯u Vlade Republike Hrvatske i Evangelicˇke crkve u Republici Hrvatskoj i Reformirane krsˇc´anske crkve u Hrvatskoj (4. 7. 2003). 2003. Narodne novine, no. 196/2003. Ugovor o pitanjima od zajednicˇkog interesa izmed¯u Vlade Republike Hrvatske i Evand¯eoske (Pentekostne) crkve u Republici Hrvatskoj, Krsˇc´anske adventisticˇke crkve u Hrvatskoj i Saveza baptisticˇkih crkava u Republici Hrvatskoj (4. 7. 2003). 2003. Narodne novine, no. 196/2003. Ugovor o pitanjima od zajednicˇkog interesa izmed¯u Vlade Republike Hrvatske i Bugarske pravoslavne crkve u Hrvatskoj, Hrvatske starokatolicˇke crkve i Makedonske pravoslavne crkve u Hrvatskoj (29. 10. 2003). 2003. Narodne novine, no. 196/2003. Ugovor o pitanjima od zajednicˇkog interesa izmed¯u Vlade Republike Hrvatske i Koordinacije zˇidovskih opc´ina u Republici Hrvatskoj (6. 11. 2010). 2012. Narodne novine, no. 4/2012.

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Ugovor o pitanjima od zajednicˇkog interesa izmed¯u Vlade Republike Hrvatske i Zˇidovske vjerske zajednice Bet Israel u Hrvatskoj (27. 10. 2011). 2012. Narodne novine, no. 4/ 2012. Ugovor o katolicˇkom vjeronauku u javnim ˇskolama i vjerskom odgoju u javnim predsˇkolskim ustanovama. 1999. Katehetski glasnik 1, no. 1: 23–30. Zajednicˇka sinoda biskupija Savezne Republike Njemacˇke. 1995. Vjeronauk u ˇskoli. Zagreb: Katehetski salezijanski centar. Zakon o pravnom polozˇaju vjerskih zajednica (16. 7. 2002). 2002. Narodne novine, no. 83/ 2002. Zˇiljak, T. 2007. Europski okvir za nacionalne obrazovne politike. Anali Hrvatskog politolosˇkog drusˇtva 3, no. 1: 261–81.

Ludmila Muchov‚

Religious Education at Schools in the Czech Republic

Introduction Scholarly articles dealing with religious education at state schools in different countries of Europe focus mostly only on stating that in the Czech Republic RE is an optional school subject and that the church is granted to realize this education in public schools by law. However, what does this mean for teaching practice itself ? Is voluntary participation of pupils really comparable to the situation in Austria or Germany? How are differences in the history of the country related to its present situation? The Czech Republic has experienced very dramatic conflicts between the Catholic Church and reformist movements in its history. However, Bohemia, a part of the Czech Republic, was a part of Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, which was catholic oriented only, for three centuries. In the history of the 20th century it also went through two totalitarian systems. Mainly the communist regime suppressed religion heavily. But in spite of the same communist history, religious education is developing here in a different way than in other post communist countries that experienced the same propaganda in the past. Why? The following article is an attempt to explain the typical Czech situation in religious education.

1.

The socio-religious background in the country

The Czech Republic was founded on January 1st 1993, when Czechoslovakia was split into two independent states: the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic. It is a small country in the centre of Europe, bordering Germany, Austria, Slovakia ˇ esk‚ and Poland. It is 78,865 km2 in size and has a population of 10.5 million (C republika). For the future, a population decrease is expected, associated with a change in the country’s demographic structure, as the proportion of older people in the

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Czech Republic grows. At present, however, the population is growing, owing largely to inward migration. Most immigrants to the country have come from Slovakia, Russia, the Ukraine and Germany. In the middle of 2012, a total of 437,858 foreigners with permanent or other types of residence were living in the ˇR Czech Republic, making up around 4 % of the population (Pocˇet obyvatel C 2012). A characteristic fact for Czech society at present is that the proportion of children born outside of marriage is higher than 54 % for the first born, while the number of marriages dropped to a historic low in 2011, it decreased only a little the following year, with a slightly decreasing divorce rate of 44,5 % (Pohyb obyvatelstva – 1. azˇ 4. cˇtvrtlet† 2012). The global economic crisis has had significant economic ramifications on the country since 2008. These include a drop in industrial production and in gross domestic product as well as a doubling of the unemployment rate. The unemployement rate of people 15–64 years old was 7,6 % in 2013 (Nejnoveˇjsˇ† ekonomick¦ ffldaje) with consequences, above all, for poverty patterns in the Czech Republic: in 2012, 9,7 % of the population were threatened by income poverty, with 31,1 % experiencing difficulties getting by on their income. 43,7 % of families cannot afford a holiday away from their place of residence and 28,3 % of the people have difficulties with their housing expenses (Zˇivotn† podm†nky) or cannot heat their homes adequately. Corruption is a big problem in the country : according to Transparency International, the Czech Republic was among the seven most corrupt countries in Europe, with its CPI (Corruption Perception Index) worsening all the time (Na celosveˇtov¦m zˇebrˇ†ku). The historical development of the Bohemian lands in terms of the shape of their statehood went hand in hand with the development of Christianity. For a long period of time, Christianity existed here in a very pluralist, free form. In another extended period, this plurality was suppressed in favour of just one denomination – the Roman Catholic Church. Then, in more recent history, every religion was categorised by the Communist regime as a stage of human thinking that man had outgrown and as a dangerous ‘opiate of the masses’ that had to be mocked and violently suppressed. Religion, for which the Czech people were prepared to suffer, go into exile and suffer discrimination throughout their history, disappeared to the edges of general interest. In terms of the number of people belonging to religious institutions, the Czech Republic is today one of the most secular countries in Europe and indeed the world. The 19th century process of modernisation in a social climate that had been shaped by Catholicism is usually cited as one reason for this. Over this period, the traditional world view was replaced by scepticism towards religion. During the first half of the 20th century, this led to religious formality and finally to indifference and even mistrust, especially towards the Roman Catholic

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Church. The effect of Communist persecution of and discrimination against the Christian churches is, however, often trivialized, being perceived merely as a result of the increased mistrust of and indifference towards religion and the latter’s marginalisation in the personal lives of the population. From my point of view of an individual who has been confronted the whole life with the effects of Communist persecution among ordinary Czechs – from an inside view – the situation was more like this: many Czech people identified more and more with the Marxist criticism of religion on the basis of superiority, exclusivity and ethnocentrism. In the final ten years before the fall of the Iron Curtain, however, Christianity gained an increased respect because of its ability to stand up to the totalitarian regime. In the 1991 census, 39 % of the population declared themselves as belonging to the Roman Catholic Church. There were regional differences: in the eastern part of the Czech Republic (Moravia) the figure was as high as 51 %, compared to only 31.5 % in the western part of the country. NonCatholic denominations represented a total of 5 % of the population in 1991. The largest of these were the Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren, whose adherents made up almost 2 % of the population, and the Czechoslovak Hussite Church, whose members constituted 1.7 % of the population. The 1990s then saw a major decline in the religiosity of the Czech population, although Free Evangelical Churches and some non-Christian religious groups did see an increase in their number of followers. Even though their share of the population increased by only a few tenths of a percent, their absolute numbers doubled. In the Czech Republic, a colourful religious ‘market’ developed, with some people beginning to take an interest in non-Christian religious communities and special religious groups. Young religious groups were able to adapt very well to this new trend, mainly by capitalizing on the feelings that these new ’customers’ were looking for. They were successful, above all, in regions which the traditional Churches regard as ‘deserts in the religious landscape of the country’ (V‚clav†k 2010, 135–90). Traditional religiosity is weakest in medium-sized towns. Interestingly, the factor of whether or not people have been socialized in a religious environment – and, if so, in which one – is much more important for that person’s religiosity than their gender, age or place of residence (Hamplov‚ 2008, 20–30). The percentage of the population who describe themselves as convinced atheists rose from 5 % in 1991 to 19 % in 2008. This trend is particularly evident among academics, among whom this figure had doubled to 35 % by 2008. The percentage of academics describing themselves as believers, on the other hand, had dropped to 27 %, compared to a figure of 41 % in 1999. The attitude of the Czech population towards religion has become more pluralist over the past twenty years.

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2.

Legal framework for religious education and the relationship between religious communities and the state

The legal position of the subject of religion within the Czech education system is a result of the relationship between church and state during the Communist era. At that time, the Roman Catholic Church, with its special relationship to the authority of the Pope, was the only large institution to escape the structure of the socialist state, even though its headquarters were located in the ‘capitalist outside world’. After the severe persecution of the 1950s and the systematic discrimination of the 1960s, towards the end of the Communist era many people were setting their hope on the Roman Catholic Church, as it was the only nonCommunist organisation that was still legal (Duka and Badal 2009, 13–7, 32–6). In the realignment of relations between church and state after 1989, the return of the Christian churches to their traditional roles was regulated to begin with. These roles were charity, hospitals, the army and prisons. Efforts to establish a concordat remained fruitless, as the issue of restitution of Church property wasn’t resolved at the end of 2013. In this unclear and often contentious atmosphere, the subject of religion in public schools was gradually regulated legally. In 1991, the Czech Republic made the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms part of its constitutional order. Under Paragraph 3 of Article 16 of this charter, the state is obliged to legally regulate the terms of RE in public schools. Not until 1995 was religion introduced as an optional subject in schools. However, the financial terms of this were not clarified. In 1998, based on an agreement with the Ecumenical Council of Churches in the Czech Republic, a recommendation was released by the Education Minister on the issue of RE, stipulating under what terms RE should be provided: (a) It should be taught by representatives of the state-registered churches assigned the task (b) It should be taught collectively for pupils from several grades, schools and parishes (c) Upon agreement between different churches, it should be taught collectively for the pupils from these churches The churches are obliged to organise the registration of pupils, commission the teachers in accordance with the state qualification requirements as well as determine the content of the lessons. School boards of management are obliged to provide parents with information on the optional subject of religion, facilitate representatives of the churches in checking their qualifications and provide suitable space for RE. Religion teachers must be offered a salary analogous to that of teachers of

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other subjects within the scope of an ordinary contract of employment or agree on the level of remuneration within the scope of an extraordinary contract of employment. In 2005, RE in public schools was finally legally regulated, thereby implementing the Minister’s recommendation. The new rules stated that a minimum of seven pupils was necessary for RE to be offered, with 30 pupils being stipulated as the number required before a class can be split into two. The obligations of the Church and the content of the lessons were not mentioned. The financial problems of teachers travelling between religion classes in several schools or parishes remained unresolved (Sˇkolsky´ z‚kon), as did the question of the inspection of such teachers. In many schools, there are not even seven pupils registering for RE. In the cities, there is a situation where even though the schools are bigger, proportionally few pupils register for RE. In the villages, on the other hand, the number of pupils registering is proportionally higher but, because of the small size of the schools, their numbers still do not reach seven. The schools sometimes offer RE as a special-interest subject, which is not in keeping with the law that requires that religion teachers must have suitable qualifications and a contract of employment with the school, as well as stipulating that RE must be offered as an optional subject. The Czech state requires teachers in primary and middle schools to have a university qualification in teaching. This applies to religion teachers too. While the state demands a good professional qualification, the Church stipulates an active role in parish life. The only thing that is guaranteed is an insecure, low level of remuneration, although the situation in Moravia is a little better because of the generally higher level of religiosity here, resulting in the fact that more pupils attend religion classes compared to western counties.

3.

Developments in the country’s education policy

The Czech education system is predominantly under state control. Schools are set up by the state through the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport (tertiary education), through the district authorities (especially secondary schools) or through parishes (in particular kindergartens and primary schools). The education system is divided up into three areas: the first level consists of preschool education (kindergarten), preparatory classes for children from socially disadvantaged backgrounds (children aged between three and six years) and primary schools (elementary and lower secondary schools – for children of the age between six and fifteen years). The second level comprises middle schools (secondary schools and prevocational technical schools), while the tertiary area consists of tertiary training colleges, universities and universities of applied

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sciences. The primary level is divided as follows: elementary schools are attended by pupils in grades one to five, while pupils in grades six to nine attend lower secondary schools. This segmentation became significant when the Czech education system returned to the tradition of the grammar schools. Pupils may enter a grammar school after completing elementary school and passing an entrance examination. The prevocational schools provide special training in preparation for university. Pupils attending this type of school may, but they do not have to, take the state school-leaving examination (Maturita). Because of the desire to get the highest qualification possible, most pupils go to eight-year grammar schools, while those who are less academically inclined remain in the lower secondary schools. The low salaries paid to teachers are contributing to the feminisation of the Czech education system (of the 57,669 teachers employed in elementary and lower secondary schools in 2012/13, 48,571 were women). (Statistick‚ rocˇenka) When, after years of effort, objective school-leaving examinations finally came to fruition in 2011, around 20 % of pupils failed them, even though the schools themselves did not allow 10 % of the pupils to take the examinations. Among the most successful schools were three denominational ˇ esk¦ Budeˇjovice) (Zpr‚vy I dnes.cz.). schools (in Prague, Brno and C The ‘White Paper – National Programme for the Development of Education in the Czech Republic’ adopted the basic principles of the EU white paper – including its weaknesses – primarily to increase the competitiveness of the Czech Republic and the European Union on the world market (White Paper). Curricular reform based on the law of 2005 affects all school levels. Targets and curriculum content are binding as a result. The framework plan for education in primary schools is comparable with that of other EU countries, with the education targets derived from six key competencies (learning, problem-solving, communicative, social and personal skills, civic and work-related competencies). Individual schools are obliged to formulate their own education plans based on this and to arrange the contents of the stipulated education areas. They can introduce different items or educational projects themselves. The socalled ‘cross-cutting topics’ are obligatory : personal and social education, education for democratic citizenship, education for reflection in a European and global context, multicultural education, environmental education and media education. In addition, the framework plan provides targets and contents for ‘complementary areas of education’. It is up to the school whether these are introduced as compulsory or optional elements. These elements include a second foreign language, drama education, ethics, film and audiovisual education as well as dance and movement education. In addition to the compulsory hours for obligatory subject areas, schools also have extra hours at their disposal, which they may use for expanding on the obligatory subject fields or for entirely new elements. Internal and external

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evaluation is now expected of schools (R‚mcovy´ vzdeˇl‚vac† program). Religious education was not included in this reform, its complete absence here being due in part to the lack of attention paid by the Church to the area of education reform. Political efforts to have religion included in the curriculum as an optional subject thwarted attempts for its inclusion in the area of education reform. Lastly, the Roman Catholic Church’s priority was to strengthen the position of church schools, not to strengthen the role of RE in public schools, the importance of which was judged very differently by different bishops. It was not until 2013 that Catholic Church tried to formulate a document that sets out the principles of Church education policy.

4.

Role of religiously sponsored schools, including any changes and developments, legal relationships

In the 2009/10 school year, church primary schools made up just 0.8 % of all primary schools, while private primary schools accounted for 1.6 % of schools in the Czech Republic. Before the end of the totalitarian regime in the Czech Republic, only state schools existed. The country copied the Soviet system and had a low standard of education overall. While private patrons focused on establishing middle schools after the end of Communism, church schools are spread across all age groups. In the Czech Republic, the right to establish church schools and school foundations comes from the Education Act in conformity with the Law on Churches and Religious Societies (Sˇkolsky´ z‚kon). In accordance with the same Education Act, church schools and school foundations are financed as per the number of pupils enrolled in them (just like schools established by the state). This excludes investment funds for maintaining school buildings. After restitution however, church buildings were often in a very poor condition. Whereas state schools have the option of requesting special endowments from their regional patrons, church schools can only apply for endowments from their church patrons. Since the latter cannot, to this very day, dispose of the church property seized by the Communist government, they do not have a great many options for financially securing the church buildings in which the church schools operate. Teachers in church schools are also paid one-quarter less than their counterparts in state schools, a situation that is perceived as an injustice by the church schools. But a legal conflict in a country where public opinion rejects church institutions would lead to problems. On the website of the Czech Bishops’ Conference, the Roman Catholic Church refers to the long tradition of a Church-based education system on Czech soil,

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which was forcibly disrupted in the 1950s. After 1989, the Christian churches began their education mission by setting up church schools from scratch, justifying their efforts to society by stating that the formerly totalitarian education system needed revitalisation and emphasising that church schools are open to all pupils, irrespective of their religious convictions. Such schools can also accept pupils without any religious beliefs, provided they are willing to accept the spiritual orientation of the church school. The education offered by the church schools is characterized as education in the Christian spirit (Strucˇn‚ historie). It is difficult, however, to fulfil this in practice. Since the schools’ teachers and management often do not take part in church life or have any religious orientation, such schools are often confronted with the question of their Christian identity and whether or not Christianity is actually the source of the schools’ spiritual climate. At the same time, it is necessary to note the religious climate of the region in which the church school operates. If the proportion of Christians in church schools is larger, the school offers denominational RE with a catechetical orientation as well as the services of the pastoral assistant within the context of school pastoral care. In less religious regions, boards of management in church schools require their pupils to attend religion classes, which, as well as imparting knowledge on Christianity, may also teach about other world religions, without demanding that pupils embrace the faith. Other church schools, on the other hand, offer the choice between denominational RE and ethical education. In areas considered to be mission territories for the churches, the presence of Christianity in church school life is rather silent and inconspicuous, with the way of life in such schools not differing very much from that in the public schools. In 2007/08, the Czech Ministry of Education counted a total of 138 church schools and educational facilities (residential homes, children’s homes and recreation centres), of which 99 were operated by the Catholic Church and 39 by non-Catholic religious groups. The Catholic Church was responsible for the following: 14 kindergartens, 21 primary schools, 2 schools of arts, 19 grammar schools, 13 technical schools, 6 technical colleges, 10 educational facilities (including a Christian educational-psychological counselling centre) and 14 recreation centres. Other religious groups participate as follows: the Jewish community has one school, the Evangelical Church of the Bohemian Brethren has a total of fifteen schools, the Czech Hussite Church four, the Brethren Society five, the Brethren Church one, the Church of the Apostles one, the Adventist Church two, the Baptist Brethren Church one and the Silesian Evangelical Church three schools. The Reformed and Evangelical Churches usually establish vocational technical colleges, the aim of which is to train future church ministers and pastoral assistants for diaconal work in the church. Among their middle schools, therefore, schools with a social, medical and pedagogical orientation are the most common. Worth of note too are some recreation centres, the patron of

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which is usually the Salesian Congregation. These are low-threshold centres oriented towards working with children and young people on the margins of society, in the educational spirit of Don Bosco. Czech society does not see any need for church schools. The expectations of parents in relation to church schools compared with state schools depend very much on the character of the school: sometimes the school might be a prestigious middle school, in other cases a primary school dedicated to working with Roma children. Expectations also depend on the socio-religious character of the region, however: in northern Bohemia, church schools are seen more as a symbol of the presence of Christianity within the culture whereas in Moravia it has more to do with the vocation of Christian education for pupils either from Christian or ideologically diverse environments. Other church schools boast outstanding educational standards and must fight against the lack of interest in spiritual and religious matters among their pupils, students and teachers. Often, middle schools and technical colleges are important for the education and training of future employees in the fields of social services and health care provided by church and state organisations. It is difficult to determine to what extent church schools in the Czech Republic represent an ethical and spiritual alternative to the culture of the state schools.

5.

Conceptions and tasks of religious education

In the Czech Republic, RE has a strictly denominational character, with Roman Catholic RE often taking the form of catechesis. This is very closely linked to the situation with regard to RE before 1989. Such instruction was very restricted because of the way in which parents who registered their children for RE were persecuted, and for forty years it was not possible for any didactic or educational basis to be developed for the subject. There was neither curriculum, nor textbooks or teaching aids. The only teachers available were priests who, because of the limitations of their theology studies, were completely lacking in preparation for the role. Only occasionally did some of them manage to make contact with Western European countries (Germany, France), while there was hardly any access to specialized literature. In the 1970s, church-based underground catechesis for children began taking place: preparing children for receiving the sacraments of penance and communion and attempts at systematic family catechesis and youth work. It was primarily lay people and members of some orders who were secretly active in such efforts. The Communist regime did not allow active church members to study humanist subjects in the country’s universities, which led to a situation where any kind of training in the fields of education or psychology – even socialist training – was absent. Up until the end of the 1980s, catechist materials

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from the pre-World War II period were used. After 1989, therefore, even those who considered themselves experts because of their experience teaching catechesis ‘underground’ were lacking in solid theological and humanist education, which goes a long way towards explaining a series of errors and failings in the area. Since the requisite specialist lesson plans were not available, religion textbooks from the 1970s brought in from Austria at the request of the bishops became instrumental. Some of these textbooks (for pupils aged between 6 and 10 years) were considered obsolete even by the Austrian experts. While the textbooks for 11–14 year-olds met the standards of the time, the poorly trained Czech religion teachers could not understand their logic. At that time, it was only in the Diocese of ˇ esk¦ Budeˇjovice that specialist lesson plans based on Austrian lesson plans were C developed and new teaching aids created. These had a rather catechist character in the sense of guiding students in their faith (pupils had to be of the faith to begin with), and followed a cyclical concept (individual topics were repeated and looked at in greater depth in each grade) revolving around the central themes of Christmas and Easter (kerygmatic orientation), with the experiences of presentday children and young people being used as a starting point. The first lesson plans for Roman Catholic RE in the Czech Republic were not developed until 1996. Pupils in each grade concentrated systematically on individual chapters of the catechism: dogmatic theology, morals and liturgy. Apart from some exceptions (grades 3 and 9), the lesson plans were conceived very differently compared with the aims, contents and methods of the religion textbooks. In 2004, new lesson plans, accompanied by comprehensive teaching aids, were created as a result of an initiative of employees of the Diocese of Ostrava-Opava1. These allow religion teachers to use the textbooks as a supplement in their work or to work independently of the textbooks. Specifically, the lesson plans include an introduction to symbolic religious language, efforts to encourage dialogue with natural sciences and culture as well as an appropriate introduction to the teachings and traditions of the Church, with due consideration for the pupils’ own experiences. These lesson plans also provide the basis more for an up-to-date, instructive catechesis than for RE in a school environment. Gradually, other dioceses became interested in them too. At the same time, aids for RE that build on the ‘catechism lesson plans’ of 1996 are being developed. Most Czech bishops do not make a distinction between RE and church catechesis, with the term ‘school catechesis’ being frequently used. The Church expects RE in schools to impart knowledge of catechism through didactically appealing and colourful lessons. The purpose of RE is to preserve the purity of the faith in the next generation and prevent syncretism in the personal beliefs of adult Church members. According to the results of international research, almost all Czech religion teachers (92 %) agree with this objective 1 This diocese was newly founded in 1996.

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for RE (known as the ‘teaching in religion’ model). A somewhat smaller percentage (80 %) believe the ‘teaching about religion’ model – where knowledge on other religions and world views is taught – to be justifiable. One-third of those surveyed, meanwhile, are unsure as to whether the ‘teaching from religion’ model is justifiable (Muchov‚ and Sˇteˇch 2009). The reform of the Czech education system after 2004 brought about a situation where the subject curriculum for religion is not a part of the education programme in schools. This curriculum was developed by RE teachers under the guidance of the catechetical centres in the individual dioceses. Thanks to the expert work of the Chair for Education in the Faculty of Theology in the University of South Bohemia, they managed to design the subject in a way that is compatible with the framework educational plan in place. The only place where a theoretical basis for RE in schools is being systematiˇ esk¦ Budeˇjovice, where religious cally developed is in the Faculty of Theology in C education is a subject. By comparison, an academic researcher at the Faculty of Catholic Theology in Olmütz (Moravia) is developing the subject of Basic Catechetics. Both justify the necessity for making a distinction between the aims, contents and methods of RE in schools and church catechesis, with reference to the General Directory for Catechesis. This differentiation appears to be especially important for the Czech situation. In Czech schools, children from religious backgrounds, in particular, are exposed to a discourse which repeats the Marxist and positivist argument against religion. Children from secular backgrounds, on the other hand, receive only very sporadic information on religion in the past and in the present. In recent years the journal ‘Cesty katecheze’ (Approaches to Catechesis) has been trying to build up a theoretical basis for church catechesis, constituting a review of developments in the field of catechetics and religious education. It is primarily the work of employees in the Catechetical Centre in the Diocese of Hradec Kr‚lov¦ in collaboration with educationalists from some university faculties of Catholic theology, and is systematically devoted to the topic of basic catechesis and its application in practice. The issue of a general framework for RE is reflected on only rarely. At the technical level, attempts at formulating the specific aims, contents and methods of RE in schools are at present being hindered within the Roman Catholic Church by the conflict on the issue of revelation in RE and catechism. Here, those who attempt to achieve a balanced relationship between the general and religious experiences of pupils on the one hand and Church doctrine and tradition on the other are attacked. They are accused of not respecting revelation, of not treating it as a basis and systematic objective of RE, reminding us of the conflict surrounding the Munich Method. School boards of management tend to be of the belief that RE should serve to fulfil the Charter of Basic Rights and Freedoms and is, within the state sphere, a

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private matter for the churches. Schools appreciate that the churches are responding to the reforms of the education system, while religion teachers are providing the documentation for optional RE, which respects the character of these reforms, especially in the use of new terminology. RE in Czech schools is in a difficult position because of its legal status and the mission assigned to it by the Catholic Church. The twenty years that have elapsed since the end of the totalitarian system have proved insufficient for the development of a theory with regard to aims and objectives for RE in schools which could be acceptable both to Church representatives as well as to religion teachers and schools. The situation in the Reformed churches results from a somewhat different tradition. Religious education in the Evangelical Church of the Czech Brethren is derived from the tradition of church catechism, which developed within the context of church life in the Sunday schools. Even though this kind of RE was hindered during the totalitarian regime, it was never completely suspended. The Czechoslovak Hussite Church intensified its interest in the issue of RE at its assembly in the year 2000, which was followed by the publication of a new curriculum in 2007. This does not correspond to the curricular reform of the Czech education system, the authors of the publication do not make any reference to the general educational aims of the school but instead take the educational needs of the Church as their starting point and aim for an acceptance of Christian beliefs among pupils in the specific religious communities of the Czechoslovak Hussite Church. The curriculum includes simple methodical materials relating, in particular, to the telling of biblical stories and an understanding of the symbolic language of the bible and metaphorical statements in RE. In this situation, it is not surprising that, despite the small number of children and despite a law in place that would allow common RE in public schools, the other churches in the Czech Republic cannot come to an understanding on the issue and are not likely to in the foreseeable future either.

6.

Practice / reality of religious education in different schools

RE in the Czech Republic is basically only provided on a systematic basis in primary schools and therefore pertains mainly to young people between the ages of six and fifteen years. In most dioceses, the number of pupils receiving RE starts to decline at the second primary school stage (lower secondary school). In ˇ esk¦ Budeˇjovice, for example, 2,062 pupils in the first primary the Diocese of C school stage (elementary school) availed themselves of RE in the 2010/2011 school year, compared to only 540 pupils in the second primary school stage. The district of South Bohemia had a total of 49,590 pupils, of which 5.3 % were

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attending religion classes. Overall, the number of pupils taking RE in school fell from 62,467 in 2002/03 to 40,372 in 2009/10, which represents a decline of around ˇ R. Vy´ rocˇn† zpr‚vy).The Roman Catholic Church 35 %. (Katolick‚ c†rkev v C didn’t publish these statistics after 2010. In public pre-schools and kindergartens, children only rarely have any religious education. Likewise, RE in middle schools is almost non-existent in the Czech Republic. Catechetical and religious education of young people over the age of 15 years is almost entirely in the hands of the churches, where it is very difficult to realize. Pupils, especially those from smaller towns and villages, must travel to schools in larger towns and cities, thereby losing contact with their own parish. In the cities, meanwhile, they cannot find any appropriate pastoral care or may find it difficult to access. In dioceses where levels of religiosity are very low, it is all but impossible to conduct religion classes. Religion teachers must travel to small groups made up of pupils from different grades. Because children are often absent from the class, it is very difficult to proceed according to plan. The composition of the group changes every year so that it is not possible to plan systematic progress for a specific group. Children from religious backgrounds often bring their friends from non-religious families with them to the class, with this latter group of children understanding neither the language nor content of the lesson. In some schools, especially in large cities and suburban settlements, it was not possible to revive religion classes, and in many places such classes have not been held for years. How different the conditions are in different places is shown by the following comparison of two dioceses: According to the 2001 census, the Diocese of Litomeˇrˇice in northern Bohemia had 1,330,000 inhabitants, of which 250,000 were baptised Catholic (i. e. almost 19 % of the population). 162,000 people declared themselves Roman Catholic in the census of 2001 (i. e. 12 % of the population). The diocese has 437 parishes and 172 priests. In the 2009/10 school year, 205 pupils (divided among 27 groups) attended RE at school, while 810 pupils (in 103 groups) received RE in rectories. In the schools, there are an average of seven to eight pupils in each group – the minimum required by the state. The numbers in the rectory groups are even smaller : six to seven. The Archdiocese of Olomouc has 1,376,000 inhabitants, of which 760,000 were baptised Catholic (i. e. almost 55 % of the population). 570,000 people declared themselves Roman Catholic in the census of 2001 (i. e. more than 41 % of the population). The diocese has 419 parishes and 370 priests. In the 2009/ 2010 school year, 12,219 pupils (divided among 1,147 groups) attended religion classes at school, while 2,304 pupils (in 313 groups) received RE in rectories. In the schools within the archdiocese, the groups have an average of eleven children, while the groups in the rectories have seven to eight. The differences between the two regions are, therefore, significant. Even though the number of inhabitants is roughly the same, the number of people

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baptised in the Moravian archdiocese is three times higher than that in the northern Bohemian diocese. In addition, while 75 % of baptised Catholics in the southern Moravian archdiocese declared themselves Roman Catholic in 2001, the corresponding figure for the northern Bohemian diocese was only 65 %. When compared with the total number of school pupils in the Diocese of Litomeˇrˇice, the proportion attending religion classes is small. Of the approximately 103,400 children in primary school here, only about 0.2 % attend religion classes. In the Moravian Archdiocese of Olomouc, meanwhile, around 94,500 pupils are enrolled in primary schools, of which almost 13 % attend religion classes. While the Diocese of Litomeˇrˇice transfers classes for smaller groups to the rectories (four times more children receive RE in the rectories than at school), in the Archdiocese of Olomouc there are more than five times as many children in school religion classes than in the rectories. Statistics, however, say very little about the atmosphere in which the religion classes are held. Information provided by religion teachers in the Diocese of Litomeˇrˇice can be subdivided into three points: (a) There is a new sense of connection: teachers are creating communities with deep, open and friendly relationships. They are enthusiastic for their collective work and dedicate lots of time and energy to it. (b) There are new modes of working: systematic organisation of religion classes, limited lesson time and the importance of the school or the rectory as a place of instruction are all disappearing. RE must be arranged as an extracurricular activity as well as being motivating and executed in a playful format in private, so that the children are not exposed to any lack of understanding or derision in their environment. In the process however, catechists do not wish to be untrue to what Christianity requires in terms of how the human being lives his or her life. They also make every effort to form larger groups of children from different parishes. A systematic approach to work is not possible. In addition to lively parishes, there are also ‘dead’ ones, which requires great creativity on the part of the catechists. For example, they have to modify aids for systematic RE for their own groups of children and young people. Textbooks from the other dioceses (especially the Diocese of Ostrava – Opava) are, however, of great help to them in their work. (c) There are new ‘audiences’ for RE: Catechists are attempting to address children from secular families too. They are also trying to work with Roma children. The number of children attending catechetic classes has risen slightly recently. When it comes to adults, men and women (be they catechists, pastoral assistants or priests) very often work with people on the edges of society, taking an interest in their well-being beyond institutional practices and

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providing them with assistance. In this way, the Church builds an informal network of people, from which a conversion sometimes results. Here, the following rule applies: people must be accepted as they are, even if they have very turbulent pasts (which they often do). Catechists learn that it is precisely these kind of life stories that deepen the celebration of the sacraments of communion and penance. It is the opinion of the catechists that the Diocese of Litomeˇrˇice has experienced something of a rebirth. The secularized and dechristianized society became for them a challenge, a challenge to develop new modes of evangelism and develop the service of education. Lay people, in particular, rose to this challenge. Within the Archdiocese of Olomouc too, conditions vary considerably. Within the archdiocese’s territory, there are areas where practically all pupils from a school will be attending religion classes but also areas where the situation is more like that in Litomeˇrˇice. Responsibility for RE in public schools lies with the bishops. The latter establish catechetical offices within their dioceses, the purpose of which (in addition to coordinating Church catechism), is to organize RE in public schools, grant the ‘missio canonica’ for RE and provide guidance for religion teachers. They do not, however, have any responsibility to supervise the quality of the teaching. They collaborate with the National Catechetical Office, which works with the catechetical department of the Czech Bishops’ Conference’s Education Commission. This office employs a priest on a part-time basis, as well as a secretary. Other Christian churches too organise their own denominational RE in public schools. Based on information from the Central Church Office’s Department of Education, the Evangelical Church of the Czech Brethren usually teaches religion not as an optional subject, but rather offers pupils a special-interest subject with religious and ethical themes in regions where active believers live, especially in smaller towns and in the countryside. The Czechoslovak Hussite Church, meanwhile, was active with 30 religion teachers in 37 schools in 2007. This Church also provides RE, either as an optional subject or as a special-interest subject with different options available to pupils, e. g. bible classes, the principles of religion, spiritual values in modern society, the roots of European culture, Church personalities in history, etc. From the point of view of these Churches, such educational activities within schools are definitely important. Taking the Czech education system as a whole, these activities only serve to underscore the marginality of the subject in school-life.

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Observations on alternative subjects / learning areas like ethics, philosophy etc.

In Czech schools, there is no need for an alternative subject to religion. The low participation rate in RE creates a situation where the subject only has a marginal presence in school. Since the 2010/11 school year, schools have been able to introduce the subject of Ethics Education, not as an alternative to RE but rather because of the general need for an education in ethics. In a country that struggles with corruption, protectionism, intolerance and low ethical standards, this can seem strange. The arguments against ethics education were as follows: the view, inherited from the socialist era, was that all education should, at the same time, impart values, in other words that ethics education should form part of all subjects of instruction and does not, therefore, need to be a separate subject and that the framework education programmes contain obligatory content relating to pupils’ personal development and to present-day ethical problems (e. g. globalisation, protection of democracy, environmental protection, the problems associated with multiculturalism, etc.). Instead, schools can establish their own subjects or have drama education as an optional complementary subject that includes a distinct ethical dimension. In terms of the subject’s content, the criticism is often made that it deals really with Christian morals, i. e. that it is ‘Christianity in disguise’, which contradicts the idea of the Czech education system being an ideologically neutral system. In the discussion on the website of the framework education programme’s team of authors, most teachers tend to oppose the subject of Ethics Education. For the subject of Ethics Education, the initiators were inspired by Spaniard R. Olivar (1992), who described his programme as ‘pro-social education’, which he developed from the idea of altruistic and unselfish love for one’s fellow man based on the model of Christian love as expressed through charity. In the Czech Republic, the programme gained a lot of enthusiastic supporters, particularly among the ranks of Christian teachers. These founded an association and organised a series of ministerially accredited professional seminars. The programme, which ties in with character and social education, uses similar methods to those used in the area of psychosocial therapeutic training. Drama education is based on similar methods. In this area, there is a large network of organizations providing further training to teachers. In ethics and character education conceived in this way there is, however, a lack of orientation towards the pupils’ own ability to reflect on different life situations, evaluate these based on ethical criteria and make up their own minds on the basis of such reflection. Personal, social and drama education, therefore, serve more as a sort of an-

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tithesis to the atmosphere of simply accumulating knowledge so typical of Czech schools, Ethics Education helps instead to shape the moral character of children and young people. If these subjects are taught by well trained teachers, they are bound to become popular with pupils. It is not unreasonable, therefore, to speak of a certain ‘competition’ in terms of the range of ethical topics addressed by school subjects other than religion. Pupils learn how to express their feelings and how to be assertive, as well as learning about creativity in human relationships, cooperation, tolerance and so on. In such a situation, religion is not the only subject where the meaning of life in post-modern culture is addressed, and it has to compete with subjects that deal with such issues using appealing methods.

8.

Dealing with religious diversity

In the Czech Republic, 95 % of the population are Czechs and 3 % are Slovaks, with the remaining 2 % describing themselves as ‘Moravians’ and ‘Silesians’, in addition to Roma, Poles and Germans. In 1930, around 69 % of the population were of ‘Czechoslovakian nationality’,2 while 29.5 % were of German nationality. After World War II almost all the German inhabitants were expelled from the country. Especially tragic was the Holocaust of Jewish population in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. The small number of Jews who managed to make it back from the concentration camps was resettled and their property confiscated, because their mother tongue was German. Nowadays, the largest immigrant group is that of people from the Ukraine. In 2011 official figures stated that 119,000 Ukrainian nationals were living in the country, although some estimates say the real number is twice that. Ukrainians represent a cheap source of labour for the lowest-skilled manual work, primarily in the construction industry. At the same time, 70 % of them have a secondary school leaving certificate at least. Almost as large is the number of people from Slovakia who, in recent times, have come to the Czech Republic in search of better education and employment opportunities. Because of the similarity between the Slovak and Czech languages as well as the shared history of the two peoples, they are often not perceived as ‘foreign’ by the Czech population. Another large group are the Vietnamese, of which there are officially around 2 Czechs and Slovaks were defined as two branches of one nationality during census in 1930: Czechoslovakian. Nationality was defined mainly by culture – by using of mother tongue. Only in cases when this criterion caused ambiguity could people avow to nationality on a basis of their feeling using psychological criterion. This was the case mainly among Jews, who spoke mainly German, and Roma.

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58,200, a figure which rises to almost 90,000 if illegal immigrants are included. ˇ R 2012) Vietnamese people came to the Czech Republic in three (Cizinci v C stages. Nowadays, most Vietnamese immigrants immigrate illegally from poor provinces in the north of the country. The Vietnamese community in the Czech Republic was very closed and socially isolated. The second and third generation, who were born in the Czech Republic, speak the Czech language excellently (because they attended school there), are often the best pupils in school and frequently go on to attend prestigious universities. This often creates a genˇ R). eration gap within families (Specifika zˇivota vietnamsk¦ komunity v C The Roma population are special in many respects. In the regions of Bohemia and Moravia, the Roma experienced periods of harmony with their settled neighbours but, at other times, also endured atrocious persecution. There are currently around 300,000 Roma living in the Czech Republic. Among the Czech population, there is a lot of anti-Roma sentiment and partial segregation of the population in ghettos at the edges of large towns and cities. There are, however, also cities where the Roma population’s integration into the general populace is ˇ esky´ Krumlov, for example (Historie Romu˚ na fflzem† C ˇ esk¦ exemplary, like C republiky). For various reasons, each of these immigrant/ethnic groups make hardly any difference to the religious profile of the Czech Republic. The Centre for Muslim Communities (there are around 10,000 Muslims in the Czech Republic) received what is known as ‘first-stage registration’ from the Czech state in 2004. This registration requires 300 signatures of believers who are of age and results in recognition of the group as a juridical person. It does not, however, allow any financial support from the state, RE, the establishment of the community’s own schools or pastoral work in hospitals or prisons. Second-stage registration requires 20,000 signatures from members of the religious community. The Centre for Muslim Communities fears that, in the xenophobic environment of the Czech Republic, the signatures could be misused against Muslims. There is one mosque each in the cities of Prague and Brno, the construction of which met some opposition, a sign of the prejudices the Czech public have towards Islam. In the subconscious of the Czech population, who know little about Islam, the religion is often equated with fundamentalism. However, this negative attitude primarily towards religious institutions pertains not only to Islam but also to Christianity and Judaism but not, however, to eastern religions such as Hinduism or Buddhism. Within the context of multicultural education, primary schools are obliged under the national curriculum to teach pupils tolerance towards ethnic and religious groups. Some civilian groups publish didactic materials that focus on tolerance and the recognition of ethnic groups and religious communities but which contain only very superficial information on individual religions. It is not

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known to what extent such materials are used in practice. Cooperation between different religious groups and churches takes place at a formal level – by way of regular church services, agreements on cooperation in the establishment and operation of denominational schools and the like. There are no indications of cooperation in the area of RE in the Czech Republic. Pupils receive only infrequent, superficial information on other world religions.

9.

Religion in school outside of religious education

In its objectives, the Czech education system makes reference to the ideas of humanism and democracy. The basic document for the national curriculum ‘White Paper – National Programme for the Development of Education in the Czech Republic’ refers to J. A. Komensky´ (Comenius) and his terms ‘full humanity’ and ‘the human being’. These terms relate to secular humanism without any divine basis at the core of the human personality (Muchov‚ 2011, 150). Czech educationalists emphasise the ideological neutrality of the country’s education system. In the Czech case, this means that the education system should stay silent on all ideological issues. For this reason, RE is seen as a private matter for the Church, one that should not have any influence whatsoever on school life. Education should concern itself with increasing pupils’ knowledge and with the acquisition of social, intellectual ethical and aesthetic skills. Within the context of the acquisition of knowledge in particular, pupils are – often just in passing – taught only a positivist view of the natural sciences, while other subjects like drama education and character or ethics education are influenced by psychotherapeutic techniques. Pupils receive factual information on religion merely within the scope of subjects like history and geography. The life of religious groups, such as the celebration of feasts and participation in church services, is not given any place within Czech state schools. The only time when schools unconsciously make any sort of connection with religion or with Christianity is at Christmas. At Christmastime, within the scope of artistic or musical work, pupils come into contact with the birth of Jesus in the form of Christmas hymns or the making of cribs. The feast is celebrated as a feast of humanity and family. In contrast, Easter is experienced as a completely secularised event, while other Christian feasts are ignored. Easter Monday is a state holiday, with pupils in the country’s primary and middle schools getting holidays on Holy Thursday. It is at this time of year that the vast majority of people take their ‘little family holiday’ in the mountains or in holiday homes. Easter has become something of a ‘spring festival’, with no awareness in schools of the death and resurrection of Jesus. Based on an initiative of the diocesan catechetical centres, in half of the

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dioceses attempts were made to introduce pupils in general to the tenets of Christian belief and tradition by way of didactical projects. These may include projects that open up access to issues relating to the spiritual dimension of the human being and of culture in general (dealing with issues like our roots or the fruits of the spirit, etc.). Other projects may make pupils aware of the Christian meaning of feasts like Christmas, Easter or All Saints’ Day. The dioceses differ in terms of their approach: In some programmes, the element of passing on knowledge predominates, whereas in others modern approaches to RE are used (F. Kett’s model of integrated education oriented towards meaning, philosophising with children and the like). The Church offers such projects to the schools for free through religion teachers. Even though programmes like these are a success when implemented, less than one-fifth of the schools to which they are offered make use of them. We may also pose the question of whether or not religious elements – in the widest sense of the word – can be found in Czech schools, in relation to issues like the culture of celebration and in how issues like blame and death are dealt with, for example. Issues like these especially are very delicate ones in the Czech school milieu. The culture of celebration suffered very severely during the totalitarian regime and is only making a very slow return to Czech schools, together with the programmes offered by community schools or alternative schools (e. g. Waldorf schools). Negative life events also tended to be taboo during the socialist era, an attitude that makes their thematisation difficult even today.

10.

Training of teachers of religious education: institutes, structures, priorities issues

Even today, the type of training received by religion teachers is historically influenced. Before the totalitarian era, religion was taught mostly by priests and to a limited extent by teachers who had completed special courses organised by the Church. During the totalitarian period, only priests were allowed teach religion, even though training in the country’s only seminary was not oriented towards the teaching profession at all. Committed Church members, for their part – who mostly came from the ranks of pupils’ parents – did not have any knowledge of theology and knew very little about education or psychology. After 1989, some members of the Roman Catholic Church made efforts to effect a return to the earlier state of affairs. To the present day, RE of young people is, in the context of this logic, ensured by many priests. § 14 of the ‘Law on Education Employees’ (563/2004 Assembly) requires religion teachers to have completed

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either a Master’s degree in theology or in Education with an emphasis on the training of religion teachers. Priests are the ones who complete theology studies, whereas lay people study education. This law also allows people who have completed another liberal arts course of study, those with a Bachelor’s degree in religion teaching or with a special university qualification in adult education (with the same specialization) to teach religion in schools. In this way, people with a ‘day job’ but who also teach religion ‘on the side’ are accommodated (Z‚kon o pedagogicky´ch pracovn†c†ch). In their theology courses, faculties of theology take the issue of equipping future priests for work as teachers into consideration by offering modules in Catechetics, Basic Psychology and General Education as well as a minimal amount of teaching practice. The subject of religious education is taught only in ˇ esk¦ Budeˇjovice , where there is one lecturer on the subject. Moreover, this C faculty is oriented specifically towards the training of religion teachers – i. e. lay people and not priests. Training of future religion teachers also takes place in two faculties of education. In Ostrava, the course of study in religious education established on the initiative of the Silesian Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession (SCEAV) was suspended once again because of lack of interest. In light of the falling number of pupils, university students’ interest in the subject of RE is dwindling. It is very difficult to work as a religion teacher in the Czech Republic. Some faculties of theology had to suspend the subject of Christian Education as a programme of full-time study, while in other faculties the small number of students does not allow for professional development of the corresponding Chair. Higher education funding depends directly on the number of students. There is also not any teacher training course where religion can be combined with another subject. The number of students on courses combining distance and campus study is larger. These courses are taken by people with jobs but who also teach religion ‘on the side’ as it were. Among their numbers are religious young people who wish to work for the Church, ‘seekers’ – young people who are not expecting any professional qualification from their studies, and students looking for an easy way to gain a university diploma. ˇ esk¦ BudeˇAccording to a study carried out at the Faculty of Theology in C jovice (Muchov‚ 2000), which could well be typical for the Czech Republic as a whole, 29 % of lay religion teachers have studied theology at university, while 11.5 % studied something other than theology followed by a one-year course in catechetics. 17 % only had a secondary school leaving certificate, while a further 18 % had this as well as a certificate from a one-year course in catechetics. Irrespective of their training, most only taught religion for one to three hours. Religion teachers see no reason to improve their level of education or training. In terms of their spiritual life, they practice their faith devoutly – through private prayer and by living according to the sacraments, i. e. the ‘classic forms’ of

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religious expression. More than 75 % of them were willing to take part in retreats lasting several days every year, with some willing to do so several times in the year. Similarly, many teachers prayed regularly for the children in their charge. The study highlights the lack of appreciation for professional training not only on the part of religion teachers but also on the part of the Church, with around one-half of religion teachers not having the qualification for the job required by law. There is very little specialised literature in the Czech Republic that could form a theoretical basis for good professional training and for a wider range of didactic methods for RE. It’s a vicious circle: the decline in RE leads to a dramatic drop in interest for courses of study in faculties of theology, with the resulting fall in student numbers preventing the development of a theoretical and professional environment for better-quality training. Poorly trained religion teachers bring little in the way of new impetuses for RE in schools. In-service training for religion teachers usually takes place under the direction of the diocesan catechetical offices, where the emphasis is on spiritual education through retreats, as well as spiritual exercises – clearly in accordance with the wishes of the religion teachers. In the Diocese of Ostrava-Opava, professional seminars for teachers are offered on a systematic basis (F. Kett’s model of integrated education oriented towards meaning, as well as philosophizing with children). The National Catechetical Office of the Czech Bishops’ Conference organizes a national congress with between 200 and 300 participants every two years, which takes the form of academic lectures followed by short discussions, occurring over a period of three days. Every two years, the same office organized a symposium for employees of the diocesan catechetical offices and for lecturers in the subject of Christian education in university faculties of theology. However, this tradition was cancelled due to personnel reasons. This symposium was of limited importance for the further training of religion teachers and catechists. The unresolved conflict of how one should respond to problems in the execution of religion instruction in the Czech Republic has an effect on the education and training of religion teachers in the country. Some dioceses support the idea of church-based catechesis and no longer make any attempt to promote RE in schools. The education and training options for religion teachers are adapted for this, such as one-year catechetical courses that do not provide any academic qualification, basic catechetics and its applications in catechetical practice, etc.

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Empirical Research concerning religious education

Empiric research in the field of RE presumes academia with sufficient number of scientifically erudite professionals interested in this area. There are 5 theological faculties in the Czech Republic (three Roman Catholic, one of Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren, one of Czechoslovak Hussite Church). If we exclude theses with conclusions that don’t allow to make general conclusions, there is only one faculty that realizes empiric research dealing with topics connected to RE – Faculty of Theology, University of South Bohemia. Research focused on professional and spiritual dimension of RE teachers that was realized here at the turn of 20th and 21st century was cited in chapter 10. Empiric research realized within a project Teaching Religion in a multicultural European Society under the leadership of prof. Ziebertz in years 2006–2008 had output characterized as an international comparative study. It involved inter alia orientation of RE in state schools on three forms: ‘Teaching within religion’ (mono-religious way of teaching), ‘Teaching about religion’ (multi-religious way of teaching) and ‘Teaching from religion’ (inter-religious way of teaching). Authors Muchov‚ and Sˇteˇch (Faculty of Theology JU) drew the following conclusion: Survey pointed out mainly possible dangerous developments in religion teaching in the Czech Republic which insist on the monoreligious way of religion teaching within the praxis of multicultural and multireligious environments. (Muchov‚, Sˇteˇch, 45–55). It can also be a sign of fundamentalist orientation on building a catholic ghetto in the society where Christians and people outside the Church and religious societies circumscribe each other.

12.

Desiderata / challenges for religious education in a European context

(a) The phenomena of secularization, privatization and religious pluralization in Czech society must be taken seriously. (b) The responsibility of the state and of the Church for the content of RE and questions relating to supervision and methodological support, including the financing and remuneration of religion teachers working in more than one school, must be legally regulated. (c) The Church must carefully consider the objectives, contents and methods of RE in school at a national level and develop a didactically excellent system in the search for a relationship between Christianity and present-day European culture, which resonates with the life of the young person.

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(d) New ways to promote the school ethos and its spiritual dimension, even outside the religion class, without going down the road of religious indoctrination, must be sought. (e) The programme of study for the subject of Christian Education in faculties of theology and education must be reformed. A developed system of inservice training for RE teachers, that motivates teachers to take part, should find a balance between the acquisition of new professional competencies and spiritual guidance. (f) The Christian churches should look for ways how to cooperate, in order to act together as patrons of religious education in school. (g) Academic employees in university faculties, as well as those with responsibility for RE in the churches, should find ways to learn from the experiences of Christian churches in other European countries. As a prerequisite for these changes, the Roman Catholic Church and the other Christian churches would have to give priority towards serving society in the area of education, whatever the consequences are not even, twenty years after the fall of the Iron Curtain, in sight. The Czech education system is not showing any interest in such a service either. However, if a situation is perceived as a challenge this must mean that the current state of affairs is in need of change in the first place.

13.

Further information (e. g., relevant literature on religious education, institutions, websites)

On the issue of religiosity in the Czech Republic Hal†k, T. 2009. Patience with God. New York: Doubleday Religion. (German: Hal†k, T. 2010. Geduld mit Gott. Freiburg im Breisgau: Herder. The book was awarded Europe’s best theological book prize by the European Society of Catholic Theology in 2009/10).

Chapters in monographs by Tomásˇ Halík Hal†k, T. 1991a. Die Rückkehr der Kirche in das öffentliche Leben in der CSFR. In Die Entwicklung der Beziehung zwischen Kirche und Staat im Laufe der Geschichte der europäischen Kultur und ihre Bedeutung für die rechtliche und politische Kultur in Vergangenheit und Zukunft, ed. R. Weiler and A. Laun, 80–4. Wien: Verein Universitätszentrum für Friedensforschung. Hal†k, T. 1991b. The Mission of Christians in today’s Central and Eastern Europe. In First International Conference on Social Values, (University of Cambridge), Cambridge, 161–3.

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Hal†k, T. 2000. Partnerschaft zwischen Ost und West. In Renovabis faciem terrae. Kirchliches Leben in Mittel- und Osteuropa an der Jahrtausendwende, ed. G. Albert, and J. Odelelmann, 295–303. Trier : Paulinus. Hal†k, T 2001a. Rückkehr nach Europa. In Ost-West, Europäische Perspektiven 2, no.1: 3–9. Hal†k, T 2001b. Christsein in Europa am Beginn des neuen Jahrhunderts. In Tatkräftig – Engagiert – Überzeugend: 50 Jahre Landeskomitee der Katholiken in Bayern. Zeitansagen 11: 12–24.

On RE in czech schools Muchov‚, L. 2007. Religiöse Erziehung in einer atheistischen Umgebung. Die Krise der Erziehung zur religiösen Identität in Tschechien. In Europa als Projekt. Religiöse Aspekte in einem politischen Kontext, ed. I. Bock, J. Dichtl, H. Herion, and W. Prügger, 186–96. Berlin: LIT. Muchov‚, L., and F. Sˇteˇch. 2009. Czech Republic: teaching religion versus religious plurality – a closed circle? In How Teachers in Europe Teach Religion. An International Empirical Study in 16 Countries, ed. H.-G. Ziebertz, and U. Riegel, 45–55. Berlin: Lit.

References ˇ R. B†l‚ kniha. N‚rodn† program rozvoje vzdeˇl‚v‚n† v C ˇ esk¦ republice. MSˇMT C ˇ R. MSˇMT C http://aplikace.msmt.cz/pdf/bilakniha.pdf. ˇ esk‚ republika. ZEMEˇPIS. COM, GEOGRAFICKY ´ PORTÝL. http://www.zemepis.com/ C Cesko.php. ˇ esky´ statisticky´ fflrˇad. Cizinci v C ˇ R 2012. C ˇ esky´ statisticky´ fflrˇad. http://www.czso.cz/csu/ C 2012edicniplan.nsf/kapitola/1414-12-r_2012-0900. ˇ esky´ statisticky´ fflrˇad. Nejnoveˇjsˇ† ekonomick¦ ffldaje. C ˇ esky´ statisticky´ fflrˇad. http:// C www.czso.cz/csu/csu.nsf/aktualniinformace. ˇ esky´ statisticky´ fflrˇad. Pocˇet obyvatel C ˇ R 2012. C ˇ esky´ statisticky´ fflrˇad. http:// C www.czso.cz/csu/cizinci.nsf/t/1700302978/$File/c01 t01.xls. ˇ esky´ statisticky´ fflrˇad. Pohyb obyvatelstva – 1. azˇ 4. cˇtvrtlet† 2012. C ˇ esky´ statisticky´ fflrˇad. C http://www.czso.cz/csu/csu.nsf/informace/coby031413.doc. ˇ esky´ statisticky´ fflrˇad. Zˇivotn† podm†nky 2012 – prˇedbeˇzˇn¦ vy´sledky. C ˇ esky´ statisticky´ C fflrˇad. http://www.czso.cz/csu/tz.nsf/i/zivotni_podminky_2012_predbezne_vysledky. Duka, Dominik and Milan Badal. 2009. B†l‚ kniha c†rkve s cˇernou kapitolou. 13–7, 32–6. Kosteln† Vydrˇ† : Karmelit‚nsk¦ nakladatelstv†. ˇ esk¦ republice na pocˇ‚tku 21. stolet†. In Hamplov‚, D. 2008. Religiozita dospeˇly´ch v C ˇ ˇ ˇ N‚bozenstv† v mensine. Religiozita a spiritualita v soucˇasn¦ cˇesk¦ spolecˇnosti. D. Luzˇny´ and Z. R. Nesˇpor a kol., 20–30, Praha: Malvern. ˇ esk¦ republiky. Czech Radio. http://romove.radio.cz/cz/clanek/ Historie Romu˚ na fflzem† C 18785. ˇ R. Vy´rocˇn† zpr‚vy. C ˇ esk‚ biskupsk‚ conference. http://www.cirkev.cz/ Katolick‚ c†rkev v C cirkev-v-cr/ceska-biskupska-konference/vyrocni-zpravy/.

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Ministerstvo sˇkolstv†, ml‚dezˇe a teˇlovy´chovy. Statistick‚ rocˇenka sˇkolstv† 2012/2013 – vy´konov¦ ukazatele http://toiler.uiv.cz/rocenka/rocenka.asp. Muchov‚, L. 2011. Budete my´mi sveˇdky. 150. Brno: Kartuzin‚nsk¦ nakladatelstv†. Muchov‚, L. 2000. Vzdeˇlanost ucˇitelek a ucˇitelu˚ n‚bozˇenstv† v cˇeskobudeˇjovick¦ diec¦zi: probl¦m soucˇasnosti – c†l budoucnosti. Studia theologica 2, no. 2: 68–72. Muchov‚, L., and F. Sˇteˇch. 2009. Czech Republic: teaching religion versus religious plurality – a closed circle?, In How Teachers in Europe Teach Religion. An International Empirical Study in 16 Countries, ed. H.-G. Ziebertz, and U. Riegel, 45–55, Berlin: Lit. Olivar, R.R. 1992. Etick‚ vy´chova. Bratislava: Orbis Pictus Istropolitana. ˇ R. AS CPSSU Plzenˇ. http://www.e-polis.cz/ne Specifika zˇivota vietnamsk¦ komunity v C zarazene-clanky/343-specifika-zivota-vietnamske-komunity-v-cr.html. ˇ R. Sekce c†rkevn†ho sˇkolstv† C ˇ BK. Strucˇn‚ historie a soucˇasnost c†rkevn†ho sˇkolstv† v C http://skolstvi.cirkev.cz/Skoly/Z-historie-1. ˇ esky´ pru˚mysl po r. 1989. Mgr. DP., Masarykova univerzita. Sˇery´, O. 2010. C Transparency international. Na celosveˇtov¦m zˇebrˇ†cˇku CPI – Index vn†m‚n† korupce 2011 ˇ esk‚ republika deˇl† o 57.–59. m†sto s Namibi† a Saffldskou Ar‚bi†. Transparency se C ˇ esk‚ republika. http://www.transparency.cz/celosvetovem-zebrickuInternational – C cpi-index-vnimani-korupce-2011-ceska-r/. U maturit propadla t¦meˇrˇ peˇtina studentu˚, kazˇdy´ des‚ty´ nebyl prˇipusˇteˇn. MAFRA a. s. http:// zpravy.idnes.cz/u-maturit-propadla-temer-petina-studentu-kazdy-desaty-nebyl-pripusten-13q-/domaci.aspx?c=A110615_143502_domaci_brd. V‚clav†k, D. 2010. N‚bozˇenstv† a modern† cˇesk‚ spolecˇnost.135–190. Praha: Grada. Vy´zkumny´ fflstav pedagogicky´ v Praze, 2007. R‚mcovy´ vzdeˇl‚vac† program pro z‚kladn† vzdeˇl‚v‚n†. V¢P Praha. http://www.vuppraha.cz/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/ RVPZV_2007-07.pdf. Weißbuch zur allgemeinen und beruflichen Bildung. Lehren und Lernen – auf dem Weg zur kognitiven Gesellschaft. http://ec.europa.eu/languages/documents/doc409_de.pdf. Z‚kon o prˇedsˇkoln†m, z‚kladn†m, strˇedn†m, vysˇsˇ†m odborn¦m a jin¦m vzdeˇl‚v‚n† ˇ R. http://aplikace.msmt.cz/Predpisy1/sb190(sˇkolsky´ z‚kon) cˇ. 561/2004 Sb. MSˇMT C 04.pdf. ˇ R. http://www.msmt.cz/ Z‚kon o pedagogicky´ch pracovn†c†ch 563/2004 Sb. MSˇMT C mladez/zakon-c-563-2004-sb-o-pedagogickych-pracovnicich.

Martin Rothgangel / Hans-Georg Ziebertz in cooperation with Philipp Klutz

Religious Education at Schools in Germany

Introduction Religious Education (RE) in Germany has to deal with different challenges. One introductory example can illustrate that point: The increasing pluralization of religion is especially evident in Germany’s city-states, a development which represents a special challenge for religious education in schools. The Hanseatic City of Hamburg serves as a perfect example of this trend (Doedens and Weiße 1999, 131–2): there are around 106 religious groups represented in Hamburg, with around 33 % of the entire population belonging to the Evangelical Lutheran Church and around 10 % being members of the Catholic Church, closely followed by Islam as the largest non-Christian religious community in the city (7–10 %). Almost half of school pupils are from an immigrant background, with around 247,000 foreigners from 185 countries living in the port city. In stark contrast to places like Hamburg, the relatively low proportion of foreigners living in some of the eastern German states (e. g. Saxony-Anhalt, 1.9 %) can result in a situation where interreligious learning takes place without any real opportunities for encounter between different religious groups (Domsgen 2009, 323). The following points will shed more light on this complex situation and how RE handles it.

1.

The socio-religious background of the country

1.1

General information

Of Germany’s approximately 80.9 million inhabitants, around 60 % belong to either the Roman Catholic Church or to the Evangelical Church in Germany. The number of adherents in each is similar, with the Roman Catholic Church having 24,170,754 members and the Evangelical Church in Germany having 23,356,096

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members.1 In southern and western parts of the country, Catholics predominate (Bavaria 53.7 %; Saarland 62.3 %, North-Rhine Westphalia 40.9 %, RhinelandPalatinate 44.5 %), while in the north of Germany Protestants are often in the majority (Lower Saxony 48.5.2 %, Schleswig-Holstein 51.4 %).2 About one-third of the population (33–34 %) professed no religion.3 This percentage has tripled since 1989 both as a result of people leaving their churches and as a consequence of the reunification of Germany (1987: 11.4 %; 1990: 22.4 %).4 The latter is a result of the anti-church policy pursued by the GDR (former East Germany), which has led to the current situation where the percentage of the population without any religious affiliation in the states of Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Saxony-Anhalt is around 80 %.5 At present, just around 5 % (approximately 4 million people) of the German population are Muslims. This percentage is growing constantly (1970: 1.3 %; 1990: 3.7 %). In addition, around 1.9 % of the population belong to the various Orthodox Christian churches (approximately 1.5 million people. The percentage of the population belonging to other religious communities is significantly lower than one per cent: around 0.3 % of the German population are Buddhists (approximately 270,000 people), around 0.2 % Jews (approximately 200,000 people) and around 0.1 % Hindus (approximately 120,000 people). Finally, around 0.2 % of the population (167,107 people) are Jehovah’s Witnesses, placing them in much the same category as the above groups in terms of size.6

1.2

A comparison between the generations

After the general information presented above, we now turn our attention to making a comparison between different age groups in terms of religiosity (cf. on the following: Rothgangel 2010; Ziebertz 2007). The ‘Religion Monitor 2008’ by the Bertelsmann Foundation is particularly useful here (Ziebertz 2007). It must be said in advance, however, that the study in question is limited by the fact that it only deals with persons aged 18 years and up (therefore excluding children and adolescents) and that the number of people surveyed in the 18–29 years age group amounted to only 171. 1 http://www.remid.de/remid_info_zahlen.htm. 2 http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religionen_in_Deutschland The data of wikipedia are largely based on REMID (Religionswissenschaftlicher Informations- und Mediendienst e.V.), which is regularly updated and a reliable source (www.remid.de/remid_info_zahlen.htm). 3 Ibid. 4 Ibid. 5 Ibid. 6 http://www.remid.de/remid_info_zahlen.htm.

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Among those surveyed, the influence of religious rules on one’s everyday life was higher for the older age groups than for the younger groups. 13 % of the 18–29 years age group agreed that religion was ‘quite’ or ‘very’ important for them, compared with 21 % of those aged between 30 and 39 years, 25 % of the 40–49 age group, 27 % of those between the ages of 50 and 59 years and 36 % of the over 60s (Ziebertz 2007, 47). In other questions asked within the survey, however, it was evident that, with the exception of the over 60s, the 18–29 years age group did not differ from the other generations surveyed: Around one-third of those aged between 18 and 29 years believe in a personal God. This finding remains almost the same up to the age of 60 years (34 % of the 18–29 year-olds; 30 % of the 30–39 year-olds; 35 % of the 40–49 year-olds, 35 % of the 50–59 year-olds). At 43 %, the over 60s were the only age group surveyed where a significantly higher value was found (Ziebertz 2007, 48). The questions asked on ritual practice produced similar results: 14 % of 18–29 year olds and 11–13 % of 30–59 year olds reported that they participate regularly in religious services and rituals. At 26 %, the over 60s were, once again, the only group with a significantly higher percentage answering this question positively. A similar finding was uncovered in relation to the group of persons who expressed a high level of interest in religious affairs: among those aged up to 49 years, the percentage expressing an interest was in the 11–13 % range. Not until one goes up to the 50–59 years age group and to the over 60s significantly higher values of 21 % and 25 %, respectively, have been reported (Ziebertz 2007, 46). Finally, for certain survey questions, it can be observed that the younger generation are, in this specific respect, ‘more religious’ than others: in terms of ‘strength of faith’, which is measured by the Religion Monitor based on the expression of a belief in God and in life after death, those aged between 18 and 29 years showed the highest value (41 %) while the results for the other age groups varied between 29 % and 36 % (Ziebertz 2007, 46–7). It follows from all this that no clear indication exists to either support or refute the notion that religious tradition is being abandoned. Nevertheless, neither can we claim that religion is making a comeback in society. If we compare young people with those over the age of 60 years, we see that, with the exception of the belief dimension (e. g. a belief in life after death), the values for young people are lower for all other dimensions.

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Religious orientation of young people

If we focus our attention specifically on young people, the typology on the religious orientation of young people put forward by Ziebertz, Kalbheim and Riegel (2003) in their study “Religious Signatures Today” suggests itself more than shell studies, the suitability of which is debated for religious-sociological purposes. Based on a cluster analysis, the author differentiate between: (a) church-based Christian youth (16.7 %), who are rooted in the denominational churches and do not place any heightened value on religious selfdetermination; (b) autonomous Christian youth (27.4 %), who maintain a link with religious institutions but, at the same time, position themselves as individuals within the context of religion. (c) conventional religious youth (‘konventionell-religiöse Jugendliche’ in German) (20.6 %), who neither have any particular connection with a church nor reveal any particular religious self-determination; independently religious youth (20.0 %), for whom religious self-determination is important and who tend to express ‘their religiosity outside of the church’ (ibid. 394) as well as (d) non-religious youth (15.3 %), who differ fundamentally from the four religious types described above. It is not difficult to recognize that the religious types can be differentiated based on their degree of connection with a church and their religious self-determination. Ziebertz, Kalbheim and Riegel conclude from this: “These findings cannot be readily interpreted within the context of a general trend of secularization. Instead, pluriform patterns of religiosity are apparent, which are characterized by individualisation on the one hand and by a weakening of the churches’ ability to bind people to them on the other.” (426) This finding of pluralization of religion on the one hand, associated with an individualization of religion on the other, has been commented on for some time in various publications dealing with the sociology of religion and religious education (Ziebertz, Kalbheim, and Riegel 2003, 394). The recommendation recently published by the EKD (Evangelical Church in Germany) entitled ‘Kirche und Jugend’ (The Church and Young People) also mirrored this: “Young people nowadays are growing up in pluralistic life situations, which require the cultivation of individuality. In light of the diversity of lifestyle options available to them, young people must find their own mode of participation in society and develop their own life plan: The multi-option society is relentless in its demand for decisions and forms of expression.” (Ziebertz, Kalbheim, and Riegel 2003, 22–3) Overall, the available studies on the subject show that a clear process of

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deconfessionalization and deideologization is under way within the context of Christian religiosity. This means, on the one hand, that the process of referring to a church to define one’s own religiosity is becoming weaker and, secondly, that religiosity is oriented less (in terms of content) to normative elements of a binding creed, but instead draws upon more general diffuse ideas (cf. Ziebertz and Riegel 2008).

2.

Legal framework for religious education and the relationship between religious communities and the state

In Germany there is basically a separation of church and state, as well as religious freedom under Article 4 of the GG (‘Grundgesetz’ or Basic Law). Nevertheless, this separation is not a strict one like in France, for example. Instead, the German separation is more of a ‘clumsy’ one as a result of factors such as the reference to God in the preamble to the Basic Law as well as certain matters common to both the church and state (‘res mixta’, including church and culture taxes collected by the state, RE in schools and faculties of theology in state universities). RE is the only school subject in Germany to be enshrined in the country’s Basic Law. The crucial historical background to the establishment of Article 7 of the Basic Law in 1949 lay in the experience in the Third Reich that totalitarian systems aim to achieve enforced political conformity of school subjects relating to religion and world views – subjects which could potentially lead to tensions with the ideology of the state. Legislators were able to fall back on the Weimar Constitution as a model for Article 7 of the Basic Law. Article 7 establishes the following legal framework: (1) “The entire school system is subject to state supervision. (2) Parents and legal guardians have the right to decide whether or not their child attends religion class. (3) With the exception of non-denominational schools, RE is a standard subject within the curriculum in public schools. Without prejudice to the state’s right to supervise, religion shall be taught in accordance with the principles of the religious group in question. No teacher may be forced against his or her will to teach religion.” With regard to the safeguarding of religious education as a standard subject in the Basic Law on the one hand as well as pupils’ and teachers’ right to attend/ teach such classes, the following observation is fitting: “Even though RE is obligatory in substance, it is not compulsory for individuals.” (Adam and Lachmann 2012, 150).

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Furthermore, Article 7 makes the so-called ‘clumsy’ separation of church and state in Germany clear, stating that the state is responsible for providing RE, e. g. by providing and financing the space, teaching staff and teaching material for such lessons, while the religious groups themselves are responsible for the contents of the lessons, thereby guaranteeing that the curriculum is in keeping with their principles. Accordingly, the German churches, in particular, participate in lesson plan committees on the issue of curriculum content as well as making decisions on approving teaching materials. This ‘dual responsibility’ of state and religious group for RE is based on a mutual agreement, which both sides are obliged to adhere to (cf. Simon 2000). As a standard school subject, RE is, notwithstanding the individual’s right not to participate, a compulsory subject like many others. In this sense, there is, in principle, an obligation to grade the subject. Equally, the wording “in accordance with the principles of the religious group” makes it clear that RE must be taught from a denominational standpoint and not from a neutral, purely academic point of view. The Catholic Church seeks to guarantee the denominational character of its RE by a so-called ‘triple homogeneity’ consisting of (1) Catholic teachers, (2) content that is determined by the Catholic Church and (3) Catholic pupils. In contrast, the Protestant understanding of ‘denominational character’ is adequately ensured by way of a so-called ‘double homogeneity’ comprised of (1) Protestant teachers and (2) content that is determined by the Church. This means that pupils of other denominations and religions can also attend Protestant religion classes. In terms of denominational character, two basic exceptions must also be borne in mind: First of all, an ecumenical type of RE could take place if, for example, the Protestant and Catholic Churches could agree on matching principles in this regard. Secondly, in certain German states Article 7 of the Basic Law, qualified by the so-called ‘Bremen clause’, does not apply. This clause is found in Article 141 of the Basic Law: “Article 7, Paragraph 3, Clause 1 shall not apply in a federal state where another state law was in existence on 1 January 1949.” Incidentally, the Bavarian constitution does not speak of ‘religious groups’ (i. e. in the plural) but instead uses the singular ‘religious group’, thereby making clearer reference to a denomination. The wording of the Bremen clause was specially incorporated in light of the situation in Bremen where, back in 1947, the state constitution had decided on “education in Biblical history based on general Christian principles and not bound to any particular denomination”. The Bremen clause is currently also applied in Berlin and in Brandenburg. After the Berlin Education Act of 1948, RE in the city’s schools has been a matter for the religious and ideological communities living in Berlin and is an optional subject there. The referendum of 26 April 2009 was an important event

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for Berlin, with 51.4 % of voters rejecting a proposal to make RE a compulsory subject in the city’s schools. RE therefore remains an optional subject in Berlin’s schools, while the subject of Ethics/Values is compulsory (cf. Gräb and Thieme 2010). After German reunification it was, and still is, debated whether or not Article 141 of the Basic Law can be applied to the former East German states. Unlike the other former East German states, where RE was introduced under Article 7 of the Basic Law, Brandenburg, after a trial phase, opted to establish the compulsory subject of ‘Lifestyle–Ethics–Religion Studies’ (known as LER for short) in 1996. In addition to the optional subject of religion, the Humanist Association also offers a subject called ‘Humanist Social Studies’. In both states, however, the legal situation is a topic of ongoing contentious debate in terms of how the law should be interpreted. Here it must be remembered that, under Article 30 of the Basic Law, the individual states have control over education within their borders. This means that RE too, in accordance with Article 7 of the Basic Law, can differ in its particulars in the respective federal states. As a result, we will also look at regional peculiarities below at certain points.

3.

Developments in the country’s education policy

The school and education system in Germany’s federal states is currently undergoing a process of fundamental reform. Examples of this include the legal right to attend kindergarten that has been introduced, trials of new approaches to the way in which children start school, shortening or extension of the time spent in primary school (from six to four years or, in reverse, from four to six years), the introduction of greater autonomy for schools on the one hand as well as of educational standards or quality assurance and development measures on the other (cf. Kraft 2009, 211; Schröder 2009, 279, for instance). This gives rise to quite specific challenges, problems and opportunities for faith-related education. This means that agreements specific to individual states on church involvement in education could be easily circumvented. “The agreements in place regarding the rights of churches to play a role in education and the committees and instruments established for that purpose are based on a ‘top-down’ system. However, they will no longer be effective if significant areas of responsibility for school organization are transferred to the grassroots level.” (Doedens and Weiße 1999, 131) Time and time again, a practical circumvention of legal framework considerations is being documented. This makes the task of persuasion, with reference to parents and school management, all the more important (Einsle and Hammerich 2009, 351–2).

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Specific problems for confirmation preparation and youth work organised by the churches in clubs and youth centres result from the packed timetable (G8) as well as from the trend towards all-day schools (Sander-Gaiser 2009, 164; Schulz 2009, 190–1; Kraft 2009, 214; Weyer-Menkhoff and Kaspari 2009, 258). Even though new opportunities are opened up for religious education if such activities take place within the school (Sander-Gaiser 2009, 165), the special feature of church-based youth work also lies in its out-of-school orientation. In terms of territory, it is advantageous if the area covered by a regional church or diocese and the corresponding federal state is the same (Kothmann 2009, 29), which is the case in the Free State of Bavaria, for instance. If the reverse is true, it can happen, as is the case in the state of Saarland, for example, that Protestant parish priests are not available as teaching staff in the Rhenish part of the state while they are available in the Palatine area, thereby making certain negotiations with the government of the federal state more difficult (Schröder 2009, 285). The Catholic dioceses affected by this situation each maintain Catholic Offices (‘Katholische Büros’ in German) in the relevant federal states, which clear up issues relating to school patronage and RE with the corresponding agencies of the state government.

4.

Role of religiously sponsored schools, including any changes and developments, legal relationships

Apart from some individual states like Saarland, where there are no schools providing general education under the patronage of the Protestant Church (Schröder 2009, 291), and Schleswig-Holstein, where the Protestant Church is clearly lagging behind in this respect (Einsle and Hammerich 2009, 355), the opportunities for, and attractiveness of, schools under church patronage can be seen almost without exception in the various federal states within Germany. This is documented on the one hand by the relatively high, and ever increasing, number of schools under denominational patronage, e. g. in southern Germany (Grümme and Pirner 2009; Kothmann 2009) as well as by the comparably positive trend being seen in the states of the former East Germany, where an increase in the number of Protestant schools being established can currently be observed. The following statement typifies this: “Whereas schools in many places are being closed down, denominational schools are experiencing a continuous upward trend in many areas” (Borck and Schluß 2009, 107). Excluding vocational schools, there are around 540 schools with 115,000 pupils under Protestant patronage and approximately 700 schools with 320,000 pupils under Catholic patronage in Germany.

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There are a further 35,000 pupils in the country’s 484 Protestant vocational schools (as of 2004), which means that slightly more than 1,000 schools in Germany are under Protestant patronage (Kirchenamt der EKD 2008, 48). Regional peculiarities can be observed here too: “In North-Rhine Westphalia, for example, 20.71 % of vocational schools and 15.45 % of ‘Gymnasien’ (grammar schools) are under denominational patronage (i. e. under the patronage of either the Protestant or Catholic Church). Here, the denominational secondary schools carry a weight similar to private high schools in the United States, for example. The high proportion of schools under denominational patronage is something that the public is largely unaware of. Neither is it embedded in the Protestant Church’s understanding of itself.” (Kirchenamt der EKD 2008, 50) The Catholic Church, meanwhile, operates 164 vocational schools (as of 2003) which provide education to around 30,000 pupils (2003 figures) (cf. Engagement 2004). One particular focus of vocational schools is jobs in the area of social work and care provision. Furthermore, special schools, which constitute over 20 % of Protestant schools and educate around 27,000 pupils, are another area of emphasis. “The focus of the Protestant schools therefore lies in the deaconal area – whether it’s the education of particularly disadvantaged children and young people or providing training for deaconal careers.” (Kirchenamt der EKD 2008, 49) The Catholic Church has just under 180 special schools, which are independently operated and are mostly all-day schools. The patrons of these schools include the Caritas organisation, religious orders, Association of school providers (‘Schulwerke’ in German) or foundations, dioceses and other patrons. The largest number of these schools is dedicated to providing support for those with intellectual disabilities. The number of pupils in these schools has grown constantly over the past 30 years, from around 14,000 in 1978 to nearly 27,000 in 2003 (cf. Engagement 2004). In addition to the churches, the Association of German Private Schools and the Federation of Independent Waldorf Schools are other important school patrons, operating around 400 and 200 schools, respectively. The proportion of foreign pupils at private schools is often considerably lower than in state schools. In terms of parent satisfaction, private schools are way ahead: while around onehalf of parents with children attending state middle schools (‘Realschulen’ in German) and grammar schools (‘Gymnasien’) express a high level of satisfaction, three-quarters of parents whose children attend corresponding private schools are very satisfied (cf. Weiß 2011 for detailed figures) with the education their children receive there.

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Conceptions and tasks of religious education

The self-understanding and purpose of RE have changed significantly in Germany over the last hundred years. While we cannot discuss the historical and conceptual development of these trends in detail here (cf. Lachmann and Schröder 2007; Hilger, Kropacˇ and Leimgruber 2012; Rothgangel 2012; Grümme, Lenhard, and Pirner 2012 for more information), the various stages differ in terms of whether the aim was to have a system based on a church / catechetical model or a state / general education model or whether an attempt was made to incorporate both sides (Lachmann 2012). In terms of self-understanding and purpose, some fundamental statements have also been made by both the Catholic and Protestant Churches on the issue, which are will be described in more detail below. a)

Church communiqués on Catholic RE

The Würzburg Synod of 1974 effected a crucial reorientation of Catholic RE with its resolution on ‘RE in Schools’. This stated that RE should be theologically and pedagogically-based and should differ considerably from church catechism. RE is about imparting information on Christianity, the Church and faith, making pupils aware of the religious dimension of reality, encouraging them to make decisions based on their beliefs and promoting behaviour that is in keeping with the spirit of Christian propagation. The Synod resolution conceived of RE for pupils from religious and non-religious backgrounds alike. RE should enable the former to deepen their faith, while it should support the latter in developing their world view through engaging with substantive religious traditions. The text mentions ‘responsible reasoning and behaviour’ as the aim of RE. Pupils should learn to be aware of and interpret the religious dimension of reality as well as become capable of acting within that reality. The purpose of RE is to acquire cognitively adequate knowledge, the ability to interpret their life and the world around them based on Christian convictions and the maturity to shape their lives in social contexts. In 1996 the German Bishops’ Conference (in German: ‘Deutsche Bischofskonferenz’ or DBK) published a document entitled ‘The Formative Power of RE’, which, as it stated, was conceived as a follow-up strategy to the Synod resolution. This document was preceded by a paper released by the DBK’s Permanent Council entitled ‘Declaration on Denominationalism in RE’. The ‘Formative Power’ document released later looks at the issue in broader terms: it deals with areas of influence in and dimensions of the education process and gives a general definition of education which had never been provided in such a manner up to that point: education as an independent process performed by a young person, an activity that grants an individual freedom.

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According to the document, granting the dignity of the young person the utmost importance is an inalienable element of education. The process of self-actualization should not be subject to any strategic calculus. Education is a process of personal development, i. e. it relates to what the person makes of himself or herself. The subsequent chapters expand on the concept as Christian education. They bear the titles ‘The Formative Power of the Gospel’ and ‘The Formative Power of Church-Based Religion’. The role of the religion teacher is dealt with in particular detail. “In RE, the religion teachers represent the faith of their Church and, indeed, the Church itself, whether they want to or not” (37). It is stated that RE is often challenged because its religious substance is diminishing and the church is failing to put forward a positive image of itself. The solution is seen in an increased understanding of the denomination, i. e. RE that is based on the specific denomination: an orientation towards that denomination that revolves around the triad of teacher, doctrine and pupil, whereby, on the one hand, denomination-centric thinking should not be promoted but where, on the other hand, there is a limit placed on the level of ecumenical cooperation. Teachers should be required to have a church-based faith and to maintain a personal relationship with their church. Teaching should revolve around Church doctrine, which should be taught in an authentic, unabridged way. With regard to the pupils, the denominational triad is justified on the basis that pupils have a right to learn why they were baptised – the idea being that baptism creates a shared prior understanding. The text concludes with a summa of what denominationalism means and how it should play out in practice. The close connection between doctrine and the teacher’s personal life is emphasized, as is the requirement for an unambiguous display of his or her own creed. Overall, the ‘Formative Power’ document cannot entirely avoid the impression of a sometimes strained apologetic on the issue, with the text creating the impression that the Church understands RE, once again, as a kind of church-related teaching in schools. A little less than 10 years later, the German Bishops’ Conference published a document entitled ‘New Challenges in RE’ (2005). The then Chairperson of the Conference, Cardinal Lehmann, stated at the beginning of the document that, for a growing number of children and young people, RE is their most important and often only place of contact with their faith and therefore represents the hope of the Church. In saying this, he also highlights Church leaders’ interest in RE: if the family and the community no longer function as agents of religious socialization, RE must compensate for this deficiency. The first chapter therefore deals with the difficulty of passing on faith. RE can, the document claims, be a way of counteracting the imminent societal and intellectual isolation of the Church. The document makes a distinction between RE and catechism before going on to say that both can complement each other. This complementation is seen in terms of

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how RE not only involves imparting knowledge and faith but also always enables faith itself to take root. The text refers to the ‘formative power’ mentioned earlier and notes that it was primarily a church-based denominational manifestation of religion that was the focus here. This topic is then taken up and there are very few pages where the issue of denominationalism is not expressly mentioned. Ecumenical ties are judged rather reservedly, the text simply stating that occasional visits between Protestant and Catholic pupils could be a possibility. In terms of the curriculum, the term ‘basic knowledge’ (‘Grundwissen’ in German) is introduced. Basic knowledge refers to knowledge on the internal structure and logic of the faith as attested to by the church, thereby establishing a certain proximity to the subject of catechism. Such basic knowledge should enable pupils to interpret and deal with challenges in their own personal lives and in wider society. In the process, basic knowledge should not be understood solely in functional terms, i. e. as something which provides solutions for particular problems; it should, the authors assert, also be seen as something with an intrinsic value of its own. This could possibly be perceived as strange, inaccessible and maybe even hard to comprehend by school pupils. The authors claim, however, that “such an approach to RE awakens pupils’ curiosity and encourages them to be open to new experiences.” Religion teachers are expected to take stands on issues, be witnesses to the faith within the school, to participate in the faith rather than being mere observers, to stand up for the Church’s beliefs with their entire heart and soul, to act as bridge-builders between the Church and the school, to present the Church as an object of the faith (i. e. to show the Church as a symbol rather than just an instrument of salvation), to make use of the Church as a community, to stabilize contacts with pastoral members of the congregation, to open the way for pupils into their local congregation and to deepen their own spirituality so that they better understand the role of religion teaching as a ‘charismatic’ vocation in the Pauline sense of the word (1 Corinthians 12). The time-frame between the Synod resolution of 1974 and the most recent document from 2005 covers 30 years where societal changes have revealed clear trends of secularization in terms of loss of the churches’ importance, deconfessionalization, a lack of primary religious education in the family and a disappearance of the relationship young people used to have with their faith and with their church. As a result, it was decided that RE should fulfil duties which had previously been assigned to several different entities. It appears that the concept of RE is moving in the direction of Christian teaching or Catholic catechism. In the texts cited here, the word ‘Christianity’ is rarely mentioned; usually it is the Catholic faith that is spoken of, thereby indicating a concentration on the Catholic Church.

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Church communiqués on Protestant RE

The significance of social changes addressed earlier also manifests itself in terms of how socio-political upheavals such as the students protests of 1968 and the reunification of Germany in 1989 led to the publication of important EKD (Evangelical Church in Germany) documents on the issue of RE at roughly the same times as the three statements issued by the Catholic Church on the matter. These documents are ‘The Evangelical Church and Education Planning’ (EKD Church Chancery 1972) which came about from the EKD Education Synod of 1971, the EKD memorandum ‘Identity and Dialogue’ (Kirchenamt der EKD 1994) as well as the ten theses published by the EKD on RE (Kirchenamt der EKD 2006). Because of their importance, these documents will be described in greater detail below. The Education Synod of 1971 and the speeches and documents underlying it play a critical role in the move away from a model of RE that is primarily Churchbased. This already manifests itself in the fact that the denominational character of RE is developed based on the right to freedom of religion and conscience stated in Article 4 of the Basic Law (EKD Church Chancery 1972, 120–2). In addition, theological concerns are clearly phrased with a hermeneutic awareness of the problem: it is therefore highlighted that Christian imparting of faith is crucially determined “by the Biblical testimony of Jesus Christ with due consideration for the historical effect of this testimony” (EKD Church Chancery 1972, 124) and that “statements and professions of faith (…) must be understood in their historical context and always require fresh interpretation in the present day” (ibid.). In this sense, religion teachers are not merely viewed as officials of the Church; instead it is asserted that, in accordance with Protestant understanding, “the teacher’s role is to interpret and impart beliefs on an academic basis and with freedom of conscience”. (ibid.) Furthermore, societal and educational concerns are also taken into account in accordance with the desired orientation towards a type of RE that is problem-oriented: with regard to the current situation it is required, for example, that one “looks at the different historical forms Christian faith has taken (churches, denominations, creeds) in order to examine one’s own standpoint (…), understand those who think differently and find more common ground between the different groups.” (EKD Church Chancery 1972, 124) This is also expressly stated with reference to nonChristian religions and outlooks. Finally, the idea that the “theological understanding of the ‘principles of the religious communities’ corresponds with a pedagogical style of RE, which simultaneously imparts the ability to interpret and teaches dialogue and cooperation” is highlighted. (EKD Church Chancery 1972, 124) The paper ‘Identity and Dialogue. Place and Perspectives of Religious Edu-

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cation in a Plural Society’ (Kirchenamt der EKD 1994) received much attention and was raised to the status of an EKD memorandum. The title reflects the content: “People in our ‘Global Village’, which is becoming smaller and smaller all the time, need the fruitful interplay of mature identity and a desirable ability to understand each other.” (Kirchenamt der EKD 1994, 82) In the process, it is not the lowest common denominator, for example, that is sought after to achieve this understanding; instead a ‘strong’ pluralism is taken as the starting point: “The mutual dependence of denominational identity and ecumenical understanding makes clear the task that lies ahead in terms of cultural understanding and education in school and society in light of the plurality of world views and religions that exist: i. e. the task of reinforcing our common ground in the midst of our differences, by working through these differences and not simply ignoring them.” (Kirchenamt der EKD 1994, 65). This corresponds to the plea mentioned earlier of the memorandum calling for an independent group of subjects. The meaning of RE is founded on a dual educational basis: that of children and young people on the one hand and the educational mission of the school on the other. The latter results from reference to the general education concept of Klafki, with his ‘key issues typical of the time’ being expanded by three topics: 1. The fundamental ethical issue, 2. The issue of pluralism and 3. Religion as a key issue (Kirchenamt der EKD 1994, 31–3). With regard to children and young people, the meaning of RE is founded on religion itself and, with it, on sui generis experiences: “Religion is a distinctive aspect of life, one that is distinct from ethics or philosophy.” (Kirchenamt der EKD 1994, 30) RE is understood as a subject of study that explains the question of God to its very core. The extent to which the 10 theses published by the EKD on the issue of RE in 2006 resemble the earlier communiqu¦s is highlighted in the foreword given by the Council Chairperson at the time, Bishop Huber. Based on the assumption that young people need to find their own position within the pluralist society from which they can engage in dialogue, he sets out the following special task for RE: “RE makes an indispensable contribution towards enabling pupils to make independent use of their religious freedom. Our country needs this space both to allow people to find a spiritual home within their own belief system and to facilitate dialogue between people of different religions and world views.” (Kirchenamt der EKD 2006, 2) Accordingly, Thesis 1 (“Religion Represents an Essential Component of Human Education”) states: “In light of globalisation and multicultural and multireligious life contexts, religious education is more important than ever – for the rootedness and identity of children and young people, for religious power of judgement, for finding meaning and orientation in the world as well as for encouraging tolerance and people’s ability to understand one another.” (Kirchenamt der EKD 2006, 3) Thesis 1 also makes implicit reference to Article 4

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of the Basic Law, the right to practice one’s religion freely, a reference that becomes explicit later on in Theses 6 and 7 (in addition to a reference to Article 7 of the Basic Law). The title of Thesis 2 highlights the identity and mission of RE in a striking manner : “In accordance with Protestant understanding, reference to God must be at the centre of religious education. At the same time, religious education opens up access to values fit for the world of the future.” (Kirchenamt der EKD 2006, 3) The purpose of religious education, therefore, is to address the theological question of truth as well as to teach values – but in the following order : values come from faith and not the other way round. In addition, RE teaches other abilities and skills, as Thesis 5 describes, in terms of the acquisition of language skills and the ability to contemplate issues, for example: “A lot of time, effort and care is taken here in analysing challenging texts, with the written word playing a key role. At the same time, RE helps in many ways to strengthen pupils’ ability to identify reality, to understand the world around them and to be able to explain their own behaviour and that of others.” (Kirchenamt der EKD 2006, 4) In Theses 7 and 8, the relationship between RE and other subjects is considered. According to Thesis 7, RE is not rendered unnecessary by other subjects such as Religious Studies or Values, while in Thesis 8 the cooperative nature of Protestant RE is developed constructively : “Protestant RE is open to all pupils. It is often provided by way of ecumenical cooperation and sometimes in conjunction with the teaching of Ethics. In future, modes of collaboration with non-Christian religion classes could be tried too.” (Kirchenamt der EKD 2006, 5) Finally, the contribution of religious education to school life is expounded: this contribution could take the form of religion teachers serving as school chaplains (Thesis 4) or, as explained in Thesis 9, through encouraging school development by way of “religious services for the school or for its pupils, projects, workshops, etc. (…) right up to the new partnerships between school and youth work established within the context of full-day education provision.” (Kirchenamt der EKD 2006, 5) Twenty years after the last memorandum the Council of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) presents again a memorandum concerning to RE with the programmatic title “Religiöse Orientierung gewinnen. Evangelischer Religionsunterricht als Beitrag zu einer pluralitätsfähigen Schule” (Kirchenamt der EKD 2014). An essential motive for its development can be seen in the fact that during the last twenty years religious and conscious plurality is significantly increased at school too. Soon one of three primary-school pupils has an migration background, the percentage of Muslim pupils is increasing continuously. In that situation, the school has the task to strengthen the own identity as well as the common ground amidst differences. (cf. 7–8) “Der doppelten Orientierung an Gemeinsamkeit und Differenz entspricht das Bildungsziel einer Pluralita¨ tsfa¨ higkeit, die profilierte religio¨ se Bildung voraussetzt.” (12)

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Generally ability plurality as an educational goal for school and RE runs like an overall thread through this latest memorandum. Overall it appears a continuous development of previously published EKD documents: Here, too religious freedom has a fundamental role and ability plurality is based equally theologically and pedagogically. In retrospect, the statements released by the EKD show a balanced theological and educational basis, which seems to be proving successful in different social situations and which also enjoys widespread support and approval from educationalists in the field of RE.

6.

Practice / reality of religious education in different schools

Not insignificant for RE in practice is the question of the minimum number of pupils required before a school must provide RE. These minimum numbers vary from five pupils in Saarland and Bavaria, six in Saxony-Anhalt and eight in Hesse to as many as eleven in Lower Saxony (Rothgangel and Schröder 2009). In terms of the number of hours spent teaching religion per week, we know that this can be as little as one hour in certain contexts (primary and lower secondary schools in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Saxony), although in most cases two hours is the norm (e. g. Hesse, Lower Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein and Thuringia). By contrast, in Rhineland-Palatinate the number of hours spent on RE can range between one, two and even two and a half hours per week, depending on what year the pupil is in (Weyer-Menkhoff and Kaspari 2009, 261). Nevertheless, it should be noted that in Schleswig-Holstein, for example, RE is not offered in all classes, allegedly because of confirmation work (Einsle and Hammerich 2009, 349). In addition, the number of class hours spent on RE per week is eroded by cancelled lessons, which means that these statistics may be unreliable in some instances (Schröder 2009, 284). It is probably vocational schools that are most affected by cancelled lessons (e. g. Sander-Gaiser 2009, 170; Schröder 2009, 284). It must also be observed that, as an examination subject for the ‘Abitur’ (German school-leaving examination), religion faces specific organizational obstacles (Kraft 2009, 221–2). This can eventually give cause for complaint, as religion is not afforded a very favourable number of hours within the school timetable. Conversely, religion classes separated by denomination mean additional expenditure for the state and the school in terms of providing classrooms and staff, a problem that is intensified if an alternative subject such as Ethics has to be offered as well. This shows that the ‘fragile alliance’ between church and state requires constant maintenance, an area where religion teachers can make a contribution by way of internal school cooperation between one

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another, within the school’s teaching staff as a whole and with the school management. What is pleasing is that RE is currently relatively popular among pupils at least, with relatively few choosing to drop the subject and the number of pupils not taking the subject up on the decline (Grümme and Pirner 2009, 17; Kothmann 2009, 44; Borck and Schluß 2009, 100; Beyer, 243; Schröder 2009, 285). Indirectly, this is also proving to be the case in Berlin, where only 21.6 % of the population belong to the Protestant Church and Ethics is a compulsory subject for all pupils and, yet, where RE enjoys a high level of acceptance beyond the segment of the population who are members of the Church (25.9 % of Berlin’s pupils attend Protestant religion class) (Häusler 2009, 72–3). A similar indication can be seen in Lower Saxony, where the rate of participation in religion classes has grown from 95 % to 102 % over the past five years. In other words, there are more pupils attending Protestant religion class than there are Protestant pupils in the state (Kraft 2009, 223). In the former East German states, it is often the case that relatively few pupils attend religion class, owing to the large percentage of the population here who don’t profess any religion. This can lead to a phenomenon of “itinerant teachers” (Schulz 2009, 208), where one religion teacher must teach the subject in many different schools. In terms of religion teachers, there is an ever more apparent trend for the vocation to be subverted to some extent, with teachers whose qualifications are in some other subject teaching religion (Schröder 2009, 285). The teaching of religion by priests/pastors is governed differently by the various regional churches (Grümme and Pirner 2009, 16; Kothmann 2009, 32; Borck and Schluß 2009, 101–2; Sander-Gaiser 2009, 171–2; Beyer 2009, 243; Schröder 2009, 285; Domsgen 2009, 313–4). The fact that priests and pastors tend to be less qualified to teach religion as a school subject compared with religion teachers and that, because of the small number of hours they spend in the school, they may be perceived as an alien element within the classroom can be problematic. On the other hand, in Brandenburg for example, “RE was stabilized and the subject offering further developed” (Borck and Schluß 2009, 101). In addition, given the increasing prevalence of all-day schools and greater consideration for the life of the school, it must be considered if priests/pastors can deliberately represent a bridge towards church-related youth work. In Catholic schools, owing to the general shortage of priests, only very few clergy work as full-time teachers within schools. At primary school level, there is a strong connection to the parish in relation to pupils making their First Holy Communion, which usually takes place in the third grade and at which time priests or pastoral assistants play a temporary role in delivering RE. Bavaria has so-called ‘kirchliche Lehrer’ (Church teachers) in primary schools, lower secondary schools (‘Hauptschulen’) and middle schools, which are financed by the

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state. Outside of Bavaria, attempts are being made to have religion classes taught by state teachers. Catholic religion classes may be taught by teachers who have received the ‘missio canonica’ from the local bishop with responsibility for such matters. The framework guidelines for granting the missio are regulated at national level. There are two decisive criteria: firstly, the religion teacher must pledge to teach the religion class in accordance with the teachings of the Catholic Church; secondly, he or she must observe the principles of the teachings of the Church is his or her own personal life. Application for granting of the missio can be made to the bishop after the second state examination (‘Staatsexamen’ in German) has been passed. The formal procedure is explained by mentors or by the diocesan education departments. If the bishop has concerns, the applicant must be informed of these. In special cases, the Missio Commission can be called in. For prospective teachers, the criteria used are a constant cause for worry. Generally speaking, the examination is performed with formal considerations in mind. Orthodoxy in teaching will be evidenced by, for example, whether or not the applicant’s children have been baptized, whether or not he or she maintains contact and a connection with a parish and whether or not the applicant attends mass regularly. Deviations from Catholic moral doctrine may become apparent if, say, a religion teacher is cohabiting with their partner. If such conflicts arise during the religion teacher’s working life, he or she will often choose to discontinue teaching the subject of their own accord and will fall back on the other subjects they are qualified to teach. On the whole, it is quite rare for a missio not to be granted or for it to be revoked. The dominance of Catholic and Protestant RE in Germany should not, however, blind us to the fact that other religious communities also provide RE in different regions within Germany. There is, for example, New Apostolic RE in Bavaria, Mennonite RE in Hesse, Old Catholic RE in Baden-Wuerttemberg and Bavaria, Orthodox Christian RE in Baden-Wuerttemberg, Bavaria, Hesse and North-Rhine Westphalia, Buddhist RE in Berlin, Jewish RE in Saarland, Bavaria, Berlin, Baden-Wuerttemberg, Hamburg and North-Rhine Westphalia as well as Islamic RE in various parts of Germany. In the case of the latter, in particular, there is a special urgency and some quite specific difficulties, as there are several initiatives in place for the introduction of Islamic RE as well as some already existing school pilot projects (in BadenWuerttemberg, Bavaria, Berlin, Bremen, Hesse, Lower Saxony, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland and Schleswig-Holstein) even though there is no corresponding Islamic umbrella association to serve as a point of contact for the state on such matters. Alevite RE poses a particular problem in this regard (Grümme and Pirner 2009, 20; Beyer 2009, 248; Schröder 2009, 290). However, the fact that Islamic RE can successfully result from pilot school

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projects is attested to by the establishment of the former in North-Rhine Westphalia in 2012. Prior to this, the state had over ten years’ experience with the subject of Islamic Studies or Islamic RE, which is offered in around 150 schools there. Because North-Rhine Westphalia is the German state with the highest percentage of Muslim pupils in its public school system, developments here are of particular importance. In their analysis of the school pilot project, Kiefer, Gottwald und Ucar (Kiefer, Gottwald, and Ucar 2008) highlighted which issues need clarification. These are: educational-political considerations, the position of the subject, the role of teachers and the question of on what terms pupils should be addressed as believers. Equally unclear is the definition of an objective for Islamic Studies in North-Rhine Westphalia if, for example, one asks the question of how reconcilable the idea of Islamic Studies might be with aspirations of neutrality as well as how to formulate an objective as to how one addresses pupils as believing Muslims while also enabling them to live comfortably in a secular state. A pilot scheme for Islamic RE, separated according to the Sunni and Alevite traditions, has been in place in 12 primary schools in Baden-Wuerttemberg since the 2006/2007 school year. The aim of these classes is to deal with issues of faith, social and ethical topics as well as the question of meaning. Furthermore, the classes aim to help pupils develop their own identity, increase their capability for critical thinking and reflection as well as contribute towards achieving greater social and societal integration. Surveys carried out in tandem with the pilot scheme show that the Islamic religion classes are esteemed by pupils and enjoy the support of parents too (cf. Kuld and Schmidt 2009).

7.

Observations on alternative subjects / learning areas such as ethics, philosophy etc.

Subjects such as Ethics (Baden-Wuerttemberg, Bavaria, Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland, Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt) or Philosophy (Bremen, Hamburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, North-Rhine Westphalia and SchleswigHolstein) or Values and Norms (Lower Saxony) vary quite considerably from state to state in terms of how they are provided as alternatives to the subject of Religion. Ethics is offered at primary school level in Bavaria, for example, as well as in urban schools in Rhineland-Palatinate. However, in Baden-Wuerttemberg the subject is not provided until the eighth grade, while in Saarland it is not offered until the ninth grade, where the subject is, in addition, taught by nonspecialist teachers. At the same time, Ethics or Philosophy has the status of an alternative subject in Saarland, Baden-Wuerttemberg, Bavaria, Mecklenburg-

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Vorpommern, Lower Saxony (where it is called ‘Werte und Normen’ or Values and Norms), Rhineland-Palatinate and Thuringia. On the other hand, the subject has been established as compulsory in Saxony-Anhalt and Saxony, and is effectively compulsory in Schleswig-Holstein too (Einsle and Hammerich 2009, 353). In North-Rhine Westphalia, Philosophy has the status of an alternative subject at lower secondary school level and the status of an elective subject in upper secondary schools (Beyer 2009, 246). The special legal situation in Berlin and Brandenburg was addressed earlier. In Berlin, Ethics is a compulsory subject at school, while Religion is an optional subject under the responsibility of the churches. In Brandenburg, the subject ‘Lifestyle–Ethics–Religion Studies’ (LER for short), which is the only subject of its kind in Germany, was established as a compulsory subject for all pupils, one which is now offered throughout the state between the fifth and tenth grades. LER is neutral when it comes to ideologies and so is not bound to any specific religious denomination. Instead, it teaches about different outlooks on life, value systems and religions. RE, on the other hand, is an optional subject, which can be attended by pupils in addition to their other subjects. Pupils do have the right, however, to opt out of LER and attend only Catholic or Protestant religion classes. Finally, we must mention the open religion classes offered in Waldorf schools as well as the humanist social studies classes attended by 13.63 % of pupils in Berlin (Häusler 2009, 77) and established in Brandenburg since 2007/2008. Overall, it is clear that, notwithstanding current attempts (e. g. with regard to the establishment of Islamic religious teacher training or LER at the University of Potsdam), university training for the various subjects offered parallel to Protestant and Catholic RE is inadequate.

8.

Dealing with religious diversity

Apart from some exceptions mentioned earlier, RE in Germany is provided in accordance with Article 7, Paragraph 3 of the Basic Law. Notwithstanding this, it must be noted that interdenominational RE is being offered unofficially (in Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland and Schleswig-Holstein) and within the context of interdenominational pilot schemes (in Baden-Wuerttemberg) or cooperation agreements. In particular, special permits for this are in place in vocational schools (e. g. in Bavaria, cf. Kothmann 2009, 43–4.) and in primary schools (e. g. Lower Saxony, cf. Kraft 2009, 224). In North-Rhine Westphalia, there is a special rule stipulating that separation of classes should be avoided during the first ten weeks of primary school if the religion class is being taught by a class teacher who is qualified to teach the subject (Beyer 2009, 244–5). Special provisions are

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also in place for areas where Protestant or Catholic pupils are in the absolute minority (Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt). The EKD memorandum ‘Identity and Dialogue’ (Kirchenamt der EKD 1994, 73–81, 90–1) recommends a basic, future-oriented provision on how religious and ethical education should be delivered with regard to the present-day societal and denominational situation – a provision which, however, is not yet in place in practice: It recommends the establishment of a subject group for the subjects of Catholic RE, Protestant RE (or Jewish or Islamic RE) as well as Ethics and Philosophy classes, which should constitute a compulsory subject area for pupils. At the same time, and notwithstanding points of contact between them, the subjects concerned should remain independent. Such a subject group could contribute to strengthening the overall status of learning when it comes to subjects related to religions and ideologies, as well as encourage the development of common standards.

9.

Religion in school outside of religious education

If one compares surveys of religious school life between individual German states, further impetuses emerge for individual regional churches in terms of religious education. For example, owing to the presence of all-day schools in states such as North-Rhine Westphalia and Schleswig-Holstein (Beyer 2009, 250; Einsle and Hammerich 2009, 354), there is more of a need there for a co-determination of school life. At the same time, there is by no means any need for an ambivalent preference “that offers from church patrons for the common good have priority over offers from other providers” (Beyer 2009, 250), as is the case in North-Rhine Westphalia. Within the context of school programme development in Lower Saxony, basically three dimensions to religion became apparent: “the status of religion as a subject of instruction in the school’s curriculum [ … ]; the religious dimension of cooperation (manners, values, attitudes, ideals, creeds); religion as part of school life (feasts and holidays, interdisciplinary projects, rituals [ … ] cooperation with external partners, etc.).” (Kraft 2009, 228)

In concrete terms, school church services are often mentioned in this context. The frequency of such services appears to be on the increase (Einsle and Hammerich 2009, 354) and can be celebrated for a wide variety of different reasons, including enrolment, leaving school, before Christmas, harvest thanksgiving (‘Erntedank’ in German) or the death of a pupil. Likewise, school pastoral care is being spearheaded quite frequently now too (Schröder 2009, 290), for which in Lower Saxony, for instance, the regional church has in-

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troduced its own qualification programme. In addition, the following possibilities are also mentioned: the church as an advocate for weaker pupils (Kothmann 2009, 54), support in cases of conflict (Kothmann 2009, 54; Häusler 2009, 84), supervision (Kothmann 2009, 54), interdisciplinary school projects (Kothmann 2009, 54), religious retreats (Beyer 2009, 249), pupil prayer groups (Hanisch 2009, 342), contributions to school functions as well as working groups on school life (Kothmann 2009, 54).

10.

Training of teachers of religious education: institutes, structures, priorities issues

The teaching qualification for Protestant and Catholic RE can be acquired in at least five ways: (a) At research universities, by taking a teacher training course in Protestant or Catholic RE (b) In some regional Protestant churches, by taking courses in pastoral ministry or, in the Catholic Church, by taking advanced courses at the diocesan level (c) By training to become a parish teacher (‘Gemeindepädagoge’ in German) in the Protestant Church or a parish assistant (‘Gemeindereferent’) or pastoral assistant (‘Pastoralreferent’) in the Catholic Church (d) By distance learning (e) By teachers already working in schools but teaching other subjects taking appropriate requalification courses in RE (cf. Grümme and Pirner 2009, 25) With the exception of Baden-Wuerttemberg, teacher training for primary schools and for ‘Haupt- und Realschulen’ (lower secondary and middle schools) no longer takes place within the context of teacher training colleges but rather within various university faculties (e. g. faculties of Philosophy, Education and Theology). At present, the changeover to modularized courses of study has been largely completed for Stage I, while the trend is for shorter training times at Stage II. For Stage III, the availability of institutes or centres of religious education represents a considerable advantage when compared to the situation for other subjects of instruction. With regard to Stage I, the statement made by the German Council of Science and Humanities (‘Wissenschaftsrat’ in German) in 2010 entitled ‘Recommendations for the Further Development of Theology and Religion-Related Academic Disciplines in German Universities’ (German Council of Science and

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Humanities, 2010) is relevant. It highlights the, in many respects, already existing importance of teacher training conducted away from faculties of theology : almost half of all theology students study there. However, these theological institutes often only have two or three professors available. In addition, in the light of religious plurality other requirements also exist for these small theological institutes, such as public effectiveness and interdisciplinary research cooperation. For this reason, the German Council of Science and Humanities recommends the establishment of institutes with at least five professors for training teachers for work in grammar schools and in upper and lower secondary schools (“Exegesis, Church History, Systematic Theology and Religious Education as well as a subject that would help distinguish them from other institutions, such as the Philosophy of Religion or Contemporary Christian History”, ibid. 64). In order to achieve this aim, various forms of collaboration are recommended. Also worthy of note are the perceptions and suggestions with regard to Islamic Studies, which are based on the following evaluation of the situation: “Provisions have been made in various locations for Islamic Studies teacher training, as the training of teachers for Islamic RE has become more important in political terms for these states. The newly established professorships for Islamic Religious Theory, Islamic Religion or Islamic Religious Education not only train teachers; they frequently go hand in hand with the pilot schemes in place for the establishment of denominationally-bound Islamic RE.” (ibid. 7) It is against this backdrop that the German Council of Science and Humanities suggests the establishment of two to three institutes for Islamic Studies. Because cooperation with Muslim religious groups is required legally for the appointment of professors as well as for decisions regarding teaching content, the German Council of Science and Humanities recommends the establishment of academic advisory committees (cf. ibid. 75, 78–82). The aims of such Islamicoriented teacher training courses at universities are: “(1) to prepare future religion teachers for RE, (2) to meet the need for Islamic religious scholars within the context of mosque congregations, (3) to train qualified social work personnel as well as (4) to train Islamic theologians in university teaching and research.” (ibid. 82) At present, such centres are under development in Osnabrück, Münster and Tübingen. In addition, Islamic Religious Education is taught in Nuremberg-Erlangen, while the Goethe University in Frankfurt maintains a large Institute for Islamic Studies, which is affiliated with the DITIB (Turkish-Islamic Union for Religious Affairs).

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11.

Empirical Research concerning religious education at schools

Because there are a plenty of empirical studies, it is not possible to describe them here in detail. However, one can get a very good overview by F. Schweitzer and P. Schreiner, eds. 2014. Religiöse Bildung erforschen. Empirische Befunde und Perspektiven. Münster : Waxmann. (a)

Studies on students’ perspectives on RE

Biesinger A., J. Conrad, M. Gronover, and F. Schweitzer. 2006. Dialogischer Religionsunterricht. Analyse und Praxis konfessionell-kooperativen Religionsunterrichts im Jugendalter. Freiburg im Breisgau: Herder. (also [RE] teachers’ and parents’ perspectives on RE) Bucher, A. A. 2000. Religionsunterricht zwischen Lernfach und Lebenshilfe. Eine empirische Untersuchung zum katholischen Religionsunterricht in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Stuttgart: Kohlhammer. Knauth, T., S. Leutner-Ramme, and W. Weiße. 2000. Religionsunterricht aus Schülerperspektive. Münster : Waxmann. Kuld, L., F. Schweitzer, W. Tzscheetzsch, and J. Weinhardt. 2009. Im Religionsunterricht zusammenarbeiten. Evaluation des konfessionell-kooperativen Religionsunterrichts in BadenWürttemberg. Stuttgart: Kohlhammer. (also [RE] teachers’ and parents’ perspectives on RE) Petzold, K. 2003. Religion und Ethik hoch im Kurs. Repräsentative Befragung und innovative Didaktik. Leipzig: Evangelische Verlagsanstalt. Sautermeister, J. 2006. Religionsunterricht an der berufsbildenden Schule. Eine exemplarische Studie zur Wahrnehmung und Einschätzung des Faches Religion durch Schülerinnen und Schüler. Norderstedt: Books on Demand. Schweitzer, F., and A. Biesinger. 2002. Gemeinsamkeiten stärken – Unterschieden gerecht werden. Erfahrungen und Perspektiven zum konfessionell-kooperativen Religionsunterricht. Gütersloh/Freiburg im Breisgau: Gütersloher Verlagshaus/Herder. (also [RE] teachers’ and parents’ perspectives on RE)

(b)

Studies on (RE) teachers’ and parents’ perspectives on RE

Englert, R., B. Porzelt, A. Reese, and E. Stams, eds. 2006. Innenansichten des Referendariats. Wie erleben angehende Religionslehrer/innen an Grundschulen ihren Vorbereitungsdienst? Eine empirische Untersuchung zur Entwicklung (religions)pädagogischer Handlungskompetenz. Berlin: LIT. Feige, A., B. Dressler, W. Lukatis, and A. Schöll. 2000. “Religion” bei ReligionslehrerInnen. Religionspädagogische Zielvorstellungen und religiöses Selbstverständnis in empirischsoziologischen Zugängen. Berufsbiographische Fallanalysen und eine repräsentative Meinungserhebung unter evangelischen ReligionslehrerInnen in Niedersachsen. Münster : LIT. Feige, A., and W. Tzscheetzsch. 2005. Christlicher Religionsunterricht im religionsneutralen Staat? Unterrichtliche Zielvorstellungen und religiöses Selbstverständnis von ev.

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und kath. Religionslehrerinnen und -lehrern in Baden-Württemberg. Eine empirischrepräsentative Befragung. Ostfildern/Stuttgart: Schwabenverlag/Kohlhammer. Feige, A., B. Dressler, and W. Tzscheetzsch, eds. 2006. Religionslehrer oder Religionslehrerin werden. Zwölf Analysen berufsbiografischer Selbstwahrnehmungen. Ostfildern: Schwabenverlag. Feige, A., N. Friedrichs, and M. Köllmann. 2007. Religionsunterricht von morgen? Studienmotivationen und Vorstellungen über die zukünftige Berufspraxis bei Studierenden der ev. und kath. Theologie und Religionspädagogik. Eine empirische Studie in BadenWürttemberg. Ostfildern: Schwabenverlag. Hahn, M. 2003. Wende und Wandlung. Bildungsgeschichten ostdeutscher ReligionslehrerInnen in Zeiten gesellschaftlicher Umbrüche. Münster : LIT. Heil, S. 2006. Strukturprinzipien religionspädagogischer Professionalität. Wie Religionslehrerinnen und Religionslehrer auf die Bedeutung von Schülerzeichen schließen – eine empirisch-fundierte Berufstheorie. Berlin: LIT. Hofmann, R. 2008. Religionspädagogische Kompetenz. Eine empirisch-explorative Studie zur Evaluation religionspädagogischer Kompetenz von ReligionslehrerInnen. Hamburg: Kovacˇ. Holl, Anke. 2011. Orientierungen von Lehrerinnen und Lehrern an Schulen in evangelischer Trägerschaft. Eine qualitativ-rekonstruktive Studie. Münster : Waxmann. Hütte, S., and N. Mette. 2003. Religion im Klassenverband unterrichten. Lehrer und Lehrerinnen berichten von ihren Erfahrungen. Münster : LIT. Kiefer, M. 2005. Islamkunde in deutscher Sprache in Nordrhein-Westfalen. Kontext, Geschichte, Verlauf und Akzeptanz eines Schulversuchs. Münster : LIT. Klose, Britta. 2014. Diagnostische Wahrnehmungskompetenzen von ReligionslehrerInnen. Stuttgart: Kohlhammer. Liebold, H. 2004. Religions- und Ethiklehrkräfte in Ostdeutschland. Eine empirische Studie zum beruflichen Selbstverständnis. Münster : LIT. Lück, C. 2002. Religionsunterricht an der Grundschule. Studien zur organisatorischen und didaktischen Gestaltung eines umstrittenen Schulfaches. Leipzig: Evangelische Verlagsanstalt. Lück, C. 2003. Beruf Religionslehrer. Selbstverständnis – Kirchenbindung – Zielorientierung. Leipzig: Evangelische Verlagsanstalt. Lück, C. 2012. Religion studieren. Eine bundesweite empirische Untersuchung zu der Studienzufriedenheit und den Studienmotiven und -belastungen angehender Religionslehrer/innen. Berlin: LIT. Pemsel-Maier, S., J. Weinhardt, and M. Weinhardt. 2011. Konfessionell-kooperativer Religionsunterricht als Herausforderung. Eine empirische Studie zu einem Pilotprojekt im Lehramtsstudium. Stuttgart: Kohlhammer. Rothgangel, M., C. Lück, and P. Klutz. forthcoming. Praxis Religionsunterricht. Einstellungen, Wahrnehmungen und Präferenzen von ReligionslehrerInnen. Stuttgart: Kohlhammer. Ziebertz, H.-G., and U. Riegel. 2009. Germany : teachers of religious education – mediating diversity. In How Teachers in Europe Teach Religion. An International Empirical Study in 16 Countries, ed H.-G. Ziebertz and U. Riegel, 69–80, 313–9. Münster : LIT.

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Studies on classroom interaction and didactics of RE

Albrecht, M. 2007. Für uns gestorben. Die Heilsbedeutung des Kreuzestodes Jesu Christi aus der Sicht Jugendlicher. Göttingen: V& R unipress. Asbrand, B. 2000. Zusammen Leben und Lernen im Religionsunterricht. Eine empirische Studie zur grundschulpädagogischen Konzeption eines interreligiösen Religionsunterrichts im Klassenverband der Grundschule. Frankfurt am Main: IKO. Beiträge zur Kinder- und Jugendtheologie. 2008–2015. Bde 1–32. Kassel: kassel university press. Benner, D., R. Schieder, H. Schluß, and J. Willems, eds. 2011. Religiöse Kompetenz als Teil öffentlicher Bildung. Versuch einer empirisch, bildungstheoretisch und religionspädagogisch ausgewiesenen Konstruktion religiöser Dimensionen und Anspruchniveaus. Paderborn: Schöningh. Benz, S. 2015. Wer ist Jesus – was denkst du? Christologische Wissens- und Kompetenzentwicklung in den ersten beiden Grundschuljahren – eine qualitative Längsschnittstudie. Göttingen: V& R unipress. Butt, C. 2009. Kindertheologische Untersuchungen zu Auferstehungsvorstellungen von Grundschülerinnen du Grundschülern. Göttingen: V& R unipress. Büttner, G. 2002. Jesus hilft! Untersuchungen zur Christologie von Schülerinnen und Schülern. Stuttgart: Calwer. Englert, R., E. Hennecke, and M. Kämmerling. 2014. Innenansichten des Religionsunterrichts. Fallbeispiele – Analysen – Konsequenzen. München: Kösel. Freudenberger-Lötz, P. 2007. Theologische Gespräche mit Kindern. Untersuchungen zur Professionalisierung Studierender und Anstöße zu forschendem Lernen im Religionsunterricht. Stuttgart: Calwer. Fricke, M. 2005. ‘Schwierige’ Bibeltexte im Religionsunterricht. Theoretische und empirische Elemente einer alttestamentlichen Bibeldidaktik für die Primarstufe. Göttingen: V& R unipress. Fuchs, M.E. 2010. Bioethische Urteilsbildung im Religionsunterricht. Theoretische Reflexion – Empirische Rekonstruktion. Göttingen: V& R unipress. Höger, C. 2008. Abschied vom Schöpfergott? Welterklärungen von Abiturientinnen und Abiturienten in qualitative-empirisch religionspädagogischer Analyse. Berlin: LIT. Gennerich, C. 2010. Empirische Dogmatik des Jugendalters. Werte und Einstellungen Heranwachsender als Bezugsgrößen für religionsdidaktische Reflexionen. Stuttgart: Kohlhammer. Gerth, J. 2011. Der Heilige Geist – Das ist mehr so ein Engel, der hilft Gott. Der Heilige Geist im Religionsunterricht der Grundschule und der Sekundarstufe 1. Göttingen: V& R unipress. Gramzow, C. 2004. Gottesvorstellungen von Religionslehrerinnen und Religionslehrern. Eine empirische Untersuchung zu subjektiven Gottesbildern und Gottesbeziehungen von Lehrenden sowie ihr Umgang mit der Gottesthematik im Religionsunterricht: Hamburg: Kovacˇ. Gruehn, S., and F. Thebis. 2002. Lebensgestaltung-Ethik-Religionskunde. Eine empirische Untersuchung zum Entwicklungsstand und zu den Perspektiven eines neuen Unterrichtsfachs. Potsdam: Ministerium für Bildung, Jugend und Sport.

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Hanisch, H., and A. A. Bucher. 2002. Da waren die Netze randvoll. Was Kinder von der Bibel wissen. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. Hanisch, H., and S. Hoppe-Graff. 2002. “Ganz normal und trotzdem König”. Jesus Christus im Religions- und Ethikunterricht. Stuttgart: Calwer. Hennecke, E. 2012. Was lernen Kinder im Religionsunterricht? Eine fallbezogene und thematische Analyse kindlicher Rezeptionen von Religionsunterricht. Bad Heilbrunn: Klinkhardt. Jahrbuch für Kindertheologie. 2002–2014. Bde 1–19. Stuttgart: Calwer. Jahrbuch für Jugendtheologie. 2013–2014. Bde 1–3. Stuttgart: Calwer. Jessen, S. 2003. “Man redet viel über Gott und so …”. Schülermitbeteiligung im Religionsunterricht der Grundschule aus allgemein- und religionsdidaktischer Sicht. Münster : Waxmann. Kammeyer, K. 2009. “Lieber Gott, Amen!” Theologische und empirische Studien zum Gebet im Horizont theologischer Gespräche mit Vorschulkindern. Stuttgart: Calwer. Kießling, K. 2004. Zur eigenen Stimme finden. Religiöses Lernen an berufsbildenden Schulen. Ostfildern: Schwabenverlag. Knoblauch, C. 2011. “Interreligiöser Dialog beginnt an den Wurzeln.” Religionsunterricht und Religious Studies auf der Suche nach interreligiösem Verständnis. Eine Analyse und empirisch-explorative Vergleichsstudie beider Konzeptionen. Ostfildern: Schwabenverlag. Kuhn, K. 2010. An fremden Biographien lernen! Ein religionspädagogischer Beitrag zur Unterrichtsforschung. Münster: LIT. Schweitzer, F., J. Ruopp, and G. Wagensommer. 2012. Wertebildung im Religionsunterricht. Eine empirische Studie im berufsbildenden Bereich. Münster : Waxmann. Solym‚r, M. 2009. Wer ist Jesus Christus? Eine theologisch-didaktische Analyse der Schulbuchreihe ‘Kursbuch Religion’. Göttingen: V& R unipress. Spichal, J. 2015. Vorurteile gegen Juden im christlichen Religionsunterricht. Eine qualitative Inhaltsanalyse ausgewählter Lehrpläne und Schulbücher in Deutschland und Österreich. Göttingen: V& R unipress. Stögbauer, E. 2011. Die Frage nach Gott und dem Leid bei Jugendlichen wahrnehmen. Eine qualitativ-empirische Spurensuche. Bad Heilbrunn: Klinkhardt. Theis, J. 2005. Biblische Texte verstehen lernen. Eine bibeldidaktische Studie mit einer empirischen Untersuchung zum Gleichnis vom barmherzigen Samariter. Stuttgart: Kohlhammer. Ziebertz, H.-G., B. Kalbheim, and U. Riegel. 2003. Religiöse Signaturen heute. Ein religionspädagogischer Beitrag zur empirischen Jugendforschung. Gütersloh/Freiburg im Breisgau: Gütersloher Verlagshaus/Herder. Ziegler, T. 2006. Jesus als ‘unnahbarer Übermensch’ oder ‘bester Freund’? Elementare Zugänge Jugendlicher zur Christologie als Herausforderung für Religionspädagogik und Theologie. Neukirchen-Vluyn: Neukirchener. Zimmermann, M. 2012. Kindertheologie als theologische Kompetenz von Kindern. Grundlagen, Methodik und Ziel kindertheologischer Forschung am Beispiel der Deutung des Todes Jesu. 2nd ed. Neukirchen-Vluyn: Neukirchener.

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Studies with focus on religion in school outside of RE and in a wider context concerning RE

Altmeyer, S. Fremdsprache Religion? Sprachempirische Studien im Kontext religiöser Bildung. Stuttgart: Kohlhammer. Aygün, A. 2013. Religiöse Sozialisation und Entwicklung bei islamischen Jugendlichen in Deutschland und in der Türkei. Empirische Analysen und religionspädagogische Herausforderungen. Münster : Waxmann. Berwig, J. 2004. Biografische und religionsdidaktische Außenseiterperspektiven des Jugendalters. Eine empirische Studie. Göttingen: V& R unipress. Biesinger, A., A. Edelbrock, and F. Schweitzer, eds. 2011. Auf die Eltern kommt es an! Interreligiöse und Interkulturelle Bildung in der Kita. Münster : Waxmann. Dinter, A. 2007. Adoleszenz und Computer. Von Bildungsprozessen und religiöser Valenz. Göttingen: V& R unipress. Bonse, H. 2008. “… als ob nichts passiert wäre”. Eine empirische Untersuchung über die Erfahrungen trauernder Jugendlicher und Möglichkeiten ihrer Begleitung durch die Schule. Ostfildern: Schwabenverlag. Braun, A. 2009. Erziehungskompetenz als Bildungsstandard. Wie Oberstufenschülerinnen und -schüler für ihre spätere Elternsolle Kompetenzen erwerben können. Ostfildern: Schwabenverlag. Edelbrock, A., F. Schweitzer, and A. Biesinger, eds. 2010. Wie viele Götter sind im Himmel? Religiöse Differenzwahrnehmung im Kindesalter. Münster : Waxmann. Faix, T. 2007. Gottesvorstellungen bei Jugendlichen. Eine qualitative Erhebung aus der Sicht empirischer Missionswissenschaft. Münster: LIT. Feige, A., and C. Gennerich. 2008. Lebensorientierungen Jugendlicher. Alltagsethik, Moral und Religion in der Wahrnehmung von Berufsschülerinnen und -schülern in Deutschland. Eine Umfrage unter 8.000 Christen, Nicht-Christen und Muslimen. Münster : Waxmann. Hoffmann, E. 2009. Interreligiöses Lernen im Kindergarten? Eine empirische Studie zum Umgang mit religiöser Vielfalt in Diskussionen mit Kindern zum Thema Tod. Berlin: LIT. Husmann, B. 2008. Das Eigene finden. Eine qualitative Studie zur Religiosität Jugendlicher. Göttingen: V& R unipress. Kaupp, A. 2005. Junge Frauen erzählen ihre Glaubensgeschichte. Eine qualitativ-empirische Studie zur Rekonstruktion der narrativen religiösen Identität katholischer junger Frauen. Ostfildern: Schwabenverlag. Kelek, N. 2002. Islam im Alltag. Islamische Religiosität und ihre Bedeutung in der Lebenswelt von Schülerinnen und Schülern türkischer Herkunft. Münster : Waxmann. Kumher, U. 2008. Schulpastoral und religiöser Pluralität. Ein Konzeptentwurf für die Auseinandersetzung mit religiöser Pluralität. Würzburg: Echter. Müller, C. 2007. Zur Bedeutung von Religion für jüdische Jugendliche in Deutschland. Münster : Waxmann. Prokopf, A. 2008. Religiosität Jugendlicher. Eine qualitativ-empirische Untersuchung auf den Spuren korrelativer Konzeptionen. Stuttgart: Kohlhammer. Riegel, U. 2004. Gott und Gender. Eine empirisch-theologische Untersuchung nach Geschlechtsvorstellungen in Gotteskonzepten. Münster : LIT.

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Schweitzer F., A. Edelbrock, and A. Biesinger, eds. 2011. Interreligiöse und Interkulturelle Bildung in der Kita. Eine Repräsentativbefragung von Erzieherinnen in Deutschland – interdisziplinäre, interreligiöse und internationale Perspektiven. Münster : Waxmann. Standfest, C., O. Köller, and A. Scheunpflug. 2005. leben – lernen – glauben. Zur Qualität evangelischer Schulen. Eine empirische Untersuchung über die Leistungsfähigkeit von Schulen in evangelischer Trägerschaft. Münster : Waxmann. Vieregge, D. 2013. Religiosität in der Lebenswelt sozial benachteiligter Jugendlicher. Eine empirische Studie. Münster : Waxmann. Weber, J. 2014. Religionssensible Bildung in Kindertageseinrichtungen. Eine empirischqualitative Studie zur religiösen Bildung und Erziehung im Kontext der Elementarpädagogik. Münster : Waxmann. Ziebertz, H.-G., and U. Riegel. 2008. Letzte Sicherheiten. Eine empirische Untersuchung zu Weltbildern Jugendlicher. Gütersloh/Freiburg im Breisgau: Gütersloh/Freiburg im Breisgau: Gütersloher Verlagshaus/Herder.

12.

Desiderata / challenges for religious education in a European context

On the ground level of the school, numerous challenges exist in light of increasing religious pluralisation and secularisation on the one hand and the still recognized relevance and relative popularity of RE on the other. Following a presentation by Bernd Schröder (2009, 295–6), the following points are worthy of note: (a) Given the unofficial practices already in place, the establishment of practical rules for denominational cooperation, especially with regard to primary and vocational schools (Kraft 2009, 235; Schröder 2009, 295; Einsle and Hammerich 2009, 359). (b) The establishment of Islamic RE (Grümme and Pirner 2009, 28; SanderGaiser 2009, 182; Kraft 2009, 236; Schröder 2009, 295; Einsle and Hammerich 2009, 359). (c) Expansion of the parallel subjects of Ethics and Philosophy from primary school on (Sander-Gaiser 2009, 182; Schröder 2009, 295). (d) Deliberate appreciation of religious school life and increased cooperation between the school and religious communities (Borck and Schluß 2009, 109; Sander-Gaiser 2009, 182–3; Schulz 2009, 209; Weyer-Menkhoff and Kaspari 2009, 271–2; Einsle and Hammerich 2009, 358; Wermke 2009, 375–7). When analysed in greater detail, the final point above contains a number of different facets. In Thuringia, for example, the establishment of denominational education officers has proved very successful (Wermke 2009, 375) and provides an opportunity to remember church youth ministry “which provides religion

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pupils with space to reflect as well as giving them out-of-school support in matters that concern them” (Schröder 2009, 295). Based on these practical, school-level challenges and desiderata, research desiderata also become apparent in relation to religious education. In particular, empirical studies are called for, for example with regard to “realistic insights into the inner structure of RE” (Schröder 2009, 296), young people from an immigrant background (Beyer 2009, 255) and the phenomenon of those without any religion (Domsgen 2009, 324). Furthermore, in addition to historical research work focusing on regional considerations (Schröder 2009, 296), comparative studies in a wider European context should also be encouraged. Both the historically oriented look into past developments in religious education in one’s own region and comparisons with similar or indeed completely different religious education contexts in other parts of Europe can highlight special features such as proposals for the teaching and learning of religion in one’s own country or region.

13.

Further information (e. g., relevant literature on religious education, institutions, websites)

The following textbooks provide an initial understanding of the issue of religious education in Germany :

Boschki, R. 2012. Einführung in die Religionspädagogik. 2nd ed. Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft. Englert, R. 2008. Religionspädagogische Grundfragen. Anstöße zur Urteilsbildung. 2nd ed. Stuttgart: Kohlhammer. Grethlein, C. 2005. Fachdidaktik Religion. Evangelischer Religionsunterricht in Studium und Praxis. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. Hilger, G., S. Leimgruber, and H.-G. Ziebertz. 2013. Religionsdidaktik. Ein Leitfaden für Studium, Ausbildung und Beruf. Neuausgabe. 3rd ed. München: Kösel. Hilger, G., W.H. Ritter, K. Lindner, H. Simojoki, and E. Stögbauer. 2014. Religionsdidaktik Grundschule. Handbuch für die Praxis des evangelischen und katholischen Religionsunterrichts. Überarbeitete Neuausgabe. München/Stuttgart: Kösel/Calwer. Kalloch, C., S. Leimgruber, and U. Schwab. 2010. Lehrbuch der Religionsdidaktik. Für Studium und Praxis in ökumenischer Perspektive. 2nd ed. Freiburg im Breisgau: Herder. Kunstmann, J. 2010. Religionspädagogik. Eine Einführung. 2nd ed. Tübingen: Francke UTB. Mendl, H. 2014. Religionsdidaktik kompakt. Für Studium, Prüfung und Beruf. 3rd ed. München: Kösel. Mette, N. 2006. Religionspädagogik. Düsseldorf: Patmos. Rothgangel, M., G. Adam, and R. Lachmann. 2012. Religionspädagogisches Kompendium. 7th ed., Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. Schröder, B. 2012. Religionspädagogik. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck.

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Schweitzer, F. 2006. Religionspädagogik. Lehrbuch Praktische Theologie, Bd. 1. Gütersloh: Gütersloher Verlagshaus.

The following journals provide further insights into the topic of religious education:

Katechetische Blätter (since 1875; renowed catholic journal with focus on practice; maintenance: DKV – Deutscher Katecheten-Verein e. V.) Religionspädagogische Beiträge (publication organ of the AKRK – Arbeitsgemeinschaft Katholische Religionspädagogik und Katechetik / Association of Catholic Religious Education Scholars) Theo-Web. Zeitschrift für Religionspädagogik (www.theo-web.de; publication organ of the GwR – Gesellschaft für wissenschaftliche Religionspädagogik / Society of (Protestant) Religious Education Scholars) Zeitschrift für Pädagogik und Theologie (previously ‘Der evangelische Erzieher’, renowed protestant journal)

The following websites are worthy of note:

www.rpi-virtuell.net A platform for religious education and RE of the EKD / Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland / Evangelical Church in Germany www.rpp-katholisch.de An internet portal of the Catholic Church with focus on religious education www.religionsunterricht.net An overall view of websites concering religious education and RE www.medienzentralen.de Media portal of the Evangelical and Catholic Churches www.theo-web.de Contains beneath the Academic Journal (see above) links to relevant websites concerning RE and a series of master thesis and PhD thesis www.relilex.de Online encyclopaedia with focus on religion www.relinet.de Contains an overall view of protestant departments of religious education www.v-k-r.de Association of catholic RE teachers at vocational schools www.comenius.de Protestant Centre for Research and Development of Education; offers excellent library services www.rpz-bayern.de Website of the Bavarian centre for religious education www.rpi-loccum.de Website of the department for religious education in Loccum

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References Adam, G., and R. Lachmann. 2012. Begründungen des schulischen Religionsunterrichts. In Religionspädagogisches Kompendium, 7th ed., ed. M. Rothgangel, G. Adam, and R. Lachmann, 144–59. Beyer, F.-H. 2009. Religion unterrichten in Nordrhein-Westfalen. In Evangelischer Religionsunterricht in den Ländern der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Empirische Daten – Kontexte – Entwicklungen, ed. M. Rothgangel and B. Schröder, 237–55. Leipzig: Evangelische Verlagsanstalt. Borck, K., and H. Schluß. 2009. Religion unterrichten in Brandenburg. In Evangelischer Religionsunterricht in den Ländern der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Empirische Daten – Kontexte – Entwicklungen, ed. M. Rothgangel and B. Schröder, 95–109. Leipzig: Evangelische Verlagsanstalt. Deutsche Bischofskonferenz, ed. 2008. Leitlinien für multireligiöse Feiern von Christen, Juden und Muslimen. Eine Handreichung der deutschen Bischöfe. 2nd ed. Bonn. Doedens, F., and W. Weiße. 2009. Religion unterrichten in Hamburg. In Evangelischer Religionsunterricht in den Ländern der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Empirische Daten – Kontexte – Entwicklungen, ed. M. Rothgangel and B. Schröder, 129–56. Leipzig: Evangelische Verlagsanstalt. Domsgen, M. 2009. Religion unterrichten in Sachsen-Anhalt. In Evangelischer Religionsunterricht in den Ländern der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Empirische Daten – Kontexte – Entwicklungen, ed. M. Rothgangel and B. Schröder, 297–326. Leipzig: Evangelische Verlagsanstalt. Ebertz, M. 2007. Je älter, desto frömmer? Befunde zur Religiosität der älteren Generation. In Religionsmonitor 2008, ed. Bertelsmann Stiftung, 54–63. Gütersloh: Bertelsmann Stiftung. Einsle, K./Hammerich, H. (2009), Religion unterrichten in Schleswig-Holstein. In Evangelischer Religionsunterricht in den Ländern der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Empirische Daten – Kontexte – Entwicklungen, ed. M. Rothgangel and B. Schröder, 347–60. Leipzig: Evangelische Verlagsanstalt. engagement. 2004. Zeitschrift für Erziehung und Schule; hier : Sonderheft ‘Katholische Schulen in freier Trägerschaft. Ergebnisse der Umfrage 2002’. Gräb, W., and T. Thieme. 2010. Religion oder Ethik? Die Auseinandersetzung um den Ethik- und Religionsunterricht in Berlin. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. Grümme, B., H. Lenhard, and M. Pirner, eds. 2012. Religionsunterricht neu denken. Innovative Ansätze und Perspektiven der Religionsdidaktik. Ein Arbeitsbuch für Studierende und Lehrer/innen. Stuttgart: Kohlhammer. Grümme, B., and M. Pirner. 2009. Religion unterrichten in Baden-Württemberg. In Evangelischer Religionsunterricht in den Ländern der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Empirische Daten – Kontexte – Entwicklungen, ed. M. Rothgangel and B. Schröder, 13–28. Leipzig: Evangelische Verlagsanstalt. Hanisch, H. 2009. Religion unterrichten im Freistaat Sachsen. In Evangelischer Religionsunterricht in den Ländern der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Empirische Daten – Kontexte – Entwicklungen, ed. M. Rothgangel and B. Schröder, 327–45. Leipzig: Evangelische Verlagsanstalt.

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Häusler, U. 2009. Religion unterrichten in Berlin. In Evangelischer Religionsunterricht in den Ländern der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Empirische Daten – Kontexte – Entwicklungen, ed. M. Rothgangel and B. Schröder, 65–94. Leipzig: Evangelische Verlagsanstalt. Hilger, G., U. Kropacˇ , and S. Leimgruber. 2013. Konzeptionelle Entwicklungslinien der Religionsdidaktik. In Religionsdidaktik. Ein Leitfaden für Studium, Ausbildung und Beruf. Neuausgabe. 3rd ed., ed. G. Hilger, S. Leimgruber, and H.-G. Ziebertz. 41–69. München: Kösel. Kiefer, M., E. Gottwald, and B. Ucar, ed. 2008. Auf dem Weg zum Islamischen Religionsunterricht. Sachstand und Perspektiven in Nordrhein-Westfalen. Münster : LIT. Kirche und Jugend. 2010. Lebenslagen Begegnungsfelder Perspektiven. Eine Handreichung des Rates der Evangelischen Kirche in Deutschland (EKD). Gütersloh: Gütersloher Verlagshaus. Kirchenamt der EKD, ed. 1994. Identität und Verständigung. Standort und Perspektiven des Religionsunterrichts in der Pluralität. Eine Denkschrift des Rates der Evangelischen Kirche in Deutschland. Gu¨ tersloh: Gütersloher Verlagshaus. Kirchenamt der EKD, ed. 2006. Religionsunterricht. 10 Thesen des Rates der Evangelischen Kirche in Deutschland. Hannover. www.ekd.de/download/religionsunterricht.pdf. Kirchenamt der EKD, ed. 2008. Schulen in evangelischer Trägerschaft. Selbstverständnis, Leistungsfähigkeit und Perspektiven. Eine Handreichung. Gütersloh: Gütersloher Verlagshaus. Kirchenamt der EKD, ed. 2014. Religiöse Orientierung gewinnen. Evangelischer Religionsunterricht als Beitrag zu einer pluralitätsfähigen Schule. Eine Denkschrift des Rates der Evangelischen Kirche in Deutschland. Gütersloh: Gütersloher Verlagshaus. Kirchenkanzlei der EKD, ed. 1972. Die Evangelische Kirche und die Bildungsplanung. Gütersloh: Gütersloher Verlagshaus. Kothmann, T. 2009. Religion unterrichten in Bayern. In Evangelischer Religionsunterricht in den Ländern der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Empirische Daten – Kontexte – Entwicklungen, ed. M. Rothgangel and B. Schröder, 29–64. Leipzig: Evangelische Verlagsanstalt. Kraft, F. 2009. Religion unterrichten in Niedersachsen. In Evangelischer Religionsunterricht in den Ländern der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Empirische Daten – Kontexte – Entwicklungen, ed. M. Rothgangel and B. Schröder, 211–36. Leipzig: Evangelische Verlagsanstalt. Kuld, L., and B. Schmid, eds. 2009. Islamischer Religionsunterricht in Baden-Württemberg. Zur Differenzierung des Lernfelds Religion. Münster : LIT. Lachmann R., and B. Schröder, eds. 2007. Geschichte des evangelischen Religionsunterrichts in Deutschland. Neukirchen-Vluyn: Neukirchener. Lott, J., and A. Schröder-Kein. 2009. Religion unterrichten in Bremen. In Evangelischer Religionsunterricht in den Ländern der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Empirische Daten – Kontexte – Entwicklungen, ed. M. Rothgangel and B. Schröder, 111–27. Leipzig: Evangelische Verlagsanstalt. Rothgangel, M. 2009. Religionsunterricht in Deutschland. Vergleichende Perspektiven. In Evangelischer Religionsunterricht in den Ländern der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Empirische Daten – Kontexte – Entwicklungen, ed. M. Rothgangel and B. Schröder, 379–88. Leipzig: Evangelische Verlagsanstalt.

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Rothgangel, M. 2010. Religiosität und Kirchenbindung Jugendlicher heute. Ein Überblick über aktuelle empirische Studien, in: Praktische Theologie. Zeitschrift für Praxis in Kirche, Gesellschaft und Kultur 45, no. 3: 137–42. Rothgangel, M., and B. Schröder, eds. 2009. Evangelischer Religionsunterricht in den Ländern der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Empirische Daten – Kontexte – Entwicklungen. Leipzig: Evangelische Verlagsanstalt. Sajak, C.P., ed. 2007. Katholische Schule im Kontext religiöser Pluralität. engagement. Zeitschrift für Erziehung und Schule, no.4. Sander-Gaiser, M. 2009. Religion unterrichten in Hessen. In Evangelischer Religionsunterricht in den Ländern der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Empirische Daten – Kontexte – Entwicklungen, ed. M. Rothgangel and B. Schröder, 157–83. Leipzig: Evangelische Verlagsanstalt. Schröder, B. 2009. Religion unterrichten im Saarland. In Evangelischer Religionsunterricht in den Ländern der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Empirische Daten – Kontexte – Entwicklungen, ed. M. Rothgangel and B. Schröder, 279–96. Leipzig: Evangelische Verlagsanstalt. Schulz, P. 2009. Religion unterrichten in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. In Evangelischer Religionsunterricht in den Ländern der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Empirische Daten – Kontexte – Entwicklungen, ed. M. Rothgangel and B. Schröder, 185–209. Leipzig: Evangelische Verlagsanstalt. Simon, W. 2000. “Kirchlichkeit” des Religionsunterrichts. In Trierer Theologische Zeitschrift 109, 253–69. Weiß, M. 2011. Allgemeinbildende Privatschulen in Deutschland. Bereicherung oder Gefährdung des öffentlichen Schulwesens? Berlin: Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung. Wermke, M. 2009. Religion unterrichten in Thüringen. In Evangelischer Religionsunterricht in den Ländern der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Empirische Daten – Kontexte – Entwicklungen, ed. M. Rothgangel and B. Schröder, 361–77. Leipzig: Evangelische Verlagsanstalt. Weyer-Menkhoff, S., and T. Kaspari. 2009. Religion unterrichten in Rheinland-Pfalz. In Evangelischer Religionsunterricht in den Ländern der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Empirische Daten – Kontexte – Entwicklungen, ed. M. Rothgangel and B. Schröder, 257–77. Leipzig: Evangelische Verlagsanstalt. Wissenschaftsrat. 2010. Empfehlungen zur Weiterentwicklung von Theologie und religionsbezogenen Wissenschaften an deutschen Hochschulen. Köln. Ziebertz, H.-G. 2007. Gibt es einen Tradierungsbruch? Befunde zur Religiosität der jüngeren Generation. In Religionsmonitor 2008, ed. Bertelsmann Stiftung, 44–53. Gütersloh: Bertelsmann Stiftung. Ziebertz, H.-G., B. Kalbheim, and U. Riegel. 2003. Religiöse Signaturen heute. Ein religionspädagogischer Beitrag zur empirischen Jugendforschung. Gütersloh/Freiburg im Breisgau: Gütersloher Verlagshaus/Herder. Ziebertz, H.-G., and U. Riegel, U. 2008. Letzte Sicherheiten. Eine empirische Untersuchung zu Weltbildern Jugendlicher. Gütersloh/Freiburg im Breisgau: Gütersloh/Freiburg im Breisgau: Gütersloher Verlagshaus/Herder.

Mûnika Solym‚r

Religious education at schools in Hungary

Introduction Because of its geopolitical situation in Central Europe, Hungary was transformed several times in the course of its more than 1,000-year history into the eastern protective shield of Europe, into a buffer for the major powers, into an occupied – or at least not entirely independent – state and into a place of tension and encounter between east and west. Its population was 9.9 mio in 2011 and is declining for many years. It is a historically Christian country with an important Jewish community, of which only a small part survived the Shoa. The recognition of Churches and religious communities by state is currently being redefined legally. In this context denominational RE is established from a optional subject to a compulsory elective subject.

1.

The socio-religious background of the country

1.1

Hungary Basic information and special features

Hungary is located in Central Europe and has an area of 93,030 km2. It borders Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia. It has a total population of 9,937,628 people (population census 2011), with a population density of 107 persons per square kilometre.1 69 % of the population live in urban areas, with 17 % residing in the capital city of Budapest. Budapest is located roughly in the middle of the country and stretches along the banks of the Danube. Since 1989, Hungary has been a parliamentary democracy with unicameral parliament. The country has been a member of the OECD since 1996 and a NATO member state since 1999. It joined the European Union on 1 May 2004. 1 The statistical data in this chapter as well as in the following work are based on communications as well as the database of the Hungarian Central Statistical Office (KSH).

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During the 20th century, the history of Hungary, and therefore its national consciousness and identity, was determined in particular by the regime change in 1989, the decisions made as part of the Treaty of Trianon in 19212 and the 1956 Hungarian Revolution calling for freedom and independence.

1.2

Demographic situation and developments

In terms of the country’s demographics, one obvious feature is that the birth rate is considerably lower than the death rate: in 2013 there were 126,778 deaths and only 88,689 births. In recent years the total fertility rate was between 1.24 and 1.35 children per woman, which means Hungary has one of the lowest birth rates in the world. Because the birth rate has been declining all the time since 1980, Hungarian society is ageing. The low employment rate is also causing problems. Of the country’s total working-age population (those aged between 15 and 64 years), only 58 % are employed, compared to the EU average of 64.6 %. Along with the high rate of unemployment (10 %), this can be attributed to the young age at which people retire, the high number of invalids and the large level of illegal employment.3 If we look at migration flows in Hungary, we can ascertain that immigration into the country has some unique features. Even though the number of foreign citizens residing in Hungary is growing, they still only make up 2 % of the country’s population.4 A substantial proportion of immigrants to Hungary are people of Hungarian origin who come from neighbouring countries. Their integration into Hungarian society is not hindered by any linguistic or cultural barriers. It is, however, a question of significant importance in the area of immigration policy with regard to immigrants of Hungarian descent whether or not the Hungarian state should aim more to meet the needs of the labour market within Hungary or whether it should encourage such people to remain in their countries of birth and support their advancement there. For people who are not of Hungarian nationality, Hungary is a land of transit and is not considered to be among the most attractive destinations for immigrants. One reason for this is the rather low capacity for tolerance in relation to migration among the relatively homogeneous Hungarian population, which is not particularly receptive towards foreigners (Simonovits and Szalai 2013; Sik and Simonovits 2011). People 2 In the course of which Hungary lost two thirds of its former size and population. 3 These figures are from 2013. 4 In 2014 42.777 people applied for asylum but only 503 were granted permission to stay. But even of these not all stayed in Hungary.The country is conisdered a transit country. The greater part of asylum seekers leave the country even before their legal proceedings are ended.

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of Hungarian nationality, on the other hand, are not really viewed as migrants in the traditional sense of the word. One characteristic of internal migration is the small scale population influx into the western regions in Central Hungary, driven by internal social and economic differences. The extent of emigration is difficult to measure, but the country is fighting for its well educated and qualified workers to stay (Sik 2013; Blaskû, Ligeti and Sik 2014). Hungary is inhabited predominantly by Hungarians. According to the census of 2011, 6,7 % of the population belonged to any of the 13 officially recognized national and ethnic minorities in the country. This figure included 185,696 people who identified as Germans, 35,208 who identified as Slovakians, 35,641 Romanians, 26,774 as Croats and a total of less than 46,000 people who identified themselves as Serbs, Slovenes, Poles, Greeks, Bulgarians, Ukrainians, Ruthenians (an ethnic group of Carpatho-Ukrainians) or Armenians. The Roma people constitute the largest minority. In the census of 2011, only 315,583 people stated that they belonged to this particular ethnic group. Other analyses, however, claim that the figure is much higher : between 700,000 and 750,000 people. Their share of the population is highest in the north-east of the country, with estimates indicating that the Roma make up 13–16 % of the population here (National Social Integration Strategy, Situation Analysis).

1.3

Religiosity in Hungary: Christian denominations and trends

In terms of religion, Hungary is a relatively homogeneous country. At the same time, however, there is a certain degree of religious pluralism as evidenced by the existence of many small religious communities. According to the 2011 census, 52.5 % of the population (5,353,830 people) are Christians, 10,965 people declared themselves Jewish, with a further 67,580 people declaring themselves to be members of other religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, New Age groups, Jehovah’s Witnesses, etc. Meanwhile, a total of 1,659,023 people (14.5 % of the population) described themselves as non-religious and 147,386 as Atheist (the latter two groups a total of 17.7 %). Notably a high proportion (27.2 % of the population) chose not to answer the question. The majority of the country’s Christians – 3,871,881 people to be precise – are Catholics, representing 53.5 % of those who answered the question on religion. Of these, 179,176 are Greek Catholic and 3,691,348 Roman Catholic. A total of 1,153,442 people declared themselves as belonging to the Reformed Church (representing 15.9 % of respondents) while 214,965 people stated that they were

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Lutherans5 (representing 3 % of respondents). A total of 113,542 people stated that they belonged to other Christian denominations. In addition to the significant Catholic and noticeable Protestant segments of the population, an expansion of new religious communities and, therefore, a pluralization of religion, can be observed in Hungary. The Jewish population was always present in Hungarian life, although their numbers declined after the Holocaust and they are estimated to number around 80,000 today. Apart from Christianity, the other major world religions are not present in any major way in the present-day social life of the country. The largest Neo-Protestant religious movement is the ‘Community of Faith’. In recent decades, religiosity in Hungary has shown the following main tendencies:6 (a) In the years after the end of Communism, the importance of religion clearly increased. This was followed by a slight regression and then stagnation. In 1991, 16 % of adults declared themselves to be religious based on the teachings of a church while a further 53 % stated that they were ‘religious in their own way’. In 2008, 19 % considered themselves to be religious according to the teachings of a church and 49 % considered themselves religious ‘in their own way’. (b) An individual type of religiosity that doesn’t tend to follow the teachings of the church is characteristic for a large section of the society. At the same time, the nature of this ‘— la carte’ religiosity usually emanates from Christianity, but mixed in for the most part with the teachings and rites of esoteric or Eastern religiosity. (c) Religious practice exercised as part of a community is becoming rarer. Weekly and monthly churchgoing, as well as the numbers of people who are members of churches, are decreasing. In 2008, 55 % of Hungarians were members of a church. 16 % of the population went to church once a month (in 1991, this figure was still 23 %), while 44 % practically never went to church in 2008. (d) In earlier times, church-based religiosity was characteristic of villagedwellers, older people, the less well-educated classes and people on low 5 A note on usage: In Hungary the term Protestant means: Protestant-Lutheran. The generic term for Protestant and Reformed is Protestant. The Protestant Church and the Reformed Church in Hungary have been active and separately organised for centuries. In the following I apply the Hungarian usage, therefore where ‘Protestant’ is written and used one has to read and understand ‘Protestant-Lutheran’, without the Reformed. 6 The following summarized results are based on data of the European Survey of Values (ESV; 1991, 1998–1999, 2008–2009) and data from the New Departures Study (1998, 2007–2008), as well as the analysis based on these sets of data by Miklûs Tomka, Gergely Rosta and Rita Hegedu˝ s.

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incomes. This determination has changed, with the socio-demographic differences between religious and non-religious people having gradually lessened over time. However, older people still constitute the largest proportion of people who can be categorized as religious in a ‘church-related’ way. However, those under the age of 40 years who feel they belong to the church or are active in it have a higher social status in terms of their level of education, employment situation and social security than the average Hungarian. In present-day Hungary, it is those with the highest and lowest levels of education who can be described as most active in their religious practice. There is clear evidence for the existence of an intellectual and church-oriented religious middle class in Hungary. (e) Young people’s knowledge of religion has increased. The proportion of young people who describe themselves as religious has grown. However, this religiosity is usually not bound to the churches. (f) Compared with other institutions, the churches are held in high regard by Hungarian society. After the education system and the police, it is the country’s churches that are trusted the most by people. Even though the prestige of the churches has declined continuously over the past decade, they are still held in higher regard than most other social institutions, regard for which is, in general, very low.

2.

Legal framework for religious education and the relationship between religious communities and the state

2.1

The churches and other religious groups in Hungary after 1989

With the fall of Communism in 1989, the legal situation of the churches changed too. After decades of dominance by the Communist/Socialist ideology, the ideological neutrality of the state as well as freedom of religious expression was laid down in ‘Act IV on Freedom of Conscience and Religion as well as on Churches’ in 1990. This law (1) declares freedom of conscience and religion to be an inalienable basic right of every human being, (2) defines what is meant by the term ‘legally recognized churches’ and how churches can have themselves registered or dissolve and (3) regulates the relation between church, the sphere of charitable activities, and the financing of the churches. In post-Communist Hungary, it was possible to establish a legally recognized church with just 100 natural persons. The recognition procedure was very easy and the number of registered churches grew continuously. Whereas in 1990 only 35 churches were registered, by 2011 this figure had reached 358. Many asso-

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ciations and different kinds of organizations registered as ‘churches’ in order to receive state support.7 Since 1998, Hungarians can give 1 % of their income tax to a church and another 1 % to a foundation, including a church foundation. According to the country’s Tax Office, 186 churches received a share of this 1 % of income tax in 2010. All legally registered churches have the same rights. Regulation of the land tenure of properties that once belonged to the churches, as well as the actual social role and presence of such properties resulted in separate agreements with the individual churches. First of all, there was the Vatican Agreement (Act LXX of 1999) with the Catholic Church. This was followed by bilateral agreements between the state and several other churches. As a result of such bilateral agreements, these churches stood in contrast to newly established religious groups in both the political sphere and in the eyes of the public. The practice of legal recognition of churches is one that is constantly debated and strongly criticized. In 2011 a new law on religion was finally passed, which changed the definition of what constitutes a legally recognized church (Act CCVI of 2011). As a result of the new law, 35 churches and religious groups are now recognized in Hungary. At the same time, the possibility of having further churches and religious groups registered was left open. In order to apply for registration, a membership of at least 0.1 % of the population has to be established, as well as evidence provided that the religious group in question has been active for at least one hundred years in an international context or twenty years in Hungary. In order for a religious community to be recognized as a church, a two-thirds majority is required in parliament. In case an application is denied, the religious community may appeal to the constitutional court for revision.

2.2

RE in public schools

In the 1990s the introduction of RE into the state education system was accompanied by a great deal of discussion. According to the law the legally recognized churches can – according to the will of the pupils and their parents – teach RE as an optional subject in state schools and education facilities.8 This provision means that RE takes place in schools, organized by the churches, with a denominational character and offered as an optional subject. Important questions have, however, remained unanswered and have been the 7 ‘Business churches’ was the term for those ‘churches’ that were founded to receive state funding. 8 Act IV on the Freedom of Conscience and Religion as well as about the churches of 1990, § 17 Subparagraph 2.

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source of intense debate in the period that followed. At the same time, however, it must not be forgotten that immediately after the fall of Communism in 1989 the Hungarian education system was still heavily influenced by Socialist ideology, and that teachers and teaching unions put up considerable resistance to the introduction and execution of RE in schools. RE at school was offered as an optional subject in Hungary until the 2013/2014 school year. The situation has changed completely as a result of the new national Education Act passed in 2011. According to the new law, from September 2013, ethics shall be taught as a compulsory subject in general public primary schools, in an ascending system starting with the 1st and 5th grades. Alternatively, a class organized by the churches and comprised of both religion and ethics can be taught as a compulsory subject.9 Denominational RE will be organized within the state educational institutions – a parallel to ethics education – as an optional compulsory subject. It is integrated into the curriculum of public schools (1st-8th grade), included in the pedagogic program of the school, and has one hour a week in the timetable. The organization, contents, authorization and supervision of religious and ethics education as well as the hiring and monitoring of religion teachers are the responsibility of the churches. The legal regulation that pupils must attend either ethics or religious and ethics education (as a combined subject) has considerable ramifications for the organization and content of RE and for the religion teaching activities of the churches. The educational institutions cooperate with the churches to offer the substantive conditions for religion and ethics classes – provision of the premises, conditions for introduction and execution. The teachers of RE are not members of the teaching staff in state schools, unless they have this right for other reasons. Religious and ethics education will take place in school, parallel to ethics classes, however, in case there is no other solution possible for a church or religious community, the churches may offer their RE lessons at another time outside the school premises. In this case the schools are responsible for providing supervision for the pupils for the time a lesson has been cancelled. In schools where ethics education is graded, religious and ethics education will be graded likewise. At least for schools with ethics education and religious and ethics education in school fully integrated in the school curriculum, equivalent grading systems should be set up. Schools run by the church are confined in ideological questions; this confinement is also apparent in the pedagogical programme. Therefore in schools run by the church RE is a compulsory subject, it is on the timetable at least two 9 Act CXC on the National Education System of 2011, § 35 Subparagraph 1; § 97 Subparagraph 7.

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hours a week, is an integral part of the curriculum, and is graded. Therefore, as it is integrated into the pedagogic program of the school, it may be elected as an examination subject for the Matura.10

2.3

Financing RE

Every legally recognized church and religious group in Hungary has the right to provide RE in public schools and in their parish, and can apply for state support to do so. “The state budget shall contribute to the cost of denominational RE within the scope of its corresponding annual budget.”11 The decision contained in the Church Financing Act, however, means there is general uncertainty in relation to state financing of RE in schools. Every year, the question of to what extent RE in schools should be financed from the state budget is negotiated anew. The law on RE in the Reformed Church makes reference to this financial uncertainty : “The contract of employment states that a long interruption to public financing (at least 60 days) or its suspension must be viewed as an acceptable grounds for dismissal of the religion teacher.”12 Public funding of RE is given with due consideration for the respective hourly rate paid to teachers and is paid to the religion teachers via church payment offices. The full hourly rate is only paid for RE lessons that a minimum number of students have been attending. At his time the minimum requirement is 7 pupils per group.13 Those RE lessons where the minimal number of pupils in attendance has not been reached are less funded. And the financing of RE in no way covers the cost of employing the teachers of RE. Under these conditions it is difficult to earn a living based on the teaching load religion teachers have. The law on churches makes it clear that the state must ensure that the costs of RE are met. “The costs of religious and ethics education shall be ensured by the state on the basis of a special law or on the basis of agreements reached with the churches.”14 However, this special law or the afore-mentioned agreements are not in place at present. This means considerable uncertainty for the entire system of RE in Hungary. The churches work towards an equal standing of RE with Ethics, including the financial aspects. 10 Government Decree No. 100 of 1997 on the examination rules of the Matura. 11 Act CXXIV on the Financing of the Churches of 1997, § 7 Subparagraph 3. 12 Act II (on Reformed religious education) of the Reformed Church in Hungary of 2007, § 19 Subparagraph 2. 13 Government Decree No. 295 of 2013, § 17 Subparagraph 3. 14 Act CCVI on the Freedom of Conscience and Religion as well as on the Legal Status of Churches, Religious Communities and Religious Groups of 2011, § 24 Subparagraph 1.

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3.

Developments in the country’s education policy

3.1

Statistics for the Hungarian education system

In Hungary, the public education system includes kindergartens, primary schools, technical schools, grammar schools, specialized secondary schools, primary schools with an emphasis on artistic subjects, remedial education facilities, conductive education facilities as well as dorm.15 According to the new Education Act of 2011, compulsory schooling will begin at the age of three years (compulsory kindergarten for every child) and continue to the age of 16 years.16 The structure of the education system in Hungary in terms of children’s age and school years as well as ISCED stages is shown in the following table.17

Compulsory schooling

25 24 23 22 21 20 19

19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 AG E

Higher tertiary (ISCED 6) University

P ost-secondary education

A General secondary school

Lower tertiary (ISCED 5)

College

A

Adult education

C

B Vocational secondary school

D Short vocational school

E

Upper secondary level (ISCED 3)

General school upper level

Lower secondary level (ISCED 2)

General school lower level

Primary level (ISCED 1)

Kindergarten

Pre-school programmes (ISCED 0)

15 CXC on the National Education System of 2011, § 7 Subparagraph 1. 16 Act CXC on the National Education System of 2011, § 8 Subparagraph 2; § 45 Subparagraph 3. 17 http://ecahe.eu/w/index.php/Hungary ; http://euroescuela.com/sosproject/partners/index. php?pais=HUN& sec=3.

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In the 2010/2011 school year, there were 10,281 public schools in Hungary, broken down as follows: 4,358 kindergartens, 3,306 primary schools (1st-8th grade), 802 technical schools (of which 151 were special schools with a remedial curriculum), 876 grammar schools and 939 vocational secondary schools. The number of salaried teachers (either full-time or part-time) totalled 152,877 people, of which 126,477 (83 %) were women. Including children in kindergartens, 1,673,032 children and young people were attending day schools in the 2010/2011 school year. There were 756,569 pupils attending primary school, with a further 25,546 young people in grades 5 to 8 in the country’s six or eight-year grammar schools. Among Hungary’s second-level schools, the vocational secondary schools have the highest number of pupils (240,364), followed by the grammar schools with 198,700 pupils and finally the technical schools with 139,237 pupils. The number of pupils in the country’s schools is falling continuously every year in line with demographic trends. In the eight primary school grades, this reduction has amounted to nearly 20 % over the past ten years. As a result of this, school closures and amalgamations have been necessary. For years, the number of pupils per class (20) and per teacher (10) has practically remained the same. The number of children with special needs (SNI) amounts to a total of 52,000, representing 7 % of all pupils in Hungarian schools. In accordance with the objectives of the country’s education system, the number of SNI pupils being taught in integrated schools is growing continuously. In 2012, the proportion of such pupils being educated in this way was already in excess of 66 %. Meanwhile, 35.8 % of pupils within the compulsory education are categorized as disadvantaged. This means that, because of their family circumstances and social situation, they are entitled to a greater degree of child protection from the authorities. 82 % of educational establishments in Hungary are under public patronage, 6 % are under church patronage and 12 % are under the patronage of foundations or other school providers. In terms of the numbers of children in kindergartens and schools, 88 % are in public educational facilities, 7 % are in denominational schools and 5 % are in educational institutions operated by foundations or other school providers.

3.2

Developments in, and perspectives on, education policy

During the Communist regime, the cornerstone of education policy was the general eight-grade primary school (where grades one to four constituted the elementary level and grades five to eight the senior level), with centralized curricula and standard, centrally published textbooks. As a result of the changes

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in the country after 1989, this uniform education system fell apart and was replaced by an almost completely decentralized system of education. The state’s monopoly on school maintenance ceased to exist and new schools were established by churches, foundations and other school boards. The local governments of communities and counties, which have a large degree of political autonomy, became the patrons of the state schools. The four-year grammar school education, which had been the norm up to 1990, was reorganized, with the growth in eight-year and six-year grammar schools intensifying the phenomena of early school selection. The number of technical schools is dwindling at a considerable rate, with the vocational secondary school combining, Matura and vocational training becoming the most popular type of second-level school. In 1990/1991, 44 % of pupils attended a technical school, while 32 % attended a vocational secondary school and 24 % a grammar school. By the 2010/2011 school year, the proportion of pupils attending technical schools had dropped to 24 %, the percentage attending grammar schools had risen to 34 % and the proportion attending vocational secondary schools had grown to 42 % (National Resource Ministry 2011, 9) Educational programmes and curricula were developed by the respective institutions themselves, while the diverse system of textbooks was organized according to free market principles. Free choice of schools meant that segregation was growing ever more. Socially homogeneous schools and school communities were created, a trend that manifested itself in the exclusion of the Roma minority in particular. Between 30 to 40 % of Roma pupils nowadays learn in segregated educational establishments. After completing their compulsory schooling, only 7.8 % of Roma pupils continue on to learn at a grammar school – the corresponding figure for non-Roma young people is 32.7 % (Havas and Zolnay 2011, 24–49). Steering and regulation takes place through indirect, strategic state steering instruments, such as quality assurance programmes, reform of the Matura system by way of a centralized Matura, framework curricula, a qualifications system, a nationwide institutionalised structure of assessments and nationwide measurement of pupils’ skills. The entire educational infrastructure was changed starting with the 2013/ 2014 school year. The most recent national education plan, however, in effect from September 2013 onwards, specifies very concrete, detailed curricula.18 The ‘National Education Act’ highlights the prevention of social exclusion and the cultivation of talents as a key aim.19 The career path model to be introduced aims 18 Government Decree No. 110 of 2012 on the Release, Introduction and Application of the National Education Plan. 19 Act CXC on the National Education System of 2011, § 1 Subparagraph 1.

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to improve the employment situation and remuneration of teachers. The regulations included in the act – e. g. that the state takeover of educational institutions until 2013 operated and partly financed by local governments, doing away with second-chance education, reduction of the minimum school-leaving age to 16 years as well as changing the employment conditions of teachers – will have a lasting impact on further development of the Hungarian education system. Among the areas of emphasis in education policy within the national development plans, the following are important: (1) supporting the expansion of skills-based learning, (2) developing the quality and efficiency of education (basic skills, foreign-language learning, information and communications technology) in the lessons, (3) reducing segregation of extremely disadvantaged pupils and those from Roma families, thereby giving them equal opportunities, (4) providing education to those with special needs as well as supporting the integration of pupils with special needs, in addition to intercultural learning.20 Within the field of force of the different, diverse interest groups, structural constraints and often-changing political will, one cannot claim that there is any long-term, stable, predictable, consensus-based education strategy. The effect of international support and investigations – whether by the OECD, World Bank programmes, the EU, the Phare programme, HEFOP, PISA, TAMOP – on Hungarian education policy is very significant, generating changes on the one hand and playing a stabilising role on the other.

3.3

Education policy and the churches and religious groups: network of denominational schools

In Hungary, the churches have a rich tradition of involvement in the country’s education system. The nationwide network of elite single-sex grammar schools, in particular, had a decisive influence on the Hungarian education system. This crucial presence on the educational landscape was interrupted in 1948, when the denominational schools were put under state control. During the Communist period, there were only ten denominational schools in Hungary (eight Catholic, one Reformed and one Jewish). Instead of educating pupils for eight years, grammar schools could only do so for four years and could only operate within a very restricted framework. As a result, after the end of Communism the churches had hardly any experience in the area of education provision. To begin with, the return of grammar schools with long traditions was demanded of the state, with 20 Society Issues, Operational Programme 2007–2013, TÝMOP 3 – Mino˝ s¦gi oktat‚s ¦s hozz‚f¦r¦s mindenkinek / quality education and access for all.

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education once more being provided by such schools for eight or six years. The state education system prefers eight years of primary school and four years of secondary school; the majority of eight-year or six-year grammar schools are under church patronage. Over the past twenty years, the Catholic, Reformed and Lutheran churches have expanded their network of schools throughout Hungary, providing education all the way from kindergarten to university level. Denominational school centres were created, within whose scope different types of school exist under the direction of a board of management. The school committees and education departments, as well as the educational institutes for these denominations, are responsible for managing and supervising the education system, for administrative coordination, for specialized education tasks and other services. Where necessary, the denominational school patrons act in unison to represent their interests in the area of education policy.

4.

Role of religiously sponsored schools, including any changes and developments, legal relationships

4.1

Pluralization of the education system, patronage of denominational schools, unique features in each denomination

The emergence of denominational schools at the beginning of the 1990s was accompanied by political turbulence. On the one hand, the pluralization of education has removed uncertainty from changes to power structures and the issue of the dismantling and modification of the Communist/Socialist education system. On the other hand, individual school handovers created local tensions between local authorities, churches, teachers, parents and pupils. At the same time it must not be forgotten that, immediately after the fall of Communism, the education system in Hungary was still very heavily influenced by Communist/ Socialist ideology. The situation was made yet more difficult by the fact that most once nationalized schools were returned to the churches with a ‘replacement of the board’. This means that the school building and the locally managed school operating within it, together with the teachers and pupils, were transferred over to the denominational school patron and that, during a transitional period, denominational and non-denominational classes were held parallel to each other. The same situation arose from around the year 2008 onward, when individual local governments transferred schools over to the churches – mostly for financial reasons – in order for the latter to operate them. The establishment of new denominational schools was associated with less tension and fewer con-

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flicts, as in this case the teachers, pupils and parents intentionally opted for a denominational school. At the beginning of 2000, the denominational school system was already well developed and, since then, more and more schools with a denominational ethos have been fulfilling educational duties. In the 1997/1998 school year, the proportion of primary and secondary schools maintained by churches was 4.5 %. This had risen to 5.1 % in 2001/2002 and to 8.8 % in the 2010/2011 school year. In the same years, the percentage of primary and secondary school pupils attending church-maintained schools was 3.7 %, 4.6 % and 7 %, respectively. In a period of demographic decline, this growth is especially worthy of note. In many denominational schools, there are more applications than there are available places and, in general, the number of pupils applying for places in such schools is satisfactory. At the same time, the most recent enrolment data indicates that some schools under church patronage must also anticipate a drop in pupil numbers. According to statistics from the 2010/2011 school year, 8.6 % of general primary schools, 5.6 % of technical schools, 4.5 % of special-needs technical schools, 17.2 % of grammar schools, 4.9 % of specialized secondary schools, 4.9 % of secondary schools with an emphasis on artistic subjects and 16.6 % of colleges are under church patronage. In relation to grammar schools, in particular, the proportion under church patronage is significant – in keeping with the tradition that existed before schools were nationalized during the Communist period. Of the 100,063 pupils in denominational schools, 50,750 attend general primary schools while 49,313 go to some sort of secondary school (of which 37,156 are enrolled in grammar schools). If we consider the teachers, 6.6 % (10,979) are teaching in denominational schools. Of the schools under church patronage, 93.4 % are maintained by either the Catholic (52.7 %), Reformed (30.2 %) or Lutheran (10.5 %) churches. Among other churches and religious groups, several educational establishments are also maintained by the Jewish communities, by a New Methodist religious group and by the Neo-Protestant ‘Community of Faith’ and the Baptists. In terms of denominational school patrons, the situation is varied. The Catholic school patrons in Hungary are made up of 14 dioceses, 26 orders and five church organizations. School patrons for Reformed Church schools are mostly local parishes, with some church districts and dioceses also serving as patrons. Lutheran schools are under the patronage of either the parish or the Church’s regional branches.

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4.2

163

A profile of the denominational schools

The denominational schools are operated as institutions that are bound to the denomination in question. The denomination is, therefore, also taken into account in the schools’ education programmes and in local curricula. Accordingly, the specific curriculum contents and objectives are realized not only in the school’s RE (usually two hours per week), which is an obligatory part of the curriculum; they are also reflected in the overall education programme offered by the school. These contents and objectives can be found explicitly in several subjects of instruction within the local curriculum – e. g. in History, Literature, Biology, Church Singing21and in class teacher hours. The ‘Catholic Framework Curriculum’ (2008) for grades one to twelve in Catholic schools attempts to harmonize the development of key competencies and pupils’ personalities on the basis of Christian education. In terms of the religious composition of their pupils, the denominational schools are by no means homogeneous; some of the pupils are either members of other faiths or are non-religious. For admission to the school, being a Christian or belonging to the respective religious group is not a prerequisite; what is necessary, however, is to respect the uniqueness of the denomination in question Whereas in Catholic schools around 90 % of pupils are Catholic, only approximately 65 % of pupils in Reformed Church schools are members of the Reformed Church and roughly 35 % of pupils in Lutheran schools belong to the Lutheran Church. In Catholic schools, children from practicing religious families predominate. The same does not apply to Protestant schools. The value system and religious ethos of a school are among the factors that motivate parents when choosing a school for their child. However, the educational work of the school as well as the atmosphere and community within it are further determining factors (Pusztai 2004). Performance tests have shown that denominational schools are more efficient than state schools. This is shown by the results of the PISA studies, the results of university admission examinations and the results of language examinations (Neuwirth 2005, 502–18). These results cannot be explained with reference to the more favourable social backgrounds of pupils in the denominational schools, because when these social backgrounds are controlled, the differences between the two types of school are even more marked (Dronkers and Rûbert 2004, 205–36). The number of pupils in denominational schools with special needs (SNI), 21 In Reformed schools ‘church singing’ was introduced as a one- or two-year compulsory subject. Act II (on the education system) of the Reformed Church in Hungary of 2005, § 31 Subparagraph 3.

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who are categorized as disadvantaged (HH) and who are classed as severely disadvantaged (HHH) is smaller than in state schools. In state primary schools, for example, 7.2 % of pupils have special needs, 36.9 % are disadvantaged and 14.7 % are severely disadvantaged. In denominational primary schools, the figures are 2.6 % (SNI children), 25 % (HH children) and 5.5 % (HHH children). One noticeable feature of the Hungarian education system is the major difference between individual schools, as highlighted in student achievement studies like PISA, for example. The results of such studies within individual schools, on the other hand, are quite similar (Bal‚zsi 2010, 47–61). There are institutions that embody phenomena like integration and segregation, elite schools and schools that take it upon themselves to provide disadvantaged children with access to education. A large variation in achievement between schools is characteristic of the denominational education system too – albeit to a lesser extent than in the state school system (Pusztai 2009).

4.3

Financing of denominational schools

The past 20 years have seen much discussion on the issue of financing of denominational schools (Polûnyi 2005; Lannert 2010).22 In keeping with the Education Act, education is a public responsibility. The largest and most important proportion of the financing for educational facilities comes from the public purse. This financing consists of several types of support. The financing of salaries covers the salaries of teachers and other school employees. The financing of running costs, e.g the upkeep and renewal of the buildings, teaching materials etc – are expected to be provided by the patrons of the school and the local authorities. In former times the local authorities were the sole school maintainers. Since 2013 it has been exclusively the Klebersberg centre of school maintainance (KLIK) that is responsible for public education. This centre is also regarded as employer of all pedagoges in the schools. In the hungarian system of educatin a strong tendency towards centralization is to be observed. The fast process of restructuring is accompanied by discussions about how the laws should be interpreted. It is guaranteed by law that denominational schools are financed exactly the same as state schools.23 The financing of salaries in state and church schools is the same. Teachers in denominational schools receive the same salaries as civil 22 Act CXXIV on the Financing of the Churches of 1997; Act LXX/1999, concluded between the Republic of Hungary and the Holy See on the Financing of activities of faith and on the public activities of the Catholic Church in Hungary. 23 Act CXXIV on the Financing of the Churches of 1997, § 5.

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servants. But they do not have the status of civil servants, their employer is the school in which they teach. Concerning the running costs, the denominational schools are partly subsidized by the state. These additional subsidies are calculated on the base of the tasks the schools fulfill and the number of their pupils.

5.

Conceptions and tasks of religious education

RE in schools is provided mostly by the Christian denominations – Catholic (Roman and Greek), Reformed and Lutheran. The respective denominations clearly define their aims and objectives for RE from a theological and denominational standpoint.24 The rationale for RE is seen within the context of Jesus’ Great Commission. The general aims are (1) propagation of the gospel and (2) to allow young people to grow within the church as self-confident members of same. Both of these objectives – propagation of the faith and the facilitation of young people in finding a home within their respective religious group – are also the intentions of smaller religious communities who provide RE in schools. The passing on of knowledge is also an objective of RE in schools. This is stated, for instance, in the Law on RE in the Reformed Church: “The aim and objective of Reformed Church RE is to provide pupils with adequate basic knowledge in the areas of Biblical studies, the history of the Church, dogmatic theology, ethics, church music and church life appropriate to the pupils’ ages and stage of schooling. In addition, RE is also education on the faith and in the faith, in which we assist our pupils on their way towards becoming Bible-reading, praying Christians who live their lives by the Word of God and the Eucharist in the fellowship of the Church and are willing to make sacrifices for their faith.”25 The basic knowledge that must be imparted focuses mainly on the traditions of the Reformed Church itself. Even though the lesson plans and religion books do contain some basic information on other denominations and religions, this information is relatively sparse and is often of an evaluative nature. Deliberations on the self-understanding and scope of RE make it clear that religion was an optional subject in Hungarian schools, one which the churches must organize, supervise and decide the contents of. If it becomes difficult to organize religion classes in school, it is even possible to provide RE in parish facilities. RE is a matter for the churches, with the theological and churchoriented bent of the former allowing RE in schools to have a clear denomina24 Hungarian Catechetic Directorate, Budapest 2000, 14–15, 54–67; Act II of the Reformed Church in Hungary of 2007, Preamble; Act V of the Protestant-Lutheran Church in Hungary of 2005, § 12. 25 Act II of the Reformed Church in Hungary of 2007, Preamble.

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tional character. The consequences and effects of the new positioning of the subject in school (optional compulsory subject) on the self-conception of RE in Hungary are not yet foreseeable. From an educational point of view, the meaning and objectives of RE in Hungary have been reflected on very little to date. In terms of the educational significance of RE, one can state that, like the denominational schools, it provides pupils with a religious orientation and education. Themes of a religious nature, which, from an educational point of view, wish to focus on the relationship between education and religion, have not played any appreciable role in the discussion on education theory to date and have not yet been incorporated into school-based RE. Changes in this field are to be expected, as the optional compulsory subject ethics and RE is obliged to contribute to ethical education in schools.

6.

Practice / reality of religious education in different schools

6.1

RE in figures, types of RE, registrations, withdrawals

446,587 children in schools and kindergartens (25 % of the total) in 41,529 groups participated in RE in the 2009/2010 school year. This was organized by a total of 31 churches and religious groups.26 95.2 % of these pupils attended Catholic, Reformed or Lutheran RE. The following table provides an overview of the denominational breakdown for RE in Hungary : RE 2009/10 school year Catholic

293,337

26,013

3,520

Number of pupils per group 11.3

Reformed Lutheran

113,560 18,177

11,152 2,532

1,687 404

10.2 7.2

Community of Faith Baptists

4,318

221

153

19.5

3,334

360

503

9.3

Pentecostal Church

2,662

230

208

11.6

Number of pupils

Number of groups

Number of teachers

26 According to statistics of the State Secretariat for Church, Civil Society and Nationality Affairs in the Ministry of Public Administration and Justice (2012). There is little statistical data on religious education in Hungary. Whereas the individual churches and religious communities do maintain written records, the data is not comprehensive, and filed in internal affairs it is difficult to access. The diverse types of school and age groups are only partially registered separately.

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(Continued) RE 2009/10 school year Jewish communities Other churches and religious groups Total

Number of pupils

Number of groups

Number of teachers

2,352

152

49

Number of pupils per group 15.5

8,847

869

411

10.2

446,587

41,529

6,935

10.8

Most pupils who attend religion classes are in primary school. In secondary schools, the number of pupils who attend religion classes is declining considerably (Thorday 2004, 2006). The minimum number of pupils in the groups is not regulated; there is no restriction in terms of what minimum number is required before RE must be provided. The teaching staff are mostly priests and non-salaried teachers. The proportion of religion teachers who teach the subject as their main job or who work part-time is small. The low pupil-teacher ratio in religion classes is indicative of this. In practice, the contents of the religion class and the way in which it is organized depend a lot on where the classes are being held. Depending on the location, different types of RE may be provided: RE in schools operated by the same denomination (as the RE provided), in schools of another denomination27, in a state school or in parishes, with each of these types being considered ‘school-based RE’ under the law. RE (for a particular religion) in schools of the same denomination is a compulsory subject, occupies two hours per week of the timetable, is graded and, because of its integration into the school programme and school life, is considered highly relevant and receives various supports. The religion teacher is employed by the school and is an equal member of the school’s teaching staff. The religion classes, meanwhile, are made up of pupils of the same age from the same grades. RE (for a particular religion) in schools of a different denomination is also a compulsory subject. However, the number of pupils per grade is sometimes too small and organizing groups made up of pupils from different grades often proves difficult. Here, the religion teacher is not a member of the teaching staff (unless he or she has a right to be so for some other reason) and is employed by the parish or the diocese. In the state schools denominational RE has been an optional compulsory subject since September 2013. As an alternative to ethics education it is in the 27 As e. g. Protestant religious education in a Catholic school.

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regular timetable, and is taught for an hour a week in primary schools (1st-8th grade, in an ascending system). The church in charge takes responsibility for content and organization, the options for implementation, however, depend largely on the specific local situation. In the 2013/2014 school year 52 % of pupils were registered for the denominational religious and ethics education, 48 % for ethics education. Guardians may register their pupils for and opt them out of denominational ethics and RE in state schools. Registration is processed at the same time with the enrolment in school. Parents mandatorily have to choose either ethics education or ethics and RE for their children. This decision cannot be changed during the school year. Changes between ethics education or ethics and RE are possible until May 20th of the previous school year. To speak about RE in state schools is mainly to talk about Catholic, Reformed and Protestant denominations. The smaller churches and religious communities usually organizse their RE in their parishes. In the state secondary schools (9th12th grades) RE is an optional subject, offered weekly for one hour before or after the regular lessons, in the afternoon or on the weekend. As an optional subject, it is not in the timetable, it is not graded, attendance is not obligatory – even for pupils registered for the class.

6.2

Curricula and textbooks, RE in various types of schools, RE as a subject for final exams (Matura)

Churches and religious commumities have produced new framework curricula or have actualized their old ones. The Reformed and the Protestant Churches have completely revised their old curricula. They stress biblical foundations and aim to be pupil oriented, taking into account developmental psychology and the actual social and personal situation of the pupils. A close connection between RE at school and the life of pupils outside school is aimed at. ‘The new framework curricula are based on concrete life-situations and questions oft he pupils , work with biblical solutions and methods close to life and thus provide links between RE at school and life outside and beyond school’ (Framework curriculum Protestant Religion and Ethics teaching 2013,1) The reformed Curriculum has a linear structure and at the same time works in widening concentric circles. Each schoolyear has a central theme: this is unfolded in six topics. Those six concentric topics, which are present every year, are: (1) Stories from the bible, (2) Self awareness, ethical qustions, situations in life, (§) God speaks to us, reading the bible and prayer, (4) Community, (5) Reformed identity, (6) Church holidays. The Protestant curriculum is structured as a spiral and arranges the themes

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that are to be dealt with in seven, always repeated subtopics: (1) Interrelationship God and I, (2) Questions about myself (3), My human relationships, (4) Society, (5) Churches and religious communities, (6) The world as creation and our factual environment and (7) World religions and religious movements. The ‘Framework curriculum for Catholic RE’ was implemented in 2008 and slightly revised in 2012. It describes tasks and aims, the educational standards and evalution according to school years. It names topics and subject matter together with the skills that have to be mastered, methods (such as ‘pupils‘ activities’), and options for connections with other subjects. The structure of the curriculum is parlty linear and it works with a definition of competence that defines general, interdisciplinary skills( e. g. digital skills, native language competence) but does not mention specific, subject based competences (theological, liturgical competences, the ability to make ethical- religious judgements) anywhere. The curricula of the three churches show a marked emphasis on biblical tradition and a clear reference to the respective church. They want to impart a solid knowledge of biblical texts, and an appropriate understanding oft he bible, to confront the pupils with denominational teachings and a Christian lifestyle and to further contacts with Christian communities. In addition to the three ‘historical churches’ the neo-protestant ‘Community of Faith’ is active in RE in state schools in Hungary. Their curriculum is of linear structure, it is material oriented. The topics in years one to seven are bible stories, in the eighth year the ten commandments and the sermon on the mount. In this curriculum knowledge oft he bible and the fundaments of Christian ethics are central, a certain ‘denomination- neutral’ attitude is emphasized. It has to be said that concerning the current curricula a kind of lack of conceptual clarity is typical. Fundamental terms, as for instance ‘ethic-religious education’,‘ pupil- or material oriented’ structure of the curricula in ‘concentric circles’ etc are understood differenly and used with different contents. The different types of school are hardly – or not even at all – taken into consideration. The curricula start from the first form and go up to the eighth, respectively twelfth form and are focused on the teaching in Gymnasiums in the middle grades. The in many cases very different circumstances – as for instance in special-needs schools, in technical schools, different age groups beeing taught togethet etc are taken into account in local curricula for RE or in the yearly planning of individual teachers. The churches have had textbooks and corresponding teacher’s manuals developed for the curricula in question. This means that religion teachers now have a selection of schoolbooks and materials at their disposal. In terms of their contents, didactics and aesthetics, the quality of these textbooks varies considerably. There are some textbooks in use which have been compiled in keeping

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with more recent theological and educational insights, which use varied didactic and methodological approaches and which take account of the respective ages and experiences of the pupils. In Hungarian secondary schools under church patronage, pupils can take school leaving examinations in the subjects of ‘Catholic, Reformed, Lutheran RE as well as in ‘Jewish Studies’ and ‘Bible Studies – Community of Faith’.28 Hungary introduced the two-stage school leaving examination (lower secondary level and main upper secondary level) in 2005. Since then, this two-stage system has applied to subjects relating to religion too. The educational standards for these examination subjects have already been worked out.

6.3

Qualification requirements for teachers, church appointment, practical challenges

In denominational schools teachers of religion must have a university degree as a catechist, a religion teacher, a priest or a theologian.29 Likewise this requirement applies for teachers of RE who teach RE to classes in schools that offer the subject as an optional compulsory subject. In terms of RE in state schools and in parishes, there is at present no qualification requirement mentioned in the state legislation.30 The church regulations stipulate the quality requirements that apply for RE in the different types of school.31 Holders of the BA degree of ‘Catechist – Pastoral Assistant’ and the university degree of ‘Religion Teacher’ can teach religion in kindergartens, in primary schools (grades one to eight) and in church parishes. Religion teachers with an MA and priests can teach religion in all types of schools and in parishes. For secondary schools under church patronage (grades nine to thirteen), the special rule that Reformed Church RE may only be taught by religion teachers with an MA or another university degree applies. Despite these regulations, however, in practice a large number of teachers without any professional training are still teaching religion. Church appointment is a prerequisite for teaching religion in Hungary. In the Catholic Church, this appointment is granted by the bishop at the request of the parish priest of the respective diocese for a year at a time. The employer is the diocese, with the parish priest functioning as supervisor for the religion teacher. 28 29 30 31

Government Decree No. 100 of 1997 on the examination rules of the Matura. Act CXC on the National Education System of 2011, § 32 Subparagraph 1/h. Act CXC on the National Education System of 2011, § 35/B Subparagraph 3. Act II of the Reformed Church in Hungary von 2007, § 5; Act V of the Protestant-Lutheran Church in Hungary of 2005, § 14.

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In the Reformed and Lutheran churches, the priests and the presbytery are responsible for organizing RE. The proportion of teachers who teach RE in a non-salaried capacity is very high. Of the total of 1,650 religion teachers in the Catholic Church, only 360 have a salaried position. In the Reformed and Lutheran churches, many pastors provide RE in a non-salaried capacity and have a very high teaching load. In the Lutheran Church, for example, 123 religion teachers (of whom only 36 have a salaried position) and 296 pastors provide Lutheran RE. The high proportion of pastors can be explained by the fact that pastors’ salaries are low and religion teaching provides them with an additional source of income. Even though studies for pastoral office incorporate subjects on education and psychology, this training is not of the same value as teacher training courses. Overall, one can say that the subject-specific and teaching skills of religion teachers in Hungary vary considerably. To date, there has not been any viable plan for the further training of teachers, for the quality assurance of the instruction or for supervision of the subject of RE. In the light of the unsatisfactory situation with regard to the subject and the difficult working conditions of religion teachers, any such plans have also been difficult to enforce so far. A big practical challenge is the organizsation of RE divided in denominations. The small number of teaching hours in the specific state schools results in the RE teachers having to teach in a multiplicity of schools. This not only makes working conditions for teachers more difficult, but reinforces their position as standing aloof of individual schools. The professional standing of teachers of RE is uncertain in state schools. According to the national Education Act they are not members of the teaching staff. Therefore e. g. they may not administrate RE in the class register.32

7.

Observations on alternative subjects / learning areas like ethics, philosophy etc.

In September 2013 the subjects ‘Ethics’ and ‘Ethics and Religious Education’ were introduced in all compulsory grades in school as compulsory optional subjects. “In secondary schools in 1st to 8th grade, ‘Ethics’ or the alternative option of ‘Ethics and Religious Education’ to be organised by a lawful Church institution, are part of the compulsory canon.”33 These alternative subjects are included in the timetable and have to be offered for an hour a week, in an ascending system, beginning with the 1st and 5th grades 32 Decree of the Ministry of National Resources 22 of 2013, § 182/B Subparagraph 11. 33 Act CXC on the National Education System of 2011, § 35/A; § 97 Subparagraph 7.

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in grammar schools. In the 2013 school year 52 % of pupils attended the divided denominational religion and ethics education and 48 % of pupils attended ethics education. With this regulation a process that lasted for many years was completed. In the canon of the Hungarian state school system so far there was no regular school subject that offered a chance to encourage and gain personal, social, cognitive, religious and ethical competencies through an integrated approach to all aspects of life, world views und values. For the school subject ‘Ethics’ a framework curriculum was worked out, textbooks, collections of texts, educational materials and methodological manuals were provided. The content was markedly modelled on a subject of ‘neutral worldview’, humanist ethics. The introduction of the subject into the regular curriculum was facilitated by the inclusion of the subject ‘Humanities and Social Studies/Ethics’ from school year 2000 on as a compulsory subject for 7th to 11th grades to the extent of one hour a week.34 The subject until now was a module subject that could also be integrated into other subjects. The pupils could even take ‘Ethics’ as a Matura subject, where the Matura was regulated as a project Matura, which was difficult to realize given the school circumstances. The qualifications of the teachers, who at present teach the subject, differ significantly. Academies and universities until now offered accredited training for teachers of ethics (BA, MA or subject-oriented advanced training). With advanced training of 60 hours teachers could be trained as teachers of ethics. This training is only provisionally valid and serves to correct of the lack of teachers of ethics in the transitional period. In the 1st grades in state schools, primary school teachers may provisionally conduct ethics education even without specific advanced training. The subjects ‘Ethics’ and ‘Religion and Ethics Education’ have just been introduced as compulsory subjects in the Hungarian educational canon. Analyses that investigate the relations between the two subjects are not yet available at present.

8.

Dealing with religious diversity

In the field of religious education, the specific character and realization of ecumenical cooperation depend on the local ecumenical relationships. In primarily Christian or secular Hungarian society, one can hardly talk of any real interfaith cooperation. In 2006 an agreement was reached between the three major Christian de-

34 Decree of the Ministry of Education 28 of 2000 on the Framework Curriculum.

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nominations in Hungary on denominational RE.35 In accordance with this agreement, the Catholic, Reformed and Lutheran churches assure each other with regard to their own denominational schools that RE for the other denominations will be provided on the same terms as RE for the respective school’s own denomination. This means that two hours of RE per week, integrated into the timetable, shall, in general, be provided. Pupils are not obliged to attend RE for any other denomination. Instead, it should be ensured that they can avail themselves of RE for their own particular denomination. Attendance at church services for when pupils start and graduate from school is, however, compulsory for adherents of all denominations. The respective delegating churches always bear responsibility for the execution, design and supervision of the RE for other denominations. These commission the religion teachers for each of the other denominations and they – and not the respective schools – also exercise the rights of employer. The host institution can, if serious personal and educational reasons exist, request the church who has commissioned the religion teacher to inspect the work of the teacher. In practice, implementing this agreement often runs into difficulties. Even in the simultaneous conducting of RE for parallel grades, there are problems with the number of pupils (one or two pupils and pupils of other denominations). Furthermore the parishes and dioceses usually focus on RE that can be provided in their own denominational school and parish and are not able – for personal, organizational and financial reasons – to supply any religion teachers to fulfil such roles. If a pupil takes part in consolidated religion classes held in parish premises in the afternoon or on the weekend, schools are responsible for providing supervision on school premises for the pupils in the free period. Ecumenical schools founded at the beginning of the 1990s on the initiative of parents are a unique feature of the educational landscape in Hungary. These are under state authority, or may belong to a foundation which has reached an agreement on public education with the supervisory school authority. In their educational programmes, the Christian world view and value orientation play a critical role. They work closely with the Christian churches but are not bound to any specific denomination. In these schools, religion is a compulsory subject and is either divided up along denominational lines or taught collectively as ‘Bible Studies – Ethics’. Despite the fact that some of these schools have been operating successfully for many years, this type of school did not catch on in Hungary and no new school of this type has been established there for quite some time. Because Hungary’s population is relatively homogeneous and there are only small numbers of immigrants within the country, the issue of interculturality 35 This agreement was affirmed in July 2012 by the three churches involved.

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manifests itself primarily in relation to the Roma minority. The ‘Hungarian National Social Inclusion Strategy’ (2011) was formulated with specific projects, analyses, support programmes, objectives and implementation plans partly to combat segregation of, and discrimination against, the Roma population.36 A network of Christian halls of residence for Roma students was set up as part of an ecumenical collaborative project organizsed by the Roman Catholic, Greek Catholic, Reformed and Lutheran churches, with special halls of residence supporting Roma students striving for a university degree (Török 2013). The Catholic Kolping schools also operate on the basis of inclusion.37

9.

Religion in school outside of religious education

With regard to state schools in Hungary, the role of religion in school life is barely worth mentioning. Even though there are schools where, at the suggestion of the teachers, the principal or the parents and pupils, some Christian religious elements (e. g. Advent candles or Christmas prayers) may find a place in school life, these tend to be specific to particular areas. On that note, various more minor forms of cooperation have evolved between some schools and parishes – especially in relation to the teaching of RE. Church-maintained schools in Hungary distinguish themselves strongly as denominational schools. This is usually reflected in the school programme and in an intensive religious school life in the respective schools, with church services, school prayers, rituals, spiritual and meditative offerings as well as religious community experience being an important part of the structure of school life and school culture. Retreats for pupils and teachers provide opportunities for personal development, for faith experiences and for experiencing and strengthening the (school) community. The church patrons also see their schools, with their educational mission, as a special place of education that is oriented towards the gospel and aim to provide space for specific opportunities for religious education within the school as a place of learning and living. Schools under church patronage in Hungary are ‘close to the church’ and ‘close to the parish’. Various ways of cooperating with the respective church, parish, local congregation and with different organizations involved in church youth work are striven for and maintained. According to church laws, the school principal is responsible for the Christian/Catholic/Reformed/Lutheran spirit of the school. He or she works very 36 http://romagov.kormany.hu/hungarian-national-social-inclusion-strategy-deep-povertychild-poverty-and-the-roma. 37 www.kolping.hu.

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closely in this area with the school chaplain or with the head teacher, who is responsible for both the overall plan for religious school life and the religious profile of the school as well as for the planning, organization and execution of religious matters in the school. The entire teaching staff and, in particular, the religion teachers bear shared responsibility for how religious school life is structured. It is their responsibility to make others aware of the religious aspect of the school and to take part in religious affairs within the school. School pastoral care is institutionalized differently in individual churches and schools. Catholic schools run by religious orders have recognized practical experience in this area, based on long tradition. Lutheran schools with more than 300 pupils are obliged to appoint a full-time school chaplain, with his or her appointment, duties, rights and fields of responsibility being regulated by church laws.38 He or she teaches religion within the scope of a part-time teaching assignment, their other duties coming from the area of pastoral care. In some schools, the school chaplain is a member of the board of management, while in all Lutheran schools he or she is a member of the school’s governing council. As of yet, there is no specific training or qualification course in school chaplaincy available in any denominational educational institution. Meetings held for the purposes of exchange on pertinent issues are, however, organized for school chaplains by the church patrons. The religious services provided by the school chaplain are of course open to all pupils, although, in general, there is a specific, denominational orientation with a greater or lesser degree of ecumenical sensibility. Here, pupils’ sense of belonging to their respective religious community is reflected in the aims of the church patrons.

10.

Training of teachers of religious education: institutes, structures, priorities issues

10.1

Universities and technical colleges under church patronage, locations for religion teacher training, state and church provisions

The 67 state-recognized institutions for tertiary education in Hungary are under state (28), church (26) or private (13) patronage. Training of religion teachers takes place at universities and technical colleges under church patronage. The five universities which train religion teachers are operated by the Catholic (Budapest), Reformed (Budapest and Debrecen), Lutheran (Budapest) and

38 Act VIII of the Protestant-Lutheran Church in Hungary of 2005, § 67.

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Jewish (Budapest) communities/churches. Of the 21 technical colleges, eleven are under the control of the Catholic Church (of which one is operated by the Greek Catholic Church) and two are run by the Reformed Church, with smaller churches and religious groups being responsible for the other eight. Among the different religious courses of study available, in addition to the BA degree of ‘Catechist – Pastoral Assistant’ and the MA degree of ‘Religion Teacher’ the accredited courses for the priesthood, pastoral office and theology (BA or MA) entitle the holder to teach religion, although the individual churches and religious groups do have the right to independently regulate the prerequisites and requirements for qualifications and appointments.39 As mentioned already, as well as having the state qualification, one needs to be appointed by the respective church before one can teach religion in a school in Hungary. Some churches have organized their own courses for catechist training without state accreditation. Such courses played a role in teacher training in the 1990s, in particular. However, with the introduction of the Bologna system, this type of qualification for religion teachers was discontinued. Among the teachers of RE there are many who use this qualification – or even are without any qualification – to teach RE. The Catholic, Reformed and Lutheran tertiary educational institutions have received accreditation for their BA degree of ‘Catechist – Pastoral Assistant’ and their MA degree of ‘Religion Teacher’ from the Hungarian accreditation committee, thereby qualifying the holders of such qualifications to teach religion in schools. At present, one can complete the BA degree of ‘Catechist – Pastoral Assistant’ in 13 different institutions (eight under Catholic, four under Reformed and one under Lutheran patronage) and complete the Master’s degree of ‘Religion Teacher’ in 12 different institutions (eight under Catholic, two under Reformed, one under Lutheran and one under Free Methodist patronage). There are various options and routes by which these subjects can be studied: statesupported and self-financed study places, direct and part-time study, distance learning and additional studies for people who already have a teaching qualification. In these religiously oriented courses of study, students must belong to the respective denomination.

39 CXC on the National Education System of 2011, § 35/B.

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Teacher training between the Bologna system and the undivided new model of teacher training, structure of religion teacher training, acquisition of skills and qualifications

The Hungarian tertiary education system traditionally had a dual structure, with university and technical college courses running parallel to each other. This was also the case when it came to teacher training. Teachers were trained separately for the different types of school, with technical colleges training teachers for work in both junior and senior level in primary schools and universities training the secondary school teachers. The changeover to the three-stage Bologna system began in the 2006/07 academic year and was also implemented for teacher training. The new Higher Education Act prioritizes the undivided model of teacher training reintroduced on September 2013.40 Presently both models of training exist in the Hungarian higher education system, teacher training according to the Bologna system is in a phase-out system. The first phase of teacher training in the Bologna system consists of a threeyear Bachelor’s degree, in which specialized studies on two subjects (major and minor) dominate. The BA degree is a prerequisite for the two-year Master’s degree in teaching, in which educational, psychological and subject-didactic content assumes an important role. This is followed by six months of teaching practice in a school, after which the student is awarded a degree that qualifies him or her to work as a teacher.41 Teacher training in Hungary is not specific to any type of school. The Master’s degree in teaching enables its holders to teach in the senior level of primary schools and in all types of secondary school. The new system of teacher training generally remodels teacher training as an undivided Master’s degree. The training is specific to the type of school, academies and universities train – in a course of studies of 8 semesters – the teachers of primary schools (1st-8th grade), universities – in a course of studies of 10 semesters – teachers for secondary school. Universities award places of study for students of the teaching profession with two mandatory subjects studied. Teacher training in both cases finishes with a year of teaching practice in a school. The training of teachers of RE has as yet failed to fully join the newly introduced system of teacher training. In the old Bologna system students can earn a degree ‘Religion Teacher-Educator’ (MA which students can study as a major subject, a minor subject or completely on its own). If this programme of study is taken as a separate teacher training course, the educational psychology module 40 Act CCIV on Higher Education of 2011, § 102. 41 Government Decree 289/2005 on the Bachelor- and Master studies in higher education, as well as on the arrangement of an admissions procedure for new courses of study.

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of the teacher training programme has to be completed additionally. The threeyear ‘Catechist – Pastoral Assistant’ programme is the Bachelor’s degree before the Master’s degree. In accordance with church law, this BA degree enables its holders to teach religion in primary schools (1st-8th grade). Both the BA course of ‘Catechist – Pastoral Assistant’ as well as the MA course of ‘Religion Teacher’ are modularized. In addition to specialized modules, these courses also include professional training modules on education and psychology. The qualification criteria for the Master’s degree of ‘Religion Teacher’ were compiled by the Council of Denominational Universities and Colleges.42 This document names the qualifications, describes the prerequisites for admission and the structure of the Master’s degree as well as the ways in which teacher training modules can be acquired. It contains a catalogue of necessary skills, which was developed based on the requirements in terms of professional behaviour for teachers. In the process, challenges in the area of religious education and church areas of activity were taken into special consideration.

10.3

Further training, opportunities in professional life

Further training of religion teachers is the responsibility of the respective churches, which organize courses both at diocesan level and at national church level. There is no ecumenical cooperation in the area of further training. In terms of the content and organization of these further training courses, however, the denominational colleges and universities often cooperate. In the Catholic Church, substantive and spiritual further training courses (recollections) are, where possible, held separately from each other. The contracts of employment state that attendance at these events is compulsory and is a prerequisite for the renewal of church authorization to teach. In the Protestant churches, even though attendance at further training courses is considered desirable, it is not obligatory, which is why only a modest number of teachers participate in them. When it comes to planning the contents of further training events, it must be taken into account that priests and religion teachers have very different requirements in theological and educational areas. At present, the professional prospects for religion teachers are not great. The large proportion of priests teaching religion, the limited professional support, and the unfavourable, insecure working conditions are making graduates’ entry into the profession difficult. Those who are employed as teachers of some other 42 Council of Church educational institutions in higher education, universities and advanced technical colleges (2006), requirements for qualification for the Master in the teaching profession ‘Teacher of Religious Education-Teacher’.

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subject at a denominational school and who teach religion as a second subject are in a better position.

11.

Empirical Research concerning religious education at schools

Scientific research on RE or about religious formation in schools hardly exists in Hungary. There are few publications in this field. In the 1990s a discussion was conducted on the question of the introduction of RE in public schools that rather contained political aspects than scientific questions. Further topics of the meagre research available in this field are denominational schools (Gabriella Pusztai, Erika Kopp) and religiosity in Hungary (Miklûs Tomka, Gergely Rosta). Substantive work in the field of religious education presently is still highly concentrated on the production of new curricula and textbooks on religion. Church institutes and departments of pedagogy and religious education are primarily concerned with organizational questions of RE, with questions of syllabus, curriculum und advanced training. Universities and academies are responsible for the training of teachers of RE and cooperate in the area of advanced training with the church institutes and departments. (a) Magyar Katolikus Püspöki Konferencia Hitoktat‚si Bizotts‚ga (Committee on Religious Education of the Hungarian-Catholic Conference of Bishops) www. hb.katolikus.hu (b) Katolikus Pedagûgiai Szervez¦si ¦s Tov‚bbk¦pz¦si Int¦zet (Catholic Institute of Pedagogy for Organisation and Advanced Training) www.kpszti.hu. (c) Reform‚tus Pedagûgiai Int¦zet (Protestant-Reformed Institute of Pedagogy) www.refpedi.hu (d) Evang¦likus Egyh‚z Nevel¦si ¦s Oktat‚si Oszt‚ly/Hittanoktat‚s (Department of Education of the Protestant-Lutheran Church/Religious Education) http://oktatas.lutheran.hu; http://hitoktatas.lutheran.hu/

12.

Desiderata / challenges for religious education in a European context

RE in Hungarian schools is currently facing a period of radical change. The transition from an optional subject to a compulsory optional subject provides new opportunities. However, the weaknesses and problems of the current situation must also be confronted. The previous legal regulation allowed and even encouraged there being no

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differentiation between RE and church catechesis in schools. Schools classified the question of religious education as being an issue for the churches and concentrated on the organizational framework for instruction (space, notification, time). Usually, the subject and often even the religion teacher remained an alien element in everyday school life, a situation that is reinforced further by the large proportion of priests who teach religion. On the other hand, RE that was close to the church allowed a clear positioning of the subject in terms of its denominational orientation. A certain reciprocity has emerged between the churches and RE in terms of how the churches have emerged from their isolated position and can reach and address a larger number of people thanks to RE in schools. With the help of parishes, the subject has received a location and an environment where religious education can be practiced and religious experiences lived. This reciprocity is especially obvious in places where greater value is placed on the quality of RE and of congregational life. Characteristic of RE in Hungary are the different possibilities (in terms of content and organization) of how the subject may be provided. One can expect very different educational and subject-specific skills on the part of the religion teachers, different organizational frameworks on the part of the schools and different forms of organization, execution and supervision on the part of the individual parishes, dioceses, churches and religious communities. The previous uncertain legal situation and the fact that the subject was not established in schools made it impossible to develop a strategy for RE by the individual churches or by way of a broader, ecumenical approach. In the light of new challenges, RE in Hungary over the coming years will face major tasks in terms of contents, strategy and organization. In terms of contents, the purpose of RE from a theological and educational point of view has to be clarified further. The role of RE, for example, with regard to identity formation, ethical education and interreligious and intercultural competencies, have to be worked out. New textbooks on religion and teaching materials are just as necessary as proper reflection on the issue of education and training of religion teachers. The issue of what kind of substantive quality RE in schools shall have in future is crucial. Research as well as quantitative and qualitative surveys, which have been rather thin on the ground to date, could be used to support these efforts. The analysis of previous experiences with RE in Europe can help to avoid wrong turns and dead ends, identify dangers and – with due consideration for the Hungarian environment – adapt what has been tried and tested elsewhere. Past achievements and strengths in RE in Hungary must be acknowledged and highlighted so that they can be incorporated into the further development of the subject and how it distinguishes itself contents-wise.

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In order to be able to cope with the enormous organizational challenges in the area, it is necessary to develop long-term strategies. Cooperation between parishes, the universal church, places of instruction, schools and the state is indispensable at the different levels. Likewise cooperation among churches is desired, which besides opportunities for contents and organization for the subject of RE might provide a basis for cooperation with ethics education. In any event, the new legal regulation provides an opportunity to incorporate RE and religious education as an enriching element in Hungarian schools.

13.

Further information (e. g., relevant literature on religious education, institutions, websites)

Literature that deals specifically with the issue of religious education in Hungarian schools is not widely available. In addition to the topic of RE in schools, this list provides information on literature dealing with religiosity in Hungary and schools under church patronage.

H‚mori, Ý., and G. Rosta. 2013. Youth, Religion, Socialization. Changes in youthreligiosity and ist relationship to denominational deucation in Hungary. Hungarian Educational Research Journal no. 4. http://herj.lib.unideb.hu/index.php?oldal=archivum& folyoir at_szam=4/2013. Kopp, E. 2014. Egyh‚zi iskol‚k tanulûi összet¦tel¦nek vizsg‚lata. Felekezeti különbs¦gek a kompetenciam¦r¦sek h‚tt¦rv‚ltozûinak elemz¦se alapj‚n, (The efficiency of church schools). In KözössÊGteremto˝ k. Tisztelg¦s a magyar vall‚sszociolûgusok nagy nemzed¦ke elo˝tt, ed. G. Pusztai and Ý. Luk‚cs, 197–224. Debrecen: Debrecen University Press. Kopp, E. 2007. Mai magyar reform‚tus gimn‚ziumok identit‚sa, (Identity of contemporary Hungarian Reform secondary schools). Studia Caroliensia no. 1: 3–194. Liebhardt, Ý, ed. 1992. Iskola ¦s egyh‚z, (School and Church). Theme Booklet. Educatio no. 1. Magyar Katolikus Püspöki Konferencia Hitoktat‚si Bizotts‚ga, ed. 2000. Magyar Kateketikai Direktûrium, (Hungarian Catechetical Directory). Budapest: Szent Istv‚n T‚rsulat. M‚t¦-Tûth, A., and G.D. Nagy, eds. 2008. Vall‚soss‚g-v‚ltozatok. Vall‚si sokf¦les¦g Magyarorsz‚gon, (Religiosity-Variations. Religious Diversity in Hungary). Szeged: JATEPress. Mervay, M. 2009. A hitoktat‚s hat¦konys‚ga, (Efficiency of Religious Education). Deliberationes no. 2: 121–32. Nagy, P.T. 1994. Hittan-oktat‚s, (Religious Education). Educatio no. 1: 89–105. N¦meth, D. 2002. Religiöse Erziehung und Religionsunterricht in Ungarn. Entwicklungslinien der protestantischen Religionspädagogik um 20. Jahrhundert, (Religious education and RE in Hungary. Developmental trends of Protestant Religious Education). Religionspädagogische Beiträge 49, 85–105.

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N¦meth, D. 2004. Protestantisches Schulwesen in Ungarn II.: Reformierte Kirche, (Protestant School System in Hungary II: Reform Church). In Kirche – Bildung – Demokratie, (Church – Education – Democracy), ed. G. Adam, 167–88. Münster : Waxmann. Pusztai, G. 2004. Iskola ¦s közöss¦g. Felekezeti köz¦piskol‚sok az ezredfordulûn, (School and Community. Pupils of denominational schools at the turn of the millennium). Budapest: Gondolat. Pusztai, G. 2006. Community and Social Capital in Hungarian Denominational Schools Today. Religion and Society in Central and Eastern Europe 1, no. 2: 1–15. Pusztai, G. 2013. Expansion, Systematisation and Social Commitment of Church-Run Education in Hungary. Hungarian Educational Research Journal no. 4. http://herj.lib. unideb.hu/index.php?oldal=archivum& folyoirat_szam=4/2013. Pusztai, G., and M. R¦bay, eds. 2005. Egyh‚zak ¦s oktat‚s, (Churches and education). Theme Booklet. Educatio no. 3. Reform‚tus Pedagûgiai Int¦zet, ed. 2008. Reform‚tus Oktat‚si Strat¦gia. Tervezet, (Reformed education strategy. Draft). Budapest: Reform‚tus Pedagûgiai Int¦zet. Rosta, G., and M. Tomka, eds. 2010. Mit ¦rt¦kelnek a magyarok? Az Eurûpai Êrt¦krend Vizsg‚lat 2008. ¦vi magyar eredm¦nyei, (What do the Hungarians value? The results of the European Value Surveys conducted in 2008). Budapest: Faludi Ferenc Akad¦mia, Ocipe Magyarorsz‚g. Solym‚r, M. 2004. Protestantisches Schulwesen in Ungarn II.: Lutherische Kirche, (Protestant School System in Hungary II: Protestant-Lutheran Church). In Kirche – Bildung – Demokratie, (Church – Education – Democracy), ed. G. Adam, 145–66. Münster : Waxmann. Solym‚r, M. 2010. Evangelisch-Lutherischer Religionsunterricht in Ungarn, (ProtestantLutheran religious education in Hungary). Schulfach Religion 29, no. 3–4: 99–121. Solym‚r, M. 2013. Religiöse Bildung an Schulen in Ungarn, (Religious Education at Schools in Hungary). Religiöse Bildung in Europa. Teil 1: Mitteleuropa, ed. M. Jäggle, M. Rothgangel, and T. Schlag, 229–63. Göttingen: V& R unipress. Szabû, L. 2001. A hitoktat‚s ön¦rtelmez¦s¦nek vizsg‚lata, (Analysis for design of religious education). In Hogyan tan†tsunk hittant? Vall‚sdidaktika, (How to teach Religion? Religious education), ed. K. Tamminen, L. Vesa, and M. Pyysiäinen, 13–30. Budapest: Luther Kiadû. Szabû, L. 2007. Kinder in der Evangelisch-Lutherischen Kirche in Ungarn, (Children in the Protestant-Lutheran Church in Hungary). In Handbuch Arbeit mit Kindern – Evangelische Perspektiven, (Compendium Working with Children – Protestant Perspectives), ed. M. Spenn, D. Beneke, F. Harz, and F. Schweitzer, 504–13. Gütersloh: Güterloher Verlagshaus. Szabû, M. 2007. Religious Education in Hungary. In Religious Education in Europe. Situation and current trends in schools, ed. E. Kuyk, R. Jensen, D. Lankshear, E. Löh Manna, and P. Schreiner. 97–101. Oslo: IKO. Thorday, A. 2004. Religions- und Ethikunterricht in Ungarn, (Religious education and ethics education in Hungary). Religionspädagogische Beiträge 53, 87–96. Thorday, A. 2006. Hitoktat‚s a sz‚mok tükr¦ben, (Religious education in consideration of statistics). Communio no. 3–4: 132–45.

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Tomka, M. 2010. Religiöser Wandel in Ungarn. Religion, Kirche und Sekten nach dem Kommunismus, (Religious change in Hungary. Religion, church, and sects after Communism). Ostfildern: Grünewald.

References Bal‚zsi, I., L. Ostorics, B. Szalay, and I. Szepesi, eds. 2010. PISA 2009, Összefoglalû jelent¦s, (Summary report). Budapest: Oktat‚si Hivatal, 47–61. Blaskû, Z., A.S. Ligeti, and E. Sik. 2014. Magyarok külföldön – Mennyien? Kik? Hol?, (Hungarians abroad – How much? Who? Where?). In T‚rsadalmi Riport, ed. T. Kolosi, and I.G. Tûth, 351–72. Budapest: TÝRKI. http://www.tarki.hu/adatbank-h/kutjel/ pdf/b337.pdf. Dronkers, J., and P. Rûbert. 2004. Has educational sector any impact on school effectiveness in Hungary? A comparison of the public and the newly established religious grammar schools. European Societies 6, no. 2: 205–36. Havas, G., and J. Zolnay. 2011. Sziszifusz sz‚mvet¦se. Az integr‚ciûs oktat‚spolitika, (The calculations of Sysiphus. Educational politics of integration). Besz¦lo˝ no. 6: 24–49. Lannert, J. 2010. A közoktat‚s finansz†roz‚s‚nak lehets¦ges megold‚sai, (Possible solutions for the financing of the public education system). T‚rki-Tudok 2010. http:// www.tarki-tudok.hu/file/finanszirozas/v_oktfin.pdf. Magyar Katolikus Püspöki Konferencia Hitoktat‚si Bizotts‚ga, ed. 2000. Magyar Kateketikai Direktûrium, (Hungarian Catechetic Directory). Budapest: Szent Istv‚n T‚rsulat. Ministry of National Resources, ed. 2011. Statisztikai t‚j¦koztatû, (Statistical Information). Oktat‚si ¦vkönyv 2010/2011, (Educational Yearbook 2010/2011). Budapest: Nemzeti Ero˝ forr‚s Miniszt¦rium. Neuwirth, G. 2005. A felekezeti iskol‚k eredm¦nyess¦gi ¦s “hozz‚adott ¦rt¦k” mutatûi, (Index of achievement “growth in values” in denominational schools). Educatio no. 3: 502–18. Polûnyi, I. 2005. Az egyh‚zi közoktat‚s n¦h‚ny oktat‚sgazdas‚gi saj‚toss‚ga, (Some peculiarities in the organization of education in the church education system). Educatio no. 3: 604–14. Pusztai, G. 2009. A t‚rsadalmi to˝ ke ¦s az iskola, (Jount stock and school). Budapest: ¢j Mand‚tum. Sik, E., ed. 2013. Migr‚ciû a mai Magyarorsz‚gon, (Migration in Contemporary Hungary). Magyar Tudom‚ny no. 3. http://www.matud.iif.hu/MT201303.pdf. Sik, E., and B. Simonovits. 2011. Migr‚ns es¦lyek ¦s tapasztalatok Magyarorsz‚gon, (Possibilities and experiences of migrants in Hungary). A T‚rki-Study. http:// www.tarki.hu/hu/research/migrans/. Simonovits, B., and B. Szalay. 2013. Idegenelleness¦g ¦s diszkrimin‚ciû a mai Magyarorsz‚gon, (Xenophoby and Discrimination in Contemporary Hungary). Magyar Tudom‚ny no. 3: 251–62. Thorday, A. 2004. Religions- und Ethikunterricht in Ungarn, (Religious education and ethics education in Hungary). Religionspädagogische Beiträge 53, 87–96.

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Thorday, A. 2006. Hitoktat‚s a sz‚mok tükr¦ben, (Religious education in consideration of statistics). Communio no. 3–4: 132–45. Török, P. 2013. What Should We Pay Attention To? Some Preliminary Information on the Value System of the Students in the Network of Church-Run Roma Special Colleges. Hungarian Educational Research Journal no. 4. http://herj.lib.unideb.hu/index. php?oldal=archivum& folyoirat_szam=4/2013.

Cyprian Rogowski

Religious Education at Schools in Poland

Introduction Of Poland’s 38.542 million inhabitants around 91 % belong to the Roman Catholic Church. Between 1961 and 1990, Catholic RE could only take place in parish vestries. Based on the instruction of the Education Minister from 3 August 1990 (cf. Instruction of the Education Minister 1990/91), optional Catholic RE was reinstated in public schools in Poland. The school is obliged to organize RE or ethics education for groups made up of at least seven pupils from the class in question. If the number of pupils wishing to attend is smaller than seven, the religion/ethics lessons must be organized in groups made up of pupils from several classes. A similar instruction for non-Catholic churches and religious communities was published on 24 August 1990. RE in Poland is based on the relationship between church and state, which can be defined as a sort of ‘coordinated separation’. In Poland, frequency of participation in RE is still very high: 96 % in primary schools, more than 80 % in middle and secondary schools. Despite the considerable increase in the frequency of participation in RE, the transfer of catechesis out of parish halls and into schools also represents a serious challenge in terms of organizing pastoral care for children and young people. In Poland, the term ‘school catechesis’ is also used for RE at schools, as the latter is understood to be part of catechesis as a whole. Until recently, RE in Polish schools had a decidedly catechetical character. Without doubt the image of school and of society as a whole in Poland has been changing constantly since 1989, because of the fact that pluralism is becoming an increasingly significant issue. The changes in the religiosity of children and young people which can be observed in Poland show that these phenomena are taking much the same course as in Western societies.

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1.

The socio-religious background of the country

1.1

General information

The population of Poland is 38,482,919, which represents 5.3 % of the entire population of Europe. The population density is 123 persons per km2. Over the course of the previous century, the birthrate has declined considerably, with the average number of children being born to each woman levelling out at around 1.3. Most of Poland’s people live in towns and cities (23.89 million or 61.8 %) while 14.76 million (38.2 %) live in the countryside. After the end of World War II, this ratio was very different, with only 31.8 % of the Polish population living in urban areas in 1946. 5 % of the Polish population belong to ethnic minorities, the main ones being Ukrainians, Germans, Belarusians, Slovaks, Czechs, Lithuanians, Roma and Jews. Of Poland’s 38,482,919 inhabitants around 91 % belong to the Roman Catholic Church (34,960,573 people), 1.44 % to the Orthodox Church (555,765 people), 0.40 % to various Protestant denominations (156,170 people), 0.32 % to the Jehovah’s Witnesses community (122,982 people), 0.13 % to the Old Catholic religion (50,918 people), 0.015 % to Far Eastern religions (5,701 people), 0.014 % to Islam (5,228 people) and 0.003 % to the Jewish faith (1,248 people). 7.24 % of the Polish population have no religion (2,799,377 people).1 The denominational composition of the Polish population is not the result of natural processes but is instead a consequence of decisions reached at the conferences of Yalta (4–11 February 1945) and Potsdam (17 July 1945-2 August1945), after which Poland’s borders were shifted arbitrarily. This led to mass movements of people, with over 3 million Germans and half a million Ukrainians, Belarusians and Lithuanians having to leave Poland between the years 1945 and 1950. At the same time, around half a million Poles arrived in Poland from areas that had been awarded to the Soviet Union. As a result of these mass resettlements and the extermination of the more than 3.3 million Jews that lived in Poland before World War II, Poland became one of the most homogeneous countries in Europe, both in terms of the nationality and religion of its people. Whereas during the Second Republic (1918–1939) minorities made up over 30 % of the population, in the Third Republic (from 1989 onwards) only around 1 % of all citizens belong to ethnic associations or nationality organisations. In 1939 1 Cf. Głûwny Urza˛d Statystyczny (Central Statistics Office), Rocznik Statystyczny Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej, 2011 (Statistical Yearbook for the Republic of Poland, 2011), Warsaw, 2011. These figures were compiled based on information provided by the relevant churches and religious communities. http://nowy.kai.pl/serwisy/platne/showmess.cgi?mess=5762/99.03.23.

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religious minorities made up around 35 % of the entire population, compared to just under 3 % in 1989.2 In the Third Republic there are 9,941 parishes, in which 26,911 priests (both secular and religious) are working. These are supported by 1,312 monks, 24,926 nuns and approximately 18,000 lay catechists. On average, there are 1,295 believers per priest. Over the past ten years, statistics on the religiosity of the Polish people have remained fairly constant. Between the years 1990 and 1997, the number of clergy grew by more than 3,500. However, a slow but constant decline in the number of vocations to the priesthood can now be seen: while in 1990 there were 5,352 men preparing for ordination in the country’s seminaries, this figure had dropped to 4,914 by 1994 and to 4,616 by 1998. The current number of seminarians is 4,200, with a decline of 10 % being recorded between 2007 and 2008. The decline was even more pronounced for the first year of studies, with 25 % fewer candidates for the priesthood compared to the previous year.3 A decrease of 15 % was recorded between 2009 and 2010. In the same period, there were around 25 % fewer vocations to religious orders in general (men and women) in Poland.4 Although the number of vocations is still very high, the large decrease in the country’s birthrate is now having a significant impact on seminaries too. Two processes are particularly interesting in Poland: system change and secularisation, each of which seems to be having completely different results to the other. The fall of Communism and the repeal of restrictions placed on the Church led to something of an ‘explosion in Catholicism’. This phenomenon also affected other denominations and religions in Poland, but because of their smaller number of adherents, this was not nearly as perceptible to the general public.

1.2

Developments

Poland has a young population, with Polish society having the following age structure: under 17 years – 24 %; 18–24 years – 11.8 %; 25–39 years – 20.3 %; 40–59 years – 27.1 %; 60–79 years – 14.8 %; over 80 years – 2 %. Neither a breakdown in the religious world view nor a disappearance of faith 2 Cf. Głûwny Urza˛d Statystyczny (Central Statistics Office), Wyznania religijne, stowarzyszenia narodowos´ciowe i etniczne w Polsce 1993 (Religious Denominations, Nationality Associations and Ethnic Organisations in Poland 1993–1996), Warsaw 1997, 15, 166. 3 Coraz mniej kandydatûw na ksie˛z˙y, (Fewer Candidates for the Priesthood), in: http://wiara. pl/ (2008–01–25). 4 Kryzys w Kos´ciele? Spada liczba powołan´, (Crisis in the Church? A Decrease in the Number of Vocations to the Priesthood), in: http://wiara.pl/.

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are being observed in Poland. However, there is a tendency for faith to become more of a private matter for people. In concrete terms, this means that while the percentage of deeply religious Polish Catholics is increasing, people are at the same time becoming more questioning in terms of their attitudes towards religious truths and the Church’s teachings, especially in the area of sexual behaviour, with ever increasing polarisation of opinion evident. Information on the religiosity of the Polish people gained in surveys on the issue allows us to determine that the theory of a spontaneous secularization in society due solely to the system changes that occurred in the country has not proved to be true (Marian´ski 2011, 24–79).

1.3

Religious orientation of young people

Between the years 1992 and 2002, levels of faith and religious practice remained constant across all age groups in Poland. Among young people (those aged between 18 and 24 years) weekly attendance at Mass was at 50 % compared with a figure of 55 % among those aged over 29 years). No significant change can be identified here. Other age groups too, i. e. those born between the end of the 1950s and the beginning of the 1980s, display similar patterns of religious practice (Szawiel 2008, 26–37). A broadly based research project on the religiosity of Polish young people carried out at the Chair for the Sociology of Religion at John Paul II Catholic University in Lublin between 2002 and 2005 produced the following results: 96.2 % of all young people declared that they were members of the Roman Catholic Church while 0.6 % were Orthodox Christians, 0.1 % were Protestants, 0.6 % were Jehovah’s Witnesses, 0.1 % were Muslims, 0.3 % followed another faith, 1.5 % stated that they had no religion and 0.7 % declined to answer (Marian´ski 2009, 197). In terms of religiosity, 15.6 % of the young people surveyed in upper secondary schools stated that they were ‘deeply religious’, 64.5 % said they were ‘religious’, 13.1 % said they were undecided on matters of religion but did maintain a connection with religious traditions, 4.7 % were ambivalent about religion and 1.8 % did not believe. 0.4 % did not give a response. 80.1 % of the young people surveyed described themselves as either ‘religious’ or ‘deeply religious’ (Marian´ski 2009, 198). According to research by the Polish opinion research institute, CBOS, carried out in April 2009, 5.9 % of adult Poles surveyed believed that their faith had grown stronger following Poland’s entry into the European Union while 27.9 % believed their faith had diminished after their country’s entry into the EU. For 59.1 %, integration with Western Europe had no impact on their religiosity,

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6.9 % found it hard to say and 0.2 % gave no response. Expert on the sociology of religion J. Marian´ski believes that Polish young people find themselves caught between forces of secularizsation and evangelism and cannot be described in terms of categories of uniform social circumstances.

2.

Legal framework for religious education and the relationship between religious communities and the state

Between 1961 and 1990, Catholic religious education could only take place in parish vestries. A similar instruction for non-Catholic churches and religious communities was published on 24 August 1990. This instruction invokes the Law on the Guarantee of Freedom of Conscience and Religion of 17 May 1989 (Journal of Laws of 1989, no. 29, item 155). The matter was finally settled by the Education System Act of 7 September 1991, which, in article 12, states: “In recognition of the rights of parents to a religious education for their children, the public primary schools must organize religious education at parents’ request, the public secondary schools at the request of parents or the pupils themselves; after reaching the age of legal majority the pupils can then decide of their own accord whether or not to attend religious education classes.” (Journal of Laws of 1991, no. 95, item 425) The order made by the Education Minister on 14 April 1992 constitutes the implementary regulation for this act (Journal of Laws of 1992, no. 36, item 155). Parents or legal guardians (or the pupils themselves if they have reached the age of religious majority) must express their desire to attend religious education classes or the alternative ethics classes. The desire must be expressed by way of an informal declaration, which “does not have to be repeated in the following school year but can be changed” (§ 1 Abs. 1 and 2). If fewer than seven pupils in one school register for religious education for the religious group concerned, the body that supports the school organizes religious education in groups made up of pupils from different schools. These classes can take place outside of the school. Such groups must contain at least three pupils (§ 2 Abs. 2). In cases where it is justified, religious education for the religious community in question can also be organised in another fashion (§ 2 Abs. 4). In the Education Act the wording repeated in the regulation that the school authorities must not only facilitate, but also organize, religious education is significant (Journal of Laws of 1991, no. 95, item 425, § 12 Abs. 2). Because religious and ethics education are both optional subjects, the school is obliged, for the duration of such classes, to guarantee appropriate supervision or educational activities for those pupils in the school not attending the classes (Journal of Laws of 1992, no. 36, item 155, § 3 Abs. 3).

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Pupils have the right to absent themselves from three days of classes in order to be able to participate in retreats during the pre-Easter Lenten period, if the religion or denomination to which they belong imposes such an obligation on them (§ 10 Abs. 1). Crosses can be placed in classrooms, a practice that is often quite common. In addition, a prayer may be said before and after class, (§ 12), although this is rarely done in practice. This legal framework was reinforced in the concordat. This bilateral agreement obliges kindergartens under state patronage (or that of local government bodies) to provide religious education in accordance with the same principles as those in the public schools, thereby guaranteeing even more comprehensively the right of parents to religious education for their children (§ 12 Abs. 1). At this stage of the child’s education, religious education amounts to a 20-minute class for six-year-olds in kindergarten. Legal anchoring of religious education in the constitution and in the concordat guarantees it a great degree of stability. Religious freedom exists for all citizens, irrespective of their religion or world view. Because of the unique features of individual religions as well as the denominational structure of Polish society, the individual legal regulations for the different denominations do differ, as do the consequences of recourse to one’s constitutional rights. All religious communities have the right to establish denominational schools as well as having the right to their religion being taught in public schools. Religious education in Poland is based on the relationship between church and state, which can be defined as a sort of ‘coordinated separation’. Both institutions – church and state – regard themselves as equal partners working together for the good of the citizens. It is the citizens themselves (the parents, the children or young people who have reached the age of majority) who decide on the inclusion of religious education and on the use of church educational facilities at different levels. The state offers these institutions appropriate support so that the citizens can lay claim to their rights in this area to the fullest extent possible. The model developed in the 1990s is, however, constantly being rearranged. Given the dynamic transformative changes taking place in Poland, it is difficult to accurately predict what the long-term outcome will be (Marian´ski 2011). The legal position of religion teachers in public schools is also secure. According to the regulation issued by the Education Minister in 1992, religion teachers must receive an assignment issued in writing in their name for the school in question by the bishop of the diocese (or, in the case of a non-Catholic religion, by a superior of that religion) (Journal of Laws of 1992, no. 36, item 155, § 5 Abs. 1). In the concordat, this assignment is called ‘missio canonica’ in the case of Catholic religion teachers (§ 12 Abs. 3), and its termination results in the loss of the right to teach religious education in the particular school. The em-

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ployment contract is then cancelled in accordance with the provisions of the Teachers’ Charter as well as the employment laws in place. For the period up until the end of the school year, the church or religious community can appoint another person to teach religious education. In such instances, however, the church or religious community must bear all the costs associated with this (Journal of Laws of 1992, no. 36, item 155, § 5 Abs. 2). The requirements stipulated by the state in terms of professional qualifications are the same for religion teachers as they are for teachers of other subjects. The ‘missio canonica’ is granted after the teacher has acquired the right professional qualifications and on condition that they are living an appropriate lifestyle in accordance with the teachings of the Church (Łabendowicz 2007, 208–11). The church authorities therefore decide themselves on the recruitment of religion teachers in public schools, with the teaching qualifications of these teachers being the joint concern of the church and state authorities. Since the introduction of religious education in Polish schools, lay religion teachers are paid the same salaries as teachers of other subjects. Priests who teach religion, on the other hand, only began receiving payment for their teaching duties in September 1997 (on the basis of the regulation issued by the Education Minister on 19 March 1997). Prior to that, they performed their duties free of charge because of the state’s difficult financial situation. After the signing of the concordat with the Catholic Church in 1993, the state regulated its legal relationships with ten other churches and religious communities too (The Evangelical Lutheran Church, the Polish Catholic Church, the Old Catholic Mariavite Church, the Pentecostal Church, the Church of SeventhDay Adventists, the Church of Christian Baptists, the Evangelical Methodist Church, the Evangelical Reformed Church, the Catholic Mariavite Church and the Jewish Communities). The solutions practised here followed the example of the provisions of the concordat. The law governing relationships with the autocephalous Orthodox Church comes from the year 1991. The Muslim Religious Association, the Old Believers’ Orthodox Church and the Karaim Religious Association have their legal basis in the period of the Second Republic.

3.

Developments in the country’s education policy

In 1999, fundamental reforms of the Polish education system came into effect. With the introduction of the compulsory pre-school year from the 2012/13 school year onwards, these reforms are complete for the time being. Since these reforms were introduced, Poland has been achieving higher rankings all the time in PISA studies. In Poland, all pupils attend the same type of school until the age of 15 years. Pre-school (‘grade zero’) is part of kindergarten and is attended by

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pupils between six and seven years of age. Compulsory schooling begins at seven and ends at eighteen years of age. Meanwhile, the coming into effect of the bringing forward of the age at which compulsory schooling begins to seven years, as decided on by the Polish parliament in 2009, has, for various reasons, been postponed until 2014. The main motivation for bringing forward this age was to bring about equality of opportunity for all. At present, however, enrolment in school at the age of seven years is optional. In the Polish education system, the six grades of primary school are followed by three grades of middle school (called ‘gimnazjum’ in Polish), both of which are obligatory for all pupils. It is only at the upper secondary school stage that differentiation occurs in the country’s education system. After successfully passing their middle school exams, Polish young people may attend different types of school where they can take the conventional school leaving examination. These include the general three-year lyceum or the four-year technical school, which also provides vocational training. There are also three-year vocational schools, which provide training for trades and include practical on-the-job elements but which do not offer the traditional academic school leaving examination. At the end of primary school, middle school and upper secondary school, pupils sit standardized examinations that are the same throughout the entire country. Admission into middle school depends on having passed the final examination for primary school, with the final middle school examination deciding whether or not the pupil can attend an upper secondary school. The number of points gained in the upper secondary school leaving examination is crucial for admission to certain university places.

4.

Role of religiously sponsored schools, including any changes and developments, legal relationships

Since the fall of Communism, there has been a steady growth in the number of denominational schools. A breakthrough was achieved in this area after the Round Table Talks of 1989 (Mazurkiewicz and Rogowski 2005). The participants in the Working Group for Education, Science and Technology agreed that the establishment of schools and other non-state educational institutions no longer required the approval of the Education Minister but could instead take place via simple registration of the facility in question. However, the criteria for this registration provoked controversy. The government wished to see independent schools only in exceptional cases, while the opposition called for procedures in the area to be made as simple as possible and recommended that the state should

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reimburse parents for the costs of educating their children in independent schools. It was against this backdrop that the Ministry of Education began making the necessary amendments to the legislation. The Catholic Church’s right to establish and operate denominational schools was already regulated for in the Act on the Relationship between the State and the Catholic Church of 17 May 1989 (Journal of Laws of 1989, no. 29, item 154, § 20). In the Education System Act of 7 September 1991, the principles governing the establishment of Catholic schools were specified in greater detail, in that they were placed on an equal footing with other independent schools. This was also reinforced by the constitution on 2 April 1997: “Parents have the right to send their children to schools other than public schools. All citizens and institutes have the right to establish primary, secondary and tertiary educational institutions as well as any other kind of educational facility.” (Article 70 Abs. 2) This right is specified in greater detail in article 14 of the concordat ratified on 23 February 1998. Such institutions are obliged to abide by the legal norms of both canon law and state law (Article 14 Abs. 1). In accordance with current law, all schools and educational facilities in Poland are either public or independent institutions (Journal of Laws of 2001, no. 111, item 1194; Article 5 Abs. 1). Only the public schools may award state diplomas or certificates (Article 7 Abs. 2). A public school is one 1) which guarantees free tuition within the scope of the framework curricula, 2) which selects pupils on the principle of universal accessibility, 3) which employs teachers who possess the prescribed qualifications, 4) which implements curricula that take account of the basic programme for general education – or, in the case of a specialized upper secondary school it must take account of the basic programme for general vocational education and in the case of a vocational school the basic programme for the specific type of vocational education in question – as well as taking account of the framework curriculum, 5) which observes the principles of assessment, grading and promotion of pupils (to the next grade) as well as the principles that apply to the execution of examinations and tests as set out by the minister with responsibility for education (Article 7.1). Independent schools can also acquire the same rights as public schools if they 1) implement curricula, 2) follow the basic programmes that apply to public schools, 3) apply similar principles of assessment and promotion of pupils (to the next grade) as well as principles on the execution of examinations and tests, 4) maintain records on lesson plans as prescribed for the public schools, 5) appoint teachers for the compulsory subjects who possess the same qualifications prescribed for teachers in public schools and 6) – in the case of vocational schools – if they train apprentices in the trades which are set out in the list of occupations towards which the vocational school system is geared. (Ar-

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ticle 7 Abs. 3). Primary schools and middle schools must either be public schools or independent schools with the same rights as a public school (Article 8). According to Article 48 Abs. 1 of the constitution, parents have “the right to educate their children in accordance with their own beliefs. This education should take account of the child’s level of maturity, his or her freedom of conscience and religion as well as his or her beliefs.” In Article 53 Abs. 3, parents’ right to “ensure the moral and religious education and teaching of their children in accordance with their beliefs”. The legal provisions in place favour the establishment of Catholic schools, the number of which has increased from 287 in 2002 to 540 in 2012. At present, there are around 57,000 children and young people enrolled in Poland’s Catholic primary schools, middle schools and lyceums.5 The fast increase in the number of denominational schools can also be explained by the diversity of the Catholic education system in Poland, with schools being run by : (a) dioceses and parishes, (b) religious orders, (c) individual Catholics, groups or associations. All Catholics have the right to establish Catholic schools. After the actual founding of the school, the bishop of the diocese must give his written approval in order for the school’s Catholic ethos to be recognised. The prerequisites for granting such approval are: (a) specialised teaching staff who are characterised by high ethical standards (“They must not only be teachers, they must also be witnesses to the faith.” Guidelines from the Polish Bishops’ Conference on Catholic Schools, Part IV.3), (b) suitable physical infrastructure, (c) a guarantee that funds for financing the school are available. The Catholic school must, therefore, ensure high standards and guarantee that the education it provides will be in keeping with the spirit of Christian values. In this context the main concern is ethical issues, the area where, above all others, problems in shaping a Christian value system may be encountered (Rogowski 2009, 260). According to the directives of the Polish Bishops’ Conference, denominational schools should be open to all, regardless of their denomination or world view. It is, however, expected that parents who decide to send their children to a Catholic school are aware of and accept its education programme and its objectives. The purpose of the school inspectorate is to maintain appropriate standards in schools. The diocesan bishops fulfil their supervisory duties by way of schools visits (cf. the Guidelines of the Polish Bishops’ Conference on Catholic Schools, Part IV.3). The Catholic schools recognised by the Church are registered with the Polish Council of Catholic Schools, which is responsible for registering and supporting the schools. In addition, the schools usually belong to various kinds of Catholic 5 http://www.episkopat.pl/?a=kalendarium_show& typ=INFORMACJE& id=11830#stat.

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school associations, of which there are currently around 40. These associations facilitate cooperation between schools and the sharing of experiences. The Association of the Friends of Catholic Schools (Polish acronym: SPSK) in Cze˛stochowa, for example, has prepared and distributed an ‘SPSK Education Programme’ (SPSK Education Programme, 2000). With the introduction of reforms in the Polish education system, the organizational principles of Catholic schools are also changing. Currently, the schools are regulated by the Law of 23 August 2001 (Journal of Laws of 2001, No. 111, Item 1194). The schools are obliged to implement the basic programmes specified by the Education Minister (Article 7 Abs. 3.1), which are defined as follows in the law: “These include the obligatory teaching aims and contents for each level of education as well as the responsibilities and educational duties of the school, which are also given due consideration in pre-school and mainstream school programmes and which enable the establishment of criteria for academic assessments and examination requirements.” (Article 3, 13). Denominational schools and facilities can be financed from the state budget (in the case of art schools and special schools) or from local authority funds (in the case of schools operated by parishes or districts). Independent schools that have the same rights as public schools and in which pupils within the compulsory age range are taught receive payments for each pupil from local authority funds designated for the support of such schools. These payments are the same as for public schools of the same type (Article 90 Abs. 2a). Other independent schools with the same rights as public schools receive payments amounting to no higher than 50 % of these costs (Article 90 Abs. 3). Independent schools without the same rights as public schools can receive payments from district authority funds. Catholic schools have control over their own financial resources. Since Catholic schools generally have access to other sources of funding, the number of schools that do not charge tuition fees is growing all the time. Because Catholic schools often use buildings which are the property of the parish or diocese, the abatement of rents – or at least a proportion of these – is another way in which church institutions can financially support schools. On the basis of the concordat, all persons in Catholic schools (provided these schools have the same rights as a public school) have the same rights and obligations as similar persons in public schools and facilities (Article 14 Abs. 3). The specific aims of the Catholic school include education in the spirit of Christian values and the mysteries of the Church. The religious education classes play an important role in the realisation of such aims. The Guidelines of the Polish Bishops’ Conference on Catholic Schools make reference to the importance of the other school subjects (Rogowski 2009, 253–69). In addition to having suitable professional preparation for their work, other requirements are also stipulated for teachers in Catholic schools (Guidelines of

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the Polish Bishops’ Conference on Catholic Schools). Because they are supposed to be both teachers and witnesses to the faith, they must distinguish themselves through proper religious instruction and a respectable lifestyle. Requirements for teachers that go beyond those set out in the legal framework (Journal of Laws Law Gazette 91, 95, 425) and the Teachers’ Charter (Journal of Laws 00.12.136) are also specified in the curricula and in school statutes. The programme for one Catholic school association, for example, makes reference to its aspiration that teachers bear the main responsibility for creating an authentic Christian environment within the school (cf. Gancarek 2000, 14, 43–97; Potocki 2007). Pupils must be treated as human beings, their uniqueness respected and their weaknesses accepted. At the same time, they should be open to the love of God. The situation with regard to the selection of pupils, upon which no requirements are imposed other than the fulfilment of the general criteria of the education system, is quite different. Parents are expected to understand the Catholic ethos of the school and to expressly accept it. They are also expected to work together with the school by way of consultation with the board of management and the teachers, by working in the parents’ council, by taking part in retreats as well as by playing a part in organisational duties. The way in which the subsidiary nature of the Catholic school is sometimes worded so directly is worthy of note: “Within the education process, the school fulfils merely a helping function, one that supports the parents in their role” (Gancarek 2000, 41; Misiaszek 2010). The legislature recognises that parents have the right to give their children a religious and moral education that is in accordance with their beliefs. This right must be guaranteed both through the public education system as well as through the fact that “parents have the right to send their children to schools other than public ones” (Article 70 Abs. 3 of the Polish Constitution). The legislature ensures that it is the parents who decide on the nature of the “moral and religious education and teaching” which their child receives at school. A much-discussed problem in relation to denominational schools in Poland is the question of whether they should be elite schools or whether they should be an ‘option for the poor’. It appears that, despite the fact that many of them do not charge tuition fees, Catholic schools – like the other independent schools in Poland – are veering in the direction of being elitist. This is caused by external circumstances, including the stratification of society into different social classes. Although attempts are being made by the church hierarchy to counteract this trend, it seems that such efforts are having only a limited impact. The Guidelines of the Polish Bishops’ Conference on Catholic Schools make the following recommendation: “The tuition fees that parents must pay must not be so high that they represent an insurmountable obstacle for children and young people from

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poorer families attending Catholic schools. Otherwise, an accusation of elitism could be fostered.” (VI. 3). In this context, the foundation of the Polish Bishops’ Conference entitled ‘Dzieło Nowego Tysia˛clecia’ (Work of the New Millennium), which was created after the Pope’s pilgrimage to Poland in 1999, must be mentioned. The foundation is based on the funds collected during the annual Poland-wide street collection ‘Equal Opportunities in Education’, which takes place within the scope of ‘Papal Day’. This programme began in the 2001/02 school year and provides particularly gifted young people from the poorest Polish families with scholarships. It is currently assisting over 2,000 scholarship holders from 39 dioceses and aims to provide long-term support for such pupils up as far as university level. Without doubt, Poland is, as Bishop Tadeusz Pieronek put it, ‘witnessing a renaissance of its Catholic education system’ (cf. KAI report of 24 March 2000). The legal position of Catholic schools is satisfactory, and any Catholic who wishes to establish such a school will not be prevented from doing so by the state. The expected numbers of denominational schools must correspond with the denominational structure of Polish society. However, there are regions in Poland where people belonging to the Orthodox or Lutheran churches predominate, a situation that is then reflected in those regions’ public schools. In recent years, denominational schools have been set up by the Evangelical Lutheran Church, primarily in Cieszyn (Silesia). In 2006 a Lutheran kindergarten with 52 children, divided into three age groups, was opened. The number of children grew to 67 the following school year and 72 the year after that. In the 2005 school year, a Lutheran primary school was established in Silesia. This was preceded by a middle school (in 1999) and a lyceum (in 1993). In accordance with their charters, these schools educate their pupils in accordance with the principles of Christian ethics and the Protestant work ethic – with particular consideration for the values of kindness, truth, wisdom, respect and tolerance. A course of study in iconographics organised by Orthodox Christians for secondary school graduates is available in Bielsk Podlaski, as well as a school for psalmists and choirmasters in the Orthodox Church in Hajnûwka and primary schools organised by the Jewish community in Warsaw and Wrocław.

5.

Conceptions and tasks of religious education

In Poland, the term ‘school catechesis’ is also used for religious education in schools, as the latter is understood to be part of catechesis as a whole. Until recently, religious education in Polish schools had a decidedly catechetical character. In the discussions on the matter that take place nowadays, however,

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reference is made to the necessity of teaching religious education based on the model of other school subjects (Rogowski 2011, 292–95). Based on the instruction of the Education Minister from 3 August 1990 (cf. instruction of the Education Minister 1990/91), optional Catholic religious education was reinstated in public schools in Poland. The school is obliged to organize religion or ethics education for groups made up of at least seven pupils from the class in question. If the number of pupils wishing to attend is smaller than seven, the religion/ethics lessons must be organised in groups made up of pupils from several classes (§ 2 Abs. 1). After the reintroduction of religious education in Polish schools, a long period of time passed before work began on new syllabus principles and teaching materials (cf. Kraszewski 2000). In the beginning, religion teachers generally used older teaching materials, which were still based on the syllabus from 1971 and which therefore tended to correspond more with the old education system (cf. Barcin´ski 2001; Nycz 2000; Panus´ 2000). These materials were modified only on a provisional basis. The sequence of thematic units to be addressed within the class was often left for the religion teachers themselves to decide. The Commission for Catholic Education (The Commission for Catholic Education of the Polish Bishops’ Conference, 1999) began working on a new education programme, which it was hoped would be a better match for the current education system in schools. To begin with, a ‘programme of study’ was designed – a programme which has not yet been accepted by the Polish Bishops’ Conference – which formed the basis for a great deal of work, in particular for classes in lower secondary schools. Similar to the educational basis for various other subjects within the education system, the syllabus for religious education gives due consideration to the various objectives of religious instruction in terms of teaching, education and training. This syllabus invokes the recommendations of the General Directorate for Catechesis from 1997. “Religious education in schools is called upon to enter into the cultural field and to connect with other areas of knowledge” (Dyrektorium Ogûlne o Katechizacji 1997).

6.

Practice / reality of religious education in different schools

Responsibility for religious education, the passing on of faith as well as implementation of the ideas of the Second Vatican Council lies in particular with the synods that take place in the individual particular churches (cf. Tymosz 2001). Some catechetical documents from the diocesan synods as well as notices in the pastoral letters of the Polish Bishops’ Conference are significant for the Roman Catholic Church in Poland. Of these documents the Catechetical Di-

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rectorate of the Catholic Church in Poland published by the Polish Bishops’ Conference in 2001, in particular, must be mentioned, as it deals with elements of catechesis important for the particular church in Poland. It looks at the issue of religious education and is aimed primarily at those persons with responsibility in the area of catechesis: parents, authors of curricula and textbooks as well as faculties of theology. The Polish Bishops’ Conference’s Commission for Catholic Education is responsible for religious education throughout Poland. At the diocesan level, special departments for catechetical instruction bear responsibility for this. Their objectives include further training of religion teachers as well as coordination of religious education planning and the publication of textbooks and catechetical aids. After the fall of Communism, the Polish Bishops’ Conference enthusiastically called for the return of religious education in the country’s schools. It stressed the necessity of observing the already existing connections between Christianity and Polish culture and, above all, the Church’s commitment to strengthening the cultural identity of the nation: “School catechesis must be understood as a resource that serves to deepen feelings of national and cultural identity” (Pastoral Letter of the Polish Bishops’ Conference, 1990). The reintroduction of religious education in schools is interpreted by the Polish Bishops’ Conference as “atonement for one of the damages that society bore during the time of the totalitarian regime, which left behind not only an economic but also, and perhaps more significantly, a moral desolation” (Pastoral Letter of the Polish Bishops’ Conference, 1990, 127). Religious education in school should, as the bishops highlight, aim for mutual coordination of education in the school and parish with education within the family (cf. Offman´ski 2000; Stala 2008). The reintroduction of religious education in Poland’s public schools was accompanied by major expectations and challenges. Against this backdrop, over the past 20 years the Church has focussed on the following activities: (a) Cooperation on the preparation of stable legal frameworks (including anchoring of religious education in the constitution and in the concordat); (b) General and educational-academic training of religion teachers; (c) The development of suitable basic programmes for religious education, as well as textbooks, aids, etc.; (d) Theoretical and practical linking of religious education with parish catechesis and pastoral care. The curricula and textbooks for religious education must be approved by the Church authority with responsibility for such matters and then presented to the Education Minister for his or her information (§ 4). This means that the churches and religious communities – in accordance with the constitutional

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principles of autonomy and independence – does not interfere in the contents of other subjects and, conversely, that the state does not define the principles and truths of faith. The two hours per week of religious education take place in schools within the latter’s timetables (§ 1 Abs. 1 and § 8 Abs. 1). If there is a shortage of teachers, the weekly amount of religious education provided can be reduced. Pupils’ grades in religion or ethics are entered into their school reports, even though it is not identified in which of these two subjects or in which religion the grade was achieved (§ 9 Abs. 1). The grade awarded does not influence whether or not the pupils is moved up to the next class (§ 9 Abs. 2).

7.

Observations on alternative subjects / learning areas like ethics, philosophy etc.

Statistics from the Ministry of Education show that the subject of ethics was being taught in 887 schools in the 2011 school year. By comparison, the subject of religion was being taught in 27,000 schools. Neither religious education nor ethics are compulsory subjects. Such classes can (as in the case of Islamic religious education, for example, in public kindergartens and schools) be organised at the request of parents or legal guardians or the pupils themselves (if they have reached age of majority) on their own initiative. This request must be submitted in the form of a simple written declaration. The school must follow up on this request and organize suitable classes. The declaration is valid for future years, provided it is not revoked. There is increased discussion on the issue of ethics as a subject in Polish schools. From a theoretical point of view, questions on how the subject should be guaranteed in law and how it should be integrated into the school curriculum remain unanswered. Children and young people choose the subject of religion primarily for reasons of denomination and out of societal and religious motivations. In the case of ethics there are some problematic areas, with the subject continuing to encounter organizational difficulties and a shortage of qualified teaching staff. Worthy of note too is the fact that only very few schools in Poland are organising ethics classes. Here, the psychological barrier for participants in the discussion on the issue of ethics education is very large. This barrier exists if the school principal has not had any contact with ethics as a school subject during the course of his or her career and associates it only with ‘savoir vivre’. As a result, there is hardly any motivation to organise classes in the subject.

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Dealing with religious diversity

The ecumenical perspective has become more and more important since Poland’s entry into the European Union (Rogowski 2007, 859–61; Patalon 2008; Milerski 2004, 195–211). In particular, ecumenical and interfaith matters must be reconsidered from the point of view of ecumenical education. In this respect, developments in religious education in Poland are only at an early stage, while the process can be seen as a process of searching for a new understanding within the context of theological reflection. Here, it is important to search first of all for answers to the question of the relationship between different religions, especially in view of socio-political and cultural change in the world. Because of the relatively monolithic structure of Polish society (in terms of religion – as mentioned previously, over 90 % of Poles are Catholic), there is little scope for close collaboration between different denominations. There is, however, cooperation in some spheres. One example of this can be found in the city of Wrocław. Looking at the faiths represented among the population of Wrocław reveals an extraordinary degree of diversity. The presence of so many religious groups there is the result of its complex history, with many different nationalities living in the city. Although the Communist authorities tried to rob every minority of its own unique characteristics and create a uniformly ethnic Polish state, the different religious communities in the city have maintained their own national identities to this very day. Today there is a small Protestant parish, made up of both German and Polish speakers, most of whom come from outside of Wrocław. As a result of the resettlement of minorities in eastern parts of the country shortly after World War II, the formerly German city of Breslau (now called Wrocław) also has two Orthodox Christian parishes. At present, these churches are attended by Orthodox Ukrainians and by a small number of Russians as well as Poles. What is astonishing about the city is that, despite the Holocaust and the anti-Semitic policies pursued during the Communist era, there is still a small Jewish community in Wrocław. The above examples show how heavily influenced the present-day religious diversity of Wrocław has been by migration, resettlement and the redrawing of national borders, particularly after World War II.6 For some years now, the Festival of Protestant Culture has been organized within the scope of Christian cooperation in the city. The organizers include the Lutheran Church in Wrocław, with the involvement of the city’s Faculty of Protestant Theology and a host of other institutions connected with Protestantism. In terms of its media coverage and reception by the residents of Lower Silesia’s capital city, this festival is becoming more and more popular every year. 6 http://homepage.univie.ac.at/philipp.ther/breslau/html/narod.html.

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Religion in school outside of religious education

Despite the considerable increase in the frequency of participation in religious education classes, the transfer of catechesis out of parish halls and into schools also represents a serious challenge in terms of organising pastoral care for children and young people. In the past, pupils were used to visiting their parish church several times a week. Nowadays the most contact many of them have with their own parish is once a week, on a Sunday. Children and young people’s frequency of attendance at Sunday Mass is also on the decline, although there are very few statistics on the subject. A study carried out by Professor Witold Zdaniewicz shows that, in the year 2010, around 41 % of Polish Catholics (excluding children and older people) attended Sunday Mass, compared to around 41.5 % in 2009 (cf. Catholic Church’s Institute of Statistics). According to W. Sadłonia, the reasons for this are social changes, migration and growth, as well as the prosperity of the family and the increasing instability of same. Transferral of religious education out of the parish and into the school resulted in a change in its character as well as in the composition of the catechetical groups. Nowadays, more children and young people are availing themselves of religious education than in the past. This also means that pupils who, out of lack of interest in religious affairs, did not come into the rectory for religious education are now attending religious education classes in school. In addition, despite now attending religious education classes, some of this group of pupils are not receiving the Church’s sacraments. Attempts are being made to rectify these difficulties by creating an understanding of the parish church as the appropriate location for sacramental catechesis (First Communion, Confirmation) within the Catholic Church (Bagrowicz 2000).

10.

Training of teachers of religious education: institutes, structures, priorities issues

After the political changes that occurred in Poland in 1989, the number of theological research centres in the country increased. Apart from John Paul II Catholic University in Lublin, Cardinal Stefan Wyszyn´ski University in Warsaw (formerly known as the Academy of Catholic Theology) and the Papal Theological Academy in Krakow, some of the faculties of theology in the country’s state universities were also created at this time. Research in the area of religious education is undertaken in the following centres, amongst others: at the Chair of Catechetics and Religious Education in the Faculty of Theology at the University of Olsztyn (since the year 2000) (C. Rogowski) and at the Chair of Catechetics

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and Religious Education in the Faculty of Theology at Nicholas Copernicus University in Torun´ (since 2002) (J. Bagrowicz). In addition, there is a Chair of Christian Education at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan´ (R. Niparko) and a Chair of Protestant Religious Education at the Christian Theological Academy in Warsaw (1998) (B. Milerski). Here, ecumenical research, particularly in the area of Protestant and Catholic religion, is undertaken. The Chair of Religious Education in the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Gdansk also has an ecumenical profile (M. Patalon). Above all else, the creation of these research centres in Poland means that training of RE teachers can be continued and, at the same time, religious education as an academic discipline further developed. Interdisciplinary research and the linking of practical theological disciplines with the fields of education, psychology, sociology, sociology of religion and cultural studies are both very relevant here (Rogowski 2011, 413–15). The afore-mentioned faculties of Catholic theology train students for careers as religion teachers in all types of school. In addition, candidates for the priesthood also study in these faculties. However, apart from specialist theology degrees, there are no branches of study which specifically train students for careers as religion teachers. Some faculties of theology do offer courses in Family Studies. After completing their training, these graduates can pursue careers within the field of social projects organised by the church and the state. Protestant students can train as religion teachers in the Christian Theological Academy in Warsaw. Students may also study Orthodox Christian theology here as well as at the University of Białystok.

11.

Empirical Research concerning religious education

In literature on the subject it is noticed that empirical researches, concerning the above-mentioned issues, are reflected mostly in sociological and religious-sociological researches. There are fewer empirical studies sensu stricto catechetical or pedagogic-religious. On the polish ground the empirical researches are carried out mainly on areas like: teaching religion in school, catechesis in the parish or family’s catechesis (the attitude of youth towards Christian values). That issue is taken into consideration in all theological centres in Poland. The most significant publications from this range probably are:

Offman´ski, A. 2006. Młodziez˙ a Kos´ciûł. Relacje młodziez˙y wzgle˛dem Kos´cioła. In Katecheza w Kos´ciele i dla Kos´cioła, ed. C. Ryszard, 37–51. Płocki Instytut Wydawniczy : Płock. In these studies the author points out that the extended vision of the Church is in need of fundamental revision concerning the conception of the young generation’s upbringing to the life in Church. It is necessary to put emphasis on reinforcement of feeling of being a part of Church.

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Podpora R. 2006. E-learning w katechetyce formalnej. Lublin: Wydawnictwo Gaudium. The study shows the beginnings of the very important aspect of Internet appliance for educational purposes in Church’s catechesis. Chałupniak, R. 2006. Katecheta wobec krytyki Kos´cioła. In Katecheza w Kos´ciele i dla Kos´cioła, ed. C. Ryszard, 175–89. Płocki Instytut Wydawniczy : Płock.The author focuses on the issue of catechists’ reaction that is influenced by temptation and danger in relation to steadily increasing criticism of the Church in Polish society. Ma˛kosa, P. 2006. Formacja eklezjalna w edukacji religijnej młodziez˙y szkûł ponadgimnazjalnych. In Katecheza w Kos´ciele i dla Kos´cioła, ed. C. Ryszard, 79–92. Płocki Instytut Wydawniczy : Płock. In studies concerning religious education of youth , the author emphasizes the meaning of ecclesial upbringing. Aside from school lessons, the parish should enable young people to experience the real ecclesial community. In this above-mentioned context, by the same author : Ma˛kosa, P, 2010. Katecheza młodziez˙y gimnazjalnej w Polsce. Stan aktualny i perspektywy rozwoju. Lublin: Wydawnictwo KUL. Marian´ski, J. 2011. Przemiany moralnos´ci polskich maturzystûw w latach 1994–2009. Lublin: Wydawnictwo KUL. This study points out life-orientation of Polish people, their axiological selections and the moral laws they are following. Marian´ski, J. 2011. Katolicyzm polski. Cia˛głos´c´ i zmiana. Krakûw: Wydawnictwo WAM. In his studies the author points out the strong secularization processes in Poland and he emphasizes how important evangelism is in the young generation. The researches concern the processes of transformation in Polish Catholicism (between secularization and evangelization). Zduniak, A. 2011. Dos´wiadczenie wiary czy festiwal emocji. Experience of faith, or festival of emotion? Religious events in the Polish Church. KERYKS 10, 113–46. The article discusses religious mass events organized in Poland. The author seeks to answer the questions about the reasons for their increasing popularity, about modern people’s needs and expectations that lie at its source, and about the role which such events may play in modern Catholicism. Adamczyk, T. 2011. Postawy młodziez˙y studenckiej wobec religii. Attitudes of the student youth towards religion. KERYKS 10, 23–55. Students’ attitudes towards faith were shown on the basis of sociological research which was carried out among students in Lublin. The subject matter concerned basic processes of religious change characteristic of Poland. Marian´ski, J. 2013. Kos´ciûł katolicki w Polsce w przestrzeni z˙ycia publicznego. Studium socjologiczne. (The Roman Catholic Church in Poland and in the Public sphere. Sociological study), Torun´ : Wydawnictwo Adam Marszałek.

In the light of the results of public opinion polls and sociological studies this study analyses some aspects of social awareness of the Polish people in terms of attitudes toward the Roman Catholic Church and its role in society.

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Desiderata / challenges for religious education in a European context

Without doubt the image of the school and of society as a whole in Poland has been changing constantly since 1989, because of the fact that pluralism is becoming an increasingly significant issue. Therefore, the question arises: to what extent does religious education in school provide an answer to the problems facing children and young people? Within this context, I believe that a merely quantitative estimation of the present-day situation with regard to religious education (frequency of participation in religious education is still very high: 96 % in primary schools, more than 80 % in middle and secondary schools), without asking any questions as regards the quality of the education provided, would be a huge mistake. In religious education curricula, there is a shortage of topics with a socioethical profile (cf. Rogowski 2009, 253, 260). Studies dealing with the sociology of religion prove that even religious education cannot circumvent these burning issues. For that reason, these issues have become increasingly important in recent times, including in empirical studies in religious education. In particular from the point of view of European integration, empirical studies in the area of religious education and the sociology of religion, with an international perspective on the religiosity of children and young people, will be invaluable. The changes in the religiosity of children and young people which can be observed in Poland show that these phenomena are taking much the same course as in Western societies.

13.

Further information (e. g., relevant literature on religious education, institutions, websites)

The following textbooks provide an initial insight into the discussion on religious education in Poland Bagrowicz, J. 2000. Edukacja religijna wspûłczesnej młodziez˙y. Z´rûdła i cele. Torun´. Cichosz, W. 2010. Pedagogia wiary we wspûłczesnej szkole katolickiej. Warszawa. Jackowiak, D., and J. Szpet, eds. 2000. Słowo Boga jest blisko Ciebie. I klasa gimnazjum. Przewodnik metodyczny. Poznan´. Jackowiak, D., and J. Szpet, eds. 2000. Wolni przez miłos´c´. II klasa gimnazjum. Przewodnik metodyczny. Poznan´. Marek, Z. et al., eds. 1999. Podre˛cznik metodyczny do religii dla klasy I gimnazjum. Krakûw. (This methodological guide includes ten issues and a CD as an aid for teaching catechism.)

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Misiaszek, K. 2010. Koncepcja nauczania religii katolickiej w publicznej szkole polskiej. Prûba oceny. Warszawa. Offman´ski, A. 2000. W kierunku katechezy ewangelizacyjnej. Polska katecheza młodziez˙owa w latach 1945–2000. Szczecin. Potocki, A. 2007. Wychowanie religijne w polskich przemianach. Studium socjologicznopastoralne. Warszawa. Rogowski, C., ed. 2007. Leksykon Pedagogiki Religii. Podstawy – Koncepcje – Perspektywy. Warszawa. Rogowski, C. 2011. Pedagogika Religii. Podre˛cznik Akademicki. Torun´. Tomasik, P. 2000. Dom na skale. Podre˛cznik metodyczny do nauki religii dla II klasy gimnazjum. Warszawa.

The following magazines provide further insights into the topic of religious education The Institute for Education in Copernicus University in Torun´ has been addressing questions associated with religious education in the magazine ‘Paedagogia Christiana’ (ed. J. Bagrowicz) since 1997. The Religious Education Department at the Jesuit University of Philosophy and Education ‘Ignatianum’ in Krakow has been publishing annals on the subject of religious education since 1998 (ed. W. Kubik) while the journal Horyzonty Wychowania (Educational Horizons, formerly Horizons of Faith), also published by Ignatianum, has been around since 2002. The international journal for religious education ‘KERYKS’ has been published since 2002. Editors: C. Rogowski (founder and chief editor), E. Spiegel, A.M. Stroß, and J. Marian´ski, with the participation of: M. Jýggle, and B. S´liwerski, published by A. Marszałek, publishing house in Torun´. All published articles are published simultaneously in two languages.

The following websites are worthy of note Catholic schools in Poland: http://ekai.pl/wydarzenia/polska/x44967/szkoly-katolickiew-polsce/. Civic Educational Association: http://en.sto.org.pl/. Ecumenical Movement of Kultury Protestanckiej: http://www.kultura.senior.pl/121,0,IIIFestiwal-Kultury-Protestanckiej,11577.html. Ecumenism: http://ekumenizm.wiara.pl/doc/478234 http://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eku menizm. Information of the Polish Bishops’ Conference about catholic schools: http://www.epis kopat.pl/?a=kalendarium_show& typ=INFORMACJE& id=11830#stat. Religious background in Wrocław: http://homepage.univie.ac.at/philipp.ther/breslau/ html/narod.html. The Evangelical Church of Augsburg Confession in Polandhttp://www.luteranie.pl/.

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World religions in Poland: http://www.bryk.pl/teksty/liceum/j%C4%99zyk_polski/ antyk_i_biblia/22276-systemy_religijne_buddyzm_islam_judaizm_i_chrze%C5%9B cija%C5%84stwo.html. http://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polski_Autokefaliczny_Ko%C5%9Bci%C3%B3%C5%82_ Prawos%C5%82awny.

Institutions Catholic Action in Poland (Akcja Katolicka w Polsce) Protestant Educational Association in Gliwice (Ewangelickie Towarzystwo Edukacyjne w Gliwicach) Catholic news agency in Poland (Katolicka Agencja Informacyjna KAI) Polish Bishops’ Conference – Commission of religious education (Komisja Wychowania Katolickiego Episkopatu Polski) Institute for Polish-Jewish Studies (Polskie Towarzystwo Studiûw Z˙ydowskich): http:// www.polishjewishstudies.pl/polin.html Orthodox Educational Association ‘Tower of Babel’ in Wrocław – intercultural education (Stowarzyszenie Edukacyjne ‘Wiez˙a Babel’ we Wrocławiu)

References Bagrowicz, J. 2004. Das soziale Katechumenat der Kirche und die Effektivitýt religiöser Unterweisung. KERYKS 3, no. 2: 173–93. Barcin´ski, Z. 2001. Jaki jest stan polskiej katechezy po 10 latach jej obecnos´ci w szkole? Jakiej katechezy chcemy za 10 lat? Katecheta, no. 1: 71–5. Dyrektorium Ogûlne o Katechizacji 1997. Gancarek, S., ed. 2000. Programy wychowawcze Stowarzyszenia Przyjaciûł Szkûł Katolickich. 14, 43–97. Hirtenbrief der Polnischen Bischofskonferenz aus Anlaß der Rückkehr des Religionsunterrichts in die Schule. 1990. in: Presbiterium 18, 126. Informator adresowy o szkołach katolickich. 1999. Warszawa, 102. Instruktion des Bildungsministers über die Rückkehr der Religion in die Schule im Schuljahr 1990/91, ‘Pismo Okûlne Episkopatu’ no. 32/90/1172. Jackowiak, D. 2011. Metodologiczne aspekty badan´ pore˛cznikûw do nauczania religii, (Methodologische Aspekte der Untersuchung von Lehrbüchern für den Religionsunterricht). KERYKS 12, Numer Specjalny/Sonderausgabe: 142–5. Jackowiak, D., and J. Szpet, eds. 2000a. Słowo Boga jest blisko Ciebie. I klasa gimnazjum. Poznan´. Jackowiak, D., and J. Szpet, eds. 2000b. Wolni przez miłos´c´. II klasa gimnazjum. Poznan´. Janczewski, Z. 2001. Stosunek młodziez˙y do katechezy i katechetûw. Katecheta 7–8: 108–12. Kicin´ski, A. 2007. Katecheza osûb z niepełnosprawnos´cia˛ intelektualna˛. Lublin. Podstawa programowa oraz program nauki religii dla szkûł podstawowych, gimnazjûw i szkûł ponadpodstawowych. 1999. (ed. J Szpet), Poznan´.

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Kraszewski, J. 2000. Katecheza w rodzinie, w szkole i w parafii. Horyzonty Wiary 11: 19–30. Kraszewski, J. 2000. Po dziesie˛ciu latach katechezy w szkole. Zeszyty Katechetyczne 6: 3–15. Łabendowicz, S. 2007. Formacja nauczycieli religii. In Leksykon Pedagogiki Religii. Podstawy – Koncepcje – Perspektywy, ed. C. Rogowski, 208–11. Warszawa. Marian´ski, J. 2009. Wandert die polnische Jugend aus der Kirche aus? KERYKS 8, 193–223. Marian´ski, J. 2011. Horizonte der Religiositýt in Polen – eine religionssoziologische Erschließung. KERYKS 12, Numer Specjalny/Sonderausgabe: 24–79. Marian´ski, J. 2011. Katolicyzm polski. Cia˛głos´c´ i zmiana. Studium socjologiczne. Krakûw. Mazurkiewicz, P., and C. Rogowski. 2005. Polen. In Kirche und Erziehung in Europa, ed. K.G. Ballestrem, S. Belardinelli, and T. Cornides, 225–47. Wiesbaden. Milerski, B. 2004. Evangelische Religionspýdagogik. Die Frage nach ihrem wissenschaftlichen Status. KERYKS 3, no 2: 195–211. Nycz, K. 2000. Katecheci w szkole. Katecheta 4: 4–6. Panus´, T. 2000. Katecheci w nowej Karcie Nauczyciela. Horyzonty Wiary 11: 79–83. Patalon, M. 2008. Tolerancja i edukacja. Gdan´sk. Pieronek, T. 2000. Äußerung von Bischof. KAI-Meldung 24 March 2000. Podstawa programowa katechezy Kos´cioła Katolickiego w Polsce zatwierdzona przez Konferencje˛ Episkopatu Polski. 2010. Krakûw 2010 rozdz. VI. Program wychowawczy SPSK. 2000. Cze˛stochowa. Rogowski, C. 2004. Wie soll Religionspýdagogik betrieben werden? KERYKS 3, no. 2: 231–51. Rogowski, C. (2007), Wychowanie ekumeniczne. In Leksykon Pedagogiki Religii. Podstawy – Koncepcje – Perspektywy, ed. C. Rogowski, 859–61. Warszawa. Rogowski, C. 2009. Das Modell des schulischen Religionsunterrichts und die Schaffung einer Zivilgesellschaft. KERYKS 8: 253–69. Rogowski, C. 2011. Dyskurs naukowy pedagogiki religii/Der wissenschaftliche Diskurs der Religionspýdagogik. KERYKS 12, Numer Specjalny/Sonderausgabe: 196–99. Stala, J. 2008. Familienkatechese in Polen um die Jahrhundertwende. Probleme und Herausforderungen. Tarnûw. Szawiel, T. 2008. Religijna Polska, religijna Europa, in: Wie˛z´ 9: 26–37. Szpet, J. 1999. Program katechetyczny zreformowanej polskiej szkoły. Zeszyty Katechetyczne 5: 8–26. Szpet, J. 2011. Tworzenie podre˛cznika do nauki religii/Die Erstellung eines Lehrbuches für den Religionsunterricht. KERYKS 12, Numer Specjalny/Sonderausgabe: 246–9. Tarnowski, J. 2008. Dylemat – wspûłmys´leniem pedagogicznym. KERYKS 7: 16. Tomasik, P. 1999. Słowo blisko ciebie. Poradnik metodyczny dla nauczyciela religii w I klasie gimnazjum. Warszawa. Tymosz, S., ed. 2001. Dzieło II Synodu Plenarnego w Polsce. Materiały z ogûlnopolskiej sesji naukowej zorganizowanej 24 paz´dziernika 2001r. w Lublinie. Lublin.

Stefan Hirschlehner

Religious Education at Schools in the Principality of Liechtenstein

Introduction The Roman-Catholic Church is the state church of the Principality of Liechtenstein. As such Catholic RE plays an important role. In addition, the Protestant Church offers RE. Due to social changes in the past decades, neutral non-denominational RE (Religion and Culture) and Islamic RE were introduced. In 1997, the former Deanery of Liechtenstein became Archdiocese Vaduz. This raised state-canonical issues that also affected RE. A definitive answer to this question has yet to be found.

1.

Socio-religious background of the country

1.1

General information

Liechtenstein defines itself as a “constitutional monarchy, based on democraticparliamentarian principles” (Constitution, article 2). Its sovereignty lies with its people as well as with the Prince of the House of Liechtenstein. Prince Hans Adam II. has been the head of state since 1989. Since August 2004 all affairs of state have, however, resided with Crown Prince Alois of Liechtenstein. The alpine country of Liechtenstein, borders with Switzerland to the West and Austria to the East. Its capital is Vaduz. With the Confederation of the Rhine in 1806 the principality became independent as far as all practical purposes were concerned. Since the treaty (Zollvertrag) of 1923 Liechtenstein has had close administrative and economic ties with Switzerland. Liechtenstein is a member of the United Nations (UN) and of the European Economic Area (EEA), but not of the European Union (EU). According to article 37 of the national constitution, the Roman Catholic Church is the official national church and therefore enjoys full state protection.

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Two small Protestant Churches are registered associations in the Principality : the Protestant Church of the Principality of Liechtenstein and the ProtestantLutheran Church of the Principality of Liechtenstein.

1.2

Religious affiliation

Liechtenstein has currently just over 36,000 inhabitants, 33 % of whom are foreign nationals. On the 31st of December 2010 27,450 people (75.9 % of the population) belonged to the Roman Catholic Church. The Protestant Churches are in second place with 3,062 members (8.5 %); out of these 2,343 people were members of the Protestant-Reformed Church (6.5 %) and 461 people members of the Protestant-Lutheran Church (1.3 %); 258 people belonged to other Protestant Churches (0.7 %). 1,960 (5.4 %) people declared themselves to belong to the Muslim faith, and 1,952 (5.4 %) people stated not to belong to any religion. 415 (1.1 %) people belonged to Christian-Orthodox Churches. Other churches, other religions and Buddhism had fewer than 150 members combined. 925 people (2.6 %) did not disclose their religious affiliations. Since 1980, the numbers of people who did not disclose their religious affiliations, those who state not to belong to any religion and those belonging to non-Christian religions, have increased the most. The rapid increase in members of the Islamic community has slowed down somewhat over the past 10 years. Although membership numbers of the Roman Catholic Church have been going up slightly, the total percentage of Roman Catholics among the population has fallen from 85.8 % to 75.9 % since 1980. Membership of the Protestant Churches decreased from 10.3 % to 8.5 % over the same time period, while the proportion of people identifying with the Islamic faith increased from 1.7 % to 5.4 %. Among those of the population who are also citizens of Liechtenstein 21,004 people (87.0 %) were members of the Roman Catholic Church on the 31st of December 2010; 1,076 (4.5 %) citizens belonged to Protestant churches and 353 citizens (1.5 %) were members of Islamic religious community. Among the noncitizen population around half (53.7 %) were Roman Catholic, 16.5 % belonged to one of the Protestant Churches, and 13.4 % were members of the Islamic community (Volkszählung 2010).

1.3

The Roman Catholic Church: From a deanship to an archdiocese

Liechtenstein’s Roman Catholic Church has been closely connected to the diocese of Chur from the start and in 1970 the Principality of Liechtenstein became a

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deanship of the diocese of Chur (Näscher 2013). In 1997 it was separated from the diocese of Chur and elevated to become the independent archdiocese of Vaduz (Biederman 2000). The archbishop of Vaduz does not belong to any episcopal conference, but reports directly to the Holy See. The establishment of the archdiocese raised many socio-political issues and questions concerning church-state law. Many of these questions and issues have not been fully resolved until the present day. In the first few years ecclesio-political changes attracted a lot of criticism. Structures and bodies of the former deanship were replaced and lay positions within the service of the church were subsequently abolished. For several years now not a single lay theologian has been working in any of the 11 parishes of the archdiocese of Vaduz. The archdiocese of Vaduz scraped institutions such as the department for adult education and the department for youth work, which had been run by the deanship of the Principality of Liechtenstein. There are now no lay committees in the archdiocese at all. There are, however, plenty of clergymen in all the parishes. 5 of the 11 parishes have a chaplain as well as a priest and even the smallest communities have their own priest. Most of the clergy come from Liechtenstein’s surrounding countries, Switzerland, Germany and Austria. There is certainly no shortage of priests in the archdiocese, quite the opposite is true; all in all more than 50 priests are incardinated in the archdiocese of Vaduz. For several years now, there have been emphatic attempts to implement new guidelines to regulate the relationship between the church and the state. All parties involved (archdiocese, principality, government, federal state parliament, parishes) continuously emphasize the necessity of disentanglement, or even complete separation of the state from the church, yet no solution has been found thus far.

1.4

Religiousness in the Principality of Liechtenstein

In 2008 the Principality of Liechtenstein’s government commissioned a survey on “faith, religiosity, religious tolerance and the relationship between the state and religious communities”. It revealed the following finding: Religiousness is still actively important to the population of Liechtenstein. More than half of the population describe themselves as either very religious or fairly religious. Religiousness is, however, not exclusively defined by the beliefs of any particular religious community. People’s attitudes are rather informed by a combination of rationalism, ecclesiastic religiosity, transcendental belief, neoreligious ideas and humanistic worldviews. While a significant majority of people questioned feels affiliated with a particular religious institution, this sense of affiliation is often not very strong. Changing from one religion to

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another, as well as formally leaving religion altogether is relatively rare. However, active religious practice – attending of religious services and personal prayer – has decreased compared to previous surveys. People by and large feel tolerant towards other religions. Notably the strongest reservations are towards Islam, closely followed by Judaism. The vast majority of people reject the idea that truth can only be found in religion. With regards to Islam, most of society seems open-minded towards Mosques, Islamic RE in schools and Muslim burials. When it comes to the relationship between state and church the church is seen as having rather too much power. A large majority is in favor of extensively separating the state from the church. Around two thirds of people questioned would like to see equal financial support for all religious communities. The up to now highly privileged position of the Catholic Church is no longer supported by the majority of people questioned. The establishment of the archdiocese of Vaduz is still seen as a contentious issue (Marxer 2008).

1.5

Funding of religious communities

The Principality of Liechtenstein does not collect any church taxes. As the Catholic Church is the official national church of Liechtenstein, the parish communities, who are also responsible for the upkeep of church building, chapels and rectories, primarily fund it. Parish communities are also responsible for paying the wages of the clergy and of all other people employed in the service of the Church (sacristans, organists, cleaners etc.). The relatively small number of people leaving the church is probably related to the fact that there are no church taxes to be paid. The state pays an annual contribution to the archdiocese of Vaduz to finance larger, more universal issues. The Protestant Church is primarily funded through donations from its members, but also receives some contributions from the state for particular activities.

2.

Legal Frameworks of re and the relationship between religious communities and the state

Relationship between church and state: The relationship between the state and the Catholic Church is enshrined in the constitution. According to article 37 of the constitution (1921), the Roman Catholic Church is the “national church” and is governed by public law. All other churches and religious communities are organized under private law.

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Schools: According to article 15 of the constitution the field of education and schooling shall ensure that all young people receive religious and moral instruction. Article 1 of the 1971 educational law emphasizes the importance of educating young people according to Christian principles. The whole field of education and schooling shall be under the supervision of the State, without prejudice to the inviolability of the doctrine of the Church (Constitution, article 16). The constitution also states that religious education shall only be delivered by “agents of the church”. The legal situation of RE: Confessional RE (Catholic and Protestant) is enshrined in educational law. Since Islam still isn’t an officially recognized religious community, Islamic RE in primary schools can only take place in the form of a school project. Exemptions: Pupils can be exempt from Catholic or Protestant RE in primary schools. Freedom of religion is enshrined in the national constitution (article 37, paragraph 1). No alternative subject is offered for pupils who do not attend confessional RE classes. During secondary education (Sekundarstufe I & II) confessional RE consists of one of two compulsory elective subjects. Pupils and/ or their parents need to decide between a denominationally neutral subject called ‘religion and culture’ or confessional RE. From the academic year 2013/ 2014 onwards, confessional RE will only be taught in the lower forms of secondary school (Sekundarstufe I). Content-related responsibility : The respective churches are responsible for the content of confessional RE, while the state is responsible for the subject ‘religion and culture’. Staffing: In primary schools teachers of confessional RE are put forward by the respective churches of the parish community. In secondary schools this is the responsibility of the state. Teachers wishing to teach Catholic RE don’t only need to hold the relevant teaching qualifications but also need to be commissioned by the archdiocese. In order to teach the subject of ‘religion and culture’ teachers need to be trained to teach either Catholic/Protestant RE to the relevant age group, or hold a qualification in religious studies. They also need a teaching diploma. Protestant RE: Liechtenstein’s schools have been offering Protestant RE since 1955. As there are only a relatively small number of pupils, Protestant RE is often taught across age groups. In the last few years Protestant RE has only been offered in primary schools. Islamic RE: A pilot project was started in 2007, which introduced Islamic RE to seven out of twelve primary schools. Around 50 % of Muslim pupils attend it. It is taught in German and supervised by the state. Funding of RE: The parish communities pay for Catholic RE in primary schools. RE teachers in primary schools are employees of the communities.

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Protestant RE in primary schools is paid for by the state. Confessional RE as well as the teaching of ‘religion and culture’ in secondary schools (Sekundarstufe I & II) is paid for by the state. With the reorganization of the relationship between church and state it is planned that all RE will be state funded in future.

3.

Developments in the country’s education policy

Recent key developments in the Education system (a) General remarks: A referendum held in 2007 decided against a proposal for extensive structural changes in the lower forms of secondary schools (Sekundarstufe I). These changes would also have had an effect on RE. (b) Current developments in educational politics are primarily concerned with the following issues: autonomy of schools, skills assessment, standardised examinations, additional support for gifted pupils and bi-lingual school leaving exams. None of these issues have any direct impact on RE. (c) The department for Education has set out future developments for Liechtenstein’s educational systems in the “Educational Strategy for the Principality of Liechtenstein 2020”. (Educational Strategy 2020/Bildungsstrategie Fürstentum Liechtenstein 2020) (d) RE: A major new development in the field of RE took place in 2003. As a consequence of disagreements between the archdiocese of Vaduz and the ministry for education about the content of RE and who should be teaching it, the government introduced the new non-denominational subject ‘religion and culture’ to both the upper and the lower forms of secondary schools (Sekundarstufe I & II). (e) A pilot project to teach Islamic RE in primary schools was started in 2007.

4.

Role of religiously sponsored schools, including any changes and developments, legal relationships

There are no faith schools in the principality of Liechtenstein.

5.

Conceptions and tasks of religious education

The following religious education subjects are in taught in the Principality of Liechtenstein’s’ schools:

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Catholic RE Protestant RE Islamic RE Religion and culture The following paragraphs provide an insight into the self-understanding of the various forms of RE from the points of view of those who are responsible for it: Statement on Catholic RE by the archdiocese of Vaduz: “Appointed by and in the name of the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ the Catholic church is (…) active in this country, as it is in others, to bring the Good News of the gospel to all of humanity. Hence it is vital to spread ever deeper and better knowledge and understanding of the Christian faith, which has had a lasting impact on our region for more than 1500 years, and has brought hope, strength and confidence to many people. This faith is not simply a relict from the past, merely to be lectured on and informed about, but a conviction of the living presence of God and a belief in his will for salvation. Thus RE is concerned with the transmission of faith. Catholics are called to recognise the true meaning of life today in this faith, to serve God and their fellow human beings, to find stability and direction in this way of life, and to strive, according to the faith, for the attainment of the eternal goal. RE is not simply about imparting knowledge. It is much more concerned with conveying the Christian revelation and Christian attitudes such as love for God and fellow human beings, fairness and compassion, reconciliation and peace, respect for creation etc. in a way that it is not only educational, but also experiential and directly relevant to pupils’ lives. The Holy Scriptures and tradition, as understood by the magisterium of the Catholic Church, are the foundations of RE. Finding references to contemporary issues and thus helping to put into practice the Christian attitudes mentioned above, is particularly important. Catholic RE aims to foster a sense of joy in the Christian faith. By passing on the fundamental truth of the Christian faith, it also aims to offer the necessary foundation for making concrete decisions on both personal and societal matters of conscience. In primary schools a significant part of Catholic RE is to collectively prepare pupils to receive the sacraments of reconciliation (confession), of the Eucharist (first communion) and of confirmation for the first time. A deeper understanding of the sacraments and their practices is conveyed to pupils during later years of their schooling.” (Erzbistum Vaduz 2013)

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Statement on Protestant RE by the Protestant Church: “Protestant RE is offered in schools in the Principality of Liechtenstein and is taught by specially trained catechists. As the Protestant community is a small minority in Liechtenstein, pupils from several classes are often brought together for Protestant RE. (…) Protestant secondary school pupils can attend preparatory classes, which aim to prepare them for confirmation classes and take place outside school hours.” (Evangelischer Religionsunterricht)

Statement on the subject ‘religion and culture’ by the ministry of education: “Central ideas for the subject ‘religion and culture’: Significance of the subject: The subject of ‘religion and culture’ has a key role to play in ensuring that pupils receive a comprehensive general education as well as the best opportunity to develop their personality. Religion is part of every culture. A sound understanding of religions is therefore necessary in order to understand one’s own culture and the cultures of others. In a time of increasing movement of people and in a world that is becoming ever smaller, education in schools has a responsibility to help foster better understanding between the people of this world. To achieve this it is as important to think about one’s own cultural background and religious heritage as it is to understand the meaning of other religions and cultures. Christianity : Our living environment is primarily characterised by the traditions of the Christian West, and the vast majority of pupils are Catholic, Protestant or Orthodox Christians and are baptized. It therefore goes without saying that biblical-Christian teachings, morality and stories have an important part to play in the subject ‘religion and culture’. World religions: An introduction to world religions is also very important. Pupils are introduced to their founders, their teachings, their stories, their images of the world and humanity, their rituals etc. Since such understanding of other religions should not exclusively be shaped by outside views the subject ‘religion and culture’ endeavors to make meetings with representatives of other religions part of the learning experience. Respect and sensibility : The fact that pupils from different religions and ideological convictions attend ‘religion and culture’ classes together fosters mutual respect and sensibility. Integration: The subject ‘religion and culture’ wants to encourage greater integration. Pupils from non-Christian backgrounds need to become familiar with the religions lived in the country. Integration is, however, not a one-way street. It can only succeed if Christian pupils find out about other religions represented in the classroom and in the country. Tolerance and openness: ‘Religion and culture’ classes are a place to openly address the meaning of religion to the lives of individuals and to societies. Questions dealing with the meaning of life, human self-determination and the search for identity are given equal weight as questions concerning the meaning and changes of traditions, convictions and values. By finding out about different worldviews and attitudes towards the meaning of life, pupils are given the opportunity to develop their own points of view while respecting the convictions of others and appreciating diversity in our pluralistic society.

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Lived religion: The subject ‘religion and culture’ does not want to be a subject of comparative religious studies. It is important for students to learn through examples and to become familiar with aspects of lived religion (e. g. places of worship, religious holidays, sacred books) and with the mentalities of believers themselves (religious practices, images of God, values, the impact of faith on everyday life). Not a single religion upon everyone: The subject ‘religion and culture’ does not want to advocate the concept of a single religion upon everyone. The diversity of religions cannot be disbanded by claiming that all religions are basically the same anyway. Neither can religious differences be overcome be viewing one’s own religion as the only true religion and dismissing all others as invalid. Despite all the many differences between religions, affinities also exist. These affinities are to be uncovered in ‘religion and culture’ classes. The subject of ‘religion and culture’ is an exercise in ‘interreligious learning’. Through the process of engaging with other religions, pupils aren’t only encouraged to actively discover foreign cultures, but also to rediscover their own. Religious-ideological neutrality : The subject ‘religion and culture’ is taught in such a way that pupils from all religious and ideological backgrounds can participate in it. (…) The aim of the subject is to stimulate an intellectual debate on the topic of religion and to foster pupils’ ability to form their own judgments on religious issues. This always involves different points of view being brought up for discussion in class.” (Schulamt des Fürstentums Liechtenstein 2013).

6.

Practice / reality of religious education in different schools

Most primary school children attend Catholic RE classes. A key aspect of Catholic RE is to prepare pupils to receive the sacraments. In the second year of primary school children are prepared for confession and for their first communion. In the 5th year preparation for their confirmation takes place. All preparation for the sacraments takes place in school and never outside of school hours. This results in most children being confirmed, but it is questionable in how far children are able to adequately appreciate the sacrament of confirmation at such a young age (11 years old). When they reach further education (Sekundarstufe I & II) pupils (or their legal guardians) can choose between Catholic/Protestant RE or the subject ‘religion and culture’. Pupils are free to change between subjects at the end of each academic year. Usually around 15–20 % of pupils in any given year attend Catholic RE, and 80–85 % choose to attend ‘religion and culture’ classes. Each of the subjects can only be run if at least 6 pupils want to attend; if there are 8 or more pupils there are two lessons per week. Islamic RE is not available in secondary schools.

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Number of RE lessons per week 1st year of primary 2nd to 5th year of primary school 1st and 2nd year of secondary school (Ober – und Realschule) 3rd and 4th year of secondary school (Ober- und Realschule) 1st to 4th year of grammar school 7th year of grammar school

7.

1 lesson per week 2 lessons per week 2 lessons per week 1 lesson per week 2 lessons per week 2 lessons per week

Observations on alternative subjects / learning areas like ethics, philosophy etc.

In the upper forms of grammar school, the subject ethics is taught in the 5th year and the subject philosophy in the 6th and 7th year. Pupils can choose to take an oral school-leaving exam in philosophy. Ethics and philosophy are so called basic subjects (Grundlagenfächer), and it is compulsory for all pupils to attend them. Marks in both subject are credited towards graduation. Both subjects are taught by teachers who hold a qualification in philosophy.

8.

Dealing with religious diversity

RE is either confessional (Catholic/Protestant/Islamic) or nondenominational (‘religion and culture’). Confessional-cooperative RE is not offered. Neither are there any noticeable ecumenical collaborations in Liechtenstein, not in individual parishes and not in the country more widely. The tensions, which arose when the deanship of Liechtenstein was transformed into the archdiocese of Vaduz in 2007 are still having a significant impact on the religious situation in the country. Shortly after the institution of the archdiocese the ‘Association for an Open Church’ established itself, which now offers regular services at the convent of St. Elisabeth in Schaan. Additionally the Association for an Open Church offers classes preparing children for their first communion and their confirmation. Children who attend these classes normally choose not to attend Catholic RE classes in their primary schools.

9.

Religion in schools outside of religious education

Within the framework of school lessons primary schools are allowed to hold four to six religious services per year, but this very rarely happens. In secondary

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schools (Sekundarstufe I & II) ‘religion and culture’ teachers organize religious celebrations at the beginning and the end of the school year, for Christmas etc. In the fourth year of secondary school (Ober- und Realschule; = final year) two school days are allocated for religious celebrations. These days are organized and delivered by ‘religion and culture’ teachers, usually in collaboration with Liechtenstein’s organization for youth work.

10.

Training of teachers of religious education: institutes, structures, priorities issues

There are no teacher training courses in the Principality of Liechtenstein. The majority of teachers working in Liechtenstein did their teacher training in Switzerland, Austria or Germany. This is also true for RE teachers. Staff teaching Catholic RE in primary schools have the option of attaining an additional qualification, by attending a two year part-time catechism course, which is primarily based on a two year foundation course in the Christian faith.

11.

Empirical research concerning religious education

In 1997 Anton A. Bucher conducted an empirical study on RE in the lower forms of Liechtenstein’s secondary schools (Sekundarstufe I). The results of his study are available as a manuscript. The nondenominational subject ‘religion and culture’ has been well received by pupils as well as parents. This is also evidenced by a recent, not yet published survey of former grammar school pupils, who rate the knowledge they gained in ‘religion and culture’ classes very highly. According to this survey ‘religion and culture’ is the second most popular subject after German. The very large number of school leaving theses (Facharbeit) written on the subject, also shows how much interest there is in ‘religion and culture’.

12.

Desiderate and challenges for religious education in a European context

Challenges exist in two main areas: 1. The theoretical-theological foundations for the subject ‘religion and culture’; there are several unanswered questions in this area. These stretch from the question of which religious concept the teaching of ‘religion and culture’ should be based on, to the issue of what constitutes the

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right balance between internal and external religious influences in RE. 2. Furthermore teachers don’t have the opportunity to obtain a specific qualification in nondenominational RE, apart from at one cantonal institution in Switzerland. Universities’ theology faculties at are very concerned with these challenges, and are exploring them in collaboration with philosophy and religious study departments and faculties for education, with the specific aim of further improving teaching practices.

13.

Further information (e. g., relevant literature on religious education, institutions, websites)

Legal fundations Constitution oft the Principality of Liechtenstein: 5. 10. 1921, LGBl. 15/1921. www.gesetze. li/get_pdf.jsp?PDF=1921015.pdf. Education Act: 15. 12. 1971, LGBl. 7/1972. www.gesetze.li/get_pdf.jsp?PDF=1972007.pdf. Law on the service of teachers (Lehrerdienstgesetz, LdG): 26. 11. 2003, LGBl. 4/2004. www.gesetze.li/get_pdf.jsp?PDF=2004004.pdf. School Organisation Regulation (Schulorganisationsverordnung, SchulOV): 6. 7. 2004, LGBl. 154/2004. www.gesetze.li/get_pdf.jsp?PDF=2004154.pdf. Regulation on the service of teachers (Lehrerdienstverordnung; LdV): 6. 4. 2004, LGBl. 92/ 2004. www.gesetze.li/Seite1.jsp?LGBlm=2004092.

Curricula Kindergarten, primary and secondary schools: 23. 3. 1999, LGBl. 82/1999. www.gesetze.li/ get_pdf.jsp?PDF=1999082.pdf. The curricula also contain: Catholic RE curriculum, Protestant RE curriculum, ‘Religion and culture’ curriculum. Regulation on the curriculum for upper secondary schools: 14. 8. 2001, LGBl. 139/2001. www.gesetze.li/get_pdf.jsp?PDF=2001139.pdf.

Agreements Agreement concerning the Catholic RE at upper secondary schools (Ober- und Realschule, Gymnasium) between the Principality of Liechtenstein and the archdiocese of Vaduz. 2013. www.erzbistum-vaduz.li. Agreement concerning the employment of RE teachers at primary schools between the Principality of Liechtenstein and the archdiocese of Vaduz. 2004. www.erzbistumvaduz.li.

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Order of the government Order of the establishment of Islamic RE at primary schools. 2007. Vaduz.

Information brochure Schulamt des Fürstentums Liechtenstein, ed. 2013. Religion und Kultur. Eine Informationsbroschüre für Schülerinnen und Schüler und Eltern. Vaduz. Erzbistum Vaduz, ed. 2013. Katholischer Religionsunterricht an den weiterführenden Schulen im Fürstentum Liechtenstein. Schellenberg. [email protected]. Evangelischer Religionsunterricht. In Unterricht aus Kirchen ABC. www.kirchefl.li.

Statistics Amt für Statistik, ed. 2010. Volkszählung 2010. http://www.llv.li/#/12621. Amt für Statistik, ed. 2011. Bildungsstatistik 2011. www.llv.li/amtsstellen/llv-as-bildung. htm. Liechtensteininstitut. www.liechtenstein-institut.li. Regierung des Fürstentums Liechtenstein, ed. 2011. Bildungsstrategie Fürstentum Liechtenstein 2020. http://www.regierung.li/uploads/media/Bildungstrategie.lq.pdf. Regierung des Fürstentums Liechtenstein, ed. 2011, Massnahmen zur Bildungsstrategie 2020. http://www.regierung.li/uploads/media/massnahmen2012_online.pdf.

References Bucher, A. A. 1997. Religionsunterricht im Fürstentum Liechtenstein. Eine empirische Untersuchung. Vaduz: Manuskript. Biedermann, K. 2000. Das Dekanat Liechtenstein 1970 bis 1997. Eine Chronik des kirchlichen Lebens. Vaduz: Schalun. Bochinger, C., ed. 2012. Religionen, Staat und Gesellschaft. Die Schweiz zwischen Säkularisierung und religiöser Vielfalt. Zürich: Neue Zürcher Zeitung. Dubach, A., and R.J. Campiche, eds. 1993. Jeder ein Sonderfall? Religion in der Schweiz. Ergebnisse einer Repräsentativbefragung. Zürich: NZN-Buchverlag. Dubach, A., and B. Fuchs. 2005. Ein neues Modell von Religion. Zweite Schweizer Sonderfallstudie – Herausforderung für die Kirchen. Zürich: Theologischer Verlag Zürich. Frank, K. 2010. Schulischer Religionsunterricht. Eine religionswissenschaftlich-soziologische Untersuchung. Stuttgart: Kohlhammer. Hirschlehner, S. 2001. Religionsunterricht in Liechtenstein. In Lexikon der Religionspädagogik, ed. N. Mette, N. and F. Rickers, 1255–8. Neukirchen-Vluyn: Neukirchener. Hirschlehner, S. 2009. Über religiöse Kompetenz – PISA und der Religionsunterricht. Schule heute. Informationen und Mitteilungen aus dem Schulamt des Fürstentums Liechtenstein, no. 3: 20–1. Martin, G. 1984. Das Bildungswesen des Fürstentums Liechtenstein. Nationale und internationale Elemente im Bildungssystem eines europäischen Kleinstaates. Zürich: Sabe.

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Marxer, W. 2008. Religion in Liechtenstein. Bendern: Liechtenstein-Institut. Marxer, W. 2009. Religion, Religiosität und religiöse Toleranz in Liechtenstein. Empirische Befunde aus der Umfrageforschung. Bendern: Liechtenstein-Institut. Marxer, W., and M. Sochin. 2008. Protestantische und muslimische Zuwanderung in Liechtenstein seit der Mitte des 19. Jahrhunderts – Integration vor dem Hintergrund religiöser Pluralisierung. In Schweizerische Zeitschrift für Religions- und Kulturgeschichte SZRKG 102, 211–31. Näscher, F. 2013. Dekanat Liechtenstein. In Historisches Lexikon des Fürstentums Liechtenstein, ed. A. Brunhart,153. Zürich: Chronos. Wille, H. 1972. Staat und Kirche im Fürstentum Liechtenstein. Fribourg: Universitätsverlag. Wille, H. 1999. Wie regelt das liechtensteinische Recht die Religionsfreiheit und das Verhältnis von Staat und Kirche? In Staat und Kirche, Grundsätzliche und aktuelle Probleme, ed. H. Wille and G. Baur, 79–113. Vaduz: Verlag der Liechtensteinischen Akademischen Gesellschaft. Wille, H., and G. Baur, eds. 1999. Staat und Kirche, Grundsätzliche und aktuelle Probleme. Vaduz: Verlag der Liechtensteinischen Akademischen Gesellschaft. Wille, H. 2011. Zur Reform des Liechtensteinischen Staatskirchenrechts. Grundlagen und organisatorische Ausgestaltung. In 25 Jahre Liechtenstein-Institut (1986–2011), ed. Liechtenstein-Institut, 401–26. Schaan: Verlag der Liechtensteinischen Akademischen Gesellschaft. Winzeler, C. 2004. Religionsunterricht in der Schweiz und Liechtenstein. In Historische und rechtliche Aspekte des Religionsunterrichts, ed. A. Rinnerthaler, 481–502. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang.

Tibor Reimer

Religious education at schools in Slovakia

Introduction Slovakia is a small country in Central Europe. As a former communist country even 25 years after the fall of the Iron Curtain it is still building its political and economic stability. After the end of Czechoslovakia in 1993 Slovakia became an independent country with a democratic constitution. Today, Slovakia is part of NATO and the EU. Despite various problems and difficulties, more than 70 % of Slovaks trust the EU, which is the highest percentage of all Member States. Slovakia has a relatively strong industry : thanks to low labour costs and reforms it has become an attractive country for foreign investors, especially from the automotive industry : in Slovakia, about one million cars are being produced every year. Because of this industry focus the country has been nick-named Detroit of Europe and, following the development of the economy the Tatra Tiger. Slovakia is a relatively homogenous country : the majority of the population has a Slovak nationality ; the two largest minorities are Hungarians (8.5 %) and Roma (2.8 %). Slovakia is a country with a strong religious tradition: according to the last census, 76 % of the population professes a religion. The largest Church community is the Roman Catholic Church (62 %), besides this there are 17 other recognized churches and religious communities in Slovakia.

1.

The socio-religious background of the country

The Slovak Republic is situated in the heart of Europe. It occupies a space of 49,037 km2, making it one of the smaller Central European states. To the west it borders the Czech Republic, to the south Austria and Hungary, to the north Poland and to the east the Ukraine. The fact that Slovakia has such a diverse set of neighbours means that the country is connected with other nations and that the necessity of dialogue with these nations is clearly recognized. Because Slovakia is

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also located in the frontier zone between East and West, it has in the past frequently played the role of intermediary between countries. The present-day Slovak Republic is a sovereign, democratic state governed by the rule of law and is not bound to any particular ideology or religion. The most important event of the past 25 years was the end of Communism. The breakup of the Communist regime in the then Czechoslovakia occurred in November 1989, bringing about the establishment of the Czechoslovak Federal Republic. After a brief and quite strained coexistence, the joint state of Czechs and Slovaks split on 1 January 1993, resulting in the creation of two independent states: the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic. As an independent republic, Slovakia is following the path of European integration, a course which, internally, has constantly been slowed down by various national and ex-Communist movements as well as by difficult economic reforms. On 14 December 2000, the Slovak Republic became a member of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The country has been a member of NATO since 29 March 2004 and a member of the European Union (EU) since 1 May 2004. On 1 January 2009, Slovakia adopted the Euro as its national currency. The Slovak Republic is one of those EU countries with a young population. Children and young people under the age of 14 years make up almost 15,3 % of the country’s population, while the average age of the Slovakian population is only 39,3 years old. As of 30 June 2013, Slovakia had a population of 5.41 million, of whom half were living in villages and towns with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants. This means that Slovakia has a largely rural infrastructure, with a rich tradition of folklore and culture in such regions. At the same time, this infrastructure presents some persistent problems for industrial development, with consequences for the labour market. In terms of ethnicity, Slovakia is not a very homogeneous country, although it is often characterized as such. Both in the past and the present, people from different parts of the world have migrated to Slovakia, to the extent that, according to official statistics, around 13 % of the population is made up of people from ethnic minorities. These minorities include Hungarians (8.5 %), Roma (2 %), Czechs (0.6 %), Ruthenians (0.6 %) and Ukrainians (0.1 %).1 According to various demographic estimates, however, there are significantly more Roma in the Slovak Republic than indicated above. There are probably more than 400,000 Roma in Slovakia, with some sources putting the figure as high as 7.5 % of the total population. As a result of ongoing and even increasing immigration of different peoples to the country, Slovak society is becoming ever more culturally diverse. According to statistics, over 5,000 foreign nationals immigrate to Slovakia every year, which 1 http://portal.statistics.sk/files/tab-10.pdf.

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means that around 32,000 people of other nationalities are living in the country permanently. Even though the proportion of foreigners in Slovakia is very small compared to other countries, it does show that even Slovakia is increasingly becoming a destination for migrants, especially those from Asian countries (Vietnam, Korea and China). The Slovak Republic is a nation with a deep religious tradition, which is also reflected in the preamble to its constitution. Here, the “memory of the political and cultural heritage of our forefathers and of the centuries of struggle for national existence and for our own statehood, in the sense of the spiritual heritage of Kyrillos and Methodios and of the historical legacy of the ‘Great Moravian Empire’” is declared. The Slovak Constitution guarantees its citizens freedom of religion. In the most recent census of May 2011, 76 % of the population stated that they belonged to a church or religious community. Most of the faithful are Roman Catholic (62 %), while 5.9 % are Protestant2 and 3.8 % are members of the Greek Catholic Church. 1.8 % belong to the Reformed Church while 0.9 % are Orthodox Christians. 13.4 % did not report any religious affiliation. It is interesting to note that the proportion of the population professing a religious faith is showing a small upward trend: in 1991, 73 % of the population had a religious affiliation, a figure which had grown to 76 % by the year 2011. Despite intensive secularisation of society, religiosity has increased in Slovakia. This shows that the Catholic and Protestant churches, which played an important role in the fight against Communism in years gone by are still of interest to the faithful even after the collapse of the Communist system.3 At present, there are eighteen recognized churches and religious communities in Slovakia. The relationships between the state and the churches as well as the mutual cooperation between the two are today regulated by contract. The basic treaty between the Slovak Republic and the Apostolic See, which was signed on 24 November 2000 in the Vatican, as well as the agreement of 11 April 2002, concluded between the Slovak Republic and eleven recognized churches and religious communities, including the country’s Jewish community, form the basis of these relationships and cooperation. The democratic political system guarantees not just the churches’ freedom to practice their religion but also their involvement in social and spiritual areas of societal life, charitable work and education in schools. This justifies denominational RE in all Slovakian schools. According to §13 of the basic treaty, “the registered churches and religious communities are entitled, in accordance with the law of the Slovak Republic, to teach religion in all schools and educational institutions that form part of the Slovakian education system. As per the legal requirements of the Slovak Re2 In Slovakia, the Evangelical Lutheran Church is referred to as the Protestant Church. 3 http://portal.statistics.sk/files/tab-14.pdf.

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public, religion teachers have the same status as teachers of other subjects. One requisite condition for the execution of religious education in all schools is that the registered church or religious community has its own mandate to do so.”

2.

Legal framework for religious education and the relationship between religious communities and the state

In earlier times, religious education in schools, as a church and pastoral activity, was an important part of public life in Slovakia. This all changed radically with the emergence of Communism in 1948. In the 1950s, RE was banned. During the ‘normalization’ of the 1970s, following the turbulent Dubcˇek era, the Ministry of Education and Culture drew up guidelines for RE. Officially, all churches and religious communities were allowed to teach religion to pupils between grades two and seven. In reality, however, such teaching was strictly monitored and registration of a child for RE had unpleasant consequences for his or her parents. Religion teachers needed special state approval and were not paid for their work. In addition, RE could only be taught after the end of the school day, in order not to disturb the school’s regular schedule. The Ministry of Education and Cultural Affairs monitored the number of pupils registered for RE each year. Religious education was therefore subject to constant censorship by the Communist Party, did not have any prospects for normal development and was always suspected of engaging in anti-socialist indoctrination. An attitude such as this towards RE in schools, which was supposedly ‘tolerant’ but was in reality negative, was reflected above all in the considerable lack of pedagogical and theological subject didactics for RE (Hanesov‚ 2005, 33n). After the collapse of Communism, the state tried by way of its legislation to reintegrate religious education into the school curriculum. Law No. 308/19 on religious freedom and the status of the churches and religious communities, enacted in 1991, allows the officially recognized churches to offer RE and train religion teachers in accordance with their own internal regulations. RE was first offered as an optional subject in schools and was originally financed by the churches themselves. Right from the start, the subject of religion had to struggle against some big problems, because the number of pupils availing themselves of the subject was growing all the time, with up to 100 % of pupils taking RE in some places. With this increasing interest in the subject of religion, the difficulty of having enough religion teachers also increased. For this reason, theology studies with a greater focus on catechesis than RE were also made accessible for lay people. In addition, a curriculum had to be created that would take account of the needs of pupils in the individual years, levels and

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school types. By 1992 this curriculum was available for all schools, while the first textbooks were created in 1993. Because of the fact that speed was of essence, all this came about without any particular training in religious education for the persons who were involved in the subject. Various aids and recommendations (e. g. translations of textbooks from overseas) were not taken into consideration, as it was believed that the situation with regard to religion in Slovakia was diametrically different to that in the West (Orend‚cˇ 2007, 10n). At the beginning of the 1990s, the churches in Slovakia were not adequately prepared for nationwide introduction of RE. In addition, there were still some negative attitudes and prejudices against the subject of religion, which made conditions for the learning process more difficult. The subject of religion was still taught at the most unfavourable times imaginable and interdisciplinary topics were simply avoided. In 1993, one hour of RE per week was introduced as an alternative to the existing subject of ethics and as an elective subject for grades 5 to 10 in the second stage of primary school and in all secondary schools (including grammar schools). At the first stage of primary school and in the final years of secondary school, religion remained an optional subject (Hanesov‚ 2005, 34). Denominational RE was established by law in 2002 as a result of the agreement reached between the Slovak Republic and the recognized churches and religious communities. §3 of this agreement allows all registered churches and religious communities to set up and manage schools and educational establishments. These church-run schools and educational establishments have the same status as public schools and establishments and are an integral and equal part of the education system in the Slovak Republic. In addition, the state must create the necessary conditions for religious education of children in all schools and educational establishments in accordance with the religious convictions of the parents. According to §13, the recognized churches and religious communities have the right, in accordance with the law of the Slovak Republic, to teach the subject of religion in all schools and educational establishments that form part of the education system in the Slovak Republic. Religion teachers have the same status as teachers of other subjects. The prerequisite for teaching religion in all school types is possession of the recognized authority to teach from the church or religious community in question (e. g. the ‘missio canonica’). This agreement from 2002 was supplemented afterwards by the treaty between the Slovak Republic and the Apostolic See as well as by the convention on RE of 2004 between the Slovak Republic and the registered churches and religious communities. Since the 2004/05 school year, RE has been an elective subject, an alternative to ethics, for the first ten years of schooling in Slovakia’s public and private schools. The subject is still taught for one hour per week. Religion as an optional subject is provided only in the last two years of secondary school (e. g. grammar schools). For this reason, religion cannot be studied as a subject for the school-

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leaving examination in the country’s public schools. In denominational schools, RE is a graded compulsory subject in all grades and is taught for two hours per week. The introduction of RE in pre-schools is a recent development in the area. These agreements and conventions between Slovakia and the different churches and religious communities are aimed at establishing RE as a regular school subject. With regard to the new curricula in particular, which are the responsibility of the individual churches, this has been a success. Because of the agreement in place, the Ministry of Education has the role of a supervising body and must ensure the integrity of the RE provided, both from a didactic and methodological point of view. The contents of the RE curricula are determined entirely by the churches and religious communities. In addition, the state guarantees to finance RE in all schools. According to the agreement in place, religion teachers have the same status as other teachers. The editorial preparation, manufacture and distribution of textbooks and teaching materials for RE, which are approved by the church or religious community in question, are also subject to the same regulations as other school subjects. Despite this guarantee, the reality is sometimes different. For example, the state has not made any financial contribution to the introduction of the new curriculum for Catholic RE in the different types of school. Together with the provision of all work materials, this was financed entirely by funds from foreign sponsors and the Slovakian Bishops’ Conference.

3.

Developments in the country’s education policy

During the Communist era before 1989, the principle of uniformity dominated education policy in Slovakia, which was reflected in the small number of optional subjects and in centrally administered schools. In 1976, a simple education system was created, which consisted of eight years of primary school followed by a network of secondary schools that included vocational schools, technical schools and grammar schools. Education Act No. 29/1984 severely restricted the autonomy of schools. The school administrations of the time, which needed approval from the Ministry of Education for every single innovation, limited the creativity of the teachers and of the schools and reduced the content of the education provided, which placed particular emphasis on practice-oriented teaching. The major political, social and socio-economic changes in Slovakia since November 1989 have required a fundamental legal, pedagogical, organisational and, above all, ideological change in the area of education and the education system. Such a clear transformation in the concept for the content and organization of education was only possible through a change in the laws on education,

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with particular consideration for current international documents and recommendations in the area of education. This broad, complex change in the education system could only be gradually realised by changing existing laws and creating new pedagogical and organisational norms aimed at ensuring a new educational orientation as well as democratisation and humanisation of the country’s entire education system. Changes in curriculum content and in the education process, integration of the latest discoveries in science and technology as well as the removal of one-sided ideological thought patterns were some of the components of this change. The aims of these necessary reforms were the creation of new curricula and courses of study and especially a strong differentiation between different school types on the basis of the requirements, abilities and interests of the pupils, the implementation of alternative approaches to education, the democratization and decentralization of school administrations and the establishment of alternative, church-run and private schools and educational establishments. The education system was changed for the first time, at least partially, after the fall of Communism in 1990 by Act No. 171/1991, as a result of which the number of years pupils spend in primary school was extended to nine, any kind of activity by political parties and political movements in schools was banned and the establishment of private and church-run schools was provided for. With the help of new laws, the uniformity of the socialist school was done away with and a diverse education system that could meet the interests and abilities of pupils was made possible. In the year 2000, a concept for the development of the country’s tertiary education system fit for the 21st century was worked out, which became the basis for the new Higher Education Act. In 2002, the ‘Millennium Project’, a national programme for education for the next 15 to 20 years, was developed. This became the ideological and material basis for a new education act for Slovakia’s primary and secondary schools and other educational establishments. Reforms in public administration likewise brought about changes in how the education system was organized, with the country’s primary schools placed under the management of individual local communities. Secondary schools, however, were placed under the authority of the districts they were located in. In addition, in 2004 the way in which schools were financed was reformed, with the law introducing normative financing per pupil. In 2008, the new Education Act No. 245/2008 was passed by the National Assembly of the Slovak Republic. This act created the legislative framework for reform of regional education in Slovakia. It defined the education system in Slovakia, which thereby adapted to meet international standard ISCED and introduced a two-tier model of education, the national education programme, with guaranteed minimum educational

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standards, and the education programme for schools, which gave schools more opportunities to adapt to meet the needs of the region and of their pupils.4 The Slovakian education system comprises 13 grades, upon successful completion of which pupils receive a school-leaving certificate. Compulsory schooling lasts for 10 years. The nine years of primary school education are divided into two stages, the first stage being made up of grades one to four and the second stage consisting of grades five to nine. Primary school is usually followed by second-level schooling in a general secondary school (grammar school), a vocational secondary school, a specialist school or a conservatory. The country’s education system also includes colleges, facilities for adult education, other educational facilities and special schools. Slovakian schools can have public, private or church patrons. In recent years, there has been an increase in the number of private schools, especially private secondary schools. In the 2012/2013 school year, more than 430,000 children were attending Slovakia’s 2,177 primary schools. In the same year, the country’s secondary schools were attended by 254,000 pupils. 80,000 pupils were attending 244 grammar schools, of which 151 (60 %) were state grammar schools, while more than 158,000 pupils were enrolled in 467 vocational secondary schools or specialist schools. There were around 2,861 kindergartens in Slovakia in 2013, which were attended by over 149,500 children.5 In Slovakia, one can currently observe a decrease in the number of primary and secondary schools as well as the ongoing trend of less financial resources being made available for schools and educational facilities, which is resulting in a worsening of educational opportunities for children in some areas. The reduction in the number of teachers is another persistent trend. The necessary reform steps for primary and secondary schools, which had already been formulated in 2002 in the ‘Millennium Project’, are being implemented quite slowly. Within four to five years, computer rooms should be established in all of Slovakia’s primary and secondary school classes. Free choice of school for parents has been introduced, which should encourage more competition. However, teachers are dissatisfied about the poor financial situation of the schools as well as their poor pay. As a result, there were nationwide teacher strikes in the summer of 2003 and, more recently, in September 2012. The significant changes in the new Education Act can be summarized as follows: greater freedom for schools in terms of how they introduce the curriculum, by way of the two-tier approach; a reduction in the content of the curriculum; the inclusion of interdisciplinary topics taught using new teaching methods; a reduction in class sizes; the introduction of compulsory study of two 4 http://www.statpedu.sk/sk/Statny-vzdelavaci-program.alej. 5 http://www.uips.sk/prehlady-skol/statisticka-rocenka-suhrnne-tabulky.

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foreign languages and free pre-school education for children from disadvantaged backgrounds. Even today, traditional teaching methods still predominate in Slovakia’s schools. Although the new Education Act does allow for new education programmes, their implementation depends primarily on the willingness and ability of the teachers themselves. Low salaries, little motivation, lack of status as well as the poorly thought out order in which the educational reforms were introduced are elements which often slow down the reforms’ implementation or even bring it to a complete halt (Turek 2005).

4.

Role of religiously sponsored schools, including any changes and developments, legal relationships

The Communist regime banned all private and church-run schools, which meant that, in 1945, 1,800 church-run primary schools and 88 secondary schools and colleges were nationalized. Since 1990, schools under denominational patronage are again an integral part of the country’s education system. The independent schools gave parents an alternative to the public schools and so created the preconditions necessary for parents to select a school for their child based on their own religious convictions and motivations. These schools were therefore often established ‘from the bottom up’ and as initiatives of parents and teachers as well as of the churches themselves. Since the introduction of Act No. 350/1994 in 1994, education in church-run schools has been considered equal to that provided by public and private schools. In the 1990/91 school year there were six church-run schools in Slovakia, two of which were grammar schools. The following year this number had increased to 37, of which more than ten were secondary schools. In 2003 there were over 180 church-run schools, of which more than 160 were under Catholic patronage. In the 2012/2013 school year there were 62 church-run kindergartens and preschools in Slovakia (2,2 % of the total), 113 church-run primary schools (5,3 % of the total), 55 church-run grammar schools (22,5 % of the total) and 19 churchrun vocational schools (4,1 % of the total). Grammar schools accounted for the greatest share of church-run schools. Most church-run schools are under the patronage of the Catholic Church. Other church patrons of schools include the Protestant Church and the Church of the Brethren. At present, a total of 232 schools and 208 other educational establishments are under Catholic patronage. There are currently 37,513 pupils being taught by 3,011 teachers in the country’s Catholic schools. The types of schools with the largest proportions under the patronage of the Catholic Church are primary

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schools (44 %), grammar schools (17 %), amalgamated primary and lower secondary schools (15 %), vocational schools and special schools. 13 % of Catholic schools are managed by religious orders. Statistics show that churchrun primary schools, in particular, are very popular. According to a survey on the reasons why parents decide to send their children to church-run schools, 91 % answered that it is important for them to educate their children in the Christian faith, making this the most important reason for selecting a churchrun school (Dravecky´ 2011). There are various features unique to church-run schools. These include the number of hours of RE, which amounts to two hours per week in church-run schools, i. e. double the amount of time given to the subject in public schools. The education reforms also give church-run schools the opportunity to create their own alternative curriculum. In church-run schools, the focus is on different interdisciplinary topics, with the aim of connecting faith with pupils’ personal lives and with the environment. The Slovakian state guarantees to finance all private and church-run schools to the same extent as it does the public schools. However, this financing pertains only to the tuition. Private schools and church-run schools do not receive any support from local or district authorities for the renovation of school buildings or for any furnishing or modernization of the schools. These funds must be procured by the churches themselves or through various projects. In this regard, the financial situation of church-run pre-schools as well as all other educational establishments, the financing of which is the responsibility of the local authorities, is very problematic. Such local authorities see the church-run schools as competition for their public educational facilities, which is why financing for the church-run establishments often fails to materialize. Despite the current financial situation of educational facilities under church patronage, one can say that this form of alternative education is stable. Whereas at the beginning of the 1990s the lack of qualified staff and inadequate didactics represented a major problem, resulting in poorer quality teaching in church-run schools, the situation is much improved now. For example, in the national benchmark test for pupils in the ninth grade (‘Monitor’), pupils in Catholic schools receive better results on average than pupils in any other type of school. However, issues like inadequate further training of school principals in churchrun schools, the ambiguous profile of church-run schools, the lack of effective pastoral programmes, the absence of pastoral care and insufficient cooperation with pupils’ families remain persistent problems.

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Conceptions and tasks of religious education

Even today, RE in schools is seen by many church representatives and by the faithful as ‘school catechesis’. Such an understanding is also reflected in different church documents, such as in the Pastoral Project of the Catholic Church in Slovakia (2001–2006). There it is stated that “since 1991, catechetical activity has focused mainly on catechesis in schools, for which curricula and textbooks have been gradually developed for primary, secondary and grammar schools”. This means that RE is confused with catechesis that takes place within the school and that the intention is to replace catechesis in the parish with school-based instruction. In many parishes, RE is therefore used to prepare pupils for the sacraments of initiation (First Communion and Confirmation). Therefore, religion teachers are still described to this day as ‘catechists’ in many official church writings. Education reform is Slovakia has had an important influence on the selfunderstanding of RE, as it resulted in a replacement of all curricula. On the Catholic side, the Catholic Centre for Education and Catechesis (known by the acronym KPKC) was commissioned with the development of the new curricula. The KPKC created a draft curriculum and implemented a three-year experimental course of Catholic RE. The experiment was concluded in the 2009/ 2010 academic year, with the curriculum for Catholic RE being subsequently approved by the Slovakian Bishops’ Conference. The framework education programme honours the two tiers of the curriculum: the general education programme for the Catholic religion (around 70 %) is approved by the Bishops’ Conference, while the academic programme (around 30 %) is guaranteed by the school and by the religion teacher (Hurajtov‚ 2010). The previous linear structure of the religion curriculum, which was created at the beginning of the 1990s, no longer seemed satisfactory, as the contents of the curriculum were dealt with in a monothematic manner. These monothematic blocks in the individual years were not connected with one another and were therefore not systematically expanded upon in the following years. The primary school curricula dealt with different topics, such as the introduction to the Creed in the first grade, the Ten Commandments in the third grade, the liturgy in the fourth grade, the Old Testament in the fifth, the New Testament in the sixth, the history of the Church in the seventh, morals in the eighth and Christian anthropology in the ninth grade. The contents of the RE curriculum in the country’s secondary schools were grouped around four basic pillars: dogmatic theology, liturgy, morals and spirituality. Here too, the contents were dealt with in a monothematic way, and the curriculum was especially oriented towards a consideration of facts and data. The individual topics did not have any logical interconnection, no uniform approach could be identified and the educational

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objectives did not satisfy the need for a harmonious balance of the cognitive, affective and psychomotor components of the learning process. There was an absence of appropriate methods, such as dialogue, discussion and solving of problem situations. RE was oriented towards knowledge of the faith, whereas pupils’ skills, e. g. learning skills, problem-solving skills, communication skills, social and interpersonal skills, were barely encouraged at all. The new curricula, meanwhile, focus on the pupils themselves and on the development of their skills, skills necessary for their personal lives and for their participation in society. The education process was transformed, which also required a change in the structure of the curriculum. A spiral-shaped curriculum structure, consisting of both linear and cyclical elements, seemed appropriate. The spiral-shaped arrangement of the curriculum’s contents allows for a gradually more in-depth consideration of topics in subsequent years at ever more demanding levels. The linear areas (the christological, trinitarian and collective area) are repeated throughout the entire spiral, which leads to a gradual expansion of the content and to age-appropriate more in-depth study by the pupils. The contents of the curriculum are oriented towards the history of salvation and, in particular, towards the personal histories of the individual pupils. RE is focused, above all, on the pupils’ value orientation. It encourages a sense of responsibility towards oneself, towards other people and towards society as a whole. It teaches pupils how to think critically and how to understand themselves, others and the world in which we live. At the same time, the RE classes also take their cue from the other social science subjects, with pupils having the opportunity to compare social issues with their faith through open discussions (Hurajtov‚ 2010, 14). The topics to be dealt with in each grade are divided into core topics and optional ones. The core topics and their didactic development are the crucial parts of the RE curriculum. These must therefore be assigned the greatest significance. The optional topics can then usually be given around 20 % to 30 % of the class hours. Each topic included in the primary school curriculum is dealt with in a different grade: the Way of Love (1st grade), The Way of Trust (2nd grade), The Way of Faith (3rd grade), Knowledge of Hope (4th grade), Knowledge through Dialogue (5th grade), Knowledge of Truth (6th grade), The Freedom of Man (7th grade), The Dignity of Man (8th grade), and The Responsibility of Man (9th grade). The following topics are elaborated on in secondary school: Relationships and Responsibility (10th grade), Values and Decisions (11th grade), Identity and Knowledge (12th grade) and Love and Life (13th grade). There are four compulsory core topics to be covered each year, which take up around twothirds of the time available for that year. Around one-third of the class time provided should remain free for optional topics and for dealing with problems

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the pupils may have, discussing topical issues or issues from church life (Hurajtov‚ 2010, 15). The education reforms have, in particular, contributed to making RE more professional and towards establishing religion as a regular school subject. In addition, the new curriculum makes a differentiation between RE and catechesis and places special requirements on the religion teachers. The latter are expected to make the transition from dogmatic instruction to a type of instruction that is oriented towards pupils’ personal development, in order to empower pupils on the path of discovery of their Christian identity.

6.

Practice / reality of religious education in different schools

Currently, RE is an elective subject. Depending on the school, a grade may be awarded for it. Religion is taught in all grades of primary and secondary school, as well as in grammar schools and vocational schools up to the 10th grade. Participation in RE requires registration (by the parents or by the pupils themselves). If a pupil has chosen the subject before the start of the school year, he or she cannot switch to the alternative subject of ethics for the rest of that school year. In pre-schools as well as in the final two years of grammar school, religion is an optional subject. Curricular reforms have integrated the subject of religion into the pedagogical subsection ‘Man and Values’. The minimum number of hours stipulated for the subject is one per week. However, depending on the topics being focused on, schools have the option of changing this. This means that in some schools RE is taught only every second week for one hour. The position of RE in church-run schools is, of course, unique. In such schools, the subject is compulsory in all grades. The Catholic Bishops’ Conference, for example, has prescribed that RE be taught for two hours per week in all Catholic schools and that it can also be selected as a subject for the secondary schoolleaving examination. Of all pupils in Slovakia’s primary and secondary schools, 71 % attend RE classes. The largest percentage attendance at RE classes can be found in the eastern Region of Presˇov in the east of the country (almost 88 %), whereas in the capital Bratislava only around 52 % of pupils are taking the subject. This means that rural infrastructures still result in higher rates of participation in RE, while participation is lower in the major cities. Even though these figures are still relatively high, there has in recent years been a clear decline in participation in RE, especially in the major cities. Some sources put this decrease at between 20 % and 30 % over the past ten years, despite the religiosity of the general population having increased over the same period. Unfortunately, it is difficult

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to say whether this phenomenon is related to the quality of the RE or if it has other causes. RE in schools is taught according to curricula which are produced by the individual recognised churches and religious communities and approved by the Ministry of Education and Cultural Affairs. Officially, twelve churches and religious communities have the option of teaching religion in public schools. Of these, however, only five have actually developed RE curricula: the Roman Catholic Church, the Greek Catholic Church, the Reformed Church, the Orthodox Church and the Protestant Church. Even though the lesson plans and curricula are compulsory for religion teachers, in practice it often transpires that around 30 % of the teachers do not stick to them. Even though there are no statistics on the matter, this has been observed by the schools inspectorate. The problem of acceptance and the binding nature of the curriculum is often a result of the post-Communist mentality but also has to do with the way in which teachers are trained. In Slovakian schools, the subject of religion is popular with pupils. Various studies show that primary school pupils see religion as their second-favourite subject, immediately after physical education. Over 70 % of the pupils like religion and view it as important in their lives. Primary school pupils are interested in what is taught in the religion classes, even though less creative methods, like reading and writing for example, are often employed during the lessons. The popularity of RE changes at secondary and grammar school level: while physical education remains the pupils’ favourite subject here, religion becomes more and more unpopular and ceases to be considered important by pupils for their own lives. This decrease in popularity can be explained, on the one hand, from a developmental psychology point of view but, on the other hand, may also be because of the often ineffective and less interactive teaching methods employed by religion teachers. There are currently no official textbooks for the new RE curricula in Slovakia. In Catholic RE classes workbooks are used. Official textbooks are being prepared for the school year 2014/2015. These are subsidized by the Ministry of Education for all pupils between grades 1 and 11. Even though the workbooks are created primarily for the actual lessons in school, they are also important for the period after the lesson. Official textbooks for the Catholic RE are being prepared for the school year 2014/2015. One practice particular to RE in many schools is the putting together of classes consisting of pupils from different grades. If fewer than 12 pupils from one class register for RE, the school can put together pupils from other grades and classes. This practice is followed mainly for financial reasons but does create specific problems in terms of lesson content and, above all, creates problems for the religion teachers.

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In both public and private schools, in the final two years of school (12th and 13th grades), RE is only an optional subject, with very low participation rates. In accordance with the state education programme, there is no guaranteed minimum number for pupils for RE in these grades. It therefore depends entirely on the school whether and to what extent RE is taught. In vocational schools, where lessons and practical course elements are alternated on a weekly basis, the problem lies in maintaining systematic RE: the two hours every two weeks allocated for the subject often fail to materialise because of how complicated it is to organize the classes.

7.

Observations on alternative subjects / learning areas like ethics, philosophy etc.

In Slovakian schools, ethics is the only alternative subject to RE. Originally, the concept of ethics as a school subject was developed not as an alternative to RE but rather as an educational subject open to all pupils, the intention being to offer ethics education as an optional subject. Not until later, in the 1993/94 school year, did ethics education became an optional subject, offered in parallel to RE to pupils in the second stage of primary school (5th-9th grade) and to those in secondary school (10th-11th grade). Gradually, a teaching methodology was developed for teachers of ethics and a curriculum prepared for primary schools and for the remaining grades of grammar school and vocational school education. Since September 2004, ethics education has been a parallel subject to RE in all types of schools and an elective subject in the first ten grades of schooling in Slovakia. According to various statistics on the subject, around 20–30 % of pupils attend ethics education classes. In grammar schools, this figure rises to up to 50 % of pupils. The aim of ethics education is to encourage prosocial behaviour among pupils. The author of the ethics project being applied in Slovakian schools is Ladislav Lencz, who, when developing a curriculum for ethics education in Slovakia, drew his inspiration from the education system of Spanish author Robert Roche Olivar. Ethics education touches on some topics that are dealt with in other subjects; however, the ethics classes concentrate on the ethical aspects of these issues. Ethics education also addresses religious ethics by focusing on ethical aspects of religion, in order to lead pupils towards an understanding of the behaviours and attitudes of the faithful and to encourage tolerance between people in general and between people with different attitudes towards religion. Education of pupils’ characters is influenced not only by ethics education but also by other subjects such as religion and literature, which can encourage

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dialogue on ethical problems or represent positive models of behaviour, etc. for pupils. Pupils’ education is influenced by every teacher, through his or her personality, behaviour and relationship with the pupils. It is therefore required that all teachers should be made aware of the aims and methods of ethics education (Ivanov‚ and Kopinov‚ 2007, 5). The way in which the ethics education syllabus is divided into two cycles in accordance with the Roche Olivar model is a unique feature among ethics programmes. If the basic programme of the first cycle of this model deals primarily with personal development and with social behaviour in the pupils’ immediate environment, the second cycle – the applied element – concerns itself with the application of ethics in different areas of life, with the teacher being granted a lot of leeway in how they determine the content of the classes. In keeping with the Roche Olivar programme, the term ‘prosociality’ is at the centre of ethics education in Slovakia. The main reason for this emphasis is that Roche Olivar’s socio-psychological concept of ethics education stresses the identity-shaping role of prosociality as the most important principle of ethics education, something which has been reflected in the contents and methodologies of the syllabus for the subject. One noticeable feature of the syllabus is that the idea of the moment of reflection constituting the precondition and opportunity for moral judgement and discernment is not afforded any significance but that instead the focus is on the adoption or ‘internalisation’ of values by the pupils. The teachers are supposed to help the pupils wherever necessary throughout this process. In recent years, the view has become more dominant that pupils having to choose between the subject of ethics and the subject of religion is inappropriate, as the two are not mutually exclusive and could instead be of reciprocal benefit. Some experts are of the opinion that religious education, together with ethics, has an important influence on the character education of pupils. Within the meaning of the Slovak Constitution, ethics are based on Christian tradition and so ethics education has the same objective as religious education. Ethics as a school subject, therefore, does not contradict Christian ethics but instead creates an environment that facilitates communication, without which true faith, the aim of religious education, cannot develop. In this regard, ethics education is not actually an alternative to RE but instead complements it. The recent education reforms helped to better highlight the relationship between the subjects of ethics and religion, as the emphasis both subjects place on values education makes a contribution to pupils’ personal development.

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Dealing with religious diversity

There are at present eighteen recognised churches and religious communities active in Slovakia and, even though twelve of these, including the Jewish community, have, by way of the agreement reached with the state, the option of teaching RE in public schools, only five (the Roman Catholic, Greek Catholic, Reformed, Orthodox and Protestant churches) have developed and introduced a curriculum for the subject. There is no Jewish or Islamic RE in public schools. However, there is a Slovakian Jewish educational centre, which has, since 2006, been operating an educational facility where Jewish children are familiarized with Jewish culture and tradition. In terms of ecumenical cooperation in the religion class or in religious education both within and outside of the school, while there have been some collective projects (e. g. ‘The Good Samaritan’, ecumenical prayers for schools, etc.), such cooperation is at present very limited. Ecumenism is a component of the religious education process and is therefore included in textbooks and workbooks for pupils in the 9th grade. The new concept for RE underscores the importance of guiding pupils on their way towards the development of a Christian identity. Ecumenism plays an important role here. The largest minority in Slovakia is the Hungarian community. In around 11 % of primary schools and 7.5 % of grammar schools, classes are held in the Hungarian language. After the education reforms and the development of the new curriculum, new didactic teaching aids in the form of workbooks for pupils were developed in Hungarian. However, Hungarian-language methodological materials for teachers were not developed nor were the original materials translated into Hungarian, because teachers have to understand and speak the national language, i. e. Slovak. Training of Hungarian religion teachers is organized by the individual dioceses. The Commission for Catechesis of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference, for example, has created a sub-commission for the Hungarian-speaking faithful. Its duties include translating workbooks into Hungarian and organizing the Hungarian Bible Olympiad in schools. The second-largest minority in Slovakia are the Roma people. In the past, there were various attempts to prepare textbooks for pupils in the language of the Roma. However, neither the idea nor the curricula take account of the actual situation of the Roma, which is why this project was never realized in practice. The curriculum did not anticipate the significant differences between the various dialects spoken by the Roma in Slovakia. That is why no textbooks or other teaching aids written in the Roma language were available in the 1990s. Equally, it was not possible to take a course of study in the language and literature of the Roma or to study teacher training for such subjects in Slovakian colleges. Not until 1999 did the government adopt a new strategy for the Roma minority : the

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Roma language has since then been taught at the Chair for Roma Culture in the University of Nitra. Between 2003 and 2009, an experimental evaluation of the curriculum for Roma language and literature in the country’s primary and secondary schools was undertaken. As a result of this project, several textbooks, dictionaries and reference works were published in the Roma language. RE through the Roma language, however, is non-existent. Various experts who concern themselves with Roma issues see education as the most effective tool for solving the problems faced by the Roma people. The low level of education of the Roma population is reflected in many areas of public life, where negative phenomena such as unemployment, social dependence, low cultural development, poor hygiene and generally bad health are often prevalent. One solution is therefore to raise the level of education of the Roma. A specific problem here is the position of Roma children within the education system: Roma children do not have the opportunity to learn the Slovak language within the family, which makes it difficult for them when they start school. 94 % of primary school children who have to repeat a grade are Roma children. The high rate of failure among Roma children in the first years of primary school has led many experts, especially teachers, to try to analyze the causes of and backgrounds to this situation as well as find appropriate solutions. One such solution is certainly the introduction of a ‘pre-school year’, which should help Roma children make a successful start with their schooling.6

9.

Religion in school outside of religious education

Even today, RE in schools is still seen by many church representatives as preparation for the sacraments, with RE taking the place of catechetical preparation for First Communion in many parishes in the third grade and taking the place of preparation for Confirmation in the eighth or ninth grade. In other parishes, where there is parish catechesis for children and young people, RE often remains a prerequisite for receipt of the sacraments. This model of equality between RE and parish catechesis was in the past also reflected in the content of the RE classes. The curriculum and the individual topics within it contained targeted catechetical initiations to the sacraments, such as familiarization with the rites of celebration, religious symbols, etc. This equal positioning brought about a closer relationship between the school and the parish and led to the development of a religious life within schools, with the local priest teaching pupils in the classes which were preparing for the 6 http://www.codetipotrebuju.sk/images/stories/files/studie/Novovynarajuce_sa_potreby_ deti_na_Slovensku.pdf.

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sacraments, for example. This gave pupils the opportunity to meet the priest not only in the church but also at school, thereby creating the right conditions for the integration of children and young people into the parish. The religion teacher also plays an important role in this integration. In many cases, he or she has the role of a catechist, with responsibility not only for RE but also for parish catechesis. The latter role is, however, voluntary in nature and is not rewarded financially. In Slovakia, there are generally no lay people like parish or pastoral assistants appointed by the Church for the purposes of parish catechesis. In light of the religiosity of the Slovakian people, the celebration of the Eucharist is an important aspect of religious life in schools. In rural parts of the country in particular, it is common for teachers and pupils in public schools to attend Holy Mass for special occasions. Such Masses may be held at the beginning and end of the school year or to celebrate the feast day of the parish patron saint, etc. A further element of the Church’s presence in schools is the option of regular confession, excursions to the parish church and participation in various devotions before Christmas and before Easter. In Slovakian cities, these forms of religious life in school are much less apparent, if present at all. However, despite the population’s high level of religiosity, there is no standardized school chaplaincy in Slovakia. Instead, one can speak of religious ‘choices’ in the school. The celebration of the Holy Mass, retreats or spiritual exercises for teachers or for pupils, for example, are all activities that constitute religious school life. In schools, knowledge of the fundamental truths of the faith and liturgical education is emphasised while there is an absence of focus on pupils’ personal development. The situation with regard to pastoral care in church-run schools is particularly strong. In such schools, religious life is not just part of religious education but rather is part of the overall philosophy of the school. In many Catholic schools, especially in the east of Slovakia, the school chaplain is a very important figure. Such chaplains are priests who are employed full-time and who have the task of guiding not only the pupils but also the teachers and even the parents along the path of spiritual development. There is often a school chapel in such schools, where Holy Mass is held on a weekly basis for pupils as well as for teachers. Collective prayer at the beginning of class, regular retreats for pupils, recitation of the Rosary in October, prayers for the dead in November, celebration of St. Nicholas’ Day, school pilgrimages along with spiritual exercises for teachers as well as for the entire staff of the school are an important and natural element of school chaplaincy in church-run schools in Slovakia. However, these activities do show that school pastoral care manifests itself primarily in liturgical forms. Church-run schools often lack other pastoral approaches such as pastoral counselling for pupils and parents, specific social and charitable services or educational projects, which would have a positive influence on pu-

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pils’ lives, both at school and outside it. Such forms of pastoral care are developing at a very moderate pace in the country’s church-run schools.

10.

Training of teachers of religious education: institutes, structures, priorities issues

During the years of the Communist regime, RE was taught exclusively by clergy, who had degrees in theology and had also received approval from the state to teach the subject. After the fall of Communism in 1989, RE was offered in all schools, a change which also led to a gradual improvement in the training of religion teachers not only in faculties of theology but also in faculties of education. In Slovakia, religion is currently taught by teachers who have received subject-specific and pedagogical training in accordance with the laws of the Slovak Republic as well as having authorisation to teach from the church or religious community in question – the ‘missio canonica’ (canonical mission). According to Decree No. 379/2000 from the Ministry of Education and Cultural Affairs, religion teachers must have completed a degree in religious education at a faculty of education or a degree in theology at a faculty of theology (with additional exams on the subject of education). Degrees in theology are currently offered in faculties of theology in the following universities: Cornelius University in Bratislava, the University of Trnava, the Catholic University in Ruzˇomberok and the University of Presˇov. Degree courses in theology usually take six years and exist primarily to prepare men for the priesthood. In addition, lay people who later take up roles in church institutions or services may also study theology. This theological education includes the fundamental philosophical and theological lectures as well as an additional state examination on the theory of religious education. The course in religious education is a Bachelor’s and Master’s programme, which usually lasts five years (10 semesters). It is currently offered at the faculties of education in the universities of Nitra, Trnava, Presˇov, Ruzˇomberok and at the Chair for Protestant Theology and Mission at the University of Bansk‚ Bystrica. This course of study focuses more on social sciences, education and psychology with some philosophical and theological fundamentals of religious education also included. While Slovakia’s teacher training colleges offer good and very practical training for religion teachers, the faculties of theology are primarily lacking when it comes to didactic and methodological training for their students. Those who complete degrees is the the country’s faculties of theology are more suited for

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work in parish catechesis than for teaching in schools. Furthermore, they are lacking the pedagogical skills necessary to provide good RE. Interest in becoming a religion teacher is still relatively high in Slovakian society. There are around 1,000 students currently studying in the country’s faculties of theology, with around half of these being candidates for the priesthood. Around 400 students are studying to be religion teachers in Slovakia’s teacher training colleges. The clear dominance of theology students also shows the considerable need for better didactics training of future religion teachers. There are currently around 3,500 religion teachers in Slovakia. 2,700 of these teach Catholic RE. Designation as a catechist is still characteristic for Slovakia. Such a designation is however misleading and has negative consequences for the acceptance of religion as a school subject but even more so for the status of the religion teacher : even though all other teachers are appointed to the schools with permanent contracts and are therefore financed by the Ministry of Education and Cultural Affairs, religion teachers only work by agreement. Further training of religion teachers has in the past been carried out by the socalled methodological and pedagogical centres. These centres, which are active in different districts, were responsible for the methodological performance and continuing education of all teachers. In these methodological and pedagogical centres, there are currently four training leaders who are responsible for religion teachers. Further training of Catholic religion teachers is also facilitated and organised by the diocesan catechetical offices. These catechetical offices were established in 1997 and 1998 and have the task of supporting the methodological and, especially, the spiritual training of catechists and religion teachers. The heads of the diocesan catechetical offices also have the opportunity to supervise Catholic RE in schools. Through them, the Catholic dioceses can participate in the improvement process for RE. Another centre dedicated to the further training of Catholic religion teachers is the Catholic Centre for Education and Catechesis (known by the acronym KPKC) in Levocˇa. The KPKC was founded on 1 April 2005 within the scope of the international agreement between Slovakia and the Vatican. It was intended that the centre would, according to the terms of the agreement, assume all the responsibilities of the methodological centres for Catholic RE. To date, however, assumption of responsibilities has not yet been fully achieved. This means that, today, all three institutions (the state methodological centres, the diocesan offices and the KPKC) still play a role in the further training of religion teachers. The KPKC operates the following accredited programmes in the area of further training for religion teachers: (a) Coordination of the school curriculum for the subject of religion (b) Management of Catholic schools and educational facilities

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(c) Innovation in the management of Catholic schools and educational facilities (d) Consolidation of the curriculum for RE The diocesan catechetical offices and the KPKC also offer further education courses for religion teachers in the form of methodological training days, as well as seminars for the individual dioceses, workshops for pre-school teachers, workshops for teachers in special schools and for teachers teaching religion as a school-leaving examination subject in grammar schools, etc.

11.

Empirical Research concerning religious education

Empirical research in education in Slovakia and specifically in RE is – frankly speaking – still in its infancy. This has several reasons: Firstly, even 25 years after the fall of communism education in Slovakia is still dealing with structural changes. The Education Act of 1984 has been amended nineteen times. While the majority of the changes were indeed positive, the amendments did have the nature of partial corrections that did little to kick-start major systemic changes. By implementing the continuous structural changes few resources are left for empirical research. The second reason lies in the fact that in Slovakia there is no Institute of basic educational research at the Slovak Academy of Sciences. In the past, the Institute of Experimental Education Sciences used to fulfil this role and existed for 20 years from 1973 until 1993. The Institute had 40 scientific and professional staff and post-graduate students. The Institute was officially abolished for financial reasons. From the institutes at the Ministry of Education (the National Institute for Education, the National Institute of Vocational Education, the National Institute of Certified Educational Measurements and the Institute of Information and Prognoses of Education) it is mostly the National Institute for Education that is carrying out research activities, although on a very limited scale. It should be noted that science and research in Slovakia have long suffered from underfunding. Slovakia invests only 0.46 % of GDP in science and research and is also lagging behind in spending EU funds. During the communist era in 1989, this figure was 3.88 % of GDP; in 2009 it was only 0.48 % and in 2013 even less – 0.46 % of GDP. The EU averages 1.83 %. The Czech Republic invests three times more in science and research and Hungary more than two and half times more than Slovakia. Thus empirical research in Slovakia is conducted exclusively at universities and also – given the financial possibilities – only to a very limited extent. There are 33 universities in Slovakia, including 20 public, 10 private and 3 state universities (for health, defence and police).

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Educational research has historically been developed at public universities, but today there are no institutes of basic and applied educational research at universities. Universities go about developing research activities mainly through three ministerial agencies: VEGA – the Scientific Grant Agency, KEGA – the Cultural and Educational Grant Agency and APVV- the Agency for the Promotion of Research and Development. Some other funding bodies are also being tapped into: Ekopolis, the Open Society Foundation, the European Science Foundation, Socrates/Comenius, Socrates-Erasmus, Leonardo da Vinci, IS EQUAL, DAAD, DQME and more. It must be said, however, that there is no long-term plan for the development of educational research and coordination. The research in religious education, which is conducted at Slovak universities, is rather methodological and conceptual than empirical. The Department of Education and Catechetic at the Catholic Theological Faculty of the Comenius University in Bratislava conducted in 2010–2011 a research project called ‘The conceptual and methodological formation of itineraries of education to the faith as an innovative model of RE for primary and secondary schools’. The project was not empirical, but rather conceptual: the aim was the development of a new concept of RE in schools. The Pedagogical Faculty of the Catholic University in Ruzˇomberok has developed several research projects in the field of RE in recent years, for example ‘Catechism and Religious Education of mentally handicapped children’ (2007–2009), ‘Research on the use of innovative methods in Religious Education on primary schools level and creation of new teaching aids for the implementation of innovative methods in Religious Education into educational process’ (2012–2014). Several research projects were also conducted by the Department of Theology and Christian Education at the Faculty of Education of the Matej Bel University in Bansk‚ Bystrica.

12.

Desiderata / challenges for religious education in a European context

Religious education, which, in a wider European context, has already taken enormous steps, is still at a very early stage of its development in Slovakia. The different theological chairs are characterized more by their catechetical orientation, which, although not entirely hindering the academic development of religious education in Slovakia, advances it only very gradually. There is at present a lack of open discussion on religious education in Slovakia. European projects which promote comparison in the field of religious education are welcome initiatives, as they ensure deeper reflection at national level on the duties of religious education.

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Education reform in Slovakia is having a positive impact on RE. Amongst other things, the new curriculum places special emphasis on developing pupils’ skills, in order to enable them to lead full personal lives and fulfilling lives as part of the wider community. The reforms have contributed to making RE more professional. Despite that, one can observe that the subject of religion is still not an established school subject: the number of hours per week is reduced to a minimum, classes are moved to the final hours of school or even to the afternoon, the Ministry of Education is not honouring its commitment to pay for workbooks, etc. In addition, there is also a lack of legal awareness on the part of religion teachers in relation to employment contracts and on the relationship between the school and the church. These shortcomings in turn also worsen the position of RE compared to other subjects. In this respect, comparison with, and even the support from, other European countries is very important, with the possibility of cooperation offering enormous help for the establishment of RE in Slovakian schools. Even though the churches in Slovakia have a strong position, there is no clear church policy on education. The church tends to be passive and not so creative. There is a lack of well thought out church recommendations and programmes with regard to the national education policy, for example. This is reflected in the (financially) difficult position of the church-run schools and educational facilities, especially in the economic destabilization of the church-run kindergartens and pre-schools. One area that is almost totally ignored with regard to RE is ecumenical cooperation. With the exception of a few activities in the past, today there are no collective projects in the area of RE. This is also the situation when it comes to interfaith cooperation between different religions. In a society that is becoming increasingly more diverse in terms of ethnicity and religion, greater space for multicultural education and for getting acquainted with other religions within the RE class can create the right conditions for greater tolerance and more peaceful coexistence of people of different faiths. One other challenge in the area of religious education is the further training of religion teachers. In Slovakia, this area of education is especially oriented towards the didactic and methodological skills of the teacher, which are usually conspicuous by their absence in theology degrees. In the present day, however, more is required. Modern information and communication technologies set new requirements, and the question of what impact these technologies will have on teaching – including from a financial point of view – is the subject of intense debate in Slovakia. Schools are increasingly bracing themselves for working with these new media. With regard to e-textbooks and interactive whiteboards, teachers must change how they think, plan their lessons differently and tread new paths. These new media provide an opportunity to create a new classroom

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experience, including of course for RE. The area of education and training for religion teachers, therefore, is also facing new challenges.

13.

Further information (e. g., relevant literature on religious education, institutions, websites)

13.1

Important institutions in the area of religious education and RE

The main academic chairs currently active in the development and realization of religious education in Slovakia are the Faculty of Theology at Comenius University in Bratislava, the Faculty of Education at the Catholic University in Ruzˇomberok and the Faculty of Education at Matej-Bel University in Bansk‚ Bystrica. Within the scope of the International Agreement between Slovakia and the Vatican, the Catholic Centre for Education and Catechesis (KPKC) is responsible for the Catholic RE curriculum as well as offering specific further training to religion teachers and having the task of revising the curricula. Chair of Catechetics and Education: Univerzita Komensk¦ho R†mskokatol†cka cyrilometodsk‚ bohosloveck‚ fakulta Kapitulsk‚ 26 814 58 Bratislava Chairs of Catechetics and Practical Theology : Katol†cka univerzita v Ruzˇomberku Pedagogick‚ fakulta Hrabovsk‚ cesta 1 034 01 Ruzˇomberok Chair of Theology and Catechetics Univerzita Mateja Bela v Banskej Bystrici Pedagogick‚ fakulta Ruzˇov‚ 13 974 11 Bansk‚ Bystrica Katol†cke pedagogick¦ a katechetick¦ centrum, n.o. Bottova 15 054 01 Levocˇa

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Relevant literature on religious education

There is hardly any literature available on the subject of religious pedagogy in Slovakia, with very few publications on RE in schools in existence. Most of the literature that is available is connected with the curricular reforms. In addition, there are a few projects where academic work on religious pedagogy is being undertaken. Begeni, P., et al. 2008. Ucˇebn¦ osnovy predmetu n‚bozˇensk‚ vy´chova pre 1.–9. rocˇn†k z‚kladny´ch ˇskúl. Presˇov: Metropolitn‚ rada Pravosl‚vnej cirkvi na Slovensku. Hanesov‚, D. 2010. N‚bozˇensk‚ vy´chova v Eurûpskej fflnii., Tajov: Teof‚nia. Hurajtov‚, J., et al. 2010. Kurikulum predmetu n‚bozˇenstvo/n‚bozˇensk‚ vy´chova pre z‚kladn¦ ˇskoly, stredn¦ ˇskoly, ˇstvorrocˇn¦ gymn‚zi‚ a osemrocˇn¦ gymn‚zi‚, dvojrocˇn¦ nadstavbov¦ stredn¦ ˇskoly. Spisˇsk‚ Nov‚ Ves: KPKC. Jencˇo, J., ed. 2012. Kvalita vy´ucˇby n‚bozˇenskej vy´chovy. Presˇov: Vydavatel’stvo Michala Vasˇka. Komorovsky´, J. 1997. Religionistika a n‚bozˇensk‚ vy´chova. Bratislava: F.R. & G. spol. s r. o. Reimer, T. 2010. Konceptu‚lna a metodick‚ tvorba itiner‚rov vy´chovy k viere ako inovat†vneho modelu n‚bozˇenskej vy´chovy pre zˇiakov z‚kladny´ch a stredny´ch ˇskúl. Kega-Projekt cˇ. 353–040UK-4/2010. Reimer, T. 2013. Religiöse Bildung in der Slowakei. In: Jäggle, M., M. Rothgangel and T. Schlag. eds. Religiöse Bildung an Schulen in Europa. Teil 1: Mitteleuropa. Wien: V& R unipress. Sˇtef‚nikov‚, O. 2012. Ucˇebniva n‚bozˇenskej vy´chovy z pohl’adu obtˇazˇnosti textu a didaktickej vybavenosti. Kosˇice: Vienala. Tom‚nek, P. 2012. Vybran¦ aspekty n‚bozˇenskej vy´chovy. Bratislava: Oto N¦meth. Zozul’‚k, J. 2007. Experiment‚lne ucˇebn¦ osnovy predmetu n‚bozˇensk‚ vy´chova pre 1.–4. rocˇn†k z‚kladny´ch ˇskúl. Presˇov: Presˇovsk‚ univerzita v Presˇove, Pravosl‚vna bohosloveck‚ fakulta. Zozul’‚kov‚, V. 2011. Metûdy vyucˇovania n‚bozˇenskej vy´chovy. Presˇov: Vydavatel’stvo Presˇovskej univerzity.

References Dravecky´, J. 2011. Element‚rne vzdel‚vanie v cirkevny´ch ˇskol‚ch Spisˇskej diec¦zy. Ruzˇomberok: Verbum. Hanesov‚, D. 2005. N‚bozˇensk‚ vy´chova v ˇskol‚ch. Bansk‚ Bystrica: UMB Pedagogick‚ fakulta. Hurajtov‚, J., et al. 2010. Kurikulum predmetu n‚bozˇenstvo/n‚bozˇensk‚ vy´chova pre z‚kladn¦ ˇskoly, stredn¦ ˇskoly, ˇstvorrocˇn¦ gymn‚zi‚ a osemrocˇn¦ gymn‚zi‚, dvojrocˇn¦ nadstavbov¦ stredn¦ ˇskoly. Spisˇsk‚ Nov‚ Ves: KPKC. Ivanov‚, E., and L’. Kopinov‚. 2007. Etick‚ vy´chova v 4. rocˇn†ku z‚kladnej ˇskoly. Bratislava: MPC. Orend‚cˇ, P. 2006. Alternat†vne vyucˇovanie n‚bozˇenstva a n‚bozˇenskej vy´chovy. Presˇov: MPC. Turek, I. 2005. Inov‚cie v didaktike. Bratislava: MPC.

Stanko Gerjolj / Andrej Saje

Religious Education at Schools in Slovenia

Introduction Even after the democratic changes that have taken place in Slovenia, one can sense a certain pressure to push the religious aspect of life out of the public arena and limit it entirely to the private sphere. At the political level certain democratic standards have been formally established. At the societal level, however, many institutions are to this day influenced by those who were educated during the Communist era and who espouse the ideologies of that time. Even if, from a legal point of view, progress has been made, the lack of awareness on the issue that exists in practice allows the state and the media to easily misuse life questions associated with religion, ethics, morals, etc. Earlier human rights abuses are usually swept under the carpet and there was no official departure from the country’s Communist past. The Catholic Church, other religious communities and civil institutions are attempting to create the right social relations in order to work out unresolved issues of religious freedom in a reasonable, sensitive manner.

1.

The socio-religious background of the country

As of January 1st 2013, Slovenia had 2.058.821 inhabitants, which makes it 0.2 % more than the year before. 95.6 % of the inhabitants possessed Slovenian citizenship. Since 2003, the birth-rate has risen almost continuously, reaching 10.9 births per 1,000 inhabitants in 2010 (Statisticˇni urad Republike Slovenije 2013). Immigration is also contributing to population growth. In 2011, immigrants from other countries made up 11.1 % of the population (Statisticˇni urad Republike Slovenije 2012). Most of these come from states within the former Yugoslavia. Following Slovenia’s entry into the EU, the number of people immigrating into the country from other EU states, especially Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, has also increased. Croatian immigrants are looked after

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by their Catholic Mission in Ljubljana, while Orthodox Christians are cared for by the Serbian Orthodox Church. Because many immigrants from regions within the former Yugoslavia are Muslim, the construction of a mosque is planned in the capital Ljubljana. Of the 43 churches and religious communities currently registered with the Office of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia for Religious Communities, the Catholic and Lutheran churches are the indigenous ones. Behind this large number of religious communities there lies hidden, especially with regard to media funding by the state, the old political tactic of ‘divide et impera’, which can be implemented all the more effectively the greater the number of groups which have to be taken into consideration. Behind the provision for the separation of the state and religious communities as well as the equality of all religious communities that is anchored in the State Constitution, the intention is still to treat all religious communities in the same way, regardless of the actual reality (Ustava Republike Slovenije). In the 1991 census of population, 71.4 % of the population declared themselves Catholic, 2.4 % Muslim and 1.5 % Orthodox Christian. Another census was held in Slovenia in 2002. According to this, the proportion of the country’s population who were Catholic showed a drastic decline – to 57.8 %. The question of religious affiliation was, however, an optional one on the census form and was the subject of a lot of negative propaganda, with people being encouraged not to answer. According to Church statistics from the year 2010, 72.7 % of inhabitants in the Archdiocese of Ljubljana are baptised Catholics (Saje 2011, 227–8). Around one-third of these are ‘practicing’ Catholics who attend Sunday Mass on a regular basis, another one-third attend church on important holidays and feast days (mainly Easter and Christmas), while the remaining one-third tend to stay away from the church. Over the past decade, the number of people attending church has decreased somewhat. However, some empirical studies show that more Catholics are practicing their faith ‘out of their own convictions’ than in the past (Persˇe 2011, 245–6). Incidentally, the practicing faithful display greater understanding of and commitment to ecumenical cooperation. However, most outstanding issues relating to religious practice and education, which are connected with the socio-religious background of the country, still remain unresolved in line with Communist ‘logic’. However, Communism did not succeed in permanently reshaping the Slovenian people according to its ideas, even if most people do have difficulty in expressing a personal opinion.

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Legal framework for religious education and the relationship between religious communities and the state

The State Constitution specifies the separation of the state from religious communities and, at the same time, determines that all religious communities have equal rights and that they may operate independently in their activities (Saje 2013, 551–8).1 The law on religious freedom was passed in 2007 in accordance with the constitution. This law defines religious communities as social, charitable civil organizations and thereby represents an important turning point for the Catholic Church in terms of the regulation of its relationship with the state (Zakon o verski svobodi 2007, § 5). According to the law, the religious communities must finance themselves, even though their work can also be supported by the state (Zakon o verski svobodi 2007, §§ 27–9). In practice, this means that the substantive work of the Church is based primarily on voluntary donations and Church property. Priests usually live on Mass stipends and donations from the faithful. They do not receive any salary, although the state does pay a proportion of their social insurance. As legal entities under private law, religious communities can also receive funds from the state budget, e. g. for charity work and social programmes. In keeping with the strict separation between the state and religious communities, there is no possibility for denominational RE in Slovenia’s public schools. Denominational RE is provided in four private church-run senior secondary schools but is not financed by the state. The church-run grammar schools are financed to the tune of 85 % for offering the state’s public education program, while all other costs have to be covered by the church and by the pupils’ parents (Globokar 2011, 39–40)2 Interestingly, despite the clear laicist separation of the state from religious communities, the Church may provide pastoral assistance to the police and the army. While in the case of the army, in particular, international and especially NATO standards were crucial for the granting of permission to offer pastoral care, the education authorities continue to insist on the ‘inviolability’ of the school when it comes to the religious dimension of life.

1 “The state and the religious communities are separate. All religious communities have equal rights and are free to operate as they choose.” (Ustava Republike Slovenije, Uradni list RS, No. 33/1991, § 7). 2 Three church-run senior grammar schools were granted a concession. In these schools, the educational program (excluding RE) is financed entirely by the state.

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Developments in the country’s education policy

In a totalitarian state, the limits placed on the lives and spheres of influence of those who think differently (and their institutions) are usually set by the state. Accordingly, the ideologically repressive and hostile education policy pursued by the Party leadership after World War II, which was aimed primarily at the Catholic Church, reached one of its climaxes in 1952, when the Faculty of Catholic Theology in the university was closed (Gabricˇ 2003, 255–80; Valencˇicˇ 2003, 281–92; Kolar 2003, 293–302),3 RE as a school subject was finally banned,4 teachers in all schools who held opposing ideologies to the state (e. g. those with ties to the Church) were dismissed and the right of many pupils and students to study was withdrawn for ideological reasons (Sobotkiewicz 1993, 11; Sobotkiewicz 1993, 11). In any case, private schools were not allowed. The Catholic Church was therefore completely excluded from the formal education sector – which, under Communism, referred only to the school – and was forced to search for alternative routes in terms of educational work. Under extremely difficult conditions and accompanied by countless controls and harassment the Catholic Church transferred RE into church buildings, as a result of which the subject increasingly assumed the character of parish catechesis. In most cases RE classes were held in the church or sacristy, as other church properties had been dispossessed or placed under state control. In terms of didactics and methodology, the parish catechesis introduced instead of religious instruction in schools differed little from the usual type of RE and was attended by 60–80 % of children and young people between the ages of 7 and 15 years during the Communist era (Hribar 1972, 159). Parish catechesis therefore became the basic sphere of action in the area of religious education during the Communist period.5

3 The exclusion document was given the non-existing date of June 31st 1952 (Vovko 1994, 93). 4 With its decree of January 19th 1952, the Ministry for Education and Culture of the Government of the Socialistic Republic of Slovenia banned the teaching of RE in all schools (Sˇusˇtar 1991, 408). 5 In addition to the usual harassment, the Communist Party (CP) was also very imaginative at the level of lawmaking in order to make participation in voluntary parish catechesis more difficult. In the law passed in 1976 on the legal position of religious communities in the Socialist Republic of Slovenia, there were still plenty of legal means which the CP could always use to put pressure on those participating in parish catechesis and against which the Church could barely defend itself. For example, religious instruction within the scope of parish catechesis was legally permitted in church properties and was declared to be optional. Nobody could be forced to participate or prevented from participating. However, if those under the age of 18 years wished to attend parish catechesis, not only was their own consent required but also the permission of both of their parents. This meant that pressure could be exerted in particular on those families where one parent worked as teacher or held a responsible position

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In terms of education policy, it is primarily the Liberals who speak of an ‘ideologically neutral’ and ‘autonomous’ school (Bela knjiga o vzgoji in izobrazˇevanju v Republiki Sloveniji 1995, 27; Gaber 1990, 16; Zgaga 1992, 25). At the base of this, one discovers in all theoretical interpretations the striving of the former Communist-minded liberal politicians to continue to view and operate schools as a political tool. The former ‘scientific world view’ is now being replaced by a ‘neutral’ and ‘autonomous’ view, whereby the intention is primarily to pass on the views of the Liberals (Rode 1995, 152–3).

4.

Role of religiously sponsored schools, including any changes and developments, legal relationships

In this context it is not surprising – at least in relation to the curriculum – that, apart from the removal of the ideologically Communist school subjects, almost nothing has changed in the Slovenian education system. The establishment of some private schools can be seen as almost the only concrete step in the area of education system change (Zakon o organizaciji in financiranju vzgoje in izobrazˇevanja s komentarjem 1997, § 86). Because these private schools are almost all secondary-level establishments, which, in Slovenia, can only be attended by those aged 15 years and over, the subject of ‘Religion and Culture’ taught in the private senior grammar schools has hardly any impact on parish catechesis, which is only offered up to the age of 15. Before 1991 there were already two church-run senior grammar schools in Slovenia, which were attended solely by pupils interested in the priesthood. The first senior grammar school was founded in 1957 and was operated by the Diocese of Koper, while the second one has been run by the Salesian religious order since 1967 (Globokar 2009, 7–11; Globokar 2011, 35–62; Saje 2012, 1096–7; Sˇtuhec 2009, 13–20). Even though the educational program it provided was identical to that of other senior grammar schools, this school was not recognized by the state. Therefore, those pupils who were not sure of their priestly vocation took special state grammar school examinations at the end of each school year. In 1991, both schools became churchrun private senior grammar schools with a publicly recognized program of education. In the autumn of 1993 a church-run senior grammar school was established in Ljubljana, followed by one in Maribor in 1997. In 2008, Slovenia’s only churchrun private primary school opened its doors to pupils. Schools established before 1996 are formally financed entirely by the state, while those founded after in society, i. e. one that was not compatible with their religious convictions according to the statutes of the Communist Party (Gerjolj 1997, 140–1.).

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1996 are financed to the tune of 85 %. In both cases, however, the funds provided are not enough and parents must also provide some of the funding for the schools. The provision within the law on the financing of primary school education which says that the state has the right to withdraw subsidies from denominational private schools at any time if it turns out that a private school represents competition for a public school in any particular area remains problematic (Zakon o organizaciji in financiranju vzgoje in izobrazˇevanja s komentarjem 1997, § 87). In addition to the four senior grammar schools, there is only one small church-run private school operating in the primary education sector. In the year 2013, the proportion of Slovenia’s primary school children attending this Catholic private school was 0.2 %. 2.0 % of Slovenian young people attend one of the country’s four private Catholic senior grammar schools. Both the primary school and the church-run grammar schools are well integrated into the Slovenian education system. Since these schools achieve aboveaverage results in various state examinations, they are highly regarded by parents and, despite the tuition fees they charge, enjoy full enrolment even at a time when pupil numbers in general are low (Gerjolj, Globokar and Vidmar 2008, 60–1). Because of the lack of public facilities at pre-school level, the state is a little more generous towards the Church in the area of kindergarten education. In the 2010/11 school year, there were 17 Catholic kindergartens in Slovenia, which were attended by 1,264 children. Up to 85 % of the funds allocated to a public kindergarten are also paid as a subsidy to the Catholic kindergartens.

5.

Conceptions and tasks of religious education

The question of RE was first put on the negotiating table between the state and the Church in 1993. Representatives of the Catholic Church were invited (or rather, permitted) to take their place on a specially convened negotiating committee on the issue of the presence of religion in education as well as on the possibility of RE in public schools. After the Catholic Church was called upon to present its own recommendations in the area, it decided on the subject of ‘Ethical Religious Education’, which was conceived of as an elective subject and was, as anticipated, unequivocally rejected by the government commission. The government commission was occupied almost entirely by the then very strong Liberal Party, which had also drafted the new Education Act and which was in favour of the idea of an ‘ideologically neutral’ and ‘autonomous’ school (Zakon o organizaciji in financiranju vzgoje in izobrazˇevanja s komentarjem 1997, § 72; Zgaga 1992, 25). In order to understand the situation with regard to religious education in public schools, decisions made by the Constitutional Court must be considered.

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In the year 2001, for example, the Constitutional Court, in accordance with the Education Act, explicitly banned all denominational activities in public schools (Odlocˇba Ustavnega sodisˇcˇa U-I-68/98 z dne 22/11/2001; Uradni list RS, No. 101/ 01; Ivanc 2008, 252–3). The Court invoked the separation of the state and religious communities proclaimed in the State Constitution, on account of which public schools may only offer ideologically neutral educational programmes (Movrin 2008, 45–8). Here, the definition of religious freedom is an extremely negative one and is almost unique within a European context. On the initiative of ‘liberal’ politicians, the compulsory subject of ‘Citizens education and Ethics’ was introduced for the final three years of the nine years of (still uniform) primary school education in place since the passing of the Education Act in 1997. Parallel to this, it was intended that RE should be taught from a non-denominational point of view and that, both in terms of the subject’s teachers and its contents, it should be supported exclusively by state institutions and take the form of an optional subject called ‘Religions and Ethics’ (Bela knjiga o vzgoji in izobrazˇevanju v Republiki Sloveniji 1995, 27), a plan the Church disagreed with and distanced itself from.6 It should be noted that the aforementioned subject is listed within the set of 86 selective subjects, and it is understandable that in terms of direct benefit other contents are deemed more attractive to students (Abecedni seznam izbirnih predmetov v osnovni ˇsoli 2014). In addition, this subject can be taught by almost every teacher and many complain that they feel poorly trained for this work. Nevertheless, the opportunity for additional training was abolished with the academic year 2007–2008, since neither schools nor teachers demonstrated sufficient interest (Ravnateljicam in ravnateljem osnovnih ˇsol 2006). A partial reason for this, undoubtedly, also lies in the fact that religious parents and children do not trust this subject as it deals more with outdated and negative (Marxist) criticism than with learning about the religious dimension of life (Sˇtefanicˇ and Gerjolj 2010). In this context, there is once again the prospect of an education concept typical of the Communist ideology, whereby it is intended that the teaching of the two school subjects relating to ethics, world views, religion and other life questions (i. e. the compulsory subject ‘Citizens education and Ethics’ and the optional subject ‘Religions and Ethics’) is to be a matter solely for the state. This means that the state would be the only institution with the right to determine the values and world views taught in the school. In this respect one can definitely speak of the danger of a statist model of education. The Church and a small percentage of the general public are advocating an education concept which 6 In the first school year (1998/99) none of the 18 trial schools offered this optional subject, as there were not enough pupils interested in it (Rogelj-Petricˇ 1999, 9).

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offers the individual greater choice. Exponents of the so-called pluralist and democratic school arguing for an ‘ideological’ optional or elective subject are taking that step in the direction of democracy and pluralism which not only guarantees ‘scientific, ideologically neutral or autonomous’ interpretations of life questions but which offers a selection of answers that allow pupils to make their own choices. The question of RE has not been resolved by any means, something which has also emerged from the treaty between Slovenia and the Apostolic See (Plenarni zbor Cerkve na Slovenskem 1998, § 392; Zakon o ratifikaciji Sporazuma med Republiko Slovenijo in Svetim sedezˇem o pravnih vprasˇanjih 2001, § 14). Within the context of the Plenary Assembly of the Catholic Church in Slovenia (1997–2002), the recommendation of integrating the already existing parish catechesis into the concept for education as an optional subject, for example, was discussed (Baloh, 2002).7 In previous discussions too, this suggestion met with most approval from the public. According to this recommendation, pupils who, in the final three years of their obligatory education, have to sign up for at least three of the approximately 40 optional subjects available and who are attending parish catechesis classes anyway could have the latter counted as one of these subjects. Although some questions remain unanswered here, it is certain that such a development would also lead to an improvement in the quality of the catechesis provided. Firstly, the old processes of socialization and integration could continue to take their course within the parish and secondly, some of the catechists would achieve better subject-specific and didactic skills. According to the discussions held previously, the catechists could be appointed by the Church but would have to fulfill all the didactic professional prerequisites prescribed by the state. The Church made this recommendation not least because of the previous, rather sporadic, practice whereby some secondary schools were already accepting hours of parish catechesis completed by pupils as constituting part of the school’s requirements in terms of optional subjects.8 Furthermore, the Church is attempting to have the previously compulsory subject of ‘Citizens education and Ethics’ made an elective subject, i. e. to have it as an alternative to catechesis, with pupils having to decide between denomi7 “The historical and socio-political conditions prevailing in Slovenia have not allowed the question of RE to be reasonably resolved to date. Church efforts are currently moving in the direction of offering parish catechesis as an elective subject in schools.” (Izberi zˇivljenje 2002, § 391). In any case, the question of RE remains a burning issue for further discussion between the Church and the state (Izberi zˇivljenje 2002, § 392). 8 According to the programme in place for secondary school education in Slovenia, each pupil must complete 90 hours of freely chosen subjects, which are usually offered outside of school. 30 hours out of this 90 can be recognized if, at the end of the school year, confirmation is provided that the pupil regularly attended parish catechesis classes where life questions in the area of religion and ethics were addressed.

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national parish catechesis from a registered religious community and the subject of ‘Citizens education and Ethics’. In the process, some issues would have to be dealt with in both subjects and both programs would have to be approved by the state or by state commissions on the matter. Similarly, teachers would have to receive didactic training in accordance with state regulations. Training of catechists would still be the responsibility of the Church or the Faculty of Catholic Theology within the scope of university courses of study in religious education. According to this recommendation, catechesis would continue to be taught in parish buildings and the teachers would remain catechists. However, some of the hours of catechesis completed by the pupil would also appear as an elective subject on his or her school report. Even after the fall of Communism, around 60 % of children and young people between the ages of 6 and 15 years in Slovenia attend parish catechesis classes. The decision whether and to what extent children are entrusted to the Church as an educational institution, in terms of attending catechesis classes, lies with their parents. The way in which catechesis is taught is also often determined in part by the parents. The Church is increasingly advocating ‘family catechesis’, whereby parish catechesis is partly backed and taught by the parents and other members of the parish.9

6.

Practice / reality of religious education in different schools

Denominational RE is a compulsory subject in church-run private schools, where it has the title ‘Faith and Culture’. Even though the schools are also attended by pupils of other religions and none, and the classes are therefore pluralist in terms of the world views represented, the religious dimension of the education provided is viewed extremely positively. All those involved (pupils, teachers and parents) constantly make reference to the good experiences they have in and with such schools (Gerjolj 2008, 63). In accordance with the curriculum, RE in church-run private senior grammar schools has an anthropological and – compared with parish catechesis – rather cognitive design even though, at the level of the individual, it also facilitates emotional reflection. Starting with general life questions (Who am I? – 1st grade) and moving through biblical reflection (My Path through Life – 2nd grade) and theological reflection (What do I believe? – 3rd grade) to the history of salvation (It’s about the Human Being – 4th grade), the overall concept is drafted in such a way that the learning process can take a biographical course (Sˇverc 2008, 9 One concrete outcome of these intentions are the Confirmation groups, which are usually led by lay people.

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245–55). Taking into account the pluralism of present-day society, the issues of ecumenism and interfaith dialogue are given much attention. The curriculum for Slovenia’s only Catholic primary school is currently being developed. Here too, the anthropological approach is being placed at the forefront. At the same time, items from the parish catechesis curriculum, to which a link can be created, are taken into consideration in the sense of being a cognitive addition, which also facilitates reflection appropriate for the child’s age and encourages biographical learning. In the 1990s, ‘liberal’ politicians advocated the introduction of a compulsory subject simply called ‘Religions’ (Bela knjiga o vzgoji in izobrazˇevanju v Republiki Sloveniji 1995, 27). This would have once again represented the prospect of a state education concept which, as in the Communist era, would come in the shape of a separate, compulsory and ideological school subject. The plan was also littered with recommendations that social and ideological issues should also be discussed in other subjects at school (Bela knjiga o vzgoji in izobrazˇevanju v Republiki Sloveniji 1995, 27). Despite the at times strong ideological and political pressure exerted, the planned compulsory subject of ‘Religions’ was not introduced. This concept was opposed by representatives of some other parties and the Catholic Church, who presented an alternative recommendation in keeping with the principles of democratic, pluralist thought and which envisaged an elective subject with an ethical, religious and denominational orientation. This proposal was rejected both by the government and by the public school authorities. The removal of ideologically Communist compulsory subjects, which took place almost parallel to the country’s first democratic elections, still does not guarantee democracy and pluralism in the school. As long as ideological issues may be dealt with exclusively from one perspective, the school remains ideologically influenced (Kos 2012, 11). Not until the possibility of different interpretations and choices in the area of education is realized can one claim that the prerequisites for democratic and pluralist education have been met. In accordance with current education legislation, there is no RE in the first six years of obligatory primary school. Not until the final three years of obligatory primary school is the elective subject of ‘Religions and Ethics’ offered. However, the level of interest among pupils in this subject is low, so much so that it is not even provided in most schools. The problem lies on the one hand in the fact that, in most cases, the teachers dealing with the subject of religion have a negative attitude towards the religious dimension of life and have poor training in the subject,10 and, on the other hand, 10 There are still many teachers who taught Marxist subjects before the fall of Communism and who, since these subjects were done away with, are now teaching ethics and, in some cases,

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in the fact that religious attitudes are considered taboo and are pushed to the edges of the private sphere. Even in the elective subject ‘Religions and Ethics’, teachers are dissuaded from expressing their own opinions and making statements on religious life questions.11 A negative atmosphere like this makes teachers who are religious fearful and forces them to be reticent on religious matters.12 In terms of its contents, the subject is designed similarly to a sort of ‘negative’ sociology of religion. During the subject’s preparation, the Marxist sociology of religion played a key role. The first year of the curriculum provides a sociological overview of world religions, which, in the second year, is expanded upon to include a comparative interpretation. Not until the third year are the Bible and Christianity given a little more attention (Ministrstvo za ˇsolstvo in sˇport 2005), although there are some pupils who choose the subject and then give it up after just one year. On the other hand, there is parish catechesis, which is still experienced by many children either as a sort of ‘parallel education’ or even ‘counter-education’. Even though there are individual instances of schools and parishes working well together, this is only reluctantly tolerated by the state education authorities. There are even cases where teachers who support such cooperation are bullied. At the level of Slovenia’s public secondary schools, no RE is provided.

7.

Observations on alternative subjects / learning areas like ethics, philosophy etc.

A compulsory subject called ‘Citizens education and Ethics’, broadly similar to the subject of Ethics in many Western countries, was introduced in the final two grades of primary school, which provides 9 years of obligatory school education. the non-denominational elective subject ‘Religions and Ethics’. The following statement was made by a teacher at a major teachers’ conference, for example, and met with general approval: “Atheists are critical, thereby making them the most suitable teachers for the subject of ’Religions and Ethics’, as we are unencumbered with religious beliefs.” 11 “The teacher may not ask the pupils about their religious affiliations or expect them to reveal anything about the religious aspect of their lives. It is not appropriate to organise role plays or to demonstrate religious rituals in class. Similarly, teachers should refrain from expressing opinions on the religious side of their own lives. If, however, a pupil asks his or her teacher about the latter’s own religious life and the teacher cannot avoid the question, he or she may answer very briefly but subsequently emphasise that they are not there to talk about their own religiosity but rather to describe different religions and world views in a proper manner” (Ministrstvo za sˇolstvo in ˇsport, Ucˇni nacˇrt za izbirni predmet Verstva in etika 2005, 39–40). 12 In the didactic introduction, it is explicitly stated that priests are not considered desirable teachers for this subject – even if they have suitable professional expertise (Kersˇevan 1997, 64).

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In addition to general ethical questions, this subject also deals with issues relating to religion, albeit within the context of a Marxist critique of religion. Parallel to this compulsory subject, the Primary Education Reform Commission also introduced the elective subject of ‘Religions and Ethics’ mentioned earlier. In terms of its content and didactics, this subject is intended to represent an expansion on, and more in-depth consideration of the issues addressed in the compulsory subject. Both subjects, for which one hour per week each is allocated, can be taught by teachers without any specific additional qualifications. Both subjects are viewed as marginal subjects by pupils. In the curriculum for the compulsory subject, the topic of religion appears only once, in connection with human rights and the Slovenian State Constitution, where, as one would expect, the separation of the state and religious communities is to the fore (Ministrstvo za ˇsolstvo in sˇport 2011, 11). A certain compatibility with the elective subject of ‘Religions and Ethics’ would still be conceivable. For this to be realized, however, the elective subject would have to be conceived differently – primarily more positively – and, above all else, would have to be taught in a more professionally competent manner.

8.

Dealing with religious diversity

Along with the Orthodox Christians, whose pastoral care is provided for by the Serbian Orthodox Church, there are some Protestant parishes in eastern Slovenia, with which the Catholic Church maintains good, sensitive cooperation. Even though it is true that it is always state policy to try to disturb the positive atmosphere using a sort of ‘divide et impera’ strategy, by portraying the birthday of Primozˇ Trubar, founder of Protestant Christianity in Slovenia and author of the first translation of the Bible into Slovenian (a day which has been elevated to the status of a national holiday) as some sort of ‘day of conflict’ between Protestants and Catholics every year, in recent years this has been happening with less and less frequency. Contrary to the expectations of the critical public, the ‘Ecumenical Week of Prayer for the Unity of Christians’, in which all Christian communities – with the exception of some very small groups – have been participating for decades, is growing in importance. An academic symposium has regularly been held on this occasion since 1974 (Janezˇicˇ 2004, 126), with ecumenical services, or at least liturgies with ecumenical contents, celebrated for the whole week. In all these years we have cooperated closely with Orthodox and Protestant faculties of theology on an international level. Several students of the Serbian Orthodox Church as well as some Protestant Churches are studying at the Faculty of Theology of University of Ljubljana. In the area of ecumenical educational cooperation, some initiatives have

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already been started, which could potentially improve the situation with regard to ecumenism in the future. At an informal level there is, for example, contact with the Serbian Orthodox and Protestant churches aimed at preparing a plan for ecumenical RE which would on the one hand respect the legal provision that prohibits denominational activities in the school while on the other hand giving the churches a certain say in education. The discussions are only at a very early stage and represent merely one possible vision of how the question of RE could be solved from a legal point of view. The problem lies in the fact that the separation of the state from religious communities anchored in the State Constitution is interpreted very strictly in Slovenia. Ecumenically designed RE could possibly be viewed as an interdenominational subject, although this option too would leave many questions unanswered. On the one hand, the current Education Act only provides for a non-denominational elective subject on ‘Religions and Ethics’ and the public school authorities could interpret even an ecumenical type of RE as denominational – as it would be supported by three or even more denominations. On the other hand, it is still unclear how the subject could be designed in such a way that those with responsibility for it in all three or more churches could agree upon. However, in the most recent ‘white paper’ on the matter, the authors mentioned the fact that in all European countries where denominational RE is provided, pupils are better informed on religions and ethical issues than their counterparts in Slovenia, which gives some glimmer of hope (Bela knjiga o vzgoji in izobrazˇevanju v Republiki Sloveniji 2011, 28). Regular contact is also maintained with Muslims. There have even been some joint campaigns in recent years. In the year 2010, for example, Catholics, Orthodox Christians and Muslims together initiated a signature campaign, which led to a referendum that resulted in the rejection of the law introduced by the government which would have redefined the term ‘family’ (Tiskovni urad Slovenske ˇskofovske konference 2010). Despite some unresolved issues between Islam and the Catholic Church in Slovenia, there is constructive exchange of opinions between the two, especially in the area of various conferences , where the Faculty of Catholic Theology in the University of Ljubljana and the Faculty of Islamic Theology in Sarajevo work together.

9.

Religion in school outside of religious education

In addition to the RE classes, church-run schools also provide weekend retreats, which not only support the school’s religious life but also encourage a sense of camaraderie among classes and the school community as a whole. During such events, unresolved issues can be discussed as well as conflicts settled. Such events help reinforce pupils’ personal identities as well as their collective identity

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and sense of togetherness (Gerjolj, Globokar and Vidmar 2008, 63). Classes usually begin with a religious text or a short meditation, which puts pupils in the right frame of mind for the day ahead. A church service is held at the beginning of the school year, in which many parents participate. Whereas in church-run private schools the spiritual dimension of school life plays a significant role and religious education is well integrated into the curriculum, from the Church’s point of view one cannot speak of any religious life in the public school system. There is a hint of religious life in some public schools, where, in exceptional cases, parish catechesis may be taught. The Minister for Education can, on the recommendation of the school principle, “grant permission for parish catechesis to be taught in the school outside of regular school hours in exceptional circumstances, where there are no suitable facilities in the parish” (Zakon o organizaciji in financiranju vzgoje in izobrazˇevanja s komentarjem 1997, § 72). This permission must be renewed every year. Up to now, such permission has only been sporadically granted in a few schools. Even in these schools, catechists complain that the negative atmosphere would have a severely adverse effect on the catechesis provided. However, where catechesis is taught for several consecutive years, this negative mood can also improve.

10.

Training of teachers of religious education: institutes, structures, priorities issues

The Faculty of Catholic Theology was reintegrated into the state University of Ljubljana in 1995 (Gabricˇ 2003, 255–80; Valencˇicˇ 2003, 281–92; Kolar 2003, 293–302) and includes a second campus in Maribor, with a combined current enrolment of 699 students. These students are mostly young people who are not studying for a religious vocation and who currently have hardly any appropriate job opportunities. Many of them are still hoping to find work in the area of education and therefore for a change in the law in this regard too. There are also 10 to 15 candidates for the priesthood in each year, who work primarily as priests and parish catechists, especially in the first years of their vocation. Within the parishes there are few salaried lay people teaching catechesis. In all parishes there are however Christians active in the area of catechesis in a part-time capacity and, in many cases, as voluntary parish workers. Most of these have completed a course of study in a so-called ‘catechetical pastoral school’, which, although taking four years, is the equivalent of a one-year programme at the most. This should be understood as a sort of additional catechetical training, which, in terms of its quality, cannot be compared with a university course of study.

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Empirical Research concerning religious education

State schools in Slovenia do not offer RE, so there are no empirical researches concerning this subject.

12.

Desiderata / challenges for religious education in a European context

The Catholic Church in Slovenia is divided into six dioceses and, within the framework of the Bishops’ Conference, pursues a common strategy of RE, which mainly takes the form of parish catechesis. One of the regional peculiarities is definitely the fact that there is no RE in Slovenia’s public schools, which make up the majority of the country’s school system. The Bishops’ Conference takes every opportunity to address the question of RE in public schools. As seen above, it has various options planned – from a denominational, ecumenical or at least interdenominational model of RE comparable to that taught in other European countries right up to the possibility of recognizing parish catechesis as an optional subject. These strategic questions are also associated with challenges in the area of theory formation. In this context, the greatest attention is definitely paid to the area of catechesis. Because this represents almost the only way for religious education and because it incorporates many of the elements of a school subject, the training and theoretical conflicts are also influenced by educational didactics. With regard to this, there is intensive cooperation with some Austrian and Italian institutions (Catholic University College for Education Graz, the faculties of Catholic theology in the universities of Graz and Innsbruck as well as the Salesianum in Rome). The religion books and guides are anthropologically designed and influenced by humanist pedagogy. Unlike educational didactics, which are more exclusivist in character (pupils are streamed according to ability in the final three years of primary school), catechesis is influenced more by the ideas of inclusive pedagogy and integrated holistic teaching and learning (Gerjolj 2004, 41–4). With this type of educational work, a theoretical conflict also arises. Ways are sought to counter religious and other life questions with didactic elements of the theory of multiple intelligences (H. Gardner) and Christian-oriented Gestalt pedagogy in younger children, as well as the Montessori approach. It is planned to stick to this theoretical framework if the opportunity arises of offering an ecumenically designed subject simply called ‘Religion’ in public schools, which, for the Christian churches in Slovenia at least, would represent a

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major challenge. However, since recent developments suggest that even nondenominational RE taught by theologically trained teachers would be conceivable for those with responsibility for such matters in the Church, this represents one further academic and practical challenge where interfaith learning is needed.

13.

Further information (e. g., relevant literature on religious education, institutions, websites)

Further information can be found online at http://katoliska-cerkev.si/ The Slovenian Bishops’ Conference maintains a Slovenian Pastoral Council, with which the Catechetical Office for the country is also associated, which has responsibility both for parish catechesis as well as for RE in schools and other issues relating to the religious upbringing of children and young people. It is primarily lay catechists who are members of the Catechists’ Association, which on the one hand fosters spirituality and facilitates further training while also providing support in some practical areas. Furthermore, the Bishops’ Conference has established an Education Commission made up of school principals from Catholic schools. This ensures cooperation between Catholic schools, issues global guidelines on education and communicates with state education authorities. There is also a Church Commission responsible for negotiations with the state. But this, despite its best efforts, has had little success to date on the question of RE within the school system. The well-established Association of Catholic Educators, of which many Catholic teachers in Slovenia are members, offers good further education programs and issues a highly regarded monthly journal on educational matters. Pre-school teachers are members of the Association of Pre-school Teachers in Catholic Kindergartens, which, along with professional training, also considers the spiritual dimension of educational work.

References Abecedni seznam izbirnih predmetov v osnovni sˇoli. 2014. http://www.mizs.gov.si/si/de lovna_podrocja/direktorat_za_predsolsko_vzgojo_in_osnovno_solstvo/osnovno_sol stvo/program_osnovne_sole/abecedni_seznam_izbirnih_predmetov_v_osnovni_soli/. Baloh, U. 2002. Odmevnost Plenarnega zbora Cerkve na Slovenskem v osrednjih slovenskih dnevnikih. Master thesis, University of Ljubljana.

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Bela knjiga o vzgoji in izobrazˇevanju v Republiki Sloveniji. 1995. Ljubljana: Ministrstvo za sˇolstvo in sˇport. Bela knjiga o vzgoji in izobrazˇevanju v Republiki Sloveniji. 2011. Ljubljana: Ministrstvo za sˇolstvo in sˇport. Gaber, S. 1990. Za nevtralno javno sˇolo. In Verouk v ˇsole, ed. S. Gaber and Z. Kodelja, 9–21. Ljubljana: Krt; Sˇkofja Loka: Zamorc. Gabricˇ, A. 2003. Izkljucˇevanje Teolosˇke fakultete iz Univerze v Ljubljani. In Bogoslovni vestnik, no. 63: 255–80. Gerjolj, S. 1997. Ideologie und Bildung. Gießen: Justus-Liebig-Univestität Gießen. Gerjolj, S. 2004. Didakticˇna uporabnost veroucˇnih ucˇbenikov od 6. do 9. Razreda. In Kateheza v spremenjenih razmerah, ed. M. Sraka, 41–64. Ljubljana: Katehetski Zavod. Gerjolj, S. 2008. Some aspects of education for ethical and national identity in the context of globalization processes. In Surviving Globalization – The Uneasy Gift of Independence, ed. J. Juhant, and B. Zˇalec, 107–26. Berlin: LIT. Gerjolj, S., and G. Blazˇicˇ. 2012. Otrok je dar in ne pravica. In Demokracija, no. 10: 38–41. Gerjolj, S., R. Globokar, and A. Vidmar. 2008. Creating good class community as the key to successful learning, in Religion and values in education in Central and Eastern Europe, ed. G. Pusztai, 51–71. Debrecen: University of Debrecen. Globokar, R. 2011. Katolisˇko sˇolstvo v Sloveniji od 1991 do 2011. In Zasebno ˇsolstvo v Sloveniji, ed. M. Sˇimenc and V. Tasˇner, 35–62. Ljubljana: Pedagosˇki Insˇtitut. Globokar, R. 2010. Verski pouk v slovenskem ˇsolskem prostoru. In Verski pouk v slovenskih ˇsolah: ovrednotenje in perspektive, ed. R. Globokar, 7–11. Ljubljana: Zavod sv. Stanislava. Hribar, S. 1972. Sˇola in religija. In Sˇola in religija, ed. R. Mejak, 131–165. Ljubljana: Zavod za sˇolstvo SR Slovenije. Ivanc, B. 2008. The case law of the Slovenian constitutional court in the area of freedom of ˇ epar and B. Ivanc, religion and beliefs. In Legal aspects of religious freedom, ed. D. C 249–259. Ljubljana: Office of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia for Religious Communities. Izberi zˇivljenje. 2002. Sklepni dokument: Plenarni zbor Cerkve na Slovenskem, Ljubljana: Druzˇina. Janezˇicˇ, S. 2004. Prvi ekumenski simpozij. In V edinosti, ed. V. Sˇkafar, 126–9. Maribor : Slovenski ekumenski svet. Juhant, J. 2005. Globalisierung, Kirche und postmoderner Mensch. Münster : LIT. Kersˇevan, M. 1997. Predmet verstva in etika (VE) v osnovni ˇsoli (Pojasnila k osnutku ucˇnega nacˇrta). In Osnutek ucˇnega nacˇrta za predmet: Verstva in etika, ed. M. Kersˇevan, 1–7. Ljubljana: Predmetna kurikularna komisija za etiko in druzˇbo. Kolar, B. 2003. Teolosˇka fakulteta ponovno cˇlanica Univerze. In Bogoslovni vestnik, no. 63: 293–302. Kos, J. 2012. Ideolosˇki aparat drzˇave. In Demokracija, no. 12: 11. Ministrstvo za sˇolstvo in sˇport. 2011.Drzˇavljanska in domovinska vzgoja ter etika. Ucˇni nacˇrt, Ljubljana: Zavod RS za sˇolstvo. Ministrstvo za sˇolstvo in sˇport. 2005. Ucˇni nacˇrt za izbirni predmet Verstva in etika. Ljubljana: Zavod RS za sˇolstvo. Movrin, M. 2008. Freedom of religion and the legal status of Churches and other religious communities in the Slovenian constitution and the decision of the Constitutional court

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ˇ epar, and B. of the Republic of Slovenia. In Legal aspects of religious freedom, ed. D. C Ivanc, 39–55. Ljubljana: Office of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia for Religious Communities. Odlocˇba Ustavnega sodisˇcˇa. U-I-68/98 z dne 22. 11. 2001, Uradni list RS, no. 101/01. Persˇe, B. 2011. »Sˇe-sindrom« v Katolisˇki Cerkvi na Slovenskem zahteva novo evangelizacijo, zlasti v mestih. In: Bogoslovni vestnik, no. 71: 235–50. Plenarni zbor Cerkve na Slovenskem. 1998. Ljubljana: Druzˇina. Ravnateljicam in ravnateljem osnovnih ˇsol. 2006. http://www.mizs.gov.si/fileadmin/mizs. gov.si/pageuploads/okroznice/izobrazevanje_strok_delavci1_6_10_06.doc. Rode, F. 1995. Spomin, zavest, nacˇrt Cerkve na Slovenskem. Ljubljana: Druzˇina. Rogelj-Petricˇ, S. 1999. Verouk in verstva in etika. In Delo, December 27, 9. Saje, A. 2011. Nova podoba ljubljanske nadsˇkofije. In Ljubljanska ˇskofija: 550 let, ed. F.M. Dolinar, 217–30. Ljubljana: Nadsˇkofija. Saje, A. 2012. Die Finanzierung der katholischen Kirche in Slowenien – staatliche Unterstützung. In In mandatis meditari, ed. S. Haering, J. Hirnsperger, G. Katzinger, and W. Rees, 1083–98.Berlin: Duncker & Humblot. Saje, A. 2013. Religionsfreiheit in der Republik Slowenien nach dem Inkrafttreten des Gesetzes über Religionsfreiheit im Jahr 2007 – Zwischen Theorie und Praxis. In Neuere Entwicklungen im Religionsrecht europäischer Staaten, ed. W. Rees, M. Roca, and B. Schanda, 449–569. Berlin: Duncker & Humblot. Sklepi 101. seje Strokovnega sveta RS za splosˇno izobrazˇevanje. 2007. http://www.mizs. gov.si/fileadmin/mizs.gov.si/pageuploads/podrocje/strokovni_sveti/vladni/pdf/splos no_sklep_101.pdf. Sobotkiewicz, J. 1993. Zgodovina ˇsole. In 130 let – Zbornik – III, Gimnazija Maribor, ed. I. Rizˇnar, 5–11. Maribor : III. gimnazija. Statisticˇni urad Republike Slovenije. 2013. Prebivalstvo 1. 1. 2013. Repubcˇika Slovenija: Statisticˇni urad Republike Slovenije. http://www.stat.si/novica_prikazi.aspx?id=5454. Statisticˇni urad Republike Slovenije. 2012. Selitve. Repubcˇika Slovenija: Statisticˇni urad Republike Slovenije. http://www.stat.si/novica_prikazi.aspx?ID=4430. Stres, A. 1998. Kirche im demokratischen Staat am Beispiel Sloweniens. In Säkularisierung und Pluralismus in Europa: Was wird aus der Kirche?, ed. W. Grycz, and J. Oeldemann, 138–51. Freising: Renovabis. Stres, A. 1992. Moralische Erneuerung erforderlich. In Der Traum aber bleibt: Sozialismus und christliche Hoffnung: eine Zwischenbilanz, ed. N. Sommer, 329–34. Berlin: Wichern-Verlag. Sˇircelj, M. 2003. Verska, jezikovna in narodna sestava prebivalstva Slovenije: popisi 1921–2002. Ljubljana: Statisticˇni urad Republike Slovenije. Sˇtefanicˇ, B., and S. Gerjolj. 2010. Spremembe so mogocˇe. In Druzˇina, May 5, Nasˇ pogovor. Sˇtuhec, I. 2010. Verski pouk kot kulturno-politicˇni problem v Sloveniji. In Verski pouk v slovenskih ˇsolah: ovrednotenje in perspektive, ed. R. Globokar, 13–20. Ljubljana: Zavod sv. Stanislava. Sˇusˇtar, B. 1991. Verouk v ˇsoli 1945–1952: odnos oblasti do pouka verouka na ljubljanskih sˇolah. In Sodobna pedagogika, no. 7/8: 399–411. Sˇverc, A. 2008. Vjera i kultura u katolicˇkim gimnazijama u Sloveniji. In Kateheza, no. 3: 245–55.

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Tiskovni urad Slovenske ˇskofovske conference. 2010. Zakonska zveza in druzˇina – stebra druzˇbenega in verskega zˇivljenja: Izjava Katolisˇke Cerkve in Islamske skupnosti v Republiki Sloveniji (Dichiarazione congiunta della Chiesa Cattolica e della Comunit— islamica in Repubblica Slovenia sul matrimonio e la famiglia. No. 287/10, July 2, http:// aktualno.rkc.si/?id=10635. Urad za verske skupnosti. Register cerkva in drugih verskih skupnosti. Republika Slovenija: Urad za verske skupnosti. http://www.uvs.gov.si/si/delovna_podrocja/register_ cerkva_in_drugih_verskih_skupnosti/. Ustava Republike Slovenije. Uradni list RS, no. 33/91, 42/79, 66/00, 24/03, 69/04, 68/06. Valencˇicˇ, R. 2003. Prvi koraki zblizˇevanja med Univerzo v Ljubljani in Teolosˇko fakulteta. In Bogoslovni vestnik, no. 63: 281–92. Vovko, A. 1994. Trnjava pot iz ˇsolskega pogorisˇcˇa. In Evropa na razpotju, ed. M. Knep, 185–99. Ljubljana: Skupnost katolisˇke mladine. Zakon o organizaciji in financiranju vzgoje in izobrazˇevanja s komentarjem. 1997. Ljubljana: Gospodarski vestnik. Zakon o ratifikaciji Sporazuma med Republiko Slovenijo in Svetim sedezˇem o pravnih vprasˇanjih. 2004. Uradni list no. 13/2004, February 2. Zakon o verski svobodi. 2007. Uradni list RS, no. 14/2007, February 16. Zasebne osnovne ˇsole. 2010. http://www.mizs.gov.si/si/delovna_podrocja/direktorat_za_ predsolsko_vzgojo_in_osnovno_solstvo/osnovno_solstvo/osnovna_sola/zasebne_os novne_sole/. Zgaga, P. 1992. Poucˇevanje in avtonomija. In Kaj hocˇemo in kaj zmoremo, Ljubljana, ed. F. Zˇagar, 23–6. Ljubljana: Pedagosˇka fakulteta.

Thomas Schlag

Religious Education at Schools in Switzerland

Introduction Examining the situation of Religious Education (RE) in Switzerland, one finds not only a wide range and plurality of different models, curricula and teaching materials, but also a high dynamic of intense transformational processes. The specific tradition and self-understanding of Switzerland as ‘one nation’ with many different identities and subsidiary practices in the cantons and local communities is the reason and basis for the broad variety of RE – reaching from still confessional models to practically a laizistic understanding of RE as something that shall not be dealt with at school at all. At the same time strong signals to develop a somehow common profile of RE, encouraged by a recently stronger national educational policy, can clearly be seen. Thus, in a certain sense the current situation of RE in Switzerland is in itself as a fine example for the intense dynamic of this subject and its practice in and for the whole of Europe.

1.

The socio-religious background of the country

For future legal and education policy legitimisation as well as for didactic positioning and organization of RE in schools, developments in Switzerland with regard to people’s belonging to, membership of and willingness to commit to a particular religion are an important key factor, even if they are not an entirely satisfactory or even the only relevant factor in this regard. Thus, the strong awareness of this factor represents the conditio sine qua non for all analyses and reflections on the present and future of RE within the Swiss context. For the Swiss situation one can say that RE in schools is at the intersection of a very wide range of interests, expectations and not the least, conflicts between certain players, with complex issues of educational pluralism in terms of institutions and religious didactics reflected in the matter. However, a significant peculiarity as well as considerable challenge for every depiction of the specific

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situation in Switzerland lies in the fact that this pluralism is actually increased by the cantonal authorities and their decisions on the future of RE (cf. Baer 2005, for example). At the same time, in terms of socio-religious developments it is clear that the religious landscape in Switzerland has changed significantly in recent decades and continues to change today (cf. Baumann and Behlouf 2005; Baumann and Stolz 2007; Stolz et al. 2014).

1.1

General information

In 1970, 97.8 % of the Swiss population belonged to one of the major Christian churches. The overall-census from the year 2000 determined that this proportion had already decreased to around 79 % (for more information on this and the figures quoted below see Bovay 2004) and the most recent survey from 2013 shows that this number has gone down further to about 64 % – with 5.8 % members in other Christian denominations and free churches. Between 1970 and 2013, the percentage of the Swiss population belonging to the Reformed churches decreased from 46.5 % to 26 %, representing a loss of almost half of their members over this period of time. Due to immigration from Mediterranean countries, the proportion of the Swiss population belonging to the Catholic Church decreased a little less steeply from just under 50 % to 38 % over the same period. Over that same period, the proportion of Muslims increased from around 1 % to around 5 %, due not least to immigration from the former Yugoslavia. The fact that the proportion of the population without any religion increased from 1.1 % to 22.2 % between the years 1970 and 2013 is not only astonishing and somehow depressing, but important for the question of membership dynamics, the future denominational composition of the country and also for the question of RE in schools. Particularly significant in Switzerland is the clear religious divide between French-speaking western Switzerland and German-speaking Switzerland, as well as that between urban and rural parts of the country. Basically one can say that the further south one travels and, of course, the deeper one goes into rural regions, the stronger people’s denominational roots are. Nowadays in the large cities and urban centres, in particular, one often finds that little more than half of all inhabitants belong to any particular denomination: The Reformed Churches in the cantons of Basel City and Geneva have lost a large number of adherents. In the year 2012, only 18 % of the population of Basel City identified themselves as being reformed, which represents a decline of more than 50 % in thirty years – numbers still declining. The corresponding figure for Geneva is 11 %, representing a decrease of around 60 %. Current figures for the City of Zurich show

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that less than 50 % of people belong to either the Reformed Church or the Catholic Church while the corresponding figures for the Canton of Zurich are 33 % (Reformed) and 28 % (Catholic). So current statistics show that, both in terms of numbers of adherents and people’s tendency to distance themselves from the former major churches, this is clearly the direction in which the country is going (cf. Bernhardt 2007; Stolz 2010, 2011). However, if one looks beyond mere numbers at the background importance of religion in Switzerland, the picture that emerges is more nuanced: The Religionsmonitor of the Bertelsmann Foundation comes to the astonishing conclusion that, far from being a land of atheists, 80 % of Switzerland’s people can be described as ‘religious’, one-fifth even as ‘deeply religious’ (for more information on this and what follows below cf. Bertelsmann Foundation 2008). If one takes these results as a starting point with regard to the entire population then it can be said, to date, a complete secularization of Swiss society is not the case – so far. And this is not only true because of the fact that one-tenth of Swiss people still attend a church service once a week or more. Interestingly, religion and faith are much bigger features of Swiss society compared with countries like Germany or Austria, not to mention compared with France or the United Kingdom. In an international comparison, the only countries where religiosity is more pronounced are Italy and the United States. According to those responsible for the study, a significant medium-term decline in religiosity in Switzerland, as is sometimes claimed, and with it, a direct correlation between the modern development of the country and widespread secularization cannot be confirmed. In this respect, the recently published reports from the National Research Programme NFP 58 ‘Religious Communities, State and Society’ with their main thesis of a wide-ranging liquefaction of people’s bonds with religious institutions and of people’s religious identity have to be put into proper perspective (cf. Bochinger 2012). As the figures put forward at the beginning have shown, however, we cannot speak of any unbroken religious commitment among the majority of the population, which could possibly even be differentiated along clear denominational lines into two major categories. Instead there is a great deal of diversity of religious attitudes, ties and identities, with a wide range of pantheistic beliefs as well. What is interesting, and of relevance for RE, is the fact that, according to the Religionsmonitor, Switzerland has the highest values in Europe when it comes to tolerance towards other religions and people of other faiths. In addition, the majority of the faithful in Switzerland are not merely ‘Sunday Christians/believers’. Their attitude towards religion is one where the latter is relevant to their everyday lives. The area where their faith has the biggest influence is when it comes to momentous life events like births, weddings and death as well as in how the people interact with nature – which is hardly surprising given the country’s

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topography. We can therefore assume a large degree of stability of religious awareness among wide sections of the population – an awareness that is strikingly colourful and diverse – as well as a clear tendency towards de-institutionalisation (cf. Stolz et al. 2014a). After these rather broadly based results, the question now arises of how this will play out in detail for the generation who are still receiving or will be receiving RE in school.

1.2

A comparison between the generations

The data currently available from the Religionsmonitor – and also from some other studies on Swiss Youth, church and religion (cf. Schlag and Voirol-Sturzenegger 2010) – is suitable for making comparisons between the generations in Switzerland. Here, young people from the age of 18 years upwards were surveyed, which means that children and young people of school-going age were not included. Nevertheless, the phenomena identified for the 18–29-year-old age group does provide an interesting orientation for the comparison, when it is ascertained that two-thirds of those surveyed could be described as ‘religious’ (the highest value for all the age groups!) and that 14 % could still be described as ‘deeply religious’ (cf. Bertelsmann Religion Monitor 2008). In contrast to these kinds of classifications, it is rightly assumed from a socioreligious perspective that young people must be viewed and perceived more and more as individuals when it comes to religion. This was documented for the first time in the study “Jede/r ein Sonderfall?” (Every Case Different?) (Dubach and Campiche 1993), the subject matter of which was picked up on again in the aforementioned studies with the incisive titles “Die zwei Gesichter der Religion” (The Two Faces of Religion) (Campiche 2004) and just recently “Religion und Spiritualität” (Stolz et al. 2014a) and (Stolz et al. 2014b) which can also be drawn upon for making comparisons between the generations. In Campiche’s study, four different types of ‘belonging’ (to religious institutions) are differentiated, with the younger generation also being covered in the investigation: First, there is the ‘institutional’ type, who make up around one-quarter of all church members. These identify with the church and its values and are involved in their church. In contrast, more than half the people can be categorized into one of two ‘ritual’ groups: Because of the liturgies for special occasions offered by the churches for turning points in people’s lives (Kasualien), these groups still maintain a connection with their church, in keeping with the motto that one never knows ‘when they might need the church’. This group is made up of fewer people with a high degree of rootedness in the church and a traditional connection to same (22 %) than those with a looser kind of rootedness to the church (32 %). 23 % of all Catholics and Reformed Church members

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(around 1.4 million Swiss people!) can be assigned to a fourth type, a group of people for whom the church does not have any significance in terms of how they lead their lives. In terms of this study, what is crucial and also has far-reaching consequences in the area of didactics is that the key terms of ‘secularization’, ‘individualization’ and ‘privatization’ are replaced by the alternative interpretation of a ‘dualism of religion’. Accordingly, religion in late-modern society finds itself caught in a conflict zone of sorts between ‘institutional religion’ on the one hand and ‘universal religion’ on the other. Adherents to the latter mode of religious practice do believe in the existence of a higher power, for example, but without invoking a particular denomination or any institutionally anchored dogmatic beliefs. This form of religiosity is called ‘universal’ because even the mass media and certain global cultural trends are doing away with the barriers that once existed between different religious affiliations. Accordingly, the various elements of what people believe originate from different ideas and result in a patchwork, over which the individual makes his or her own decisions and ultimately no longer requires any religious institutions to help them do so. In terms of making comparisons between the generations, this now means, however, that the piecing together of one’s own religious beliefs is, in any event, not the privilege of any one generation but is instead a process that takes place across all age groups.

1.3

Religious orientation of young people

In this context, the religiosity of young people in Switzerland is also more clearly defined and differentiated: It has become apparent that 70 % of those aged between 16 and 25 years assume that there is no place for them in the churches. Although more than half of the young people surveyed still agree with the statement that Christianity is the foundation upon which Swiss society is based, the figures do point to an accelerated rate of young people distancing themselves from Christianity. At the same time, there is a Utopian-like image out there about religion and its organisations: younger people especially really wish to see the churches work towards achieving a more humane society, in keeping with the actions of Mother Teresa, for example, but without any of the corresponding institutional structures, which are perceived primarily as apparatus of power and bureaucracy that are alien to the concept of religion. Based on these findings, Dubach and Fuchs draw important conclusions on the issue of church responsibilities as well as on the question of RE (cf. Dubach and Fuchs 2005). The background to Swiss attitudes towards religion, which is usually hardly

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given any consideration in the publications released on the subject but which could still be highly relevant, lies on the one hand in the specific economic situation in Switzerland but also in the still very traditional overall environment of the country. To put it succinctly : it is precisely the very limited size of the country and the somewhat narrow mentality that exists within it (something which even the Swiss themselves perceive) that leads to a distinct need for them to look beyond their own borders. In light of the excellent economic conditions that prevail in the country, a large section of the population is able to travel to an extent that one would probably not find in almost any other country. For younger people, extensive travelling and longer stays in every possible corner of the earth have virtually become the norm by now. This being the case, the intensive engagement with Far Eastern religions as well as the high level of tolerance towards such religious practices, for example, that one finds among many young Swiss people can be traced back to the diverse range of experiences they have had with religion in the countries they have visited. One could formulate the theory that the ‘patchwork religiosity’ one finds in Switzerland, including among its young people, is associated with their financial opportunities for international encounters with other religions as well as with their basic interest in global religious phenomena. Basically, the following statement holds true for young people in Swiss society : “A sociocultural and religious frame of reference relevant to their own perspective on life is revealed to them more through different experiences than through homogeneous ones” (Baumann et al. 2004, 160) – examples of the plurality of religious habits amongst the Swiss youth can be found in an impressing illustrated textbook (cf. Anselm et al. 2008). Furthermore, for various different reasons the two traditional major churches appear at present to be rather less attractive places to go – for younger people at least: On the one hand, when it comes to the Catholic Church there is no mistaking a clear conservatist swing to the right by a certain official hierarchy and through repeated highly irritating public statements, which, combined with corresponding media editing, is leading to large numbers of young people and also well-educated people turning away from the Church (cf. Winter-Pfändler 2015). On the other hand, the Reformed Church cannot necessarily be described as a colourful, glitzy representative of religion either, which means that in the market of religious events and exotica it can hardly boast anything very attractive to offer in competition to other churches, a situation that is becoming obvious in the boom in the evangelical International Christian Fellowship (ICF), for example, which one now finds in a number of Swiss cities. Finally, one further religio-cultural dimension is important if we are to attempt to make plain the role of the subject against the backdrop of the relationship between church and state in Switzerland. Precisely because of the

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proprium of permanent consensus-based equalization of all forces that exists within it, the Swiss political system makes every effort to preserve its ideological neutrality. The challenges of the evolved culture of privileges first began in earnest with the Helvetic Republic at the end of the 18th century and the emergence of Swiss liberalism in the early 19th century, which brought with it a clear separation between church and state, including in the area of education. The basic question was: “How, if not through education, could one make politically mature citizens out of royal subjects, …, how could one educate indoctrinated church-goers in order for them to make independent ethical decisions…?” (Maissen 2011, 164). This tendency of scepticism towards churches and religion continues to this very day in various forms – including laicist forms of separation in certain cantons. For well-known historical reasons, therefore, an important role for the churches, like their role as agents of cultural reconstruction for the new political system in Germany after World War II, which then also crucially influenced the role of RE there, never existed in Switzerland (cf. Schlag 2014).

2.

Legal framework for religious education and the relationship between religious communities and the state

In all the Swiss cantons – apart from the laicist cantons of Geneva and Neuenburg, where there is complete separation of church and state – there is a system of state jurisdiction in ecclesiastical matters (also known as ‘Landeskirchentum’ or regional churchdom) (cf. Brosi 2002). In contrast to the state churchdom (Staatskirchentum) model, regional churchdom takes into account the different purposes of the church and the state. Unlike in a system of strict separation the churches remain connected with the state, even though the state remains neutral in terms of religion. The religious communities are recognised as public bodies. This should still make clear the importance of their duties for society, although public articulations can increasingly assume a symbolic, ritualistic character in individual cases. The particular rights and obligations associated with recognition under public law vary widely from one canton to the other (for more information on the religio-legal background in Switzerland cf. Hafner and Gremmelspacher 2005; Ehrenzeller 2010; Furer 2012 and now Loretan-Saladin et al. 2013). Generally speaking, in traditionally Reformed cantons such as Zurich, Berne, Aargau or Thurgau there are closer ties between the former state church and the state. In Catholic cantons, on the other hand, particularly in Central Switzerland (i. e. places like Lucerne, Zug, Uri and Schwyz), the churches are given greater free-

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dom in terms of how they organize themselves, which then also has consequences for RE. In contrast to a country like Germany, for example, RE in Swiss schools is neither guaranteed by the constitution nor its position highlighted in any particular way through a separate legal provision. In Switzerland sovereignty over schools lies with the cantons, which leads to very different education systems and correspondingly different regulations for RE – to say nothing of the wide range of different names the subject has in different regions, e. g.: ‘Bible History’, ‘Occupational Choice – Social Studies – Ethics’, ‘Ethics and Religions’, ‘Ethics and Religion’, ‘Ethics and Religion – Biblical Studies’, ‘Religion’, ‘Religion and Culture’, ‘Religions and Cultures’, ‘Religion and Ethics’ or ‘Religious Studies and Ethics’. From a historical point of view, the following must be borne in mind: because of the monopoly position enjoyed by the churches, RE in Swiss schools, as in other European countries, was understood through the centuries as being denominational and connected to the church. Catholic convent schools as well as educational facilities belonging to the Reformed Church existed for the purpose of supplementing, continuing and deepening the RE received within the family and were also supposed to emphasise the Christian faith as the critical guiding principle in the future lives of children and young people. At the same time, such schools also had the educational aim of imparting the church’s own denominational and dogmatic standards (in particular with the help of catechetical instruction) as well as introducing pupils to an understanding of the Bible while also enabling them to participate in church services and even enabling them to possibly enter sacred ministry. Along with other subjects, RE became a subject of instruction in Swiss primary schools with the introduction of general compulsory schooling towards the end of the 18th century. The French-influenced foundation of the Helvetic Republic in 1798 brought about the dissolution of church and pastoral administration of schools. For the first time, the importance of religious and, in particular, church-led education within the school was fundamentally questioned, something which would ultimately and fundamentally change the position of the subject in the country’s schools. After the reintegration of RE into the school curriculum in the 1830s – also the beginning of Swiss liberalism, the subject was defined in many cantons along the lines of its religious and moral educational role, something which did it more harm than good in the long term. Above all, attempts to move the subject in the direction of being a ‘denominational spearhead’ and towards being Bible-focused while at the same time tending to circumvent educational requirements for the subject led to repeated large-scale opposition through the years. With the revised and more clearly liberal federal constitution of 1874, not only was general compulsory schooling finally introduced – the denominational neu-

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trality of the education system was also asserted (cf. Linder 2005, 37). In this respect, interdenominational models of RE within the school can be traced back much further than just to developments in the late 20th century. However – and this is where the actual shift in recent developments lies – despite the official religious neutrality of the state, the churches were the state’s natural partners as it were for RE over the years, a situation that has only just begun to fundamentally change very recently. In terms of public attitudes towards RE, it is important to emphasize that the constitutionally guaranteed principle of religious freedom specified in the Swiss federal constitution (Art. 15, Paragraph 4 of the federal constitution) errs, in cases of doubt, more on the side of negative religious freedom than positive (cf. Kilchsperger 2007, 200; 2014). The European Convention on Human Rights has applied to Switzerland since 1974, which means that Article 15 must be interpreted in accordance with Article 9 ECHR on freedom of thought, conscience and religion (cf. Winzeler 2004, 487). However, this means that where there are doubts in terms of local interpretation (of which more later) on issues relating to RE the predominant public opinion is that children and young people must be protected against potentially problematic religious practices. Because of the strong humanist and liberal historical rationale behind Swiss constitutional principles, religious semantics and claims to power tend to be viewed as rather problematic in the public, political sphere. In general, we can say – and this is also significant when assessing the position of RE in Switzerland – that religion is very much seen as a private matter and that both society and politics tend to refer to secular rather than religious principles of co-existence when it comes to ethical debates, for example, in order to protect the cherished value of a consensus-culture that is as mindful as possible of being balanced. The tendency towards a large-scale deconfessionalisation of RE, even becoming a sort of general cultural education, are hard to overlook (cf. Schori 2007, 203). It is against this backdrop too, therefore, that heated debates on issues like the minaret initiative or even the ban on head-scarves should be viewed. They should not be seen primarily as debates about the ‘right’ religion or even as a fundamental questioning of Muslim religious practice; instead they draw their intensity from the feared challenge to the cultural standards of liberal coexistence, a coexistence that is, of course, also heavily influenced by existing traditions. This also means that, for reasons of constitutional law, the introduction of compulsory RE comes up against obvious difficulties in terms of didactic forms of communication. This will be discussed below in greater detail. In terms of church and/or state responsibility for and realization of RE in

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schools, the following model, with its three different approaches, although very schematic, provides a basic explanation of the situation: (a) The responsibility of the state schools without any shared responsibility from the religious communities recognised under public law (b) The shared responsibility of the religious communities recognised under public law (c) The responsibility of the religious communities recognised under public law in cooperation with the state The different models are generally based on established patterns with a long history, in which not only the implied Helvetic relationship between church and state, but also the different denominational orientation of the individual cantons themselves, is reflected. In addition to the already mentioned religious and cultural traditions specific to Switzerland, the second half of the 20th century saw the country develop into a multicultural and multireligious society, which has led to fundamental reflection on the future of RE in Switzerland. The denominational orientation of RE came to be replaced more and more by interdenominational models, which have, in more recent times, decidedly moved in the direction of being denominationally neutral. In this respect the diversity of the different RE models in existence in Europe is here reflected in just one country : from a church-related, denominationallybound type of RE as it were to a religion studies-type subject right up to a laicist model that is oriented towards the subject of ethics, where religion is, at best, addressed as a marginal issue (cf. Furer 2002; as well as Kohler-Spiegel 2000 and Belliger 2003). In addition to RE in schools, in many cantons there is also – and this is a unique feature in Switzerland – church-led RE (‘kirchlicher Religionsunterricht’ in German), which can actually bear this somewhat ambiguous title and can be taught with varying degrees of proximity and affiliation to the school but which is primarily oriented towards religious socialisation of children in the early years of their life (cf. Schlag 2007; Schlag and Voirol-Sturzenegger 2011). Here too, the subject can be organized along different lines: It can be taught: (a) in cooperation with the state, (b) in cooperation with the state and, interestingly, on school premises, although outside of the regular weekly timetable, (c) on school premises and within the regular weekly timetable. It is not necessary to examine this any more closely in the following context, other than to simply mention that a large number of Catholic and Reformed churches have developed and are developing their own models of RE for young

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children in a way that goes beyond what they traditionally provided, their intention being to facilitate ways by which children can feel at home in their church in light of ever-decreasing religious socialization within the family. The churches are reacting to their increasing exodus from school life by providing their own forms of RE, which are sometimes very elaborate. It is before this general education policy horizon that the present-day differentiated models of RE as well as developments in education policy must be perceived and evaluated.

3.

Developments in the country’s education policy

In light of the already indicated variety of cantonal permutations, only some examples may be considered at this point. This applies all the more given that the education systems are regulated at the level of the canton and there is a wide range of different school types in existence, where pupils spend various different periods of time and follow different pathways at each level. Finally, there is one further phenomenon and problem when it comes to describing the situation in Switzerland, one that comes into play not only with regard to the subject of religion: because of the high level of political autonomy and responsibility at local level, individual political districts are not only responsible for school life within their area, they can also play a crucial role in determining and shaping the profile of the school. Even the corresponding cantonal curricula usually represent no more than a rough framework and can be implemented independently by the schools and the teachers. Effectively, this means nothing other than that, for systemic reasons, it is not easy to define the cantonal profile of RE, as this can vary tremendously between school types and even between one school and the other. In this respect, the three-type model running along the lines of the basic distinctions highlighted above should be briefly characterized below with reference to some examples from different cantons: At the same time, our main focus of attention will be on the situation at the primary school and lower secondary school levels. The respective conditions for church-led RE (‘kirchlicher Unterricht’) shall also be dealt with in brief, in order to at least indicate the respective range of authority. The situation in the country’s gymnasiums (grammar schools) is, by contrast, much more differentiated and can only be hinted at here.

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3.1

The responsibility of the state schools without any shared responsibility from the religious communities recognised under public law: the examples of Aargau, Berne and Zurich

3.1.1 Aargau In the Canton of Aargau, a weekly lesson in the multi-denominational, multireligious and interdisciplinary compulsory subject of ‘Ethics and Religions’ is taught to pupils between grades 1 and 9. The subject is usually taught by a class teacher who has been trained by the state. It is financed by, and under the responsibility of, the canton. In accordance with the Education Act, it is generally possible to be granted an exemption from ‘individual lessons’ where there are important reasons for this and where the child’s parents or legal guardians have expressed this desire in writing. In concrete, however, such an exemption is almost impossible. When it comes to teaching church-led RE (‘kirchlicher Religionsunterricht’), the religious communities recognized under public law are provided with suitable space within the school free of charge for two hours per week within the regular class time. In some instances, the classes may also be held in church buildings. The number of hours of instruction per week varies from parish to parish. The classes are usually taught by catechists, priests or diaconal social workers (known by the German acronym SDM [Sozialdiakonische Mitarbeiter]) while they are the responsibility of the church administrators and financed by the parish. The idea of locally managed RE is in keeping with the model of educational practice (‘Pädagogisches Handeln’ in German) maintained by the Aargau regional church. In the canton’s four-year gymnasium (grammar school) there is the complementary subject of ‘Theory of Religion’ (four lessons only in the final year of school), which is provided only where there is a sufficient number of interested pupils. Each school can decide for itself whether or not it wishes to offer the subject at all, alongside ‘Philosophy’, for example.

3.1.2 Berne In the Canton of Berne, religious and ethical issues are dealt with in the compulsory subject ‘Nature – Man – Social Environment’ (known by its German acronym of NMM [Natur – Mensch – Mitwelt), and in particular in the subsection ‘Religion – Man – Ethics – Social Studies’. (NMM: 1st/2nd grade: 6 lessons, 3rd – 6th grade: 7 lessons, 7th/8th grade: 9 lessons, 9th grade: 8 lessons) From the 7th to the 9th grade, three topics are covered explicitly every year (one lesson per week) in ‘Religion / Social Studies (Religion – Man – Ethics)’. The contents of the

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lessons are bindingly specified by the curriculum and must be taught in a denominationally neutral manner. The classes are taught by primary school teachers, who are paid a salary by the state. In the four-year grammar schools, ‘Theory of Religion’ is offered as a complementary subject by way of two classes in the second-last year and three classes in the final year (cf. Baumann et al. 2004 for more information on this whole area). In addition, church-led RE is provided under the name of ‘Kirchliche Unterweisung KUW’ (‘religious instruction’ in English), the teaching, financing and curriculum of which is the responsibility of the churches. In the final year of this church-led RE (i. e. the 9th grade), the regional churches are provided with two lessons per week within the timetable as well as suitable space within the school for their subject. At the request of church entities, church-led RE can be granted for two Fridays at primary school level and three Fridays at secondary school level. This church-led RE does not have any bearing on the subject of ‘Nature – Man – Social Environment’. 3.1.3 Zurich In the Canton of Zurich, the compulsory subject of ‘Religion and Culture’ replaced the previous subjects of ‘Bible History’ (at primary level) and ‘Interdenominational RE’ (at secondary level) in all school districts within the Canton of Zurich at both primary and secondary level (except grammar schools) from the 2011/12 school year onwards. The firm emphasis on the topic of ‘religion’ and the nature of the teaching materials just recently being published shows that a clear differentiation from a purely ethics-based, social studies-oriented subject, as is currently favoured and being introduced in a number of other cantons, is being strived for here. Basically, the perspective of imparting information on religion and religions in the sense of ‘learning from religion’ and ‘teaching about religion’ is clear in Zurich. Religious performances of faith and ritual in the sense of ‘teaching in religion’ are no longer supposed to be possible – if in fact this was the case in the previous subject at all (cf. Kunz 2005; Schlag 2006, 2009, 2013c; Frank 2007, 2010, 2015; Kilchsperger 2014; for more on this discussion). Since participation is now, like for very other subject, compulsory for all children and young people regardless of their religious background or beliefs, grades are now awarded, something which was not the case for the previous interdenominational subject. ‘Religion and Culture’ should be taught by specially trained and deliberately ‘neutral’ teachers, which, at the same time, rules out the possibility of priests/ pastors without any suitable training teaching the subject in future. In terms of didactics, information ‘about religion’ is definitely given priority in the sense of ‘teaching about religion’. The basic didactic trend in RE, therefore, is a move

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away from the earlier, denominational, subjective ‘we’ towards an exploration of ‘they’ and from an addressing of ‘our beliefs’ towards initial encounters with the beliefs of ‘others’. Consequently, on secondary school-level the five major world religions should be explored in equal depth across all units of the curriculum. At grammar school level Zurich’s cantonal schools still have their own curriculum design dating from 1995, which, however, is currently up for revision. Similarly, the aim here is to establish a compulsory subject with a pedagogical orientation deriving from ‘Religion and Culture’ – even if the latter subject is not going to be adopted in its entirety. As a result and consequence of these changes in schools, the regional churches have developed their own approaches to the subject of RE. The Reformed Church, for example, has created what it calls a ‘religionspädagogisches Gesamtkonzept’ (‘overall concept for RE’ in English), which is currently being established at considerable expense for the Church (not to mention the significant human resources required) and is being implemented with clear success (cf. the empirical study of Voirol-Sturzenegger 2014).

3.2

The shared responsibility of the religious communities recognised under public law: the examples of Upper Valais and Grisons

3.2.1 Upper Valais In German-speaking Upper Valais, the churches are responsible for the RE and religious guidance of members of their particular denomination in schools. At the same time, there is in Upper Valais a ‘Bible Lessons’ class for all pupils in grades 1 to 6, which is taught by the class teacher, as well as one class of denominational instruction, from which children who do not belong to the Church – in this case the Roman Catholic Church – are exempt. These classes are taught within the regular timetable on school property and are financed by the canton. A ‘catechetical window’ of around 4 days is available to both churches at primary school level. These are organized outside of the regular timetable and outside of school property. Between the 7th and 9th grades, one lesson per week of ‘Social Studies’ is taught by the class teacher, in addition to one lesson per week of ‘denominational RE’ by the respective churches. In addition, the canton can subsidize extracurricular religious activities organised by the churches (e. g. classes on Saturdays/Mondays for children in the Visp region). In the four-year grammar schools and in the vocational secondary schools, there is usually a compulsory elective of one or two classes of ‘Christian RE or Religious Studies’ (in addition to ‘Ethics’ and ‘Philosophy’) in years 1 to 3.

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3.2.2 Grisons A similarly complex structure has also recently become apparent in the Canton of Grisons, where the subject of ‘Religion’ is compulsory in schools. From grades 1 to 9, there are two classes of ‘Religion’ per week within the regular timetable, which constitute part of the subject ‘Man and the Environment’ [Mensch und Umwelt]. The school provides the classrooms free of charge. Up until a few years ago, the regional churches taught RE to those primary school pupils belonging to their particular denomination at their own expense. The churches were also responsible for the curriculum. In the ballot held on 17 May 2009, the so-called ‘Ethics Initiative’, the people of Grisons voted in favour of the regional churches continuing to teach one religion lesson and in favour of the introduction of one lesson of ‘Religious Studies and Ethics’, which would be compulsory for all primary school pupils. According to the state education policy schedule, the subject of ‘Religious Studies and Ethics’ has been introduced in Grisons’ secondary schools in the 2012/13 school year and shall be in its primary schools in the 2017/18 school year, with one hour of each of religious studies and ethics in addition to the one hour of denominational RE provided. In the six-year cantonal grammar schools, there is the compulsory subject of ‘Religion/Ethics’ (in years 1 to 3, two lessons) as well as the optional subject of ‘Religion’ (in years 4 to 6, one lesson). In addition, there is also the optional subject of ‘Ethics’ and the complementary subject of ‘Religion’ in years 5 and 6.

3.3

The responsibility of the religious communities recognised under public law in cooperation with the state: the example of St. Gallen

In the Canton of St. Gallen, which is still very much influenced by Catholicism, RE is provided within the scope of the school curriculum, even though it is the responsibility of the churches and can be taught either from a denominational or interdenominational point of view. The subject of ‘Religion’ forms part of the syllabus for ‘Man and the Environment’. However, in terms of teachers, curriculum and financing, RE is a matter for the church authorities. The school authority provides the space for teaching RE free of charge and incorporates the lessons included in the curriculum into the timetable. In the first grade there is one lesson of RE, which is taught from an interdenominational perspective. In grades 2 to 6 there are two lessons, of which one is supposed to have a decidedly denominational orientation. Grades 7 and 8 are usually taught two lessons of RE, which is reduced to just one lesson in the ninth grade. At grammar school level, there is the compulsory subject of ‘Ecumenical Religion’ or ‘Ethics/Philosophy’ (9th/10th grade: one lesson, 11th grade: two les-

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sons) as well as the complementary subjects of ‘Theory of Religion’ and ‘Philosophy’ (four lessons for 12th grade pupils). The content of the RE classes is determined by the church authorities. The latter also have right of nomination when it comes to selecting religion teachers. At present, the Reformed Church in the Canton of St. Gallen is introducing its own catechetically-oriented RE under the title of ‘Spiritual Guidance’ (Geistliche Begleitung), a term better known from other contexts and one which definitely requires some getting used to. This is also seen as a basic initiative aimed at achieving religious socialization and the provision of a spiritual home for children and young people.

3.4

No state RE: the example of Geneva

In the Canton of Geneva, which, because of its history and indeed in marked contrast to its Calvinist tradition, sees itself as decidedly laicist, there is no RE in the school timetable, in keeping with a provision dating from the early 20th century. In the canton’s grammar schools, there is the elective subject of ‘Religion’, consisting of three lessons for pupils in year 3 (with the alternative subject of ‘Ethics’ also offered). However, in accordance with the basic laicist orientation of the education system, the subject must be clearly and exclusively geared towards the imparting of knowledge. In the ‘ðglise Protestante’ (Protestant Church), there is the subject of ‘Biblical Education’, which is taught for one hour to pupils in grades 4 to 6 of primary school. The classes can be held either within the school itself – although fewer and fewer schools are willing to cooperate on this any more – or in the Church’s own buildings, but outside school class time and outside the weekly timetable. The teachers are lay people and volunteers, who are placed, trained and authorised by the Church itself. The Church Council is responsible for the content of the classes.

3.5

Current and future developments

The examples discussed above with regard to the various models for RE in different cantons make it clear that, in the case of all regional traditions, certain basic dynamics are leading to a situation where the cooperative relationships between the church and the state, which for so long have been a matter of course, are about to be fundamentally revised (cf. as an overview on the current developments Jakobs 2007; Leimgruber and Kropacˇ 2010; Helbling et al. 2013; for more information on RE models in Zurich, Grisons and Lucerne, for a com-

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parison of the models that exist in Aargau, Freiburg, Neuenburg, Ticino, Waadt and Zurich, cf. Jödicke 2010; for developments in Ticino, cf. Scolari 2010/2011 and for a comparison of RE in Ticino, Zurich and Grisons, cf. Lagatolla 2012). Such long-established matters of course therefore require a fundamental reinterpretation and concrete institutional as well as didactic redesign. The fact that, in individual cases, this is also associated with specific issues of power and power structures in the cantons, issues which the fundamental relationship between church and state always brings to light, can, at the same time, hardly be dismissed out of hand. For the first time in the history of education in Switzerland, a common curriculum is currently being developed for all subjects in the German-speaking and multilingual Swiss cantons through the ‘Lehrplan 21’ (Curriculum 21) initiative. Specifically, the cantons in question are Aargau, Appenzell Outer-Rhodes, Appenzell Inner-Rhodes, Basel Country, Basel City, Berne, Freiburg, Glarus, Grisons, Lucerne, Nidwalden, Obwalden, Schaffhausen, Schwyz, Solothurn, St. Gallen, Thurgau, Uri, Wallis, Zug and Zurich. With Lehrplan 21, Swiss education policy is entering into unknown territory as it were: with the new initiative the cantons are faced with the challenge of implementing ‘Bildungsrahmenartikel 62’ (Framework Education Article 62) of the federal constitution, which was created following a referendum in 2006 and whereby, in accordance with the HarmoS Concordat of 2007, the aims of the school must be harmonized and orientation to the educational standards debate is established from an education policy point of view (cf. EDK 2007). Lehrplan 21 has been prepared in an elaborate consultation process since autumn 2010. It has been handed over the cantons in spring 2014, who will then decide on its introduction. Provided that the federal state and the cantons, within the scope of their respective responsibilities, together ensure the high quality and permeability of the educational sphere in Switzerland, that they coordinate their efforts and that they safeguard their cooperation through common bodies and other precautions (Article 61), then the following will apply : “If, along the path of coordination, there is no harmonization of the education system in terms of school entry age and compulsory schooling, the duration and objectives of each level of education and the transitions from one level to the next as well as recognition of schoolleaving certificates, the federal state shall issue the necessary regulations” (Article 62.4). Nevertheless, the basic constitutional principle which says that no decisions may be made against the will of the cantons remains in place. In its new formulation, this principle is phrased as follows: “When preparing federal edicts which affect the authority of the cantons, the involvement of the latter is afforded special importance” (62.4). Lehrplan 21 covers two years of kindergarten and nine years of compulsory

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schooling. Described within it is the curriculum for both mandatory and elective subjects within the compulsory schooling age range. It also serves as a planning tool for teachers, schools and education authorities. Because of the cantons’ sovereignty in the primary school sector, the design of the educational entry level (kindergarten and elementary level) and lower secondary school stage as well as determination of the curriculum continues to be left up to the cantons. From a didactic point of view, a move away from an orientation towards learning objectives and in the direction of a competence-orientation can be observed. These developments will also entail considerable consequences for RE in schools (cf. Helbling and Kilchsperger 2013). It is the general idea to integrate RE – very similar to the Berne model – into a broader subject called ‘Ethics – religions – community’ (Ethik – Religionen – Gemeinschaft). How RE will be represented within the school curriculum in future is, at present, still not clear. There is some evidence that the subject will basically move in the direction of competence-oriented subject in the didactical perspective of ‘teaching about and learning from’ – although certain cantonal nuances will, as always, play a role. However, such developments could well lead to a strengthening of the subject or at least the issue of religion – for the first time on a national level. The chances of the subject becoming compulsory within schools, therefore, are going to increase too.

4.

Role of religiously sponsored schools, including any changes and developments, legal relationships

In keeping with Switzerland’s understanding of itself, private schools are only of minor importance in the country, a fact that is reflected in their numbers: there are only around 260 private schools in Switzerland. Out of the country’s total of 1.5 million school pupils, only around 100, 000 are enrolled in private schools. Current statistics on private schools in Switzerland show that any increase in their numbers there can be explained primarily by the establishment of new foreign and bilingual programmes. In the 2012/13 school year, 3.2 % of children at primary and lower secondary school level and 7.6 % of those at upper secondary school level were attending private schools/institutions.1 Most private schools in Switzerland are self-supporting or even profit-oriented. Private schools are supported and funded differently from one canton to the other. Mostly, the private schools focus only on particular groups of pupils in whom they have an interest, e. g. schools for gifted children, for those with 1 Cf. http://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/portal/de/index/themen/15/03/key/blank/obligatorische_r/ schuelerinnen_und.html.

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behavioural problems or those with particular talent in sports. The tuition fees are usually determined by the parents’ income and range between 550 and 3,000 francs per month. In several cantons, the question of grants – Zurich has been supporting private grammar schools since 1999 – and ‘education vouchers’ is being discussed. These are intended for parents who would like to send their children to a private school but do not have the financial means to do so. Those in favour say that such vouchers guarantee parents’ right to pick a suitable school for their child while opponents worry about the impact on the quality of the state schools. Ballot initiatives in several cantons on the issue of free school selection have been consistently rejected by considerable majorities of voters in recent years (cf. Hofstetter and Santini-Amgarten 2011). The number of denominational private schools has remained consistently small for a long time, although it must be said that the number of Catholic private schools (around 60) exceeds that of Protestant schools many times over.2 The growth in the number of religious private schools, which were established as a deliberate alternative to the state’s power in the area of education, occurred in the early 19th century but was reversed in the last one-third of the same century when public schools stopped charging tuition fees. To the present day, this situation has scarcely changed. In this respect, if we look, for example, at the mission statements of the Protestant schools of Unterstrass in Zurich and Muristalden in Berne, we see attempts to reformulate the schools’ own profiles in a way that is complementary to the state education system, not in a manner that seeks to delimit themselves from the latter. The question is asked, for example: “How can Protestant values be credibly lived and passed on in a pluralist, open society? How can we encourage individual learning while at the same time supporting pupils’ ability to live as part of a community?” (Unterstrass 2012) In its mission statement, the Muristalden grammar school makes no reference at all to religion.3 The hope expressed by some voices within the churches that denominational private schools could be established as an important alternative to the state education system, thereby also creating a broader basis for RE, cannot, because of the specific traditions that exist in this area within Switzerland, be considered very likely to become a reality.

2 Cf. http://www.katholischeschulen.ch. 3 Cf. http://www.muristalden.ch/publikationen/leitbild.pdf.

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Conceptions and tasks of religious education

The frameworks and current developments described above have considerable consequences for the didactic understanding of RE. Basically, the question arises, on the one hand, of the future position of RE within the school curriculum and of what subject group it should be positioned in, as well as whether or not RE should be compulsory in all Swiss schools. At present, decisions in these areas have mostly not been reached even if the possibility of the subject moving into its own subject group of ‘Ethics – Religion – Community’ and not, as desired by those active in the area of religious studies, for example, into the section of the curriculum dealing with history-related subjects is looming large on the horizon. On the other hand, in the debate on subject didactics taking place in the cantons, there is still very vehement discussion on the supposedly only possible options of ‘teaching in religion’ or ‘teaching about religion’ – as if there could be any such polarisation in either practice or theory. Ultimately, however, the question of the nationwide establishment of religion as a standard subject in schools is only constitutionally viable if it is clear that the subject does not have any indoctrinating tendencies. The fact that the wind is currently in favour of religion being introduced as a compulsory subject in schools is reflected not only in the intense debates on issues of religion and politics taking place in Switzerland but also in the various statements made by those with responsibility for the country’s education policy : Interestingly, in a statement issued in October 2007, the Swiss Teachers’ Association (LCH) called for the teaching of Christian values to be resumed once more in Swiss schools. This statement was made against the dual backdrop of the increasing numbers of people without any religion in Switzerland on the one hand and the constant inward migration of people with different religious backgrounds on the other (cf. LCH Executive Board 2007). Against the backdrop of ongoing religious mixing in Swiss society, the school is therefore given a normative function: it should profess certain core values and distance itself ‘from value systems which threaten these core values. In addition, most of Swiss and European history cannot be understood without reference to our JudeoChristian roots’, as the corresponding petition paper puts it. Literature, art, architecture, politics, to name but a small few walks of life, must be classified in terms of the history of ideas. Otherwise individuals will be threatened with the loss of their personal way of life as well as the continuity of the ‘Willensnation Schweiz’ (literally the ‘Swiss nation of will’ – meaning that the Swiss state is based on a common political will) threatened. In addition, education, without asking questions about ‘religion, about what connects us to the whole of human existence’ is unimaginable. RE, in the broad sense of dialogue on religion, is

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therefore also assigned the role passing on the ‘unbreakable core of our fundamental societal values’. In this way, neither the curriculum nor the teacher can avoid making statements that are based on certain values and are therefore denominational in nature. Justifying the position of the Swiss Teachers’ Association, its chairperson Beat W. Zemp, who was quoted in the newspaper ‘NZZ am Sonntag’ on 23 March 2008, stated that values education is necessary in order to ensure peaceful coexistence of people in society. Director of Education in Zurich, Regine Aeppli, also agrees with the Teachers’ Association and emphasises that schools have never been neutral when it comes to values and that it must be shown that ‘values have their roots in religion’. These statements may be viewed as thoroughly surprising, as they obviously contradict the trend in some cantons towards a more or less religiously reticent basic position described earlier and contradict all the more the move towards the introduction of neutral ‘religion studies’ in schools. They are also clearly more meaningful than a current statement from the Protestant side, which we will look at briefly below too: In October 2011, the Working Group on School and Religion (in German: ‘Arbeitsgemeinschaft Schule und Religion’ or AGSR for short) of the Swiss Protestant Alliance released nine posits in relation to Lehrplan 21. In their statement, they hold on to the idea that the school should teach in a religious way and that RE should play an important part in the education of children within the scope of Lehrplan 21. The requirement for ‘faith-based and appreciative RE’, through which children are supported in their religious development and search for identity, should help stimulate discussion on the values and frameworks for Lehrplan 21. At the same time, there is resistance to the approach of portraying all religions as equal in public schools and rejection of the idea of compulsory RE, at least in primary schools. Instead, because of the country’s historical and cultural realities, the notion of emphasising Christianity in Swiss schools immediately suggests itself. Not until secondary level should other world religions be dealt with equally. In addition, it is required that RE be taught by teachers who value the Christian faith, while at the same time also treating with respect those in the class who think differently or who belong to other religions. Because RE, in particular, is the responsibility of the child’s parents, the AGSR rejects the idea of compulsory religious studies. In a quite different perspective, an ecumenical group of professors teaching Religious Education at Swiss universities has in December 2013 launched a statement on the Lehrplan21-idea of RE (Cebulj et al. 2013), stating that a competence-oriented RE has to include the existential dimension of life, to allow personal orientation in the midst of the plurality of religions and their ethical practices, and – beyond the mediation of knowledge about religion – to con-

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tribute to the ability of reflecting religious experiences. In their expert opinion, a purely teaching-about-model, assumed as being objective and neutral, can not sufficiently provide such competences. Thus, RE shall give space for real experiences of substantial dialogues between students and teachers about their individual religious questions and experiences. Besides, the experts vote for a complementary understanding and relation of denominational RE of the religious communities and the non-denominational RE in the schools as a consistent and promising future model of RE in the public sphere (cf. Schlag 2012). Concluding these different statements, the didactic art will lie in honouring children’s right to RE in school without risking overwhelming them with the contents of this subject. Whether this will actually be the case in practice will have to become apparent when parents – as already suggested – wish, by way of a constitutional challenge, to prevent their child from taking part in the subject. Interestingly, at present, the strongest concerns are being voiced by Protestant groups as well as, to some extent, by Islamic groups and, in particular, by freethinking groups. Even with the best teaching possible, such a critical principled stance on the subject will be difficult to weaken but is also not unjustified if RE were in fact to be secretly used for certain missionary purposes – in recent years the Swiss media have featured repeated isolated reports on alleged fundamentalism among Protestant teachers, the number and details of which, however, have not yet really been satisfactorily clarified. Finally, however, it is also the day-to-day teaching itself (which is now being evaluated for the first time in some places), and the integrity of the teachers and teaching materials employed, which will have to ensure that the guarantee of religious freedom is upheld.

6.

Practice / reality of religious education in different schools

The variety of cantonal provisions on RE is matched by a large variety of possible teaching materials and practices (cf. as overview of the different didactical challenges and opportunities Bietenhard et al. 2015). Likewise, the publishers of the teaching materials, which are also located within the specific cantons, create a whole range of teaching aids and materials, which would nearly require their own survey and analysis. Basically, schoolbooks are at present continuing to move in the direction of taking greater account of other religions, to a greater extent than is the case, for example, in the elaborately designed and widely disseminated teaching aid of ‘Menschen leben in Religionen und Kulturen’ (People Live in Religions and Cultures), which consisted of three volumes: ‘Menschen leben mit Fragen’ (People Live with Questions), ‘Menschen leben in Traditionen’ (People Live by Traditions) and ‘Was Menschen heilig ist’ (What

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People Hold Sacred). This teaching aid was released in the year 2000 and was developed for interdenominational RE at lower secondary level. It came to be known and used well beyond the canton of Zurich, which was where it was originally intended for. It included both social and religious topics and traditions as well as also including some elements of religious studies. Nevertheless, as it had, significantly, been developed by church education representatives, it was decided that there was no future for the new subject. This probably had less to do with educational reasons than it had with fundamental issues of education policy. In April 2012, a teaching aid for elementary, middle and lower secondary schools with the generic title of ‘Blickpunkt’ (Focus) appeared, which heralded the introduction of the subject ‘Religion and Culture’. It includes a book for pupils, class materials as well as a didactic commentary. In total, the whole package comprises around 1,200 pages. From the point of view of those responsible for the new subject, familiarity with religious traditions, even that of the Sunday precept, is so lacking that even elementary basic knowledge must be explained from the beginning. On the other hand, it is intended that connections between religious topics and issues in everyday life will be highlighted more clearly than in the old teaching aid. This aim and dual approach manifests itself in the list of topics covered: under the heading of ‘Was ist das?’ (What’s this?) objects and symbols from different religious traditions in one’s own life and surroundings are dealt with, in the section called ‘Kinder’ (Children) the relationship between childhood and religious meanings of names is covered, under the title ‘Alltag’ (Daily Life) different religious traditions relating to everyday rituals or foods as well as traditions of rest are explained, under the heading of ‘Feste’ (Feasts) various forms of secular and religious feasts in the five major world religions are discussed (with a focus on Christian lore for the feasts of Christmas, Easter and the resurrection) while the section called ‘Tiere’ (Animals) focuses on Old Testament narrative traditions. For grades 4 to 6, there are thematic units on the ‘Kalender’ (Calendar) as a point of orientation for both everyday and religious life, on ‘Schreiben und Lernen’ (Writing and Learning) with references to various holy scriptures and places as well as philosophies and myths, whereby the question of ‘traces’ of religion in the city of Zurich is looked at. At secondary school level, horizons are further widened vis-—-vis the major world religions, with Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism each being described in terms of their historical relation to Switzerland and substantiated with the aid of vivid reports and portraits. From this basis, orientational knowledge as well as information on the respective religion as a global phenomenon is provided. Chapters with the overall heading ‘Religion and Society’ represent a second major group of units in the teaching aid. Here,

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awareness is raised of the personal dimension of the issue of religion and the relationship between ‘Religion and Media’ as well as ‘Religion and Conflicts’ addressed. The connection between ‘Science – Wisdom – Faith’ is also made. In a broadly based and similarly elaborate teaching aid published by the Berner Schulverlag publishing house, different topics such as human rights, morals, tolerance, the characteristics of world religions, the rules of play for peaceful coexistence, dealing with conflicts, topics from the current life-worlds of young people and the issue of participation in the class council or school council are dealt with. Religious issues are integrated into the pupils’ and teachers’ volumes under the headings of ‘HimmelsZeichen’ (Heavenly Signs), ‘FrageZeichen’ (Question Marks) and ‘WeltBilden’ (World Views). In ‘WeltBilden’, for example, the areas of ‘Ethical Education’, ‘Religious Studies’, ‘Philosophising’, ‘Symbolic Thinking’, ‘Festive Culture and Rituals’ as well as ‘Identity Formation’ are addressed. These thematic headings in themselves show an emphasis on the aspect of ‘the individual and the community’, which is elucidated by this teaching aid’s special perspective on the connection between ethics and religion, thereby making the material very suitable for use in Aargau or in Berne. The ‘Sachbuch Religionen’ (Religions Fact Book) by Willi Bühler, Benno Bühlmann and Andreas Kessler can be considered an information medium that focusses specifically on the Swiss context. It aims to offer more than just an introduction to the major religions of the world and therefore addresses both current problems as well as the changes in the public’s perception of religion influenced by the mass media. In addition, it provides interesting insights into religious diversity in Switzerland. Basic information for teachers in relation to the challenges of interfaith dialogue within the school can be found in ‘Interreligiöser Dialog. Grundlagen – Erfahrungen – Perspektiven‘ (Interfaith Dialogue. Basics – Experiences – Perspectives) by M. Brügisser (cf. Brügisser 2009). This book contains both information on the societal context and the various dimensions of interfaith dialogue in Switzerland as well as the possible aims, themes and experiences of such dialogue. Practical experiences and relevant addresses of institutions and initiatives in the area of interfaith dialogue in Switzerland complete the volume. In light of ever-increasing deconfessionalisation of RE in schools but also because of the special political situation (e. g. the minaret initiative), the question of the establishment of Islamic RE in public schools is at present not yet being discussed with any intensity. If one compares this to the discussions on the subject taking place in Austria, for example, the situation in Switzerland is revealed to be entirely different. Paradoxically, the fear of a fundamentalist withdrawal into the private sphere, which has always been made use of for

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political gain, even in Switzerland, can hardly be halted through education in schools. The Canton of Lucerne has had some experience with the subject of Islamic RE. At present, the Reformed Church in the Canton of Basel City, where there is optional ecumenical RE for grades 1 to 6 – which is attended by around 75 % of all children – is campaigning for Islamic RE in light of upcoming school harmonisation, in order to stop extremism and promote understanding. The background to the current debate is also that, associated with the educational reform addressed earlier, the subject area of ‘Ethics and Religions’ is now being introduced in the canton irrespective of the churches , thereby raising the question of whether denominational RE is still necessary or if separation of church and state should also be realised in the school environment. School authorities in Basel decided to continue with denominational RE – and are now examining whether or not Muslim communities should have the same right as the Reformed Church and the Catholic Church. Those with responsibility in the area at the Office for RE (‘Rektorat für Religionsunterricht’) had this to say : “Good, open RE could encourage mutual appreciation and respect … It would be great if Islam would engage more in public discourse. For that reason, I would prefer to see the Koran in schools than in a mosque in some backyard.”4 Even in the Swiss context, however, the question of authority and responsibility for the respective Muslim community of faith remains unanswered, which means much clarification on the issue must be achieved in the meantime. In addition, as the afore-mentioned article documents, there are still some fundamental reservations against Islamic RE – and even against RE in the first place. As one reader puts it: “In a modern state religion should basically be a private matter. For that reason, RE should not be taught in public schools.” Whether or not these opinions, which due to the current global religious conflicts, are being expressed more and more often, are representative of the overall mood among the Swiss population must, however, be looked at in closer detail.

7.

Observations on alternative subjects / learning areas like ethics, philosophy etc.

As made clear earlier in the synopsis of different models of RE, wherever religion is offered as an elective subject, ‘Ethics’ and/or ‘Philosophy’ are the main alternatives offered. Looking across the cantons, there has been no fundamental 4 Cf. http://www.tageswoche.ch/de/2012_09/basel/401069/Muslimischer-Religionsunterricht. htm.

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disagreement in recent times on the question of the implementation of these subjects in schools. In places where they are offered as elective subjects, they instead simply represent a humanist alternative to RE. The situation is different in places where a new subject whose fundamental orientation is towards ethics and philosophy has replaced or is set to replace RE. Recent disputes in the Canton of Grisons, for example, expose the ideological lines of conflict very clearly. Within the process of Lehrplan21 the integration of ethics and religion(s) into one subject will on one hand strengthen the ties between these two perspectives and open up opportunities of dealing with certain life-issues in a more complex manner. On the other hand it has to be feared that teachers of this integrating subject will rather chose and raise ethical than religious issues and themes, when they have the freedom and flexibility to do so. So in the end it might happen, that religion in its own pedagogical right and meaning could just vanish away within this complementary subject.

8.

Dealing with religious diversity

The situation with regard to RE, both in the context of the school and the church, on the Swiss education landscape reveals itself not only to be extraordinarily diverse but also, in the present day, as being highly dynamic – a common, uniform solution for imminent challenges is, at present, as inconceivable as it is undesirable. Against the backdrop of these circumstances, the actual challenge now lies in achieving common standards of appropriate RE that are as generally reasonable as possible while at the same time retaining the contextual pluralism. In terms of Switzerland’s strong pluralist tradition, two things must be said: The different manifestations of RE in schools, which are historically established and anchored in religio-cultural traditions, each have legal legitimacy, so that any attempts at harmonisation or even homogenisation would likely face insurmountable obstacles and would be understood as an interference in cantonal sovereignty and identity. On the other hand, in view of the challenges referred to earlier, it is clear that greater mutual exchange and increased cooperation across borders is necessary both from an educational and strategic point of view. This question is relevant for those state entities, institutions and persons who have authority over and responsibility for schools, the planning and realization of classes, the provision of teaching aids and instructional materials as well as the corresponding education and training of teachers. The fact that purely denominationally neutral classes dealing with ‘religious studies’ cannot address the topics, interests or needs of the pupils should be immediately evident here. A

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model of RE that aims to provide pupils with a general education and is open to pluralism must, in any event, allow substantive and personal processes of communication on religious issues and make a contribution not only towards an understanding of cultural contexts but also towards pupils’ understanding of their own lives. In RE, there needs to be open and equal discussion of attitudes and influences. In this respect, religion teachers should not prematurely reject the idea of dealing with such issues but should instead search for ways of connecting the discussion on different religious identities with a dialogue on these differences. It falls within the scope of the teachers’ professional duties to create a compulsory, distinctive subject open to debate on this fine line. In this respect, the question of the professional didactic development of the subject and the professional training of teachers is also one for those active in the theory and research of RE, whether they are working in Switzerland’s universities or in the country’s colleges of education (cf. Helbling, Riegel and Jakobs 2009 as well as Jakobs et al. 2009). What is most definitely needed here is more cooperation and exchange between the individual faculties, especially at a time when human resources are being cut back in this area. It must also be ensured that didactic training for religion teachers is not entirely assigned to the colleges of education and institutes of educational science, as this would ultimately amount to a decrease in academic and didactic competences in the subject (in contrast to Jödicke 2010, 16). The churches too, however, face the task of constructively and more clearly defining where they stand in relation to these complex developments: at the same time, it is primarily in places where the churches still bear shared responsibility for RE in schools that they must, for the pupils’ sake, play a part in the further development of the subject and assume a responsible, professional approach with regard to both theological and educational aspects. What must be avoided at any rate are the extremes of reconfessionalisation on the one hand and a retreat from all school-state relationships on the other. At the same time, the question of how the churches can deal with the changes in the content of RE in schools will, in future, become more and more pressing. The fundamental problem here is that familiarization with denominational traditions is, for various reasons, difficult within the Swiss education system. For one thing, there are no kindergartens in Switzerland under denominational patronage, which could enable important religious orientation at an early stage. On the other hand, the idea of denominational private schools, as indicated earlier, is not in keeping with the country’s image of itself, with certain exclusive education programmes considered useful only in exceptional circumstances. What is useful and even necessary in any event is for the churches to search

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for possible alternative education structures for which they themselves would be responsible. Such structures would have the aim, however, of achieving complementarity in the area of RE, with the churches still being available as partners in the educational sphere. Especially in light of harmonisation in the area of education policy, this also brings with it the necessity of searching for forms of persuasive participation in Switzerland, including by the churches. This will only succeed, however, if the stakeholders are actually willing to think and look beyond the borders of their own cantonal churches – because, irrespective of all cultural and contextual differences in their religious make-up, it is obvious that the question of a distinctive type of RE that can cope with pluralism poses the same critical challenges in all cantons (cf. Müller and Santini-Amgarten 2006). It would, however, be problematic – and this tendency can be observed – if, because of a certain exclusivist position, the path of RE as general education was departed from in order to arrive at the old catechetically underscored denominational clarity, as it were. This would, after all, be tantamount to a withdrawal from public educational responsibility itself (cf. Schlag 2012; Arens 2012). In this respect, it is imperative with regard to the necessary reforms in RE to proceed with sound judgement and, above all else, with reasonable arguments, in order not to counterproductively trigger resistance from the outset, which would ultimately render impossible from the beginning any attempts at reform. Here, under the premise that each child and young person has an inalienable right to their own religion, it follows that this right must always be honoured both from a theological and church point of view in a way that is convincing from an educational standpoint. It is precisely such consensus aimed at disciplinary and institutional cooperation in dealing with pluralism that could ultimately even result in the creation of a model for RE within a European context.

9.

Religion in school outside of religious education

It is no surprise that religious school life varies widely within Switzerland depending on cantonal tradition and, in particular, depending on the style of the teaching staff and of the school administration. Basically, the stronger the teachers’ theological education and the more rooted they are in their church, the more effective they can be in terms of their mission within the school, in the area of school chaplaincy or pastoral care, for example. An interesting intermediate model that connects school and church as it were is the ‘Ökumenische Seelsorgearbeit’ (Ecumenical Pastoral Care Project) or ‘Mittelschulseelsorge’ (Secondary School Pastoral Care), which is financed by

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the two major churches and has been introduced in a total of six grammar schools in the Canton of Zurich. Those responsible for the programme in the two churches presented the idea of a concept for ecumenical work in secondary schools at a conference of school principals held in July 2000. The idea received an enthusiastic response from the principals. The leaders of the two churches had the concept for ecumenical work within secondary schools developed by a joint task force. The idea was approved in 2002. Those directly involved here have been appointed by the churches and are active religion teachers. The school-based pastoral care, which takes place in so-called ‘Mittelschulfoyers’ (secondary school foyers), includes projects, support, the opportunity to talk, counselling and mediation for individuals and groups within the school and, thereby, takes the form of social and education work with and for young people, which takes place both within and outside the schools (meetings, events, lunch clubs, etc.). The religion teachers who play a role in this kind of work are characterized by their dual occupational profile, functioning as they do as both educators and chaplains. It is somehow depressing that currently the Churches, due to financial reasons, think about stepping out of this work, which would finally mean that they lose their last strong connection with the state school system! The issue of school church services, whether at the beginning and end of the school year or in connection with certain Christian feasts throughout the year, for example, is proving to be increasingly difficult and challenging. At this stage, practically next to none of the state schools are offering such religious services as they (even the RE teachers themselves) believe that they could possibly jeopardise religious peace. In such instances, the school then sees itself as a religiously neutral place in the sense of distancing itself completely from religion. Here, the fact that local parishes and religious communities are also offering concrete interfaith and dialogue-encouraging rituals per se, which are designed in the most low-threshold and attractive way possible for all pupils – on a voluntary basis of course – is certainly important. The opportunities for a new type of culture of encounter and, with it, for complementary education between the school and the church, could lie in the fact that encounters with religions are now supposed to be part of the objectives, at least, of a new integral component of the curriculum. The fact that a curriculum unit as concrete as this, dealing with local Christian, Islamic or Jewish life, for example, cannot replace real encounters with these religions, should really be self-evident for didactic reasons.

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Training of teachers of religious education: institutes, structures, priorities issues

The locations and conditions of religion teacher training in Switzerland are as varied as the general situation with regard to RE (cf. Schlag and Suhner 2014). Basically, however, it is the colleges of education (Pädagogische Hochschulen) which are providing training for the future generation of religion teachers. In comparison, the faculties of theology are, depending on the canton in question, more or less closely connected with the training establishments. The trend is for the connection between them to be stronger in regions where RE is still anchored in the Catholic tradition, as is the case in Lucerne or Fribourg, for example. In Zurich, on the other hand, the Faculty of Theology is primarily called upon to provide the academic foundation for religion teacher training, while the didactic training elements for the subject are taken over by the Zurich University of Teacher Education itself. The situation for grammar school teachers is different. These must have completed a full degree course in theology or religious studies before they can enter the teaching profession, which means that a close connection with the academic side of RE still exists in this area. At the same time, however, cooperation between the fields of educational science and the purely academic disciplines, in terms of responsibility for the didactic training given to religion teachers, is an issue that still requires clarification. A separate minor subject called ‘Religionspädagogik’ (RE), supported jointly by the faculties of Theology and Educational Science, enables those interested to gain an additional qualification in this field of education. At the PH Bern (Berne College of Education), a subject called ‘Ethik – Religionen – Gemeinschaft’ is offered in conjunction with the Faculty of Theology as an elective within Master’s programmes for teachers in lower secondary schools. This subject is aimed at students who are interested in the religious and ethical dimensions of today’s world and interpretations of life and who would like to understand these within a larger context5. In this context, students are also supposed to engage with the approaches towards religious diversity employed in the field of RE. If this area is studied in appropriate further depth, students may also be awarded an extra specialist, addon diploma. Training for teachers intending to work in lower secondary schools is also provided at the Faculty of Theology in the University of Basel. This training, which is known by its German acronym of SLA, includes at least three subjects and lasts eight semesters. In order to obtain the teaching qualification for lower 5 Cf. https://www.phbern.ch/fileadmin/user_upload/ISI/Dokumente/Dateien_FD_FW/Fach flyer/2013-08-Fachflyer-2013-ERG.pdf.

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secondary school level, two or three other school subjects (including German, French or Mathematics) must also be studied in addition to Religion. The academic training for this teaching qualification is offered by the Faculty of Theology in Basel, with the basics of religious studies, the theory of religion teaching, basic Christian theology as well as religion studies (Islam, Judaism, Buddhism) being focused on in particular. A Master of Arts in the Theory of Religion (‘Religionslehre’ in German) with a teaching certificate for the subject of Theory of Religion in grammar schools has recently been established by the University of Lucerne. This course of study is anchored in the Faculty of Theology and is offered in conjunction with the Faculty of Cultural and Social Science’s Department of Religious Studies and the University of Teacher Education Central Switzerland in Lucerne. The teaching certificate also qualifies its holders to teach other similar subjects related to religion and ethics at upper secondary school level. In places where the churches are still involved in RE in schools, their catechetical offices and centres often take on responsibility for certain components of the education and training of religion teachers as well as playing a role in the development of teaching aids and materials. It would be fundamentally problematic, in any event, if the traditions and responsibilities in relation to RE in Switzerland’s faculties of theology were to increasingly make way for a type of training that is primarily practice-oriented, as this would bring with it negative consequences for future research and teaching in the area.

11.

Empirical Research concerning religious education at schools

Observing the state of empirical research concerning RE in Switzerland it has to be said that a certain dynamic on this field has only just been developed, due to the fact that especially at the universities and theological faculties over a long time religious education (in the sense of Religionspädagogik as an academic discipline) has not been of great research impact. This has only just recently changed, not at least because of a new generation of researchers in this field – interestingly enough, most of them coming from Germany – with certain empirical expertise and sensitivity for the educational policies behind these developments and dynamics. But so far there is still a lack of overall and specific data, be it about the different situations in the individual cantons or about the frameworks of RE teachers’ education in the different institutions of education, not to mention the evaluation of RE in the classrooms itself or the examination of teaching materials. Apart from some overviews on the teachers’ self-understanding (Jakobs et

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al. 2009) and a study on the specific teaching issue “Judaism and Christianity” (Weibel 2013) the empirical research about RE in Switzerland is still rather small and has definitely to be enlarged. A first evaluation of ‘Religion and Culture’, carried out by K. Frank, from the Department of Religious Studies in Zurich, has significantly failed not only all necessary methodological standards, but is also imprinted by vast prejudices against theology and religious education as relevant academic references for RE (cf. the clear critique by D. Benner 2014, 106–113). But at least, not only some promising historical research on the developments of RE as school subject in different cantons and institutions is underway, but also further empirical research on how to measure interreligious-competence-oriented RE and also about the contribution of RE in Switzerland to comprehensive learning (with the example of ‘Remembrance-learning’). Here the international networks of academic teachers of RE will certainly help not only to enlarge the basis for empirical research but also to strengthen the possibilities of comparative research.

12.

Desiderata / challenges for religious education in a European context

The fact that the educational aims of RE, such as the development of a religious identity, tolerance and understanding, are not achieved solely by way of rational approaches and the dimming of personal experiences should be emphasised more clearly than ever before by university departments of RE in Switzerland. For this to happen, the fact that the Swiss debate on RE requires a much stronger connection to the wider European debate on competences can only be affirmatively indicated here (cf. Helbling 2010; Schmid 2011). In this context, however, the state must clarify whether it wishes to see religion pushed more and more into the private, and therefore no longer examinable, sphere in the sense of laicist neutrality or whether, in the sense of a transcending, open neutrality (cf. Böckenförde 2007 for more information here), such educational efforts should not be recognised as being a contribution to the community and encouraged as much as possible, with both school and church educational practices being meant here. At the same time, university faculties of theology must make it clear that religion is more than just a private matter and that RE is not only about individual sensitivities but that it is also about issues of justice and enabling pupils to play a part in public life – therefore that the subject relates not only to religion but to politics as well. For the sake of education in schools, including for the

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didactic development of RE, the increasing fragmentation of European societies requires expert analysis especially in this field. In view of European developments in RE, the future task for Protestant RE consequently lies, in a cultural analytical sense, in competently addressing and interpreting religion and its integration with modern culture based on its own traditions, in the sense of education policy, in playing a part in shaping forums where the future of education will be discussed and decided on and, in the sense of public strategy, creating a clear profile for the work of these forums. Its specific contribution with respect to a type of religious studies that has a strong cultural orientation, for example, is precisely to work out the religious and theological background of the subject and its different elements as well as the associated didactic implications, both hermeneutically and empirically. In opposite to attempts to create a strict separation of the subject’s dogmatic, lifeworld and cultural connections, for example, (according to Frank 2010, 2014) or marking artificial lines of separation between internal and external perspectives, it will be necessary to keeping a differentiated and differentiating eye on, as well as competently treating, such connections as interwoven elementary dimensions of RE. Consequently, developments in the subject within Switzerland are indicators with a paradigmatic character : (a) for the future of religiously motivated responsibility for education within the public sphere, in so far as the question of the positioning of theology and the church and even the question of denominational education (cf. Schori 2007, 205–6) are facing increasing requirements for a privatization of faith, (b) for the future of RE within public schools, in so far as the multireligious and secular situation is already having an effect because of the specific legal situation, (c) for the future of publicly and politically relevant subject didactics for RE, in so far as the future task of an education that promotes democracy, tolerance and participation is defined as an important ingredient for innovative school life (cf. Schlag 2010). (d) for the future of RE in universities and other institutions, in so far as the question is raised here of who should receive education and training for pending educational responsibilities, as well as how and in which institutions they should receive such training. The fact that, in light of the religious pluralism mentioned at the beginning, this can only occur in an ecumenical way with concrete ecumenical cooperation and in a strategically coordinated manner need hardly be mentioned explicitly. In this respect, the major challenge for RE lies precisely in the practice of intelligent interpretation and teaching of Christian subject matter and the cul-

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tural and political effects of this in the public sphere – not only in Switzerland but in a wider European context too.

13.

Further information (e. g., relevant literature on religious education, institutions, websites)

Swiss Confederation: Legislation: Online: http://www.admin.ch/opc/de/classified-compi lation/19995395/index.html. The current constitutions for all cantons: Online: http://www.admin.ch/ch/d/sr/13. html#131. Information on HarmoS: Website of the EDK (Swiss Conference of Cantonal Ministers of Education): http://www.edk.ch/dyn/11659.php. Information on Lehrplan 21: http://www.lehrplan.ch/sites/default/files/Auswertungsber icht.pdf.

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Contributors

Ana Thea Filipovic´ has a PhD in Theology. She is Associate Professor at the Department of Religious Education and Catechetics and Director of the Institute of Catechetics at the Faculty of Catholic Theology at the University of Zagreb. Stanko Gerjolj has a PhD in Theology and a PhD in Education/Psychology. He is Full Professor for Psychology of religious education and Education at the Faculty of Catholic Theology at the University of Ljubljana. Stefan Hirschlehner has a PhD in Theology and was head of the Department of Education in Liechtenstein. Martin Jäggle has a PhD in Theology and was Full Professor for Religious Education and Catechetics at the Faculty of Catholic Theology at the University of Vienna. Philipp Klutz has a PhD in Theology and is Assistant Professor at the Department of Catechetics, Religious Education and Education at the Catholic Privat University Linz. Ludmila Muchov‚ has a PhD in Educational Psychology and is head of the Department of Religious Education at the Faculty of Catholic Theology at the ˇ esk¦ Budeˇjovice. University of South Bohemia in C Tibor Reimer has a PhD in Theology. He is head of the Department of Catechetics and Religious Education at the Faculty of Catholic Theology at the Comenius University and Senior Lecturer of Education at St. Elizabeth University of Health and Social Sciences in Bratislava.

310

Contributors

Cyprian Rogowski has a PhD in Theology and is Full Professor for Religious Education at the Faculty of Environmental Sciences at the University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn. Martin Rothgangel has a PhD in Theology and is Full Professor for Religious Education at the Faculty of Protestant Theology at the University of Vienna. Andrej Saje has a PhD in Canon Law. He is Assistant Professor of Canon Law at the Faculty of Catholic Theology at the University of Ljubljana and a judge at the Metropolitan Ecclesiastical Tribunal of the Archdiocese of Ljubljana. Thomas Schlag has a PhD in Theology and is Full Professor for Practical Theology with the focus of Religious Education, Church Theory and Pastoral Theology at the Faculty of Protestant Theology at the University of Zurich. Friedrich Schweitzer has a PhD in Social Science and completed a habilitation in Practical Theology. He is Full Professor for Religious Education and Practical Theology at the Faculty of Protestant Theology at the University of Tübingen. Mûnika Solym‚r has a PhD in Theology and is Professor at the University College of Teacher Education of Christian Churches Vienna/Krems. Hans-Georg Ziebertz has a PhD in Theology and a PhD in Social Sciences. He is Full Professor for Practical Theology/Religious Education at the Faculty of Catholic Theology at the University of Würzburg.