Religious Education at Schools in Europe: Part 5: Southeastern Europe [1 ed.] 9783737011983, 9783847111986

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

Band 10, 5

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 dieser Reihe sind peer-reviewed.

Martin Rothgangel / Ednan Aslan / Martin Jäggle (eds.)

Religious Education at Schools in Europe Part 5: Southeastern Europe

In cooperation with Sabine Hermisson and Maximillian Saudino

V&R unipress Vienna University Press

www.rel-edu.eu

Bibliografische Information der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek verzeichnet diese Publikation in der Deutschen Nationalbibliografie; detaillierte bibliografische Daten sind im Internet über https://dnb.de abrufbar. Veröffentlichungen der Vienna University Press erscheinen bei V&R unipress. Gedruckt mit freundlicher Unterstützung des Vereins der Freunde religiöser Bildung (Association of Friends of Religious Education) und des Research Centre „Religion and Transformation in Contemporary Society“. © 2020, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht GmbH & Co. KG, Theaterstraße 13, D-37073 Göttingen 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. Umschlagabbildung: © Erich Foltinowsky Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht Verlage | www.vandenhoeck-ruprecht-verlage.com ISSN 2197-0718 ISBN 978-3-7370-1198-3

Contents

Preface: Religious Education at Schools in Southeastern Europe

. . . . .

7

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

15

Gentiana Skura Religious Education at Schools in Albania . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

23

Zrinka Sˇtimac Religious Education at Schools in Bosnia and Herzegovina

. . . . . . . .

45

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

95

Ednan Aslan Islamic Education in Europe

Kostadin Nushev / Valentin Kozhuharov Religious Education at Schools in Bulgaria

Ednan Aslan / Xhabir Hamiti Religious Education at Schools in Kosovo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123 Aneta Jovkovska / Petko Zlateski Religious Education at Schools in Republic of North Macedonia

. . . . . 143

Emil Hilton Saggau / Sabina Pacˇariz / Vladimir Bakracˇ Religious Education at Schools in Montenegro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169 Laurent,iu Ta˘nase / Daniel Cergan / Cezar Dasca˘lu Religious Education at Schools in Romania . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191 Zorica Kuburic´ Religious Education at Schools in Serbia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221

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Contents

Pınar Usta Dog˘an Religious Education at Schools in Turkey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245 Contributors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277

Preface: Religious Education at Schools in Southeastern Europe

At a time when educational issues have increasingly come to determine the social and political discourse and major reforms of the education system are being discussed and implemented, and 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. Across the continent there are many different conceptions and organisations involved in shaping the local practice of RE, which includes the 47 member states of the Council of Europe. With few exceptions, RE has been established as a specific subject in publicly funded schools, while, in a few cases, studies of religion represent 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 of 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 related to religion and education. While 9/11 may be seen as the triggering event here, there are wider reasons for such a development. The fact that the OSCE (Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe) has addressed the issue of religion and belief in education into its programme “Tolerance and Non-Discrimination” clearly shows that the topic has become a key issue for the future of Europe and for security and cooperation on the continent. In their Toledo Guiding Principles (OSCE 2007), the OSCE considers teaching about religions and beliefs 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 information and skills appropriate to the development of an impartial

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Preface: Religious Education at Schools in Southeastern Europe

approach, as well as encouraging freedom of religion and belief, as reflected in the human rights codes. The Council of Europe, in several of its documents, has focused on the religious dimension of intercultural dialogue, paying particular attention to the issue of religious diversity in schools. It values religious diversity highly and demands that it be given appropriate space, rejecting any restriction of religion to the private domain as well as rejecting the notion of “religion-free” schools. The Council of Europe’s 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 school as a whole needs 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 towards encouraging policy makers, schools and teacher trainers to prioritise the development of inclusive forms of education about religions and beliefs in their respective 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 can create. Irrespective 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 shaping the future of migrants as well as the attitude towards migration on the part of the host population. Since for many people religion is 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 RE in public schools also concerns 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 RE, 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 will not deal 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, Eastern Europe, South-Eastern Europe, South Europe) (cf. www.rel-edu.eu), aims to research the situation with regard to RE in Europe. The chapters in each regional volume begin by outlining the organisational form of RE in the particular countries covered. This will be done along the lines of thirteen key issues, which were agreed upon by the authors from the various countries at two symposia held at the University of Vienna in 2011 and 2012, in order to achieve as much coherence as possible for the publications. The formulation of key issues

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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) preceded this project and was also conducted based on key issues. In addition, earlier internationally oriented predecessor projects may be recommended for further reference. Since a comprehensive discussion of the corresponding literature is undertaken in the methodological contribution by Friedrich Schweitzer (2013) in volume 1, 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 RE: – Schultze, H. / Kirchhoff H. (1975–1977) (eds.), “Christian Education in Europe” (German title: Christliche Erziehung in Europa), Stuttgart, 5 volumes (England, the Netherlands, Sweden, France, Poland). – The fact that research into the area of RE has become more international in recent years and comparative research on the topic is inevitable is shown by the following three publications: – Jackson, R. et al. (2007) (eds.), Religion and Education in Europe. Developments, Contexts and Debates, Münster; – Kuyk, E. et al. (2007) (eds.), Religious Education in Europe. Situation and current trends in schools, Oslo; – Lähnemann, J. / Schreiner, P. (2009) (eds.), Interreligious and Values Education in Europe. Map and Handbook, Münster. Below, the thirteen key issues mentioned above are presented briefly. 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. Socio-religious background 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 of RE 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 policies Across Europe, efforts to reform the education system are being made, which have direct and indirect effects on religious education.

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Preface: Religious Education at Schools in Southeastern Europe

After outlining this general framework, points four through six present key aspects of religious education: 4. Role of religiously sponsored schools, including any changes and developments, legal relationships The place of religiously sponsored schools in the educational landscape of each country reveals much about the state and societal recognition 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 RE The conceptions and tasks of religious education are negotiated by the religious communities, school and young people – as well as within society as a whole. It is in the interrelationship between these different players that the challenge of religious education lies. 6. Practice/reality of RE 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 focus is laid on ecumenical and interfaith cooperation and the education of religion teachers. 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.

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9. Religion in school outside of RE 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. 10. Training of teachers of RE: 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 RE 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. The relevant studies in the respective country and the different areas addressed in empirical research are of special interest. 12. Desiderata and challenges for RE 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 may be important for further work in the area of religious education in Europe. 13. Further information The selection of additional sources of information should facilitate further research in the field of religious education in the respective countries. As the publication of the six volumes on religious education in Europe, now completed in 2020, is to be followed by a nuanced comparison of the countries of Europe, only a few aspects regarding RE in Southeastern Europe will be outlined here: Apart from Turkey, the states in this volume are characterised by the fact that they have experienced decades of repressive communist policies against religion in the 20th century. In addition, the texts on RE in the countries of former Yugoslavia (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, Northern Macedonia, Serbia) also reflect the consequences of the Yugoslav wars that began in 1991. The wide range of positions of RE at state schools in the countries of Southern Europe is striking: On the one hand, there are countries where RE is well es-

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Preface: Religious Education at Schools in Southeastern Europe

tablished (Bosnien and Herzegowina, Romania, Serbia, Turkey). On the other hand, there are the countries of Albania, Kosovo and Montenegro, where, despite all efforts, practically no RE is taught at state schools. The situation in Bulgaria is not much better (“much less than 1 % of school children in Bulgaria participate in religious education”), and the situation in Northern Macedonia seems to be somewhere “in between”, where the subject “ethics in religion” is established. In this context, it is interesting to see what alternative forms of religious education exist in the respective states (e. g. religiously sponsored schools, RE in religious communities) and what efforts are being made to establish RE in public schools and what forces are working against this. Each volume of the REL-EDU series begins with a principle contribution. A special feature of this volume on Southeastern Europe is that it includes states with a Muslim majority population (Albania 56 %, Bosnia and Herzegovina 50 %, Kosovo 90 %, Turkey 98 %) or with a considerable proportion of Muslim persons (Bulgaria 10 %, North Macedonia 33 %; but only 0.3 in Romania and 3 % in Serbia). Therefore Ednan Aslan reflects in this volume “Islamic Education in Europe” – while in volume 4 on Eastern Europe the Orthodox Religious Education and in volume 6 on Southern Europe a Catholic perspective is taken into consideration. Unfortunately, there were major delays in the completion of this volume, as a former author from one country finally had to be replaced. We thank all contributors for their understanding of the problems involved. We would also like to thank the “Verein der Freunde religiöse Bildung” (Association of Friends of Religious Education) as well as the Research Centre “Religion and Transformation in Contemporary Society” for their printing subsidies, Dr. Sabine Hermisson, Maximilian Saudino and Angelika Meirhofer for preparing and proof-reading the script as well as Karin Sima and Marietta Behnoush for taking care of the layout. Vienna, 04/04/2020

Martin Rothgangel, Martin Jäggle and Ednan Aslan

References Keast, J. (ed.) 2007. Religious Diversity and Intercultural Education: A Reference Book for Schools. Strasbourg: Council of Europe Publishing. Council of Europe, Committee of Ministers 2008. Recommendation CM/ Rec (2008) 12 of the Committee of Ministers to member states on the dimension of religions and nonreligious convictions within intercultural education. Strasbourg: Council of Europe Publishing. https://wcd.coe.int//ViewDoc.jsp?Ref=CM/Rec(2008)12&Language=lanEng

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lish&Ver=original&BackColorInternet=DBDCF2&BackColorIntranet=FDC864&Back ColorLogged=FDC864. Jackson, R. 2014a. Signposts – Policy and practice for teaching about religions and nonreligious worldviews in intercultural education. Strassbourg: Council of Europe Publishing. Jackson, R. 2014b. The Development and Dissemination of Council of Europe Policy on Education about Religions andNon-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. Schweitzer, F. 2013. Religionsunterricht in europäischen Schulen im Vergleich – Herausforderungen fu¨r international-vergleichende Forschung, in M. Jäggle, M. Rothgangel & T. Schlag, Religiöse Bildung an Schulen in Europa. Teil 1: Mitteleuropa, 13–40. Göttingen: V&R unipress.

Ednan Aslan

Islamic Education in Europe

According to recent statistical data (Pew Research Center 2017), religious diversity is growing in Europe as a result of increasing globalization, migration, and flight– a circumstance that has made religion a topic frequently discussed in public after a long period of receiving little attention. Anyone who speaks about pluralism today cannot avoid the subject of religion. How much religion a society needs, or should allow, is one of the central topics of ongoing debates. Moreover, religious issues seem to be particularly suited to discussions about the essence of social pluralism. Muslims themselves, throughout their history, have developed different concepts regarding the question of how to live together with representatives of other religions, or what status other religions should be given in a Muslim country. The rights and duties of Jews and Christians have been discussed in detail in a large number of theological works. In all of these works, however, it has only been a matter of how religious minorities should be treated, with no reflections on their access to power (Karaman 2014). Thus, the conceptions of plurality developed by Muslim scholars are no longer sufficient to meet current challenges in the current global environment. It is no longer justified to ask why religions should tolerate one another, but instead how the plurality of religions can be designed, so that peaceful cohabitation can be guaranteed without a claim to hegemony and without loss of identity of any particular religion or world view. Just as the Christian religions were forced to question their own theological developments in the course of history, Muslims are also called upon to reflect on their position toward other religions and to work to redefine it in relation to the Qur’an and the Tradition of the Prophet. If, however, in the course of this process, they were able to draw solely from their own history in order to derive conclusive concepts, this would inevitably lead to disappointment or isolation – since the questions that concern contemporary Islam are not to be found in that history. A look at current research in Muslim countries shows that, unfortunately, very few Muslim scholars are concerned with the issue of religious education in

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Ednan Aslan

pluralistic societies. Instead, scholars are still occupied with how Muslims can implement traditional interpretations within the context of new political and social conditions. Thus, this endeavor focuses not so much on mutual fertilization, but instead much more on the creation of suitable physical spaces. This has led to further contradictions and conflicts, because this approach does not allow for reflection on their own educational concepts, but instead presupposes the preservation of familiar educational models. From this attitude no pluralistic educational concepts can emerge (Karaman 2014). Even more than Muslims living in Muslim countries, Muslims living in Europe are faced with the task of thinking further about Islamic education, since they are constantly confronted with religious and cultural diversity and their future as believers is decisively dependent on the success of such a transformation. In this process, Muslims should not become dependent on the achievements of other religions. Instead, they must engage in an active dialogue with other religions to clarify the contradictions between Islam and pluralistic society from the perspective of their own religious tradition and, in this way, also send impulses to Muslims in Muslim countries – as proof, so to speak, that a pluralistic society with a program that is based on the Qur’an is justifiable. Under particularly European conditions, the education of Muslim children is of paramount importance: Muslims who grow up here must learn to develop not only their attitudes towards societal diversity in a positive sense, but also to question their own religiosity. In this regard, in addition to their acknowledgement of the internal Islamic plurality, their pursuit of pluralistic approaches to Islamic education and strategies to combat extremism and fundamentalism could also contribute decisively to the process of creating a home for Muslims and Islam in Europe.

Religious Education among Autochthonous Muslims in Europe By autochthonous Muslims we do not mean only the Muslims who immigrated to Europe in the recent waves of immigrations of the 1950ies and 1960ies. This group is estimated to have consisted of roughly 11 million people, who settled mostly in Bulgaria, Romania, Greece (Western Thrace), Albania, Macedonia, Kosovo, Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia, Croatia, and Poland. The Muslims in these countries have many years of experience with religious education and educational institutions. In general, in these countries, religious education constitutes primarily a basis for identity formation and self-assertion as a minority. Even though the Muslims who have been living in Bosnia since its independence form the majority in their country, it is not yet possible to speak of a mental dependence on history. The

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Bosniaks are still trying to establish and assert themselves as a nation in their own country. “One of the greatest amongst these is a fragmented educational system in a fundamentally divided society and how to continue developing an approach to Islamic education which would contribute to overcoming the traumatic legacy of war and to enabling a new, confident generation of Bosnian Muslims to take their place in society and, with their country, in the United Europe.” (Alibasic & Zubcevic 2009: 57).

The situation in the other countries with majority autochthonous Muslims is not much different. It is primarily about asserting themselves and protecting their own identity in the tradition. The existing religious institutions are based on an ancient tradition that had already been internalized among Muslims as part of their religion. Developing new religious educational ideas from these old structures is more difficult than among Muslims in Western Europe, who are trying to develop these religious structures from their countries of origin. When comparing the contents of religious education in schools with one another, one finds hardly any differences that indicate the respective countries (see, in this volume, Islamic Education in Montenegro (p. ) and in Romania (p. ). Furthermore, it must be noted that there is a disconnect between developments in religious education in different locations since teaching is not accompanied by research at any university in the region. Accounts of other religions provide nothing more than general information. Religious education, which enables children to live in a pluralistic society, is still a remote concept. In all of this, however, there is a challenge that must be faced, not only by religious communities, but also by faith communities that still represent their religions in the form of catechesis (see, in this volume, Islamic Education, Serbia, Macedonia, and Romania. In addition to the traditional challenges, we have other obstacles at present that make a thorough rethinking of religious education in this region even more difficult, namely the interests of foreign governments, which consider the preservation of traditional structures to be a religious task for which the government is responsible, especially in the Balkans. The growing investment of these countries in Macedonia, Kosovo, BiH, Albania, etc. are barely visible. All universities organized by the respective religious communities are supported by foreign governments. This support certainly has educational implications for the Muslim universities in the region, since the majority of the teachers complete their education abroad and continue to feel financially and ideologically linked to their donor and benefactor countries. Furthermore, the influence of foreign countries, such as in Greece or Romania, is secured by international agreements. “Turkey and Romania have signed a protocol for ethnic and religious education, according to which, every 3 years, 3 teachers from Turkey are appointed to teach at the

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seminary in Medgidia. These teachers graduate and hold university degrees from the Theological Institute in Turkey.” (Tanase 2009: 392).

The situation of Muslims in Greece, where Muslims are protected by bilateral treaties, which no longer correspond to the present situation, is similar. This gives the impression that Europe cannot protect its own religious minorities. This situation means that certain Muslim countries consider the concerns of Muslims in Europe to be their responsibility and accordingly invest in the Muslim infrastructure in Europe. Through these investments a process of alienation of the Muslim populations is set in motion, compelling them to increasingly appeal to the outside world. This is also one of the reasons why Muslims are particularly prone to extremist ideas in the Balkans (see Merdijanova, I.). In addition, the growing anti-Muslim tendencies in Europe are increasingly forcing Muslims into a defensive position in their countries and impelling them to seek protection from the traditions and values that are familiar to them. Not only Muslims, but also members of other religious minorities, could be educated out of this situation, by strengthening a new European identity and the capacity to be pluralistic. The strengthening of this identity is not only a task for religious education, but the role of religious education in this process must not be underestimated.

Muslims in Western Europe and Religious Education Models In Western Europe, Muslims find themselves not only confronted with a tradition that they do not know from their own theological history, but also under legal constraint to conform. The centuries-old church-state relations are seen as the basis for the formation of a new relationship with Muslim organizations. “However, in order to be compatible with European legal systems, Islam needs a corresponding organizational form. In this regard, one could speak of a “Christianization” of Islam that is on its way to Europe.” (Potz 2017)

In this process, in Western Europe, various models have emerged, whereby Muslims find themselves in a process of adaptation. In this process, numerous conflicts arise, since the Muslim structures, which are predominantly controlled from abroad, are hard-wired to start different conflicts. The main question at stake is who can speak in the name of the Muslims? Or, in other words, whether Islamic theological conditions allow for a “Muslim Church”? In addition, there are other problems connected to foreign relations, namely whether the new legal structures continue to allow foreign influences? Further details about conflict

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could be presented here, however, that would exceed the scope of this contribution. Despite these unresolved issues, some countries have agreed to recognize certain acknowledged organizations, such as the IGGiÖ (Aslan 2009: 325–351) in Austria, the DITIB in Hessen (Ucar & Sarikaya 2009: 87–109), and the Islamic Cultural Center in Belgium (Louis-Leon 2009: 15–43), as bodies governed by public law and to entrust them with the organization of Islamic religious education. The concepts for Islamic religious instruction in Western European countries are oriented toward Catholic or Protestant religious instruction since Islamic religious pedagogy and specialized didactics are still in need of their own profile and it is not yet possible to speak of an established religious education at European universities. This fact also characterizes the practice of Islamic religious instruction. “The teachers work with methods that already existed and are more suited to secular subjects. The correlation and dislocation didactics of Christian religious education plays a certain role. The teachers were quite satisfied, but they did not know how to apply them to Islamic content.” (Kiefer & Mohr 2009: 213–225).

The textbooks used in several countries for Islamic religious education correspond to the Muslim reality in Europe, which is still undergoing a new process of change. In these books, there is a visible crisis, which makes it clear that the Muslims are still seeking their own place between their theological tradition and Western pluralistic societies. This crisis is particularly evident in the Austrian schoolbooks for Islamic religious education in public schools. The books attempt to portray a different picture, but they cannot eliminate a certain tradition, which does not necessarily make life easier for Muslim children in a pluralistic society. In these books, the ideological-theological positions of the countries of origin are clearly visible. (Cf. Shakir 2015). In them, a certain ideologically shaped theology is portrayed as religion, such that any criticism of this theology is excluded. In this way, the authors attempt to consider certain historical interpretations of the religion, as is clearly seen, for example, in the calculation of the zakat levy, as unchangeable. Otherwise, the authors would not have come up with the idea to calculate the zakat yield according to the number of goats and sheep, as well as camels (Ucar & Sarikaya 2009: 87–109). On the other hand, the establishment of Islamic theology at different universities in Europe is a hopeful sign, from which a new mold for Islam can develop in Europe. Five locations in Germany and two locations in Austria and Switzerland could be mentioned here as examples for Europe (Aslan 2012).

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Looking into the Future The Muslims living in Europe are under particular pressure to readjust their position in Europe and between tradition and modernity, and to define a new understanding of what it means to be a citizen. In this process, the religious education of their children plays a central role, such that young people growing up in Europe learn to assign meaning to the present in their own tradition. The traditional educational institutions of the Muslims, especially in the Balkans, however, lack sufficient human and financial resources necessary to meet these challenges and to initiate a new reform movement. In addition to their own structural difficulties, there are additional intellectual and financial difficulties imposed by Muslim countries, which reject the European character of the education of Muslims. The interference of Muslim governments is primarily justified by the claim that they are simply seeking to enforce their foreign policy interests through the presence of Muslims. To achieve these foreign policy goals, they very generously invest in religious institutions. This interference is a central problem for the emergence of a European-Muslim identity in Europe. Although Muslims living in Western Europe face similar problems, there is more opportunity to put in place new reforms in Islamic education here than in other parts of Europe, since a certain degree of financial and intellectual freedom is a good basis for such reform movements. On the other hand, another challenge is that the European governments finally consider the interests of Muslims to be their responsibility and will not allow foreign governments to interfere with their internal affairs. The prevention of interference must not be understood as a rejection of cooperation, but instead as enabling dialogue on equal terms.

References Alibasic, A. & Zubcevic, A. .2009a. Islamic Education in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in: E. Aslan, Islamic Education in Europe. Wien: Böhlau Verlag. Aslan, E. 2009. Österreich, in: E. Aslan. (ed.). Islamic Education in Europe. Wien: Böhlau Verlag. Aslan, E. 2012. Situation und Strömungen der islamischen Religionspädagogik im deutschsprachigen Raum, in: Theo-Web. Zeitschrift für Religionspädagogik 11 (2012), H.2, 10–18. Karaman, H. 2014. ‘Demokrasi çog˘ulculuk laiklik ve ˙Islam’. http://www.yenisafak.com.tr/ yazarlar/HayrettinKaraman/demokrasi-cogulculuk-laiklik-ve-islam/53629 [last access 03. 04. 2014]. Kiefer, M. & Mohr, I.C. 2009. Unterrichtsforschung in der Islamwissenschaft zwischen Beobachtung und Intervention. In M. Kiefer & I.C. Mohr (eds.), Islamunterricht- Islamischer Religionsunterricht- Islamkunde. Bielefeld: transcript Verlag.

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Louis-Leon, C. 2009. Islam und Erziehung nach belgischem Gesetz, in E. Aslan (ed.), Islamic Education in Europe. Wien: Böhlau Verlag. Merdijanova, I. 2013. Rediscovering the Ummah. Oxford: Oxford. University Press. Potz, R. .2017. In: http://religion.orf.at/stories/2832773/ [last access 21. 04. 2017]. Pew Research Center, Nov. 29.2017. “Europe’s Growing Muslim Population”. Tanase, D.L. 2009. Study regarding the Muslim community and the islamic Education in Romania, in E. Aslan (ed.), Islamic Education in Europe. Wien: Böhlau Verlag. Ucar, B. & Sarikaya, Y. 2009. Der islamische Religionsunterricht in Deutschland, in E. Aslan (ed.), Islamic Education in Europe. Wien: Böhlau Verlag.

Gentiana Skura

Religious Education at Schools in Albania

1

Socio-religious background

1.1

General overview

Religious education in Albania is characterized by many attempts to confront major challenges. Since the foundation of the first Albanian secular nation (28th of November 1912), aside from influencing the social and economic fields, the ongoing education reforms in the country have also played a role in local and foreign politics. Apparently, education has reflected Albania’s existence as a small country, which was also influenced by different Western European governments until World War II. Soon after that, Albania was ruled by a dictatorial regime that lasted for 45 years, as a result of which the country (and therefore the society) was isolated from the rest of the world. In the meantime, the education system was built and modeled according the Russian standards. After the fall of communism, Albania went through a long and difficult transition. This has not been an easy period for Albania, and it is obvious that as a former communist country, it has gone through complete transformation since the 90ies compared to other countries. The territorial reform which has recently been approved by the Parliament of Albania, divides the country into 61 local administrative municipalities. Albania has approximately three thousand (3000) villages with a rural population of 47 % (1.3 million people). During the transitional years, villages have not been able to be subjected to a deep transformation; because either the rural infrastructure is not funded enough (roads, waters-supply system, energy) or because qualitative health and educational services are not provided. This has caused rural areas to lag behind in terms of economic and human development especially in the mountainous areas (30 % of field areas, 19 % of hilly area and 49 % of the country’s area is considered to be mountainous with an altitude of 600 m). Until now, 11 censuses have been conducted; the last one was completed in 2011, which dealt with ethnic and religious issues. Based on the last records

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82.58 % of the population in country is considered Albanian, of which 1.9 % were self declared minorities. There are some ethno-linguistic minorities in Albania. Among them are the Greek minority (the largest ethnicity of 25 thousand people), which is mainly located in the southern border to Greece – Saranda, Gjirokastër, Delvinë, Himarë; Vlachs (10.000), Serbians (mainly live in Shkodër), Bosnian, Gorani and Macedonian (Korçë and Dibër). Whereas the self identifying Roma, and Egyptian communities in the census data from 2011 are the smallest compared to the other ethnicities. There are 8301 people who declare themselves Roma and 3368 Egyptian (based on reliable resources in 2003 the Albanian government quoted that this community population ranging between 60–120 thousand people). Education in Albania is compulsory. For the academic year of 2015–2016, 130.380 students (in both private and public schools) were registered. In general, there are 104.952 students in schools (male: 48.950 and female: 56.002). In the same year the number of people registered at university was 146.754, of which 61.643 were male and 85.113 were female. There are 121.638 students in public universities (male-48.946 and female 72.692). Universities that provide religious curriculum are Nehemia University, with 75 students (23 male and 34 female), Beder University, with 842 students (male 411, female 431), Logos University, with 391 students (male 140, 251 female), and Zonja e Këshillit të Mirë (a Catholic university without religious education) 2003 students (male 841 and female 1162). In the last population census, taken in October 2011 56.70 % declared themselves Muslim, 10.03 % Catholic, 6.75 % Orthodox, 2.09 % Bektashi, 0.14 % as evangelical, 5.49 % have declared themselves as unspecified believers, 2.5 % as atheist; 13.79 % of the total population (2,821,977)1 preferred not to answer about their religious affiliation.

1.2

A comparison between generations

During the Albanian transition to democracy, naturally, the religious faith of population went through a few revolutions. The religious institutions had lost influence after all these years of atheism. Religious institutions in Albania, as previously noted, are lacking, and need a lot of time for recognition. In the 21st century religious institutions have been more active in their practices and beliefs. Sociological data gathered from 2005–2006 provide interesting information that has to do with the way Albanians relate to religion. To the question: “Do you believe in GOD?” 1095 persons, answered as shown in the table below. 1 http://www.instat.gov.al/media/177358/njoftim_per_media.

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Nr.

“Do you believe in GOD?” Group Ages Questioners

Believe in GOD

1 2

16–23 years 24–30 years

153 persons 193 persons

90.00 % of them 79.92 % of them

3 4

30–50 years 50–65 years

428 persons 240 persons

76.92 % of them 72.25 % of them

81 persons

81.25 % of them

5 65 and above Table 1: Believe in God

Based on this table we see the highest percentage of religiosity is to be found among the youngest ages 16–23 years, which is also the time of most intense physical and mental development. Sociologist Fatri Sinani in his study “Particularities of the religious faith in Albanian society” says that “We are curious to know life’s secrets and to live it, the youth feel the necessity of knowledge of an authority, to help them in life, “to give them advice” and to protect them”2. Even though religious influence has increased recently, Albanian society is still a society where religious coexistence prevails. Compared to the other Balkan countries, religion is not an important element of the public debate. This fact is also confirmed by a survey carried out by Gallup in 2011, where in response to the question “Does religion is important in your life” among all people in the Balkan peninsula, Albanians felt that religion had the least influence (UNDP: Report of Human Development, Albania, 2016). This is obviously an inheritance from the period of religious persecution in Albania after World War II. In a nutshell, this chapter will present the situation of religion at the time of monism in the country to understand what deficiencies and difficulties institutions and religious communities faced immediately after the collapse of the dictatorship in 1991, a problem which continues even today. The period of socialism was the most difficult for Albanian believers. Statistics from 1945 show that 72.8 % of the population declared themselves to be Muslim, making Albania the first Muslim state in Europe. Of the remainder, 17.1 % were Orthodox Christians and 10.1 % were Catholic Christians. Albanians thus confirmed that they were believers. After the communist victory, attacks on religion and religious institutions did not begin immediately because Albanians saw religion as a legacy closely intertwined with traditions, family and social customs. Attacks on religion and churches began in 1945. The reasons for such attacks were not ideological, but purely political. The Political Bureau and the government were simply afraid of the relationships of the Muslims with Turkey, of the Catholics with the Vatican and of the Orthodox with Greece. They suspected that these relationships could be used to harm the security of the government in 2 Ibid. 75.

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Albania. For this reason, the attacks against the church started early and occurred widely. Agrarian reform, in August 1945, took all the wealth of the Christian and Muslim institutions, leaving them without resources for material existence. During the 1945–1946 academic years, religious subjects were excluded from the educational institutions. The young Albanian generation had to be liberated from the old religious ideologies. At the same time, the Ministry of Education announced that the educational reform would restrict religious education to churches and mosques. All religious properties, homes for orphans, workshops, hospitals, publishing houses, and libraries were confiscated by the state. Furthermore, the government went so far as to censor clerical speeches. Those opposed were arrested and those considered to be the most dangerous were purged. In November 1946 a law was passed, primarily directed against the Catholic community, which read: “Religious communities, whose residences are abroad, have no right to open branches (missions, philanthropic institutions, etc.) and the existing ones will be closed by the date of the month when this law will take effect”. At first, the regime organized attacks on high-level clergy. Once it stopped all aid, it started a war against them. The persecution of the Catholic clergy was the cruelest – perhaps because of their long connection with the Vatican and their high level of culture and education. After a short period of time, a period of executions began. In May 1948, along with 18 clerics, a group of ordinary believers were executed. In the same year 18 other clerics were executed, condemned as “agents of the Vatican and of Anglo-American intelligence”. Many others were tortured for years in prisons and concentration camps. Three of the last Catholic bishops – Anton Fishta, Ernest Çoba and Nikolla Troshani were executed in 1974. During May 1967, the 2,169 remaining religious institutions were destroyed or converted to other types of institutions. In November 1967 the regime approved the 4337 decree. It completely banned religion in Albania, declaring it to be the only atheist country in the world. Many of the churches and mosques were turned into educational centers, libraries, stores, cafes, public toilets, nursing homes, etc. The general trend during the four decades of socialism was the eradication of religious beliefs and the embodiment of the new “modern” and “socialist” ideals. No other Eastern European country acted in such a radical way towards religion. Unfortunately, there is a paucity of studies on the situation of the religious population in Albania. Even today, after so many years, there are no studies on this issue, which would yield a much deeper and complete understanding of the processes in question. Despite the total prohibition of religion in Albania, we cannot say that it disappeared. On the contrary, part of the population practiced it in secret. It was easier to preserve the religious traditions in villages. In the northern part of Albania, despite the numerous persecutions, the customs were

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stronger. Understandably, the elderly were more willing and able to continue to practice their religions. Generally speaking, the problems are complicated by historical perspective. First steps after the fall of communism On November 4, 1990 the first public Mass since 1967 was held in the cemetery in Shkodra, improvised by Dom Simon Jubani. The November 11 mass had over 50,000 people attending. According to Archbishop Zef Simoni, the 4th of November signified the beginning of religious freedom in Albania, which paved the way for freedom of speech, thought, press, and political pluralism, as well as peace and harmony. On November 16, 1990, Hafiz Sabri Koci (the first Muslim President of Albania after communism 1990–2003) (who had served for 20 years, 4 months, 18 days in prison) organized the first ceremony held in Mosque Square. Hafiz Sabri Koci explained the significance that this event marked for Islam: This event further strengthened the belief in the true God who says in his holy book “infidels wish to try by every means to extinguish the light of the divine belief in the hearts of men, but God has decided that it can never be extinguished” (the Qur’an, Surat-Tawbah chapter 9 verse 32). The November 16, 1990 ceremony was not only religious, but took on an openly political character, Hafiz Sabri said: “There is no greater crime than to close another soul’s door, the door of conscience and memory of the Great God” opening Lead Mosque in Shkodra was a landmark event for the Albanian Muslim Community, after 23 years the Azaan were sung and worshipers were forgiven on Friday. Also, at the same time, a meeting was held where the creation of the “Albanian Islamic Community was decided,” which was approved as an association on 23 January, 1991 by the Ministry of Justice.

2

Legal frameworks of RE and the relationship between religious communities and the state

In the Constitution of the Republic of Albania, which was approved by referendum on November 22nd 1998, the most important Article regarding religious freedom is the article no. 10 (Constitution of Republic of Albania, 1998, p. 11), which states: 1. In the Republic of Albania there is no official religion 2. The state is neutral on questions of belief and conscience and guarantees the freedom of their expression in public life. 3. The state recognizes the equality of religious communities

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4. The state and the religious communities mutually respect the independence of one another and work together for the good of each and all 5. Relations between the state and religious communities are regulated on the basis of agreements entered into between their representatives and the Council of Ministers. These agreements are ratified by the Assembly 6. Religious communities are judicial bodies. They have independence in the administration of their properties according to their principles, rules and canons, to the extent that interests of third parties are not infringed Article 24 is also important for consideration: 1. Freedom of conscience and of religion is guaranteed 2. Everyone is free to choose or to change his religion or beliefs, as well as to express them individually or collectively, in public or private life, through cult, education, practices or the performance of rituals 3. No one may be compelled or prohibited from taking part in a religious community or its practices or to make his beliefs or faith public Referring to article 10 of the Constitution, the state has agreed on the religious communities. So relations are regulated and signed by both state and the Holy See (law no. 8902 on 23. 05. 2002; this agreement also determines the diplomatic relations between Albania and the Holy See); with the Muslim Community (law no. 100156 on 22. 01.2009); with the Autocephalous Orthodox Church (law no. 100157 on 22. 01. 2009) and also Bektashi World Headquarters (article no. 100158, on 22. 01. 2009; the Central Bektashi World Headquarters was located in Albania in 1925, after the closure of the dervish order from Kemal Ataturk in Turkey). On 10. 03. 2011 an agreement was also signed with the Evangelical Church (article no. 10394). This became the 5th official religious community. Through these agreements the state recognizes these religious communities as institutions and enables a number of privileges in their favor such as: exemption from taxes, opening of religious educational institutions, conducting social activities, immunity of the religious institutions, protection of the religious heritage, recognition of religious celebrations, financial support from the state, keeping contacts with the foreign religious communities as long as it does not conflict with national law etc. In these terms the return of the institutions which were confiscated at the time of communism are returned to the religious faith communities. Besides the official religious communities operating in country other religious directions such as Bahá’í are organized in several regions, throughout the country; the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (also known as the Mormon church) opened its first branch in Tirana in August of 1992 and over the years it has been extended to other cities. The foundation of Liahona of the

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Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was recognized by the Albanian state in the spring of 1995. In 1996, the mission in Albania was founded with President Laurel Holman. Jehovah’s Witnesses have been present in country since early 1990. Their work focuses solely on efforts to spread the faith. There are no precise data on how many people support them. In 2005 there was a huge public debate on the merits of stopping their activity in country. After 2000, the traditional religious communities in Albania have been engaged in a series of efforts to preserve and strengthen religious harmony in the country, supported by foreign and international organizations and programs that support the development of dialogue and cooperation in the world. Thus, with the support of the World Conference of Religions for Peace, the leaders of the four traditional religious communities in Albania drafted and signed a Joint Statement of Moral Commitment (2005), in which they publicly express common concepts for the preservation and strengthening of religious harmony in Albania and will endeavor to engage in concrete actions to achieve this objective. This statement provides a common platform of ideas that strengthen religious harmony in Albania in the context of rapid changes in political, economic, social and cultural rights that have been taking place in the country starting in 1990. In May 2006 at a meeting of religious leaders of the four traditional religious communities in Albania a council was organized, which will serve as the highest forum for interfaith dialogue where joint initiatives will be undertaken on issues of common interest, including the issue of the return of property of religious communities, a priority concern of religious communities in Albania. The Council, which is registered as a legal entity with the status of a nongovernmental organization, is strategically directed by the highest religious leaders, but functions as a working group, an operating body composed of young leaders of religious communities. In this regard, the Council also serves the purpose of a specific commitment to develop great preachers and younger religious leaders in interfaith dialogue and cooperation in Albania. During 2004–2006 in some districts of Albania a range of activities occurred in the service of strengthening dialogue and cooperation at the community level. These efforts were supported by the Project of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) for the perfection of Values and Religious Harmony in Albania, implemented by World Learning, a U.S. non-governmental organization.3 The project provided assistance for interfaith cooperation projects in seven cities: Tirana, Durres, Kavaja, Shkodra, Lezha, Elbasan and Librazhd. These cities contain a significant mixture of different religious communities. In these cities interfaith councils were created with the participation of religious leaders of that 3 For detailed information about the activities supported by this project, you can contact World Learning, www.worldlearning.org.

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city (p.e. in Elbasan and Kavaja) or religious community activists, certain religious leaders of these communities (such as, in Durres or Shkoder). These initiatives serve as a forum to discuss issues of interfaith dialogue and cooperation in the city and as a mechanism to undertake projects and activities at the community level to create opportunities for exchange, dialogue and cooperation among believers or religious leaders of the city. Traditional religious communities and some of the “new” religious communities, regularly organize summer camps for young children from their respective communities, and these camps were the first that brought together young people from different religious communities in Albania. In these camps young religious activists have the opportunity to get to know each other better, to become familiar with concepts and religious practices of other communities and assist them to gain skills to help strengthen their role within the respective communities and activities, all of which benefit the community.

3

Developments in the country’s education policies

According to the law no. 69/2012 on pre-university education in the Republic of Albania the pre-university educational system is built on the tradition of the Albanian education, functioning in compliance with the Constitution of the Republic of Albania, effective Albanian legislation and developed in line with the joint values of the contemporary educational systems. The pre-university education is laic. The educational institutions being established by the religious communities shall be exempted and subsequently opened and closed down upon the decision of the Council of Ministers, upon the proposal of the Minister, relying on the request of the representatives of religious communities. The criteria and procedures for opening them shall be determined upon the decision of the Council of Ministers (Law 69/2012, article 42/4).

4

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

In the beginning of 2005, there were 13 private religious schools in Albania, scattered all around the country, 10 of which were opened by the Muslim Community and 3 of them were under the administration of the Orthodox or Catholic Community4. 4 The source of information is taken from the Ministry of Education and Sports and Official Journals from 1992–2002.

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Below we will present an overview of pre-university education in Albania for the academic years of 2015–216 and 2016–2017. As you will see, there is a wide range of different levels of education such as kindergartens, pre-school education, 9-year elementary and secondary school and adult education. There is no doubt that the religious schools have a special contribution to the Albanian reality. The absence of religious education for a long time has led to a lack of clerics and theologians in Albania and their replacement with foreign theologians. To some extent this has affected the interpretation of religious sessions that came directly from the theologians’ background and from different foreign schools. This also prompted the strengthening of sectarian approaches unknown in the Albanian religious tradition. For this reason, the education of theologians and clerics in the country is undoubtedly of great importance.

5

Conceptions and tasks of RE

RE is implemented only in religious schools of the religious communities in Albania. There is a block of subjects that contributes to the students’ education. In accordance with the Ministry of Education, the religious schools are obliged to attain the educational curriculum of the undergraduate education and later to complete the religious education, whereas public schools do not offer any religious classes.

6

Practice/reality of RE in different schools

As mentioned above, there are many religious schools in Albania such as: Madrassa, Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant schools. Every religious school functions on the basis of agreements with the Ministry of Education.

6.1

Religion Education in Muslim Schools (Madrasa)

According to archival resources of the Muslim Community in Albania (MCA), madrassas were allowed to open in 1995 in agreement with the Council of Ministers Decision and the status of non-public school. The decision No. 654, dated 29. 11. 1995 states that it has been given temporary permission for the accomplishment of its activities and the development of the official curriculum for all levels and cycles of undergraduate education, but they also have the religious-oriented curriculum, that is approved by the Ministry of Education. Religious subjects are integrated in the official curriculum of madrassas in a way

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that are a support even for the topics that are also treated in other subjects. Knowing that people that live in this democratic system are so similar to the believer (regardless of the religion) have in common many topics of this kind. There is a total of 7 madrassas that continue their educational activities in different cities such as, Tirana, Elbasan, Korcë, Durrës, Kavajë dhe Berat. Some of these schools are sponsored by the “Sema” Foundation. The Shkodra madrassa is sponsored by the “Istanbul” Foundation, and the one in Durrës is sponsored by “Mirësia” Foundation. Regarding the administrative structure of madrassas, they are administered according to protocols provided by the Albanian Muslim Community and their respective foundations, while school principals are selected by MCA, the support foundations have the right to appoint a coordinator. Religious subjects offered in the 9-year cycle schools and upper secondary ones are “Holy Quran – Commentary” and “Sunni and Islamic Culture”, “Culture knowledge of Islamic faith”, “Knowledge of the Prophetic Tradition of Preaching”, “Worship Knowledge of Islam”, “Professional module: Islamic Civilization”, “Knowledge of the Prophetic Tradition and the Sermon”, “Faith”, “Islamic Education”. For the academic year 2016–2017, 2339 students attend these schools. 6.1.1 “Haxhi Mahmud Dashi” Madrassa, Tirana The madrassas organizational chart of Tirana includes all the 9-year education and secondary education school components, both for girls and boys starting from the sixth grade. Considering that the high school students, boys and girls are accommodated in different dormitories, while students from sixth grade to ninth grade only follow the learning process during the day. The number of students enrolled by the end of the school academic year 2015–2016 was 445 students (207 boys, 238 girls), and for the current academic year is 416 (178 boys, 238 girls) students in total. 6.1.2 “Haxhi Sheh Shamija” Madrassa, Shkodër The madrassa of Shkodër consists of a 9-year cycle and secondary program education. The 9-year cycle school starts from the sixth grade and continues until the ninth grade, whereas the secondary school consists of tenth, eleventh and twelfth grades. The madrassa of Shkodër provides separate housing for boys and girls. Students from sixth to ninth grade only attend the school learning process. The number of students enrolled for the current academic year 2016–2017 is 1068 (425 boys, 643 girls) students in total.

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6.1.3 “Liria” Madrassa, Elbasan The “Liria” madrassa in Elbasan is a boys only high school. Since 1995 when this madrassa started its activity until 2012–2013, it has been located in Cërrik, and from 2013–2014 onward, the school has continued its activities in the city center of Elbasan. This madrassa offers dormitory accommodations for students who choose to come from other towns. At the end of the 2015–2016 school year, this institution had a total of 151 students, while this current year there are 144 students in total. 6.1.4 “Hafiz Ali Korça” Madrassa, Kavajë In the beginning the madrassa of Kavaja started as an educational secondary school only for boys and since 2012–2013 it has also started to teach girls, but in another building. This does not include the 9-year cycle education. It provides more dormitory housing conditions for students outside of Kavaja, for both boys and girls. The number of students enrolled at the end of the academic year 2015– 2016 was 253 students (116 boys, 137 girls), while for the current year is 258 (121 boys, 137 girls) students in total. 6.1.5 “Hafiz Abdullah Zëmblaku” Madrassa, Korçë The madrassa of Korcë, which was closed for a certain time, restarted its activity in 2009 as a non-public secondary school for boys and girls. Although the school used to offer the 9-year cycle education, today it does not anymore. Just like the other school it provides equal dormitory accommodation for boys and girls who come from other towns or even from Korcë. The number of students enrolled at the end the academic year 2015–2016 was 273 (101 boys, 172 girls), while for the current year it is 271 (112 boys, 159 girls) students in total. 6.1.6 “Haxhi Mustafa Varoshi” Madrassa, Durrës The madrassa of Durrës used to accept only boys, but today it is a secondary school only for girls. In addition, unlike other madrassas, it is located in the center of the city of Durrës, but does not provide dormitory accommodation. At the end of the school year 2016–2017 there were in total 105 registered students.

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6.1.7 “Vexhi Buharaja” Madrassa, Berat The madrassa of Berat is a secondary school that teaches only boys. In this madrassa, where you can also find students from other towns, special student housing is offered on the campus itself. At the end of the academic school year 2015–2016 the total number of students enrolled was 64 students, while for the current year is 77 students in total. According to this study “Learning civil norms of Islamic schools – madrassas” (Skura, G. & Kruja, G.R. 2017) shows that the percentage of hours for subjects with religious content as a portion of the total number of hours is 18,87 %. Topics of religious subjects fundamentally treat issues related to religious morality such as faith, personal hygiene, care for the environment, for themselves, for others and for the elderly, respect for human rights and social rules, but to some extent affects the dimension of European citizenship. The overall average of students who pursue higher education is 96 % for all madrassas. While, overall average graduate students who pursue higher education in theology or religious studies is 5.8 % for all madrassas 2015–2016. Based on interviews taken by the heads of madrassas branches the most favorite topics for students are: informatics, electronics, engineering informatics, civil engineering, industrial engineering, engineering mechatronics, electrical engineering and medicine, economics, law, pre-school teacher.

6.2

Religion Education in Orthodox Schools

Albanian-American School “Protagonists” in Tirana (which includes a kindergarten and secondary school) opened in September 2002. It is accredited and licensed by the Ministry of Education and Science under Order No. 95 dated 04. 16. 2003. The students who attend this institution under the Ministry of Education state program are required to study English and computer science. The students begin studying English in first grade, with the assistance of American teachers, and the Greek language in the third grade. When referencing the school attendance records between 2007 and 2015, an annual increase in school attendance can be noted. Following a slight decline (7 %) in the 2008–2009 academic year, school attendance has begun to increase with an average of an annual 16 % – 18 % increase in attendance between the years of 2012 and 2016. Between 2010 and 2011, there was the highest increase with 24 % increase in attendance recorded. Under the auspices of the Orthodox Church, there are three Greek-Albanian 9-year schools called “Spirit of Love” (Durres, Gjirokastra, and Delvina). With the initiative of Archbishop Anastasios, two Ecclesiastical High Schools both

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named “Holy Cross” were opened in Gjirokastra and in Durres, in September 1998 and September 2007, respectively. School teaching requirements are according to the laws of the state for both religious and private schools within the bilingual program of the Ministry of Education. In addition to the curriculum and lesson plans, all programs and textbooks for university education must be approved by the Ministry of Education for high schools. Examples of Religious courses that have been developed are Introduction to Orthodox Faith, Christian Ethics, Catechism, Byzantine Music and Iconography. The main focus of the schools opened under Archbishop Anastasios is to provide training for students in the following areas: 1. Training and education of general studies. 2. Knowledge of and love for the teachings of the Orthodox Faith and Christian ethics, conscience devout, and the orthodox way of life. 3. The appropriate atmosphere to acquire the qualities that would make them useful for the Church and for society, to become worthy members of society. 4. Create favorable conditions for the development of an Orthodox Christian spiritual life, as well as youth awareness of the Orthodox mission. 5. To prepare candidates for further education at the Theological Academy “Resurrection of Christ” located at St. Vlash in Durres. Since the opening of the educational institutions under the Orthodox Autocephalous Church of Albania and the 2014–2015 academic year, 9929 students5 of all grade levels have received education. In terms of being precise, there are 5687 students (in 21 kindergartens), 1250 students (9-year schools), 925 students (high schools) and 2067 students (university level) for theology.

6.3

Religion Education in Catholic Schools

The Catholic Church in Albania is divided into three dioceses (Shkodra, Tirana, and South). Specifically, what sets these schools apart from other schools is that “Ate Pjeter Meshkalla” in Shkoder and “High School of Rogazionista” in Lezha, teach religious culture of the area (in agreement with MAS). All other schools in Albania develop ethics courses that educate on the value of life to assist in the development of the students, which undoubtedly occupies a considerable place treatment of the Catholic faith. Education from these particular schools is offered from various parishes, which operate in different regions of the country. a) The Archdiocese of Shkodra, contained a total of 18 educational institutions, 10 kindergartens, one preschool, three 9-year schools, and two secondary 5 Foundation office “Frymë Dashurie”.

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schools in the 2015–2016 academic year. Also, in this region, there are two centers that offer various courses. These courses are offered primarily in trades, which are needed to aid young people in the area to find employment. The total population of these institutions is 2387 students. In this diocesan, the schools are under the care of the congregations: Jesus Children Franciscan Sisters, the Franciscan Sisters of the Assumption immaculate, Salesian Sisters, the Jesuit etc. b) In the Archdiocese of Tirana, there are 12 educational institutions, five kindergartens, one preschool, three 9-year schools, and two secondary schools. There is also one vocational education institution. All together there are 2368 students, of whom 1599 are in secondary schools. Schools of this diocese are under the care of the Congregation, the Society of Our Lady Mary Kamelite Vedruna Sisters, Benedict Sisters etc. c) The South Diocese has 12 institutions, six kindergartens, one preschool, two 9-year schools, one secondary school, and two vocational education institutions. The total student population is 1419 students. These schools are in the care of the congregations: Suore Marcelline, Imelda M. Dominican Sisters of Mary, etc. servants.

6.4

Religion Education in Protestants Schools

Schools under the auspices of the Evangelical Church consist of two 9-year schools and a vocational course under the university program Theory which includes theology and leadership. The 9-year school “Tan Amaro” (Nehemiah Gateway Foundation Albania) in Pogradec, under agreement with MAS, was allowed to develop religious subjects in addition to the curriculum of the curriculum for basic education. Every day before the start of secular learning process, a “morning circle” takes place. This is a devotional time with lessons from the Bible that lasts about 20–30 minutes. These materials have been prepared by the former head representative of the “Youth with a Mission” (Youth with a Mission) in Albania. In science, the Darwinian evolution theory is not taught, instead biblical creation is taught. Often, this science is intertwined with the theme of biblical teaching given in the morning round. From the information received at the Albanian Evangelical, the philosophy of education in GDQ International Christian School offers an international, academically enriching, biblical education to students aged five to 19. Curriculum and teaching resources are pulled from both British and US Standards. Classes are comprised of no more than 14 students, allowing for individualized and small group interaction amongst students and teachers.

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a) Lower school begins with kindergarten. Children must be five years of age on or before September1st to attend. Continuing through grade 5, students are divided by grade level with one class per grade level teacher. Academic instruction covers literacy, mathematics, science, social studies, and Bible. Throughout the week, students enjoy music, art, physical education, drama, library and computers under the instruction of staff specializing in these areas. b) Middle schools are comprised of students in 6–8 grades. Classes are departmentalized giving students the opportunity to move from class to class and to learn from teachers who have specialized in these subject areas. Classes include literacy, mathematics, science, history, geography, Bible, Albanian or French, ICT, physical education, and creative arts (music, art, and drama). c) High school encompasses grades 9–12 and offers internationally recognized, college-preparatory curricula: Cambridge International General Certificate of Secondary Education (Cambridge IGCSE: www.cie.org.uk) and Advanced Placement (AP: www.collegeboard.com). Graduation requirements include a set number of credits in English, mathematics, science, social sciences, Bible, modern world language, fine arts, computers, physical education and health. Students also select elective classes. Upon completion of grade 12, students are awarded a high school diploma. As part of the academic program, students have year-long internships at various organizations and businesses around Tirana. Students gain real world experience from working as interns. Attention is given to student demographics to ensure that students are able to return to their home countries for higher education. Recognized by the College Board, GDQ is also able to offer PSAT/NMSQT and SAT college entrance exams.

7

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

In Albania the first private schools were opened in 1992–1993 while it was only in 1996 that they were legally recognized by the state6. They were opened by foreign organizations as well as by religious communities in Albania, creating the conditions for developing the education process in a foreign language, or adding religious education to the curriculum in the light of the comparative study of religious cultures. But the introduction of religious educational institutions was only for private institutions. The public pre-university education was and still 6 Decision of Council of Ministers No. 654, dated 29. 11. 1995 “On granting permission for the functioning of non-public educational institutions”.

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remains secular. Ideological and religious ‘indoctrination’ was prohibited in public educational institutions. The Ministry of Education was responsible for policy implementation of secular public education, approved by the Council of Ministers. In Albania, the discussion about the place of religion in education has only focused on religious symbols in the classroom (Zucca, L. 2011: 40), and the case that has been studied here is the first to be addressed before a court. As such, this court decision will serve as a precedent in the balance between religious freedom and the right to education. The right to education, as well as religious freedom, was established in the constitution in Albania in 1998. According to Melody, Th. P. (2013) post-communist Albanian governments showed a totally different attitude toward religion by not only regarding the respect of religious freedom among Albanian citizens, but at the same time issues such as religious education, which have been dealt with based in the same legal framework as other forms of education, while fostering the secular nature of the national educational system. Starting from 1994–1995 religion has been treated as part of sociology in the discipline of “Knowledge for society” later “Sociology”, in the second year of the secondary school with the intention of introducing young people to a plurality of viewpoints and debates in an atmosphere of mutual tolerance, according to Jackson, R. (2013) The scope of the “Sociology” is: a) to define religion from a sociological perspective, b) to identify the variety of types of religious organizations with their specific characteristics c) to describe the basic features of six worldwide religions and their influences in the history During the transition, the issue of introducing religious subjects in a university education was raised several times, but has always had very strong reactions from the public. The idea of introducing the subject into schools was initially created in the year 2000. The last debate was in 2016. Prime Minister Edi Rama was at a birthday concert for the Prophet Mohamed when the inclusion of religious education in public education was promoted. It was a pilot project that will begin in September 2016, one module, grade 6 and 9 (a total of 13 classes) within the civic education area, for 18 lesson hours, which will be provided by History or Sociology teachers, trained on this subject. The debate continues to be developed due to the great uncertainties about the design of this module. The reasoning is thought to be that, at the moment, the project is not clear, starting with the goal, objectives, methodology, timing, along with many other deficiencies. Additionally, since the beginning of this project as the project was titled was “Knowledge about religion”, “Religious Culture”, “Religious Education”, for

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religious education would be “orientation of youth against terrorism and extremism”. Some of the questions raised in the debate was how he would explain the fact of the conversion of Albanians to Islam during the Ottoman period, how to explain the fact that many Albanian families have between them members of different faiths, the role of religious communities during wars, or and issues which arise from the specificity of the Albanian terrain.

8

Dealing with religious diversity

Cultural and religious diversity is one of the challenges the European Union faces. Religious beliefs in Albania represent a diversity of different faiths and, thus, respect for each other’s religions. Guaranteeing that all people are equal according to the Constitution regardless of religion, race and ethnicity, makes the institutions respect any religious group’s rights. These are some of the principles that are part of our country; everyone has the opportunities and equal rights to be integrated into society. In this focus, even religious schools have an obligation to respect the rights of students with regard to religious beliefs. So Catholic, Orthodox, Muslim and Protestant schools are open to students of different faiths. There are some instances where students have studied in madrasas Orthodox or Orthodox schools and are Muslim students. Catholic schools are more specific since most of them do not teach religious education, except ethics studies. It is very important to highlight the vision of religious schools to respect other religions and the Constitution of the country.

9

Religion in school outside of RE

Besides regular schooling, religious education can be obtained through different courses taken at different centers. For example, under the auspices of Archbishop Anastasios on 10 October 10th, 1994 a children’s daycare center opened without distinction of race or religion. Later, these centers began to open in other cities. The main participants in daycare are children of families in need; such as families with low incomes, families with divorced parents, single-parent families (orphans), families where mothers have low levels of education, families with immigrant parents where children living with grandparents and mothers working families. In 2002, the daycare program became part of the Foundation “Spirit of Love”. Most kindergartens are set up at the premises of the Orthodox Churches in the country with modern facilities and equipped with all the necessities. These precautions are determined by the Ministry of Education and the

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daycares are regularly visited by respected District Education Directorates, which have evaluated the program not only for the environment, but also for educational and teaching materials available to them. Daycares in the 2014–2015 school year had a qualified staff of 93 persons consisting of educators, assistant educators, and cooks. Every daycare has a pediatrician who visits the children regularly to take care of their health, as well as create conversations about hygiene, the importance of food, care for themselves etc. Each child has a health care card supplied by the doctor. The goal of the program is to provide children aged 4–6 years with education on adequate health, especially for children who have mothers at work, single-parent families, families with low income, and orphans. By 2007, the daycares have provided service to about 8100 children, of which about 65 % come from families with low income, 2.5 % with divorced parents, 2.7 % orphans, 4.5 % to immigrant parents living with grandparents, and about 45.5 % with working mothers. Following the 2015 and 2016 years, there are about 12,626 children who have received care from these centers. In the daycares, there are many churches that offer special courses on religious education, while other communities have other organizations that organize and teach religion. These religion courses consist of Muslim community groups organizing and teaching the religion courses, mainly during their summer holidays and takes place in mosques. This is a good opportunity for the students to practice theology. Muftiates, or other religious organizations, organize various activities in the communities to support communities in need. It is especially worth mentioning the activity of religious communities in initiating charities for families in need, orphaned children, people with disabilities, and initiating activities to promote volunteering and the reduction of physical, racial, or social discrimination

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Training of teachers of RE: institutions, structures, priorities issues

RE teachers in Albania are professionally and pedagogically trained in the theological faculties in Tirana, Shkodra, Durres and Pogradec. Beder University has its own Department of Islamic Studies, in which the first class of Bachelor students graduated in 2014 and Master students in 2016. The majority of teachers in madrasas religious subjects have obtained their theological training in Turkey with some teachers who received their training in Egypt. A few years ago, Orthodox schools taught religious studies with lessons given by a former student who studied mainly in Greece. Graduate students at the Orthodox Academy are

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focused mainly on becoming employees of the church. The religious instruction developed for Catholic schools originated in Italy, the same located as the Italian priests. In 1994 a Philosophy course opened and in 1996 a theology course opened. Only in the year 2000, the jubilee year, were there ordinations for money for the deacons and priests. A large proportion of Catholic priests in the country are Albanian. Most theology students continue their educational studies at higher levels in Italy. In many cases, students of theology practice in religious schools, located near Orthodox or Catholic churches. Through this practice, the students learn communication skills and public lecture, as well as teaching methodology.

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Empirical research concerning RE

Currently, there is no existing research concerning Religion Education. There have been research studies based on education in general and the history of Albanian education. Only some of these studies make mention of the issues pertaining to religion education and do not go into much detail, with the majority of the debate focusing on secular education. Historically, there has been an interest in RE in public schools, with RE in schools being based solely on the respective doctrines. Different studies have been conducted concerning religion or religious faith, but not religion education. A study on the perceptions of parents on religious education (case madrasas) – as an example – was performed in 2015, the study of the role of the Autocephalous Orthodox Church on the education of children was also performed in 2015, or the most recent study on civic education in Muslim schools in 2017. To this date, no study has been performed based solely on religion education in Albanian schools. This type of study could help the development and implementation of an effective and supported religion education program in Albanian schools. Following the recent debates concerning RE in schools, such a study should be seriously considered as research will not only support departments and faculties regarding theology, but also in the secular and religious educational system.

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Desiderata and Challenges for RE in a European context

What is most needed for the realization of RE in Albanian public schools is a review of the educational curriculum and teaching methods, both of which must be adapted to resemble the European standards more closely.

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As was stated above, civilization history, philosophy, and sociology all treat different aspects of religious beliefs. If RE is to be maintained as a separate subject, then this would require the revision of the school curriculum to minimize repetition among different classes. RE in Albanian schools must have a clear methodology. This requires not only the presence of foreign experts (as is often claimed by the Ministry of Education), but also consultations with religious communities. Additionally, if RE should be integrated into all schools, the Ministry of Education would have to provide proper training for all teachers involved in teaching RE, mainly history and sociology teachers. As in the European practice, RE can also be implemented as an optional course. This option would likely allow for the addition of RE to be more easily accepted amongst the general Albanian population and would then allow the students who are genuinely interested in RE to obtain further education. Social developments and improvements that have affected the country, have undoubtedly affected children, and understood their need for quality education. In this case, not only the educational are upbringing, but also for social groups faced with the challenges of human rights infringements, as well as education and understanding of different religions, cultures, democratic cultural values, etc. Additionally, religious education in schools and communities needs to have a broad range of education on different religions. Religious-based schools only teach the religion of which they are members and give no information pertaining to other religions. Given the diversity and acceptance of different religions, RE in Albanian schools would need to expand beyond its specific religion and provide education of other religions. This would help to prevent religious discrimination, as well as reduce barriers to the obtaining of religious education. Lastly, to implement an effective RE program in Albanian schools, collaboration between the various religion schools, the various religious communities, and the integration of students in extracurricular subjects need to be strengthened. One example for this is, a collaboration developed between different summer schools with focus interreligious dialogue, which includes not only students of the religious schools, but also public. This type of implementation requires the commitment of several stakeholders. Stakeholders are important for ensuring a project is as successful as possible. The key stakeholders in a project such as this would include local institutions, such as the education departments, municipalities, etc. This will be a good basis for inclusion of individuals of different faiths, as well as communication between students. RE in Albanian schools would help to overcome the issue with religious schools being open to those who only want to pursue religious studies and become theologians. RE would allow all interested studies to obtain further religious education in addition to their other studies. Students who graduate from the mosque, Orthodox schools, or Catholic schools mainly prefer to study in the exact sciences. This

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leads to the belief that the topic of religious studies is only directed towards students who want to become theologians. Religious education can be integrated quite smoothly into multiple topics, especially in social education. Albania is well known for dialogue and coexistence amongst different religions. This fact is undoubtedly a precious feature of the Albanian identity. Values that state the need to educate and transfer skills to younger generations, not only through general education, but also through institutional collaboration, community cooperation, and religious diversity to have the greatest impact on the individual.

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Further information

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0Bz1NpApIa1A6aWNrMnFkYlBtSUk/edit. http://www-gewi.uni-graz.at/seiner/density.html [last access 30. 03. 2020]. http://www.mormon.al/; https://www.kishaejezukrishtit.org/. https://www.kmsh.al/al/. http://orthodoxalbania.org/alb/index.php/al/ [last access 30. 03. 2020]. http://www.kishakatolikeshkoder.com/ [last access 30. 03. 2020]. http://vush.al/ [last access 30. 03. 2020]. http://www.instat.gov.al/en/Home.aspx [last access 30. 03. 2020]. http://www.parlament.al/atribut/komisionet/komisione-te-perhershme/komisioni-peredukimin-dhe-mjetet-e-informimit-publik/.

References Clayer, N. 1997. Islam, State and Society in Post-Communist Albania, in H. Poulton & S. Taji Farouki (eds.), Muslim Identity and the Balkan State (pp. 115–139). London: Hurst & Company. Della Rocca, R.M. 2012. Nazione e religione in Albania (Nation and religion in Albania). Nardo: Besa. Dervishi, S. & Caushi, I. 2002. Fetë në Shqipëri. Shembull i bashkëjetesës së diversiteteve brenda një kulture (The religions in Albania. An Example of the Coexsistence of Diversities within a culture). In Historical Studies (Studime historike), Issues: 3–4/2002 on https://www.ceeol.com/ [last access 26. 03. 2020]. Hellsten, D. 2008. Historia e Krishterimit ne Shqiperi (The history of Christians in Albania). Tirana: Vernon Publishing. Kutlu, A. 2015. Relationship between religious education and Socio-Cultural Environment: The case of Albania, Proceedings of Socio 15, 2nd International Conference of Education, Social Sciences and Humanities (pp. 755–763). https://www.ocerint.org/socioint15_ epublication/papers/529.pdf [last access 26. 03. 2020].

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Skura, G., Gjedia, R. & Kruja, G. 2017. Të mësuarit e normave civile në shkollat e fesë islame – medresetë, (Learning of civil norms in Islamic religious schools – madrasa). Tirana: MB&Botime Press, AFALC. Skura, G. 2011. Përvojë në ndërtimin identitar shqiptar (Experience in building the Albanian identity). Tirana: SHBLU. Vickers, M. 2008. Islam in Albania. Defense Academy of the United Kingdom, UK. Zucca, L. 2010. Law, Religious Freedoms and Education in Europe, in M.H. Henin (ed.), The classroom as a tolerance lab (pp. 37–53). Ashgate: Forthcoming.

Zrinka Sˇtimac

Religious Education at Schools in Bosnia and Herzegovina

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Socio-religious background

The signing of the Dayton Accords in December 1995 brought the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina (henceforth BiH) to an end. The peace agreement stipulated that BiH was to remain a sovereign, undivided state within its borders as recognised by the international community; however, it was to be divided into two ‘entities’, the Republika Srpska (Serbian Republic henceforth RS) and the Bosniak and Croat Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Federation of BiH), in addition to Brcˇko District. The Federation of BiH comprises ten substantially decentralised federal units/cantons1, themselves divided into municipal regions. The RS is centralised at all levels, and Brcˇko District is entirely under international control. We can thus refer to the structure of BiH as asymmetrical, a situation which has corresponding effects on the structure and organisation of education in the country. For the purpose of implementing the Dayton Accords, the international community created the Office of the High Representative (OHR). The Accords incorporated a new constitution for BiH which defined the three constituent peoples of the nation as Bosniaks, Croats and Serbs, whose languages (Bosnian, Serbian and Croatian) and scripts (Latin and Cyrillic) it placed in a state of equality before the law across the whole of BiH. Further, the constitution of the entirety of BiH provides, at least theoretically, for an equal status throughout the nation’s territory for the four traditional churches and faith communities of the country, the Islamic and Jewish communities and the Serbian Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches. In practice, however, the clause stipulating equality has been interpreted in markedly different ways in the nation’s two entities. The 1 Una-Sana (with Bihac´ as its capital), 2. Posavina (Orasˇje), 3. Tuzla (Tuzla), 4. Zenica-Doboj (Zenica), 5. Bosnia-Podrinje (Gorazˇde), 6. Central Bosnia (Travnik), 7. Herzegovina-Neretva (Mostar), 8. West Herzegovina (Ljubusˇki), 9. Sarajevo (Sarajevo) and 10. West Bosnia/Hercegbosna/Canton 10 (Livno).

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constitution of the Federation of BiH provides for equal rights for all people living in its territory (freedom of speech, of thought and of the press, freedom of religion and the freedom to practise one’s faith). While the constitution of the RS likewise guarantees its citizens these basic rights, it affords the Serbian Orthodox Church a privileged status as the church of the Serbian people. Although the Dayton Agreement sought to establish the idea of a multi-ethnic state with pluralism apparent at all its levels, the idea of equality remains unrealized in practice, with the majority population wielding dominant power in each area. The violent conflict of the recent past has created a situation which stands in contrast to the ethnic mix to be found in the country’s urban areas prior to the war; largely mono-ethnic territories have emerged, with different minority groups which in each instance include constituent peoples. In other words, depending on which part of the country they are in, Bosniaks, Serbs and Croats, constituent peoples according to the constitution, may be minorities essentially unable to exercise their constitutional rights to, for instance, their language, script or specific curricula. The constitution of the entirety of BiH counts the right to practise one’s own religion and traditions among the ‘vital national interests’ (see Dayton Accords, Annex 4, articles IV, 3e and articles V, 2d). Nevertheless, due to the current seeming near-impossibility of simultaneously protecting and promoting the differing national interests of two groups living on the same territory and the fact that one of these groups will always be in a disadvantaged position, the rights to education and to practise one’s faith are subject to serious violations throughout BiH to this day. Bosnia and Herzegovina has seen immense social change over the last fifteen years, putting the country, like other societies in phases of transformation, squarely into what is known as the ‘dilemma of simultaneity’ (Offe 1991), which involves overlap between processes of political change and of the endogenous and exogenous modernisation of a society. One of the principal exogenous modernisation factors in the case of BiH is the international community with its wide and diverse range of stakeholders, which after the Dayton Agreement has essentially evolved into the state’s highest political decision-making authority. BiH continues as an emergent state to this day and all of its existing societal systems, including its education system, remain in an experimental phase. The structure of the country’s religious landscape has undergone a transformation as radical as that experienced by the state-provided education services intimately linked to it. From the fifteenth century onward, BiH has been a territory encompassing a ‘complex pluralism’ (Gladigow 2001: 13ff.) of faiths which has evolved through the course of history (Geier 1999, 37ff.), with religions and patterns of faith emerging successively or concurrently and variously coexisting in a cooperative, alternative or exclusive manner. Historically, as now, religious

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plurality in BiH is represented by Muslim, Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Jewish populations. Accordingly, religious institutions have evolved over the course of time, with Islamic, Catholic, Serbian Orthodox and, from the sixteenth century onwards, Jewish congregations coming into being. As Wolfgang Höpken explains, each of these faith communities has its own systems around the understanding of history and tradition and its own day-to-day customs and rituals (Höpken 1994: 244ff.). Religious pluralism in BiH is a historically evolved phenomenon. Thus we can identify a range of different models of the ‘organisation’ of religious diversity in the history of the region. The Ottoman Empire had the millet system, which has been understood as a tolerated pluralism encompassing the Jewish and Christian faiths. This phase in the history of BiH is a highly significant one, as it laid the foundations for what would later emerge as an equation of ‘faith group’ with ‘ethnic group’ (people, ethnic community). In the Austro-Hungarian monarchy which followed this period, religious pluralism was desired and supported while the sense of a national identity which began to form and rise at this time was decidedly not. This attitude, however, was unable to stem the development by which the religious groups which had emerged in the Ottoman period picked up on the idea of ‘nation’ that was increasingly ubiquitous in the nineteenth century and began to conceive of themselves as national groups or indeed as nations. The new rallying cry of the age, one which echoes to this day, was ‘One people, one religion, one nation’. It was taken up by the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, albeit largely under the domination of the Serbian crown. A plurality of faiths continued to exist; while it was subject in law and in theory to supportive provisions – with the exception of the Jews, who did not enjoy the same rights as other religious communities – these legal stipulations were not implemented in practice. In socialist Yugoslavia, faith was a private matter, while religious institutions were effectively subordinated to state control. A diverse landscape of faiths continued to exist, albeit subject to criticism and denigration in the public space as obsolescent folklore. This was also the age during which religion and nation began to become inextricably linked, with the faith-based category ‘Muslim’ taking on the status of a national group analogous to that of ‘Serb’ or ‘Croat’ in state forms and data collection exercises such as the census, identity documents or school registers. The current advance of globalisation and the development of transnational networks have in recent years added to the landscape through the emergence of small Pentecostal and charismatic Christian and Salafist groups alongside Eastern religions such as ISKCON Hare Krishna and Baha’i. The most recent war and the Dayton Accords represented the apogee thus far of the process of differentiation between the state’s constituent ‘nations’ which had been incipient in previous periods. From this point onward, all political documents refer to three nations: the Bosniak (a term introduced in 1993),

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Croatian and Serbian. The war and its aftermath brought about a fundamental change in the religious distribution of the population in BiH. Expulsions of populations on ethnic grounds, so-called ‘ethnic cleansing’, led to the emergence of areas within the country dominated by individual ethnic groups, with approximately 49 per cent of the territory of BiH containing a Serb population of up to 90 per cent, and other areas similarly predominantly populated by Bosniaks and Croats, each practising the faith dominant among their group. In this way, the once relatively mixed religious landscape of BiH as it was in socialist Yugoslavia has become a state marked by a religious pluralism based on territorial de facto segregation. Viewed from a faith perspective, this new landscape appears as one of three major territories, with Islam, Serbian Orthodox Christianity and Catholicism respectively as majority religious affiliations. All areas of the country have ethnic and religious minorities, all of whom tend to suffer difficulties and human rights violations in relation to their status. Statistically speaking in the year 1991 before the war 4,4 mill. inhabitants lived in BiH (Bilten no. 234 1991): 43,7 were Muslims, 31,2 Serbs, 17,4 Croats, 5,54 Yugoslavs, 2,40 Others. The 2013 census revealed a different picture: from 3,53 mill. inhabitants there are 50,11 Bosniaks, 30,78 Serbs, 14,60 Croats, 2,73 others and 0,77 without declaration.2 One key change to the religious landscape in BiH has involved the massive social deprivatisation of religion in the public space, with the country’s churches and other religious communities consciously making use of the wide range of media available to them to exert their influence upon society. Alongside periodicals, books and textbooks issued by Churches and religious communities, religious broadcasting on radio and television have taken their place in this media landscape. Religious education provided by Churches and religious communities at state-run schools in BiH is a key arena in which these stakeholders teach their faith and is entirely in keeping with the political logic of the Dayton Accords. There are thus three forms of religious education in schools, Islamic, Catholic and Serbian Orthodox, each using their own textbooks and curricula. Unfortunately, it is not possible to give precise statistical data on education. Statistics in the field of education that are published by three statistical agencies in BiH3 contain only general information and aggregate data on schools, pupils or teachers for the given period and for different school categories at different 2 See: http://www.popis2013.ba/popis2013/doc/Popis2013prvoIzdanje.pdf [last access 30. 01. 2017]. 3 Agency for Statistics of Bosnia and Herzegovina, URL: http://www.bhas.ba/index.php?option= com_publikacija&view=publikacija_pregled&ids=1&id=21&n=Education, Institute of Statistics of the Republika Srpska, URL: http://www.rzs.rs.ba/front/category/262/ and Institute of Statistics of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, URL: http://fzs.ba/index.php/ bosanski-bilteni/obrazovanje/ [last access 20. 11. 2019].

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administrative levels. They do not include specific information on particular courses or syllabi, such as Culture of Religions or faith based RE.

2

Legal framework of RE and the relationship between religious communities and the state

In relation to questions of education policy, the constitution for the whole of BiH divides powers between the state in its entirety and its constituent entities, assigning to the latter responsibility for the practical development and implementation of education policy and to the former a coordinating role only.4 In the RS the education minister, based in the Ministry of Education and Culture in the RS’s seat of government Banja Luka, is in charge of education policy. In the Federation, whose name reflects the structure of its governance, responsibilities are assigned in a more complex manner: alongside the federal education ministry in Sarajevo and a regional office run by the Croatian side of the Federation in Mostar, there are an additional ten regional-level education ministries, one for each of the cantons of which the Federation consists. This means in practice that decision-making on education is a matter for every level of governance, from the federations through the cantons and municipalities down to individual schools.5 Brcˇko District represents a further special administrative case. As a consequence of the wartime division of BiH along ethnic lines and the state’s ethnically-based structure, three separate school systems and three distinct curricula – in three different languages – have emerged in the country since 1995. Faith-based religious education (Islamic, Catholic, Serbian Orthodox) already commenced before the end of the war (Sˇtimac 2017: 34f.). At the level of the institutions of BiH, the Framework Law on Primary and Secondary Education in BiH, 2004 (Official Gazette of BiH, No. 18/03) is in force. Additionally, a special Law on Secondary Vocational Education was adopted in 2008 (Official Gazette of BiH, No. 63/08). The principal focus of this legislation was the duration of compulsory schooling, which was raised from eight to nine years, and the school-leaving qualifications and grades awarded by the two entities, which with the advent of the new law were to be recognised throughout BiH. Further, the legislation enabled the country to take initial steps towards a shared core curriculum in the subjects considered as ‘national’ (of importance to a sense of national identity), defined as being history, geography and students’ native language. 4 Cf. the Constitution of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, article III.2 a and III, 4 b. 5 See Basic Law of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, article III.2.– “a” and III. 4 “b”.

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Article 9 of the framework legislation upholds freedom of religion in its clause stipulating that ‘schools are to promote and protect religious freedom, tolerance and dialogue in Bosnia and Herzegovina’. Further, the legislation emphasises the right of all students to faith-based religious education and confers responsibility for its curricula and their realisation on the churches and religious communities of the country. Its enactment thus marked a new status of faith-based religious education as an official component of the state education system in BiH. After the latest war, new legislation on religion issued in BiH in 2004 helped improve the legal position of churches and religious communities and hence of religious education in the country. In 1997, through the mediation of the World Conference on Religion and Peace (WCRP), BiH’s four ‘traditional’ churches and faith communities had founded the Inter-religious Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which in 2003 created a draft of legislation on “The law on freedom of faith and the legal status of churches and religious communities in Bosnia and Hercegowina”. The parliament of BiH approved the draft legislation on 22 January 2004; it was signed into law on 9 March 2004 (“Sluzˇbeni Glasnik BiH” 05/ 2004). The guidelines on the practical application of the law were published in 2006. The law consists of 24 articles, divided into six sections: Basic regulations, freedom of religious practice, legal position of the churches and religious communities, the relationship between the state and churches/religious communities, establishment of new churches and religious communities and transitional and final regulations. Unlike most laws in BiH, this law applies to the entire territory of the country and does not require separate adaptation (I, article 3.1). The law enshrined the following principles: 1) that of the separation of church and state (article 14); 2) the status of churches and religious communities as legal entities (article 8; 3) the right to religious education at state schools (article 4); 4) the right of churches and faith communities to publish textbooks and disseminate them in line with the law (article 7).6 The relationship between the state and institutionalized religion will only be finally settled by the law on freedom of belief. This law recognises the religious plurality of the state and puts the four “historical” religions of the country such as Judaism, Catholicism, Serbian Orthodoxy and Islam in the foreground. The “Basic Agreement between the Holy See and Bosnia and Herzegovina”, signed in Sarajevo on 19 March 2009, is also related to the above-mentioned law (Vuksˇic´ 2007). It confirms the main rights and obligations of BiH Catholics under the Law on Freedom of Religion. Art. 16,1 also explicitly mentions religious education in public schools.

6 See www.aso.zsi.at/attach/LegposreliginSee.pdf.

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The above mentioned “Law on freedom of faith” has often been criticised. The distinctive criticism came from the sociologist Ivan Cvitkovic´ and refers to the points regulated by the law, such as the relationship between the state and religious institutions, the question of the definition of “historical communities”, the public sphere and the relationship to individual religiosity. He asks whether the religious plurality of a state can be protected by a law if it only mentions three religions and four religious institutions. In addition, he asks whether the state should define what a religious community is, as provided for by the law. His criticism of the name of the law is also significant. He understands the mere fact that the word “faith” instead of “religion” appears in it as an attempt by the religious institutions to secure a place in the public sphere not only for religious institutions but also for private faith. His conclusion is that, due to the “ethnicization” of politics, freedom of religion cannot exist in BiH anyway (Cvitkovic´ 2003: 21f.).

3

Developments in the country’s education policies

In the years immediately after the end of the war, a large number of steps were taken towards reform of the education system in BiH, with particular emphasis on primary/lower secondary and upper secondary education. The action taken included reforms to the legal basis upon which education is delivered in BiH and modernisation of the country’s curricula and education administration. The reforms commenced with the renovation in the period between 1996 and 1999 of school buildings destroyed in the war, work funded by UNESCO, UNICEF and the World Bank (Basler 2005: 192ff.). Reforms in the sphere of education were almost always driven and managed by international organisations, with support in part from ministers in BiH, particularly the democratic ‘Alliance’ founded in the year 2000. The international organisations involved in BiH adhere to a large number of norms and standards and have produced several key documents relating to human rights and thus additionally to religion and education; the reform of education in BiH is closely linked to these documents and standards due to the fact that BiH became a signatory to declarations on education on joining the OSCE in 1992 and the CoE in 2004.The OHR report ‘Guidelines to the Field: Overview of Educational Problems in BiH and Guidelines for Intervention’, published on 1 September 1999, emphasises the necessity of structural and content-related reforms to the school system in BiH, an issue which had likewise been raised in 1998; the report names the key tasks facing education as ‘sustainable minority return and ethnic re-integration’ (OHR 1999, Guidelines, 2ff.). The document set the tone for the aims of education reform in BiH going for-

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ward: ethnic re-integration, conceived of in part as ‘nation-building’(in the sense of creating a nation consisting of a number of ethnic population groups), and the return of refugees to the areas from which they had been driven on ethnic grounds. One of the first practical steps taken by the international community towards education reform in BiH was the drawing up and publication on 10 May 2000 of a document entitled ‘Education Policy in Bosnia and Herzegovina’ (OHR 2001, Education Policy) by the OHR. The document stated the OHR’s view that the education sector was an area of high priority for the international community in BiH, and asserted that, after the European Union had led the way in the reconstruction of school buildings, the time had now come to embark upon the school system’s ‘intellectual reconstruction’. At a subsequently arranged meeting, which took place on 10 May 2000 in Sarajevo (OHR 2000, Agreement), the ministers of the Federation of BiH and the RS signed a ‘strategic plan’ on ‘fundamental education reform’.7 The driving forces behind the plan were primarily the OHR and above all the OSCE, whose influence was necessary for recruiting EC-TAER (European Commission Technical Assistance to Education Reform8, in existence 2001–2005) to provide support for the reform. The ministers committed to adopting European standards of education and a joint core curriculum, to each recognising school-leaving qualifications gained in the other entities and to working through education to prevent further divisions on ethnic grounds in the country. Subsequently, with the assistance of EC-TAER, a White Paper entitled ‘Shared Strategy for the Modernisation of Primary and General Secondary Education in BiH’ was drawn up and released on 27 June 2001; its authors, alongside international specialists, included 12 experts from the RS, ten representing the Federation’s cantons, two from the federal ministry of education and one from Brcˇko District (White Paper 2001: 6ff.). A Green Paper followed, compiled in 2003 by educational experts from BiH, with the aim of laying down the next steps and their future funding by the EU. Both the White and the Green Paper take human rights as the fundamental theoretical basis of a good education system and call for the new system in BiH to be adapted to the European idea of education, which encompasses the principles of academic rigour, equality of opportunity, and of education as decentralised, democratic and depoliticised, and the principle of education as serving the needs of democratic societies, the information society and lifelong learning (cf. UNESCO). 7 OHR 2000; Declaration. 8 An Education Issue Set Steering Group (EISSG) was founded in 2002 to drive and manage education reform in BiH. It was made up of representatives from the OSCE, the OHR, UNESCO, UNICEF, UNHCR, the European Commission, the Council of Europe, the World Bank, the US embassy/Civitas and EC-TAER (Fischer 2006: 297ff.).

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A further key document in the process of education reform in BiH is the Interim Agreement on the Accommodation of the Specific Needs and Rights of Returnee Children, signed in 2002 in the course of negotiations around BiH’s accession to the CoE. The document’s focus is the issues raised by the three ethnically-based education systems in the areas of BiH dominated respectively by Bosniaks, Serbs and Croats, a situation which had been among the reasons deterring many refugee families from returning to their home areas in the immediate post-war years. 5 March 2002 saw the adoption of the Implementation Plan for the Interim Agreement on Returnee Children (OSCE 2002, Implementation Plan), which was signed by the education ministers of all BiH’s constituent entities and those of all Federation cantons as well as representatives of the OSCE and the OHR; its aim was to enable refugees to return to their previous homes and to advance the ultimate goal of creating ethnically ‘integrated schools’. The Implementation Plan, like the Agreement, provided for refugee children to select the curriculum of their or their parents’ choice, regardless of their location within BiH. After taking over the leading role in BiH’s education reform in 2002, the OSCE launched activities pursuant to a strategy of ‘Reforming Education to give BiH a Better Future’, producing the document ‘A Message to the People of Bosnia and Herzegovina: Education Reform’. The document, politically supported by the country’s education ministries and signed by all entity and cantonal ministers as well as OSCE and OHR representatives, contained five pledges which named the issues in education and pointed to solutions and objectives to be delivered on (OSCE 2002, A Message). The problems it identified include ethnically-based segregation, overloaded curricula, outdated teaching methods and issues with the funding system. Here, as in other policy documents in this arena, the solutions are sought in ‘European educational standards’. The pledges made in the document by the local education ministers – who only served two-year terms in office – were barely realisable. They were 1) to enable all children in BiH to be taught in ‘integrated multicultural schools’; 2) to modernise curricula and teacher training; 3) to adapt education to the needs of BiH’s economy; 4) to enable more people to access higher education through improving its quality; and 5) to make transparent, cost-effective and sustainable investments in education and in education policymaking. The fundamental aims of education reform as set out in this document are guided, as in earlier declarations, by ‘European standards’, specifically non-discriminatory access to education, particularly for the children of returning refugees; the depoliticisation of education; the modernisation of primary and secondary curricula and of education administration; and flexible vocational training. The way in which education reform has been understood and handled in BiH, as manifest in these documents, points clearly to the agency of the international community in this regard; it addresses

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not the causes, but above all the consequences of the political problems in the education system.

3.1

Education reform in practice: textbook revision, and ‘Culture of Religions’

The aims of education reform in BiH, as set out in the various documents discussed above, necessitated the revision of textbooks and curricula, the amendment of education legislation and the introduction of new subjects in schools. The first round of textbook revisions in this context, which took place in 1999, was initiated by the OHR, the country’s ministries of education and UNESCO; a number of expert teams were put together, as well as an independent revision commission. The teams met in Mostar in July of 1999 to share their experiences and identify passages in textbooks which required removal; at this meeting it became evident that extremely problematic books from Serbia and Croatia were being used in schools in BiH. In August 1999, the decision was taken to censor racist passages in history, geography and language textbooks. Although no religious studies textbooks were the subject of official examination, an unofficial source, speaking off the record, has indicated that a study on Islamic, Catholic and Serbian Orthodox religious education books was compiled and remained unpublished. The fact that the contentious passages which had been present in these books were no longer included in a later print run is testament to the success of this revision process. Textbooks for the so-called ‘national subjects’ were deemed problematic, as was, to a particularly emphatic extent, faith-based religious education, which was not subject to official revision. In consequence of this, the OHR decreed in December 2000 that all schools in BiH were to introduce a subject covering all the faiths represented in the country within a timeframe of months. The subject of ‘religion’ is first mentioned in a statement on a summit of education ministers and representatives of the international community held on 10 May 2000: ‘Teaching about all major religions practised in the country will also be introduced into all schools’ (OHR 2000, Agreement). In the same year, the OHR presented the following rationale for the new subject: ‘The intent behind this subject is to provide all school students with objective, non-discriminatory information about the four principal religions of Bosnia and Herzegovina and their traditions. The subject will make freedom of movement possible and advance mutual tolerance and reconciliation’.9 Alongside the developments around this school subject, there emerged a debate on the framework legislation for primary/ lower secondary and upper secondary schools in BiH, which came into force at 9 See OHR 2000 press release.

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the beginning of the 2003/04 academic year and was based on the Implementation Plan on the Interim Agreement. Other developments in consequence of the Implementation Plan and the framework legislation were a second round of post-war textbook revision, which took place in 2006 and affected language, history, geography and religious education books, and the harmonisation of the various coexisting curricula in BiH (OSCE 2006, Textbook Commissions). This second round of textbook revision saw the first official categorisation of religious education as a ‘national’ subject. Although some sources state that religious education textbooks were included in the investigation (Pingel 2004), these results were not made public. Nevertheless, according to the protocol by Petar Jukic´ from the Catechistic Office of BiH’s Bishops’ Conference, a meeting, arranged and facilitated by the OSCE, took place from 10 to 12 July 2002 in Neum between representatives of religious institutions in BiH with the aim of revising religious education textbooks. The commission for the revision of religious education textbooks which came forth from this meeting consisted of Sˇefko Sulejmanovic´ from BiH’s Islamic community, an inspector for Islamic religious education, Father Krstan Dubravac as the representative of the Serbian Orthodox church, an inspector for religious education in the RS, and Msgr. Petar Jukic´, representing the Catholic church. The minutes of the meeting state that the commission, as it took on the task of textbook revision, was conscious of its duty to promote democratic standards in education and values such as religious pluralism, inter-faith dialogue and tolerance, and respect between religions; it also considered it important to support Christian ecumenism. The meeting worked on a number of issues, and the religious institutions involved supplied the OSCE with access to their comments on the religious education textbooks of the other religions upon request in April of 2003.

4

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

The law of BiH permits faith schools to operate, and today we can find both Catholic and Islamic public schools in BiH. Shortly after the last war, the Catholic Church has founded the Catholic school centres known as ‘Schools for Europe’. The establishment of these schools came at a time when BiH had no functional state or school system and when the country’s education system was dominated by inadequate curricula and educational experiments. Another reason for establishing the schools is that their presence in regions where Catholics now live acts as a motivating factor for these

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populations to remain living there. A further self-declared aim of the school centres is the provision of a European-oriented education, which leads to a curricular emphasis on three particular subject groups: classical languages (Latin and Ancient Greek), living European languages (English from year 1 and German and French from year 5), and computer and information studies. The process of democratisation, in the schools’ view, encompasses acceptance of diversity and of minorities as a key to peaceful coexistence among the population of BiH. The schools’ name of ‘Schools for Europe’ is intended to indicate that those who learn there are to do so in a European spirit and experience Europe as their extended home (KTA, no. 3, 8. 12. 2002: 10f.). The Bishops’ Conference of BiH regards these schools as ‘schools based on humanist values with a Catholic approach to these values’ and with a high degree of respect for learners of all religions (KTA, no. 3, 8. 12. 2002: 11f.). The schools are funded by the Bishops’ Conference of BiH, foreign Roman Catholic organisations such as the German church charity Renovabis, and the Italian Bishops’ Conference (BKI). A total of seven school centres run by the Bishops’ Conference of BiH have been in existence in BiH since1994. They are primary (years 1–8) and secondary schools (years 9–12). The first curriculum for these schools was agreed upon in 1996 and encompasses the same subjects as state schools (Cf. Brkic´ 2006; For secondary schools, see Jurisˇic´ 2006). It is worth noting in this context that the Catholic school centres provide 50 % less religious education than state schools in BiH, at both primary and secondary level. Apart from this, the school centre in Zenica offers three different forms of religious educations: Islamic, Catholic and Serbian Orthodox. Further, they teach subjects conceived as alternatives to religious education, such as ‘Morals, Ethics and Spirituality’. There is also the subject ‘History of Religions’ (both at the primary and secondary schools), whose aim is to teach ‘basic knowledge about the world religions from their origins to the present’ (Brkic´ 2006: 345f.; Jurisˇic´ 2006: 207f.). Students from different ethnic backgrounds and can also receive language teaching in their own language. Although the school centres have been recognised as educational institutions by local education ministries and feature a ‘multi-ethnic composition of learners’ (Sudar 1998: 563f.), their buildings have been subject to several bomb attacks in the last decades. Another type of religious school in BiH is the Islamic madrassa. Out of a total of seven madrassas in Visoko, Novi Pazar, Mostar, Travnik, Cazin, Sarajevo and Tuzla, only the Gazi Husrev Bey madrassa in Sarajevo has the status of a public school. After graduation, students can study at all state universities. This madrassa started its work already in 1537 and since then it has been working continuously until today. Currently there are about 480 students, who are taught in eight classes for boys and eight classes for girls for four years. The lessons take place in separate buildings at different addresses.

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The curriculum for the teachings at the madrassa defines it as a secondary school that educates and trains its students “in the spirit of Islamic rules and enables them to continue their education at Islamic and other universities”. Among the most important goals are the acquisition of knowledge from the field of Islam and other scientific branches, foreign languages, the ability of young people to handle diverse information and different technologies, and the development of Islamic humanism and openness towards other cultures among young people (Curriculum 2014: 5ff.). Compulsory subjects (all students), optional subjects (3rd and 4th grade or age group 16–18) and optional subjects are taught. The compulsory subjects are divided into the field of Islam (e. g. Akaid, Fiqh, Tefsir and Hadith), languages (Bosnian, Arabic, English), social studies (history, philosophy, psychology, sociology etc.) and scientific-mathematical studies (mathematics, physics, biology, chemistry).10 Within the framework of the madrassa there are, besides the school buildings, also various other premises such as dormitories, living rooms, kitchen, sports halls and rooms in which various cultural activities are offered. The Gazi Husrev Bey Library, which was also opened in 1537, is of particular importance in this context. Since 2014 and with a new building, it is in the direct neighborhood and offers a lot of relevant titels to the students of the madrassa.

5

Conceptions and tasks of RE

As early as 1991, the office of education, science, culture and sport in the Yugoslav republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina had been making preparations for the introduction of religious education in state schools and had called for the submission of suggestions from all churches and religious communities which wished to be involved. The result of these efforts was published in 1994, during the most recent war, under the title ‘A Plan and Program for Islamic, Catholic, Serbian Orthodox, Jewish and Adventist Religious Education in State Schools’ (Ministry of Education BiH, 19943576, henceforth Programme 1994). The program was approved by the renamed Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport on 15 July 1994, leading to the addition of religious education as an optional subject to the school curriculum. However, it quickly became apparent after the war that only the Islamic community, Catholic Church and Serbian Orthodox Church were in a position, in terms of their organisational structures and of numbers of potential pupils, to offer religious education at state-run schools.

10 See the homepage der Gazi Husrev Bay Madrassah https://www.medresa.ba/nastava/ [last access 10. 04. 2020].

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Responsibility for the content of religious education curricula remains with the faith communities, subject to education ministry approval. The three curricula for religious education analysed in this paper have different aims and objectives; nevertheless, they share their faith-based nature. The Islamic curriculum is exclusively focused on the religion, while the Catholic one is both denominational and, at least in part, ecumenical or inter-faith in nature and that of the Serbian Orthodox church denominational and partly nationally inspired. All three have at their centre a search for the position in society of the faith community they represent, and their neighbour faiths, the ‘others’, barely register on these horizons. The first generation of the Catholic curriculum is the only one to make explicit mention of ‘other’ religions.

5.1

The curricula of the churches and faith communities in BiH

The first curriculum for Islamic education in BiH after the war was approved by the country’s Islamic community on 30 July 1997 and published in 1999 (Rijaset 1999); the second was agreed upon and approved by the Ministry of Education in 1997, but not published until 1999 (Rijaset 1999: 6f.; Programme 1994: 6f.). This second curriculum for eight-year first-stage (primary) education has now been amended and adapted for the new nine-year system. The first two first-stage curricula to be issued are virtually identical. Of a total of 850 lessons’ worth of teaching planned in these curricula, 570 are to be held in primary and 280 in lower secondary school (Rijaset 1999: 6f.), at a rate of 2 lessons per week and 80 per school year. The two-page explanatory notes to the curriculum, to which no changes were made from the curriculum’s first to its second edition, emphasises that the content of lessons is to be kept as simple as possible and advises that the various stories, illustrations and illustrative examples that are available to teachers should be used as often as is practicable. This third curriculum, which was produced between 2006 and 2011, was designed and adapted for the nineyear system and published in three-year intervals.11 It can be summarised as containing the following learning objectives: Its key aim is to familiarise students with the commandments of the Koran and with the Islamic belief in one God and his prophets; further, it intends to enable pupils to lead their everyday lives in accordance with their religious duties (the Five Pillars of Islam: profession of faith, prayer, fasting, alms-giving and pilgrimage). The curriculum seeks to arouse children’s interest, from an early age, in the Koran, the Sunnah and the 11 Each curriculum can be obtained separately. For the 9th grade of primary education, published by Rijaset in 2012, see: https://vjeronauka.islamskazajednica.ba/images/stories/Down load/NPP_9_OS_1_sat.doc [last access 20. 11. 2019].

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Islamic system of values. A key focus appearing repeatedly in the curriculum is the emergence and spread of Islam in the locality, with students called upon to learn about the spiritual heritage and culture of Islam in Bosnia in order to, as the curriculum puts it, counteract feelings of shame possibly experienced by the students for their religion due to its distorted portrayal in wider society.12 In 1998, after the revision of the first post-war Catholic religious education curriculum for primary and middle schools, originally issued in 1994 (Ministry of Education BiH 1994, 35–76), the Bishops’ Conference of BiH published an official ‘Programme for Catholic Religious Education for Primary Schools’. This essay will discuss a version of the curriculum revised in 2003 (Biskupska Konferencija BiH 2003). This curriculum, stipulating 70 teaching periods per year and two per week, is designed for the eight-year basic education (‘primary school’) prescribed in BiH. The learning objectives of Catholic religious education were agreed by the Bishops’ Conference of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2003.13 The aim of this teaching is for students to become aware of issues around the profound significance of human life, come to understand the message of the Bible, and recognise God’s call for people to live in mutual love and interconnection. Exposure to fundamental tenets of the faith, such as the Holy Trinity and the revelation of God in the Saviour, are key elements of the curriculum, as is the meaning of the Christian narrative of salvation and the history of the Roman Catholic church, to include an awareness “of […] the role of the church for the Croatian people in BiH and Croatia”. Further learning objectives formulated in the curriculum are for students to become familiarised with the church’s liturgy and sacraments and internalise Christian morality. An aspect of the curriculum we will emphasise at this point is the inclusion of basic knowledge of other cultures, faiths and denominations.14 Other religions are discussed in a variety of different ways in 81 lessons of the total of 560. The analysis in this essay will engage with some of these units, for a range of different year groups. The curriculum for Serbian Orthodox religious education seeks to introduce pupils to the spiritual dimension of life, with a particular focus on the practice of the Orthodox faith, and develop their sense of personal responsibility to aid them in distinguishing good from evil (Glasnik No. 10, 1999).15 Students are to comprehend and accept the Holy Trinity as a fundamental truth of the Christian faith. Religious education has the aim of encouraging them to take an active part in the life of the Orthodox Church and teaching them that religious education is not simply a subject they have to engage with in school, but has great significance to 12 13 14 15

Author’s translation. Ibid, 53ff. Author’s translation. Author’s translation; see also www.soz-rs.org.

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their own lives. The curriculum for Serbian Orthodox religious education places particular emphasis on the history both of the church and of the entire Serbian people; students are to be taught the history of the Serbian Orthodox Church from medieval times to the present day in order to help them develop a sense of national and religious identity (Popov & Ofstadt 2006: 81ff.).

6

Practice/reality of RE in different schools

Formally, since the legislation of 2004 on primary/lower secondary (age 7–14) education in BiH, faith-based religious education has been incorporated into this post-Dayton education system. State schools in the RS principally provide Serbian Orthodox religious education (for all primary/lower secondary schools, and since 2018 for all upper secondary schools), while the Federation of BiH provides Islamic and Catholic religious education for all primary/lower secondary and some upper secondary schools (age 15–18). The practical implementation of the legislation in the two entities and in the various cantons was accompanied by a number of problems. One was that the law did not make any provisions regarding the introduction of religious education for religious minorities; another was that it remained silent on the potential case of children or their parents rejecting the idea of participation in faith-based religious education classes. The High Representative signed a supplementary law in 2004 which addressed and clarified these issues. Following, the denominational religious education in individual schools in the Federation of BiH can be voted out and the alternative subject “culture of religion” can be chosen instead. A particular example is the canton of Tuzla, where “Culture of Religion” has been introduced in both primary and secondary schools for two decades. The subject is now taught there with 2 hours each at all school levels. A completely new subject in public schools is Jewish religious education, ´ oric´” in Kresˇevo, which was introduced in 2016 at the primary school “Dr. Boris C a small town in the canton of Central Bosnia. This is an educational exception, as only three children from the same family attend classes. Nevertheless, both the school and the Jewish community in Sarajevo are proud of the fact that Jewish religious education is offered at a public school for the first time since 1941. Since then, Eli Tauber, a historian and president of the NGO “Haggadah” from Sarajevo, has been trying to introduce a similar school subject in the schools of the canton Sarajevo. Although this remains the only example of a public school, the Jewish Community in Sarajevo offered “Sunday School” for children in its own premises as early as 1992. Later it developed into the “Small School of Judaism” in which the school children learned the Hebrew letters, different contents from everyday life

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and culture and celebrated religious holidays. The basic themes of Jewish religious education can already be found in the 1995 curriculum. These include Hebrew language, Jewish history and philosophy, Torah, prophets, Midrash, Talmud, rabbinical literature, Jewish literature in Hebrew, Ladino, Yiddish and local languages (Plan i program vjerskog odgoja i obrazovanja 1994, 93).

7

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

The school subject ‘Culture of Religions’ (Kultura religija) was designed, piloted and to a certain extent introduced in state schools by a collaborative group of international organisations (OSCE, the Office of the High Representative, the Goethe Institute and the Institute of School and Further Education, Soest) together with representatives of various local organisations such as Abraham/ Ibrahim (Sˇtimac 2018). The recent war in BiH was followed by a situation of pluralistic interpretation within education policy, in which – for the first time in the country’s history – religious education in state schools was placed in the hands of religious and secular decision-makers on the one hand and local and international institutions on the other. A result was the new secular school subject ‘Culture of Religions’. This new subject, which continues to give rise to controversy in BiH, is depicted in the OSCE/ODIHR16 brochure Toledo Guiding Principles on Teaching about Religion and Beliefs in Public Schools as globally pioneering in the area of secular religious education.17 The brochure maintains that the subject ‘Culture of Religions’ invites all learners to discover the religions of the country via its history, culture and society. It follows an ‘inclusive’ approach and encourages interreligious tolerance by ‘teaching about religion’. As mentioned above ‘teaching about religion is first stated in the statement on the meeting of the ministers of education and the representatives of the international community held on 10 May 2000. There was no legal framework for a trouble-free path to introducing the subject ‘Culture of Religions’ in schools. An agreement for a smooth implementation, signed by the ministers of education in the year 2000, proved to be legally invalid. At the same time, the ‘Framework Law on Primary and Secondary 16 Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR). 17 See OSCE/ODIHR 2007: Toledo Guiding Principles on teaching about religions and beliefs in public schools. URL: http://www.osce.org/odihr/27217?download=true [last access 14. 12. 2015], 66.

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Education in Bosnia and Herzegovina’ was a subject of debate. Particularly relevant for the new subject and religious education in general was the fact that Article 9 of the framework law granted all pupils the right to a denominational religious education (not to an education on ‘culture of religions’) and that the churches and religious communities were to take responsibility for the curricula and their implementation. Denominational religious education thus became an official component of the state school system; however, in some cantons, the law mentions the option of an alternative subject, albeit without further elaboration.

7.1

Consultations

In the years 2000 and 2001 there were several public specialist discussions with representatives of various ministries in the Federation of BiH and in the RS, in churches and religious communities, within academia, and amongst practitioners surrounding the concept and design of the school subject ‘Culture of Religions’. These were initiated by the Sarajevo Goethe Institute and hosted in partnership by UNESCO, the OHR and Abraham/Ibrahim. The intention was to introduce a subject revolving around religion (or a ‘teaching about’) – as previously announced by the OHR – at all schools within the country, making it accessible to all pupils.18 The first consultation started with four preconceived decisions: that a new subject, and not merely new teaching units, was to be introduced; its content was to be thematically restricted, revolving around ‘the most important religions within the country’; it was to be taught in all schools in BiH; and the idea for it to be a ‘teaching about’ religions as opposed to an induction into a particular faith. Despite these preemptive decisions, the first consultation about the subject focused on establishing clarity regarding the name of the new subject, its design and the teacher training it would require. During this first consultation, the three working groups also heard the views of representatives of the country’s four main churches and religious communities. The second specialist consultation focused on developing the ‘framework concept’ of a curriculum for the new subject ‘Culture of Religions’.19 Between the two consultations, however, certain issues had rendered collaboration with churches and religious communities impossible.20

18 See Dokumentation I 2001: 13f. 19 Dokumentation II 2001, 53f. 20 For further information see Stimac 2018: 8f.

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63

Curriculum Implementation

A draft curriculum was produced in October 2002 as a result of the consultations held in 2001 on the school subject ‘Culture of Religions’. The work on the curriculum was initiated by the OHR and the OSCE, and the OHR broadly stipulated that its contents were to address the largest religions in the country. The department of education within the OSCE had supported the curriculum’s design by its presentation in the regional and international public spheres, and by lobbying for funding. Between March 2007 and November 2008, the aforementioned curriculum of 2002 (in local languages only) could be found on the Goethe Institute website under the heading ‘Culture of Religions’, and was declared the official curriculum for the subject.21 Several theologians and sociologists from BiH, Serbia and Slovenia were members of the international curriculum group chaired by Klaus Gebauer from the Federal Institute for School and Youth in Soest, North Rhine-Westphalia (ABRAHAM, Documentation 2002). This interdisciplinary aspect had a considerable impact on the creation of the curriculum’s content. As we will see, the aim was to produce a curriculum for a secular school subject; however, several compromises were made towards the admission of inter-religious dialogue into the content. The document ‘Culture of Religions – The Preliminary Curriculum and Syllabus’, published on 13 October 2002 (henceforth ‘Curriculum 2002’), referring to the curriculum for primary and middle schools is 113 pages long and consists of the tasks and objectives of the subject, its pedagogical, didactic and methodological orientation, the topic areas it was to include, and guidelines for marking and assessment. It was intended for the third and fourth years of socalled middle school, with 70 teaching hours per annum. The objectives of the subject are manifold. They can be categorised in three broad groups of fundamental aims:22 ‘religious literacy’23, ‘promotion of dialogue’24 and ‘values education’25. Both the tasks and the objectives of the cur21 The curricula in the local languages were accessible on the website from 3 February 2007 until 6 March 2008 at URL: http://www.kultura-religija.ba/kdr/de/dow/lrp/de401.html. This website no longer exists and can only be found at the URL: http://web.archive.org/web/200802030 82628/www.kultura-religija.ba/kdr/dow/lrp/bs401.html [last access 27. 03. 2015] The author is in possession of both the German and the English versions. 22 Curriculum 2002: 6. 23 With regard to ‘religious literacy’, the curriculum calls for pupils to acquire basic knowledge of world religions with particular consideration of the religions in BiH. Further, pupils should also gain knowledge of the role played by religion in cultural development and regarding the significant problems of a specific period. The curriculum also prescribes knowledge of the influence of religious traditions on social and cultural developments in BiH. 24 The second aim, ‘promotion of dialogue’, seeks to enable pupils to gain skills in conducting constructive dialogue within their own environment and prescribes the learning of appro-

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riculum clearly reveal that ‘Culture of Religions’ is not a subject that takes the religions of the country as its thematic focus, despite official claims to the contrary. Rather, the subject concentrates on personal perceptions, everyday experiences of religion, and the cultural, ethical, moral and political impact of religions in BiH and elsewhere. The pedagogical and didactic orientation as given in the document provides a structural basis for teaching, using four basic points of navigation: a) societal orientation, b) religious orientation, c) academic orientation and d) pupil orientation. All content taught in the classroom must be traceable back to these points of orientation. The didactic and methodological orientation of the teaching design derives from the focus on topics and comprehensive learning. There are diverse thematic areas in which the objectives and contents are rendered more tangible. These include: the relationship of humans with nature (i. e. with Creation); interpersonal relationships; a person’s relationship with him- or herself and with God. The curriculum prescribes 16 topics for each of eight thematic units per annum.26 Each teaching unit comprises nine lessons, with 70 lessons scheduled per school year.

7.3

Textbooks

In the year 2008, following a long dispute over the curriculum, a manuscript for a textbook on ‘world religions’, commissioned by the Goethe Institute and the OSCE, had been completed. The first supplementary reader for ‘Culture of Religions’ was published in 2009 following various processes of negotiation, edited by the local scholars (Spahic´-Sˇiljak, Abazovic´ 2009). The manuscript was designed not as a textbook but rather as a handbook on various religions, and the content shows only loose correlation with the curriculum for ‘Culture of Religions’. Although a handbook of this kind could barely have served as a textbook, it was a huge step forward for the new school subject. Nevertheless, the Serbian Orthodox Church complained, inaccurately, that primarily Muslims had been involved in the textbook design, and that there were errors in its portrayal of priate methods for ‘action-orientated dialogue’. The aim here is to give pupils an understanding of how cooperative activities can arise from different schools of religious thought, and of the fact that values and norms must constantly be reinforced via collaborative action. 25 ‘Values education’ in this context seeks to uphold the dignity of all people, maintaining peace and fostering social equality as well as freedom of speech and the ability to accept compromise. 26 These include: 1. Cultural achievements of religion in the fields of architecture, the fine arts, literature and music; 2. The family and religions; 3. Ethics – good behaviour and religions; 4. Communality as a principle of religions; 5. Peace – A place for the Other; 6. People – the essence of each person; 7. Religion – Society – State; and 8. Life – its Meaning and Expectancy.

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Serbian Orthodoxy. The textbook Culture of Religions was published, like the handbook, in 2009 (Katalinski, Foric´, Dujkovic´-Blagojevic´). Parallel and due to differing policies across the entities, another textbook entitled ‘Culture of Religions for Secondary Schools’ was written for use in the RS (Kuljic´, Ristic´, Avramovic´). Finally, in 2011 a handbook for teachers of the subject was published (Katalinski, Kalauzovic´).

8

Dealing with religious diversity

The religious education textbooks analysed here (generation of school textbooks, before the education reform from 8 to 9 years primary school) place varying levels of emphasis on religious diversity and on different religions. Different religions mentioned in Islamic religious education textbooks primarily encompass the monotheistic religions; further groups referred to are atheists and those who adhere to ‘superstitions’. In places, ‘the West’ acts as an ‘Other’, or as a representative of difference from Islam. Further ‘other’ faiths are what the textbooks refer to as ‘sects’, such as the Ahmadiyya community, the Baha’i faith and Wahhabism. The schoolbooks do not discuss the content and belief of monotheistic religions, but rather depict specific areas of them, such as their holy scriptures. The Islamic community in BiH does not consider the country’s religious plurality to be a topic to be raised explicitly; the interreligious reality of life in BiH society features solely in one negative example. In an edition for eight-year school education, ‘the god’ of monotheistic religions is spelled with a small G, while ‘God’ meaning Allah is capitalised. All this said, Islamic religious education textbooks for BiH engage with the new model of faith education for the country’s Islamic community (as is evident in the edition for nine-year primary schooling), which bodes well for future improvements. The versions of textbooks for Catholic religious education at BiH’s eight-year primary schools contain passages of text which, in accordance with the subject curriculum, point to engagement with a range of ‘others’, including members of different religious groups, races and nationalities. These textbooks further contain discussion of other worldviews, such as atheism, and of the Catholic view on new religious movements. In terms of the region’s various faiths, the books evince a certain distance from the on-the-ground reality and from current issues in BiH society, with other faiths consistently presented to students as faraway entities. The descriptions of what are referred to as the world religions depict them as static in nature. Some isolated local examples from the books are problematic in their failure to make BiH the primary country of reference for the text. Their depiction of atheism and agnosticism likewise has its issues. These

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notwithstanding, these textbooks are the only to address the matter of religious plurality. Approximately 15 % of the content of these textbooks is devoted to topics such as these, as compared to the 10 % of timetabled lesson time stipulated in the curriculum for the treatment of other faiths. The books contain a large number of illustrations whose purpose is to provide visual familiarisation with the other religions discussed in the text; here we can observe a degree of critical self-reflection missing elsewhere in the teaching materials. An external analysis has thus come to positive findings on these textbooks.27 The textbooks for Serbian Orthodox religious education have been designed with catechistic purposes in mind. They contain isolated depiction and discussion of other faiths, with Islam, Protestantism and ‘sects’ given specific presentations as religious bodies in their own right. This content makes up approximately 5 % of the books’ total content. There is no discussion at all of the interrelationships among different faiths in society, and among the few illustrations included, there are none relating to other faiths or religious groupings. As is also apparent in the Serbian Orthodox religious education curriculum, there is no indication of an attitude of openness towards ecumenical relations or dialogue or trialogue whatsoever. Indeed, to the contrary, these matters receive a depiction which induces negative conclusions on these other faiths in learners, or, alternatively, the text contains explicit criticism and negative portrayal of other religions. Explicitly positive depictions of ‘others’ are generally limited to discussion of other Orthodox.

8.1

Islamic religious education textbooks

8.1.1 “Others” avoided The year one textbook28 for Islamic religious education frequently avoids references to different religions in those lessons which would be particularly suitable for such discussion, affording an opportunity for pupils to discuss pictures from the textbook or refer to their own friends in this context. An example might serve to illustrate this point: In the lesson on ‘The Greeting of Peace’, children are taught the Bosnian spelling variants es-selamu alejkum and alejkumu-s-selam 27 Husremovic´ et al. 2009: 173f. This SOROS study ‘What Are We Teaching Our Children?’ (2009) confirmed that the primary school books discussed here are of high educational and design quality and can be considered textbooks which encourage critical thinking among pupils. These textbooks discuss religious diversity in a positive light as well as giving critical information on negative roles played in history by the religious communities they represent. 28 This is an analysis of textbooks for eight-year primary schooling. The textbooks for nine-year primary school are somewhat different, but their approach to different religions remains similar (approach from the Islamic perspective). Textbook: Nisˇtovic´ et al., 2004.

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and told that non-Muslims should be greeted with the words ‘Good morning’ and ‘Good day’ (Religious Education book for year 1, p. 23, henceforth R1: 23). The book does not offer any further information on who ‘non-Muslims’ are or how pupils can recognise them).29

8.1.2 Monotheistic religions in the Islamic context Figures in Islamic religious education who are also relevant to Judaism and Christianity, such as Ibrahim (Abraham), Musa (Moses), Yunus (Jonah), and Isa (Jesus), are first mentioned in year 5, in the lesson ‘Five Great Gifts from Allah’ (R5: 109ff.). The names given to these figures are the Islamic ones, and their historical contexts are interpreted from an Islamic perspective. For instance, Abraham, Jonah, and Moses are shown as praying to Allah, and their names in the faiths from which they originally come are not given. An exception is made in relation to Jesus: ‘The Christians teach that Isa (Jesus) is the Son of God, that he is a true god [sic] and truly man, and that he is the foundation and the centre of the Christian faith’ (R5: 111). The year 7 lesson ‘Faith in Heavenly Revelations’ contains only one sentence on the four major Abrahamic books of revelation: ‘The Tevrat [the Torah] was revealed to Musa’; ‘The Zebur [the Psalms] was revealed to Davud’; ‘The Indzˇil [the Gospel] was revealed to Isa’; ‘The Koran was revealed to Muhammad’ (R7: 66). What is discussed here is not expanded upon or placed in the context of other faiths. The questions that accompany the lesson imply that all these holy books of revelation are to be regarded as belonging to Islam (R7: 66). The year 8 textbook (Sulejmanovic´ et al. 2004) includes several lessons in which other religions are explicitly referenced from an Islamic perspective. An example is the lesson ‘Books of Revelation’, which names the Torah, the Psalms, the Gospels and the Koran, citing the Islamic forms of their names, and refers to them as the books revealed to various peoples through the Angel Gabriel, Allah’s messenger (R8: 10ff.). The part of the text discussing the Torah contains only brief asides on the book’s religious context, such as ‘The original version of the “Tevrat”, revealed by Allah cc, no longer exists today, because the Jews did not preserve it’(R8: 11). We can see from such passages that the teaching provides no information, simple or otherwise, on Judaism and does not explore its internal nuances. We might interpret such statements as providing monocausal explanations which transmit a negative attitude towards Judaism, presenting the viewpoint that the Jews, unlike the Muslims later, did not take the word of God sufficiently seriously. It is 29 For further examples, see Religious Education for year 2 of primary schooling, 15 and 61.

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in our view positive, however, that the textbook clearly gives the book’s Jewish name. The Gospels are initially defined from an Islamic perspective: ‘The Indzˇil is a set of instructions for those who have remained on the path of the Tevrat.’ The conclusion drawn from this is that Jesus was a Muslim and announced the coming of Mohammed (R8: 12). It is not until after this that the book discusses the Gospels as adopted by the ‘church’, without any differentiation of which church is being referred to. It is only in this context that the book uses the term ‘Gospels’; this is the first time throughout the book that it references – without giving sources – the views of academics who doubt the authenticity of the Biblical narrative (R8: 12). The textbook points explicitly to the differences in the ways in which the Bible and the Koran interpret Jesus’ life and teachings, but Christianity is not discussed without being viewed in parallel through the lens of the Koran. We can see from this that these textbooks consistently refer to other religions from an Islamic perspective, despite the occasional presentation of a Christian view. However, the books completely fail to discuss or explore the societally intertwined nature of the monotheistic religions in BiH.

8.1.3 The ‘Others’: ‘Superstition’ and Atheism The textbooks contain little material on other faiths and worldviews; what there is, however, is considerably illuminating. For example, the books’ exploration of popular religion begins in year 2, with a lesson entitled ‘The Witch’ (R2: 36) which tells a story about a witch who cannot solve her own problems and follows it up with questions and information on witches, magicians, tarot card readers and others who carry out practices considered forbidden by Islam, including all forms of seeking help from deceased family members at their gravesides. The reference to such practices represents an indirect allusion to Islamic popular religiosity, but does not expand on the discussion. The lesson concludes with the moral that it is not permitted to be ‘superstitious’ and that girls should stop trying to tell their fortunes in coffee grounds. (R2: 37) ´ atovic´ 2004) atheists are given an explicit mention In the year 6 textbook (C (R6: 20); the lesson ‘The Nature of kufr’ (Arabic for ‘unbelief ’) discusses people who, due to their upbringings, education, and/or ignorance, do not believe in any god, adding that the presence of belief in a god is, in the Islamic view of things, the normal human state. The book deems unbelievers to be those who believe in elements and natural phenomena such as fire and thunder as well as those who ‘do not believe in Allah’, those who ‘do not believe in the correct way’, and those who ‘doubt the word of God’ (R6: 20). It describes such people as insecure, lacking in confidence, and pitiable (R6: 19). We are justified in doubting whether

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this position can allow the development of fruitful dialogue with those holding other views.

8.2

Catholic religious education textbooks

8.2.1 Implicit depictions of other religions Catholic religious education in the first two years of schooling seeks to enable pupils to locate themselves in the religious spectrum and consequently avoids explicit discussion of religious or cultural plurality.30 There is, however, engagement with differences among people; in year 1 (Jaksˇic´ & Mic´anovic´ 2005), teachers using the textbooks explore with their pupils the individual differences between the pupils in the class (R1: 11), discuss God’s creation of different people as brothers and sisters (R1: 22) and state that God extends an invitation to all people to be his people (R1: 32). In year 2, in a way similar to that observed in textbooks for Islamic religious education, the books point pupils to their friends from their own religious background (R2: 8ff.) (Jaksˇic´ & Mic´anovic´ 2005). Further, they discuss differences between rich and poor, old and young, sick and well, and between people of different races and colours (R2: 20). This rather idealised, ‘model’ way of engaging with what is ‘other’ is to be found throughout these textbooks; it both shows interest in the ‘Other’ and indicates to pupils that religious education is about, among other things, interacting with others and perceiving and respecting their difference from oneself. 8.2.2 Explicit depictions of religious pluralism A Catholic textbook for year 5 contains the first explicit discussion of questions of the meaning of life, theodicy and religious plurality.31 Questions such as ‘Where do human beings come from? Why am I alive? Why do we suffer and die?’ serve to introduce the key point ‘Many people look for answers to these questions in faith’ (R5: 19). There follows an outline of the beginnings of the history of religion and of religious plurality, discussed from the perspective of the faithful. Atheists are mentioned as part of this plurality (R5: 21). There are, however, no details at this stage on specific worldviews.

30 For Catholic Religious Education textbooks see also Sˇtimac, Zrinka: From Vrhbosna to Brussels. Catholic Religious Education Between Local and European Perspectives. In Education on Post-Conflict Transition. Politicization of Religion in School Textbooks ed. by Gorana Ognjenovic´ and Jasna Jozelic´, Palgrave 2017: 99–127. 31 Razum et al., 2003, Chapter II, covering 19 pages (374 lines), with 44 illustrations.

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The book communicates facts and information about the ‘inhabitants of the earth’ and their religions via the fictitious friends David, Ana, Chen and Sanela, who all live in the same town (R5: 22). The lessons in this chapter seek to raise pupils’ awareness of different ways of being religious and of the need to promote dialogue, friendship and mutual respect among the global community of humanity (R5: 32). The chapter takes a positive position towards religious diversity throughout; we can regard it as a successful example of support for religious pluralism, despite its rather idealised character and the fact that it does not relate specifically to religious diversity in BiH. Buddhism and Islam are on the year 5 curriculum.32 The former, although the book describes it as a religion from the Far East, is depicted as being part of BiH society. Nevertheless, the description of Buddhism is limited to just one of its schools. Although this information gives a less than complete picture, we can assert that this part of the textbook draws a positive picture of Buddhism. The book presents Islam as a religion with a relationship to the region and the country by illustrating its 27-line introduction with a picture of the Gazi-Husrev Bey mosque in Sarajevo (R5: 28). The terms ‘Allah’, ‘Mohammed’, ‘Mecca’ and ‘Medina’ are given visual emphasis in the text. This lesson further contains brief pieces of text on the Koran, Mecca, the Kaaba, mosques, their minarets, Ramadan and the Hijra. ‘Allah’ is referred to as the name of God in Islam; there is no mention of the 99 names of God. The book depicts Muslims as approachable partners in dialogue, as evinced by the additional material’s encouragement of students to talk to other students in order to find out more about Islam (R5: 28). Further, learners are asked to name the things that Islam and Christianity have in common. The chapter neither compares nor interrelates the various religions upon which it touches, instead consistently emphasising the shared precepts of all of the world’s major religions (R5: 33), such as the ‘Golden Rule’, formulated thus from the Christian perspective: ‘So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you’ (Mt 7:12).33 There is a distinct emphasis on the positive aspects of religious diversity. There is no discussion here of problems or issues which might arise in connection with religious diversity. Judaism is discussed in the textbooks for almost all year groups (Cf. Pazˇin 2004; Razum 2003), always with a mention of its historic interrelationship with Christianity.34 A total of thirteen pages of the year 7 textbook describe the history, 32 Each religion discussed in this chapter is described in approximately 40 lines, referencing selected aspects of its history, facts and episodes from the life of its founder, its places of prayer, and its visual imagery. Key terms are given visual emphasis and additional information is provided as supplementary to the lesson. 33 New International Version. 34 For further examples see R3: 35ff., R4: 65ff., R4: 71, R5: 53ff., R5: 68–86 and R6: 20–49.

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holy books, rites and rituals of Judaism and the dialogue that has taken place between Jews and Catholics. The characteristics of Judaism appear as static entities, without any information on intra-religious variations. Similarly, there is no attempt to point out the occurrence of Judaism in students’ surroundings in BiH or discuss the history of the religion in the locality. Despite this omission, there is a general – and brief – attempt to point to the presence of Judaism in BiH society (R7: 52). Judaism is described as ‘the oldest monotheistic religion and […] the source of Christianity and Islam’. Its holy books and texts are discussed from a Catholic perspective, which contrasts with the more neutral depiction of its history (R7: 54).35 A subsection on ‘Dialogue between Judaism and the Catholic Church’ discusses relations between Christians and Jews in the context of the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965). The textbook consistently presents a positive view of the future in regard to the Jewish-Christian relationship. 8.2.3 Diversity within Christianity and Ecumenism Year 7 includes teaching on the various Christian churches (R7: 122–135), with individual brief lessons on the Serbian Orthodox, Greek Catholic and various Protestant churches, consisting of text, illustrations and summaries.36 The chapter ends in a lesson on ecumenism (R7: 133–135). The depictions here of various churches are similar in their initial relative lack of key facts and figures on the history of these churches, such as year of foundation or schism. They provide a few sentences on the church’s teachings without going into detail or following up this information in any way. Each of these lessons concludes with current numbers of adherents and the presence of the religion in the locality, which latter, however, refers primarily to the Republic of Croatia and not to BiH. At the end of the chapter, the ecumenical movement receives a positive description (R7: 133– 135).37

35 The discussion takes up 76 lines/three pages and uses three illustrations (a Torah scroll, a rabbi and a Star of David). 36 This chapter contains explicit discussion of the various Christian churches, which the previous chapter, Chapter 5, on ‘The church – a new prophetic community’ (R7: 89–120) lists in a general historical overview from a Catholic perspective. Page 108 discusses the Catharists and the Waldensians, p. 110ff. the crisis of the Church, Martin Luther and the Reformation, and 115ff. the Enlightenment. 37 Other textbooks also discuss the ecumenical movement: see R4: 98; R4: 105 on ecumenism and dialogue; R5: 33 with general information about the movement; R4: 94 on interreligious meetings.

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The year 8 textbook discusses alternative worldviews such as atheism and New Religious Movements (R8: 29–50) (Perisˇ 2005). The book’s authors evidently pursue the aim of familiarising learners with current societal phenomena and providing an academically founded approach to issues of people’s religiosity. However, it is in this chapter that we notice the largest number of problematic statements. There are factual errors, one-sided or one-dimensional definitions, invalid comparisons, deliberately negative assessments of other worldviews and negatively connotated imagery. The one-sided definition of ‘religion’ (R8: 32, as the act of turning personally to God) suggests to pupils that the belief in a personal God, in the form of a monotheistic religion, is the highest form of religious adherence and way of life. The book states that atheism is entirely unacceptable to Christians (R8: 40) and should be combated with knowledge about religion. Although it also recommends pursuing the path of tolerance and dialogue (R8: 40), we may wonder how such dialogue is to take place if atheism is to be regarded as entirely unacceptable. The book’s text reveals that its authors categorise as ‘new religious movements or sects’ (R8: 43) various religions and movements of Christian and non-Christian origin. Religions, practices and belief systems counted within this definition include Hinduism, Buddhism, Transcendental Meditation and pantheism, alongside ‘sects with a Christian character’ such as Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Mormons, the Children of God and the Sun Myung Moon Unification Church.

8.3

Serbian Orthodox religious education textbooks

The textbook for year 2 (Dubravac 2006), the first year of religious education in this curriculum, effectively sets out the coordinates of what is to follow with the statement: ‘Our greeting is: May God help us!’ (R2: 6). The possessive pronoun ‘our’ gives the impression, analogously to that communicated by the Islamic greeting ‘selam’ discussed above, that there is an exclusively ‘Orthodox’ religious formula of greeting, which thus signals a boundary, both religious and cultural in nature, between ‘us’ and the ‘others’. The book does not mention any other formulae of greeting among members of the Orthodox faith and, as in Islamic religious education, does not discuss greetings given by adherents of other religions.

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8.3.1 Judaism and Islam The work scheduled for year 2, while it discusses Old Testament figures such as Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph and Moses, does not make mention of Judaism as a separate faith, a situation that continues in textbooks for more advanced students. The depictions of Old Testament stories from an Orthodox perspective that appear in the year 2 textbook are brief and age-appropriate, but the year 6 textbook (Mojsilovic´ 2006) contains a negative judgement on the Jews as those who deserved God’s punishment (R6: 12). A two-page, forty-five-line lesson on Islam, entitled ‘Islam – The Phenomenon and its Extent’ (R6: 30f.), presents a picture of the religion featuring brief outlines of the life of Mohammed, the Five Pillars of Islam and the way the faith sees and conceives of itself, from an Orthodox perspective. The life of Mohammed is depicted in such a way as to inevitably raise doubts around the traditional Islamic narrative on the subject (R6: 30). The materials cite, as part of Islam’s idea of itself, the notion that ‘Islam regards itself as an extension of the religion of Abraham as depicted in the Old Testament, a religion which according to Islam the Christians and Jews have ruined’ (R6: 31).

8.3.2 The ‘western’ churches The year 6 textbook contains discussions of various ‘western churches’. The ‘Western Church’, as the Roman Catholic Church is generally called in this textbook (on three pages with a total of 59 lines), is perceived through the lens of the East-West Schism 1045, and is subject to negative judgement through enunciation of its various ‘errors’ (or ‘sins’) on points of form and faith (R6: 39). The teachings thus condemned include the filioque, papal infallibility, the concept of purgatory, and the immaculate conception of Mary. Each is contrasted with the corresponding Orthodox teaching (R6: 39f.), which introduces a comparative perspective to the detriment of the ‘other’ faith. A similar treatment is applied to the discussion and negative evaluation of ‘new’ rituals and practices within Catholicism (Communion, confirmation, celibacy and the use of the organ in services) (R6: 40f.; R6: 41). Although this lesson does indeed enable learners to identify similarities and differences between the Serbian Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches, its aim is not to compare them, but instead to distinguish between ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ religious position. Luther and the Reformation appear within the units on ‘Reformation in Germany and the Emergence of Lutheranism’ and ‘The History of the Reformation in Germany’. The first of these provides an account of the life of Luther, the motives which led to his posting the 95 Theses, and his teachings in general. The depiction mixes information with interpretation and contains inaccuracies.

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Of his four solae, only two – sola fide and sola scriptura – receive a mention. The section is rounded off with questions which relate more to criticism of the Roman Catholic Church than to Protestantism itself. Ecumenism is the subject of a forty-eight-line lesson on ‘The Orthodox Church and Ecumenism’ which includes the statement ‘The Orthodox should leave the [ecumenical] World Council of Churches as soon as possible’ (R6: 55). Accurate factual information on the beginnings of the ecumenical movement and the foundation of the World Council of Churches (WCC) is followed by primarily critical discussion of this movement and organisation. The lesson concludes with speculations on a global conspiracy: The text interprets the fact that the World Council of Churches seeks to create a climate of openness for interfaith dialogue with representatives of Judaism, Islam and ‘some other religions’ in an entirely negative light, as ‘approaching the position of the Freemasons’ (R6: 55). 8.3.3 ‘Sects’ The year 8 textbook (Stojanovic´ 2006) contains discussion of the term ‘sect’ and about the various ‘sects’ in existence which are listed as the Jehovah’s Witnesses (R8: 42), Satanists (R8: 43), Adventists (R8: 44) and members of Pentecostal churches (R8: 45). The book cites the work of the psychologist Margaret Thaler Singer on cults38 to supply what is clearly intended to be an appropriately modern rationale for its negative idea of and attitude towards these organisations ‘of hostile mind’. According to Singer, and, in its reference to her, likewise according to the textbook’s author, these ‘sects’ have the sole aim of destroying the individual and the family (R8: 40). It might be considered a positive point that the text makes any mention at all of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, Satanists, Adventists and Pentecostal churches and gives information on how they came into being. The manner in which the book consistently condemns the teachings of each group as ‘wrong’, however, is problematic. The topic of ‘sects’ appears once again in the year 9 textbook (Vrhovac 2006) (R9: 61f.), with a still clearer intent to mark a distinct boundary between these groupings and the Orthodox (R9: 61). The book exhorts pupils to avoid falling victim to these ‘wolves in sheep’s clothing’ (R9: 62) by developing a thorough knowledge of the teachings of ‘our’ church, taking part in ‘our’ liturgy and staying in close contact with their priests.

38 No sources are given in the book. Singer’s work has been controversial since her analytical equation of the New Religious Movements in the US with brainwashing cults.

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Religion in school outside of RE

Since three different forms of religious education exist in BiH, the two Churches offer parallel compulsory catechesis in their own institutional frame and Islamic religious community offer religious instructions in mektebs and madrasaha, no further religious activities apart from denominational religious instruction and “Culture of religion” exist in public schools. Offers such as pastoral care and religious rituals are therefore not available. However, the situation is quite different when it comes to the use of religious symbols in schools. These are used in different and sometimes controversial ways in many schools. The OSCE has already in 2004 mentioned criteria for problematic religious symbols (OSCE 2004, see also OSCE 2006: Report on Implementation of the Criteria for School Names and Symbols. The Restricted Coordination Board, Vlasic, 04–05 April 2006). These include, for example, that the school name should have “no exclusive, narrow religious connotation” and that religious symbols should only be found in the classroom for religious education. If a separate classroom for religious education does not exist, the symbols may only be used during lessons. Despite the above-mentioned regulation on school names, the 2006 OSCE report explicitly states that the name and images of the Serbian Orthodox saint Sava [Sv. Sava] are acceptable (OSCE 2006, 4f.), as are the images of Serbian war leaders, but they may be displayed “only” in history classes.39 Such exceptions of course open many questions and ambivalences. Following, many schools use religious names and symbols exclusively of the majority population, they use religious symbols outside the classrooms (e. g. in the teachers’ room, the school corridor and the schoolyard) and organize festivities of an exclusively religious character in schools. The issue of religious holidays is particularly sensitive because the state does not recognize religious as state holidays. The members of parliament disagree on state holidays, which is why the relevant law has not yet been passed. However, religious holidays are recognised by the respective cantonal administrative units in the Federation of BiH as well as in RS. In the Federation of BiH, the law allows anyone who is employed to take four days a year (two of them paid) to celebrate their own religious holidays. These include in particular Good Friday, Easter and Christmas (Catholic and Serbian Orthodox), as well as Kurban Bayram (Eid alAdha) and Ramadan Bayram (Eid al-Fitr).40 In RS, Easter and Christmas (Serbian 39 Siehe OSZE 12. 04. 2006, Themengeschichte von Helene Harroff-Tavel: Ono sˇto trebamo jeste izbaciti politiku iz sˇkole, 5. 40 For the holidays in 2020 in the Federation see https://www.paragraf.ba/neradni-dani-fbih. html.

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Orthodox and Catholic), Good Friday (Serbian Orthodox) as well as Eid al-Adha and Ramadan Eid are celebrated. Here, some issue are obvious. Firstly, on these holidays all the authorities and schools representing the majority population are closed. Secondly, the holidays are reserved only for the believers of “historical religions” mentioned in the constitution. Similarly, no holidays are planned for agnostics and atheists, who can therefore celebrate far fewer holidays per year. In schools, the problem was and is particularly visible: On which religious holidays should pupils have time off ? Especially the celebration organized by the individual teachers for all students, is criticized by the respective others as “means of pressure” and an attempt of religious “conversion”.

10

Training of teachers of RE: institutes, structures, priorities issues

10.1

Teacher training for faith-based RE

Education within the Islamic community takes place at a number of levels. Religious education teachers are responsible for delivering religious education classes in state schools, while imams cover instruction in religious schools and at theological faculties. Imams, teacher for RE and other teaching figures belong to Ilmijja, an association for religious educators, which is based in Sarajevo. According to the Islamic community’s most important medium, the periodical Glasnik Rijaseta, the number of students taking part in religious education in state schools is rising continuously, while the numbers enrolled in faith preschools are decreasing, dramatically in places (Glasnik Rijaseta no. 5–6, 2007, 427f. and 431f.). Islamic religious education is delivered in all the Federation’s cantons. In the year 2007, approximately 82 % of lower secondary pupils take part in Islamic religious education classes (Glasnik Rijaseta no. 4–5, 2006, p. 486). The appropriate religious district (muftijstvo) is responsible for the delivery of teaching and the rights of the teachers. Teachers in the subject are trained in three-year courses at the faculties of Islamic education in Zenica and Bihac´ and at the Faculty of Islamic Studies in Sarajevo. Graduates of the latter who wish to teach religious education are required to obtain a permit from the Rijaset. In general, graduates of the faculties of Islamic education and of the Islamic studies faculty, like those from all other religious institutions in BiH, may only teach in state schools if they pass a state teacher examination. Most of the RE teachers in BiH are paid for a maximum of 20 hours a week directly by the state; according to

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the Rijaset, their salary generally amounted to approximately 270–300 Euro per month, which is similar to Catholic and Serbian Orthodox teachers’ salaries. On 8 December 1993 the Bishops’ Conference of BiH was established by the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples (Vrhbosna 1–4, 1995: 49f.). It gave rise to and became a space for a number of councils and commissions, such as a Catechistic Council; the Educational Council of the Bishops’ Conference, which oversees the Catholic ‘Schools for Europe’ in the country; BiH’s first Catholic Press Agency; and a Council for ecumenical issues and dialogue among faiths and cultures (Vrhbosna 1–4, 1995: 66f.). The Catechistic Council of the Bishops’ Conference is responsible for religious education in schools, and each of the four dioceses has a catechistic office, with the arch-diocese of Vrhbosna having a metropolitan catechistic office (Ibid). The Catechistic Council considers religious education in schools and church-based catechesis to be of equal importance; however, we refer exclusively to the former here. In public schools Catholic religious education is delivered by both graduates in theology and catechists with additional training. Teachers of Catholic religious education are graduates in theology and trained catechists. Training takes place at the Faculty of Catholic theology of Vrhbosna (Vrhbosanska katolicˇka teologija), at the Faculty of Franciscan theology (Franjevacˇka teologija), and at the Theological Institute in Mostar (Teolosˇki Institut Mostar). Responsibility for religious education at state schools in RS has rested since 1995 with the entity’s Ministry for Education and Culture, while the church takes care of developing curricula and textbooks, which then undergo an approval process conducted by the Ministry or the Pedagogical Institute of the Republic (Republicˇki pedagosˇki zavod). In the RS, since the conclusion of the Dayton Agreement, the Ministry of Education and Culture has cooperated closely with the Episcopal Council (Episkopski savjet) to deliver religious education. The Episcopal Council is an organisation of which all Serbian Orthodox bishops in BiH are members and which takes key decisions on the various issues which fall within its remit, including education. It is responsible, inter alia, for the Orthodox religious education curriculum in the RS, and approves and appoints teachers for the subject at primary schools (Vukovic´ 2005: 16f.). Further, the Council works closely with the Episcopal Assembly in Belgrade. The Catechistic Committee (Katehetski odbor) is a body subordinate to the Episcopal Council which was established for the specific purpose of taking care of religious education in the entity of the RS. When regular school-based religious education commenced in the country in the 1990s, a shortage of trained teaching staff led to local priests taking on the task, but their other commitments made it virtually impossible for them to deliver the classes consistently and regularly (Dabar informator no. 8, 1997: 1f.). As their pupils were young people with, in general, very little knowledge of the faith, the methodologies applied needed adaptation

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to these limitations (Vukovic´ 2005, 16f.). Teachers of the subject today range from priests with middle-school education to theologians trained at either the Orthodox Theological Faculty (Pravoslavni bogoslovski Fakultät) Sv. Vasilije Ostrosˇki in Focˇa, a part of the university located in eastern Sarajevo, or the Faculty of Orthodox Theology of the University of Belgrade. Students in Focˇa who intend to go on to teach religious education in the RS are required to take subjects such as ‘Orthodox Catechetics with Educational and Methodological Studies’. All teachers of religious education have to pass a state examination which must be conducted in the presence of staff from the relevant theological faculty and from the Ministry of Education. In the early years of this religious education’s existence, the faith communities running it were required to cover the cost of the courses and pay the teachers themselves. The difficult financial situation in the post-war period left the faith communities struggling to meet this requirement, with the result that the state eventually took over the funding of religious education.

10.2

Teacher training for “Culture of Religions”

For many years, teacher training for the subject ‘Culture of Religions’ was organised by the Goethe Institute in Sarajevo. This is because, by the end of 2008 at the latest, the Head of the OSCE’s department of education in BiH and the director of the Goethe Institute in BiH both held responsibility for the ‘Culture of Religions’ project.41 Any teacher was qualified to teach ‘Culture of Religions’ provided that he or she held a degree in the arts or humanities (sociology, philosophy, politics or theology) and had completed a training course organised by the Goethe Institute. The participants are trained in seminars lasting four days by tutors who, although they hold educational qualifications, are self-taught in the area of religious literacy.42 Up until 2007, twelve training seminars were held in BiH,43 encompassing work on the curriculum for ‘Culture of Religions’, the 41 See the website for ‘Culture of Religion’, URL: http://web.archive.org/web/20070520125230/ http://www.kultura-religija.ba/. [last access 21. 04. 2020]. 42 In the early years, these were the secondary school teachers Zuhra Kalauzovic´ and Ranka Katalinski. 43 Cf. OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina Education Department (September 2007): Towards Inter-Religious Understanding in Bosnia and Herzegovina. A Status Report on the Pilot Course Culture of Religions. 2. URL: http://www.OSCEbih.org/documents/9906-eng. pdf. The seminars took place in Neum in 2002; Rama-Sˇc´it, 2003; Banja Luka, 2003; Neum, 2004; Prozor-Rama, 2004; Sarajevo, 2005; Rama-Sˇc´it, 2006; Zenica, 2007; and in the year 2008 three seminars took place in the RS. One result of the 2006 seminar in Rama was a declaration, dated 24 August 2006 and signed by all participants, addressing the inevitable introduction of the subject in schools. Goethe Institute documentation, Sarajevo, 2007.

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units in which the participants’ attitudes to the new subject are discussed and analysed, the didactics and methodology of the subject, and a group evaluation. Following what had in their view been a successful training course, future teachers in the training centre located at Rama/Sˇc´it made a declaration in which they pointed out the significance and relevance of the subject.44 They believed that there could be no alternative to introducing the subject ‘Culture of Religions’ into the BiH education system, as it conveyed relevant knowledge about various religions, and maintained that this knowledge was the prerequisite for tolerance and the acceptance of all peoples within BiH. At the end of the seminars, the organisers, that is, the Goethe Institute and the OSCE, awarded certificates to the participants. As these certificates were not issued by a ministry of education, however, they are not recognised by all entities and in all cantons. Despite the enthusiasm with which the teachers carried out this work with a view to improving BiH society, several organisational difficulties arose. Although the project leads worked intensively on the project’s implementation for many years, they had put together a team in which no individual possessed relevant education or training in the study of religion or sociology of religion or in a related field. The job advertisements for the project equally suggest that there was no demand for specialist academic knowledge about religion; instead, they called for basic knowledge of the religions in BiH without giving this requirement particular priority or emphasis.45 Despite the high level of motivation among these staff, these issues with qualifications are particularly problematic when one considers that these are the people responsible for training future teachers of ‘Culture of Religions’. This manner of selecting employees also seems ambivalent in that several local experts such as ´ imic´, Ivan Cvitkovic´ and Nusret Isanovic´ worked in the Mojca Leban, Esad C curriculum group and in the specialist consultations, but none of them was enlisted at a later stage for ‘Culture of Religions’. The offers made by the University of Sarajevo to provide the teacher training seminars for the new subject at the Department of Sociology were likewise rejected.46 Instead, there had been 44 See Goethe Institute documentation: ‘Ramsko-Sˇc´itska Deklaracija od 24. 08. 2006 godine’ [The Rama/Sˇc´it-Declaration of 24 August, 2009]. 45 This was not the case, as previously discussed, for the curriculum design team. The job advertisements from the years 2007 and 2009 are no longer available on the Goethe Institute website, but the author is in possession of copies. The last advertisement issued by the OSCE is from 23 September, 2009, URL: http://www.OSCEbih.org/administration/default.asp?d=8& id=663 [last access 25. 09. 2009]. This advertisement seeks to recruit a person to document and analyse the situation as a whole in BiH regarding ‘Culture of Religion’. 46 Information and documentation (2006 curriculum) on the amendments to the subject of sociology made by the university, adapted to teacher training for ‘Culture of Religion’. Kindly made available by Ivan Cvitkovic´, Professor of Sociology at the University of Sarajevo until 2010.

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efforts on the part of the Goethe Institute since 2007 to establish a ‘Centre for the Culture of Religions’ in order to create a teacher training centre that would not be dependent on the local university-based facilities.47 Paradoxically, the OSCE claimed at the same time that responsibility for the project should gradually be shifted from the international organisations towards local ones; and accordingly, the teacher training seminars are now organised by local organisations.

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Empirical research concerning RE

Very few studies on religion in education have appeared in BiH in the last twenty years. This section will outline the three of the greatest significance. A study funded by the Open Society Fund BiH and published in December ˇ elebicˇic´ et al. 2014) deals specifically with the effects of the introduction of 2014 (C school subjects positioned as alternatives to faith-based RE in primary schools of the Sarajevo Canton. The pupils in these schools were at this time permitted to opt out from both RE and a subject entitled ‘Society/Culture/Religion’ (SCR) and ˇ elebicˇic´ et al. 2014: 9f.).48 instead take a subject called ‘Healthy Lifestyles’ (HL) (C The study concluded that, in general, pupils attending SCR or HL classes were not offered an adequate alternative to religious education, meaning that they, their parents and teachers were treated unequally to those attending religious education (Ibid.: 6f., 35f.). Syllabi for these subjects contained insufficiently defined learning objectives, which were more cognitive in nature than directed towards acquiring skills and attitudes. Inter-subject correlation was underdefined, the contents of different subjects overlapped, and the parameters for evaluation were non-existent (Ibid.). Although the Islamic religious education syllabus was better structured than that of the alternative subjects, it also suffered from poorly defined and barely measurable learning objectives. Its content was, however, clearly differentiated from the Islamic instruction offered at primary Islamic schools (mektebs) and accordingly was not meant to offer teaching about practical religious aspects (rituals) but rather was intended to focus on learning about universal human values (Ibid.). The curricular content of both Islamic religious education and SCR was largely comparable in terms of the educational values the subjects sought to transmit, while the content of HL had more of a functional orientation (Ibid.: 6f.: 33f.). In practice, some Islamic religious education teachers insisted on pupils memorising parts of the Koran or learning religious 47 Cf. Goethe Institute documentation: ‘Arbeitsplan für die “Kultur der Religionen” 2007–2008’, 2. This ‘study course’ was also to be designed and coordinated by people without a qualification in the study of religion. 48 This subject was introduced in September 2013 in curricula for primary schools (years 5–9).

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rituals or on using age-inappropriate content, none of which practices was in line with the curriculum (Ibid.: 7f., 34f.). These teachers received regular support and expert advice from the Cantonal Education and Pedagogical Institute, they attended training more frequently than teachers of the secular alternatives, and received professional publications and teaching supplies. By contrast, SCR and HL teachers received no expert advice and rarely had seminars organised for them, which exacerbated the lack of sufficiently developed curricula and textbooks for the two subjects (Ibid.: 6f., 35f.). Since the number of pupils attending these two alternative subjects was comparatively small, their teachers were often unable to organise classes in line with the curriculum. Furthermore, the parents were insufficently informed about the content of the two subjects and the values driving them. The IMIC association (International Multicultural Interreligious Centre, Sarajevo) published research findings from a project entitled ‘Interreligious Dialogue Through Education and Communication of Young People in the Multicultural Society of Bosnia and Herzegovina’ in March 2009 (Pstrocki 2009). This research analysed prospects for the inclusion of young people in interreligious dialogue and the quality of their understanding of their own religion as well as religions of others in BiH (Ibid.: 7f.). Within the broader research topics touched upon by this IMIC study, it is interesting for our purposes to note pupils’ perceptions of the introduction of ‘Culture of Religions’ as a school subject. When asked: ‘Would you like to attend CoR classes?’, a majority of pupils (ranging from 60.6 to 88.5 per cent) across eight locations in BiH gave an affirmative answer. Similarly, when asked: ‘Do you want to learn more about other religions?’, a majority of pupils (ranging from 56.6 to 91.4 per cent) said yes (Ibid.: 20f.). During a workshop held in Tuzla in July 2007, at which the research team organised and conducted discussions with school teachers and a presentation of the recently established Masters programme in religious studies at CIPS, major problems in the implementation of CoR were identified as stemming from the lack of a unified or systematic approach. Textbooks and other teaching supplies differ from school to school and from teacher to teacher, a factor to be considered in addition to the previously mentioned inconsistencies in the curricula as to the school years in which CoR was to be taught. A further piece of work in this area is the qualitative and quantitative study conducted by the SOROS Open Society Fund in 2007/8, one of whose concerns is the situation of textbooks in BiH. The textbook analysis in this study is a first attempt at a comprehensive exploration of the teaching of religion in the country. Primarily sociological in nature, the study seeks to ascertain information on both educational and political aspects of various textbooks from the so-called national subjects (history, geography, students’ native language, religious education). It analysed a total of fifteen religious education textbooks from the three churches

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and religious communities providing the classes, focusing on the educational approaches in evidence and the quality of textbook design alongside factors such as conformity to legal stipulations and the books’ concrete content (Husremovic´ et al. 2009: 151–162f.). Among the study’s positive findings is the fact that at least the Catholic textbooks featured very high educational and design quality and placed considerable emphasis on dialogue, tolerance, liberty and individual development (Ibid.: 183f.). These textbooks, the study found, provided positively connotated discussions of religious diversity and supplied critical information on the role of churches and religious communities in history (Ibid.: 175f.). The Islamic textbooks were identified as being middling in terms both of educational standards and graphic quality and as lagging behind Catholic and Serbian Orthodox publications with regard to the spectrum of issues covered by their content (Ibid.: 172f.). The textbooks for Serbian Orthodox religious education were found to have the least helpful proportion of positive to negative examples, in terms both of their content and of its educational presentation (Ibid.: 182f.). All this said, all textbooks do include degrees of problematic content. For instance, some examples attribute an essential position of martyrdom to the faith being studied and glorify the religious sacrifices made. Others depict religious diversity as negative, while still others cite instances from the history of the faith which transmit troubling political messages (Ibid).

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Desiderata and challenges for RE in a European context

12.1

External critique of RE

One of the key challenges related to faith-based religious education in BiH arose in the period of education reform led by the international community, when religious education in the country’s state schools was criticised to cement ethnic divisions. It must be noted in the face of this argument that actors in the field have not sought to resolve issues of ethnic division by working with religious institutions. Instead, and quite to the contrary, they have attempted to influence the situation while circumventing these institutions and while taking steps to establish ‘Culture of Religions’ as a new school subject, partly ignoring the legal situation (cf. the Dayton Agreement), as is in evidence in the centralist approach taken and the lack of regard to the fact that the relevant ministries of each entity have authority in educational matters. Taking this into account, we might draw the following conclusions about the modernisation and Europeanization of education in BiH in the aftermath of the most recent war.

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Certainly in the initial years of their involvement in BiH education policy, international organisations aimed for a centralised reform which would take effect simultaneously in all parts of BiH. Such an aim, however, stands in fundamental contradiction to the decentralised structure of education, administration and jurisdiction in force in BiH which, in accordance with the Dayton Agreement, affords a significant role to local authorities of the interpretation of legislation, such as cantonal education ministers. The centralised approach was closely connected in the process’s early stages to the fact that the various ethnic groups in BiH were regarded as one nation with a multiplicity of languages. This view (one nation, differing languages) was later to change, with the consequence that the divided structure of BiH was recognised at the educational level, but was not challenged at any level at that point in time or subsequently. The OSCE has expressed emphatic criticism of the model of faith-based religious education as it is practised in BiH, with particular reference to its tendency to focus on the faith in whose name the teaching is being delivered and the concomitant neglect of, or tendency towards discrimination against, religious minorities. In the view of this organisation, a multi-faith society such as that of BiH needs a different approach to teaching about religion in schools, ideally centring around teaching on the religions existent in the country from a perspective not affiliated to a particular faith. The consistent criticism of religious institutions in this discourse does not facilitate the international community’s task of finding allies from religious groups for local work on educational issues. A further issue arises in relation to the ‘solutions’ proposed to the problems of education on the ground. BiH has been promised the possibility of joining the EU once all reforms are implemented and required changes are made (for similar cases see Radó 2001: 48ff.); in this context, it is inevitable that European ‘imports’ have been and are among the educational solutions suggested, as we can observe, for instance, in the content of the ‘European standards’ in education to which reformists have committed and in the terminology used around them. We might be forgiven for wondering how these standards, which in their original habitat have had decades of natural peacetime growth, could possibly bear fruit in a divided post-war society within an exceptionally short space of time. The practical implementation of these standards likewise required a great deal more time and resources than were allocated to it within BiH’s education reform process.

12.2

Challenges from internal critique of RE

A challenge and in a specific way also a contribution facing religious education in BiH appears in the shape of internal criticism, which has occurred within the Islamic community and the Catholic Church in particular. By contrast, there is

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very little open internal criticism in evidence in relation to Serbian Orthodox religious education, its curricula and textbooks, or its approach to other faiths. Where it does, occasionally, occur, its purpose is more to iterate and demonstrate internal unity than to provide new ideas or indeed give impetus for change. We will therefore focus on Catholic and Islamic religious education in this section. Criticism from within the Islamic community has come predominantly from Islamic theologians. Nedzˇad Grabus has raised concerns about the image of ‘others’ shown in Islamic textbooks. It is his view that learning about one’s own religion should go hand in hand with learning about other faiths (Grabus 2004: 90f.). Dzˇevad Hodzˇic´ raises criticisms around the fact that Sufism, despite its status as part of Bosnian Islamic tradition, is barely represented at Islamic educational institutions in BiH. He is particularly concerned about what is said to be an extensive Wahhabi influence on the content of religious education classes developed at Islamic academies of education (Hodzˇic´ 1998: 88f.). Hodzˇic´ reports that teachings which have left the path of this tradition (Wahhabism) find adherents among Islamic educators more frequently than the Rijaset supposes (Ibid.: 89f.). Further criticism has come from Enes Karic´ and Resˇid Hafizovic´. Karic´, minister of education in the Federation of BiH during the war, made comments in 1998 criticising the unregulated manner in which Islamic religious education had been introduced in schools. His view was that Islam was being taught too simplistically and the classes thus taught were doing more harm than good (Karic´ 1998: 8f.). He also expressed concern about the fact that, in his opinion, state schools were being used for religious, essentially ‘cultic’ purposes, arguing that the school environment was unsuitable for such use, that religious education should not fall into the trap of mirroring the Marxist education of Communist days, and that education should not be replaced by religion (Ibid.: 79f.). Resˇid Hafizovic´ has criticised internal processes of content development and decision-making, the role of Grand Mufti Ceric´, the design of the curriculum, and practical issues such as teacher training. Additionally, Hafizovic´ professes himself unable to identify any consistent concept behind the religious education curriculum and perceives a lack of clarity on its purposes and objectives. Further, he comments, the curriculum ignores the fact that children begin learning Arabic in year two of their schooling (cf. Nakicˇevic´ 1997). His final point of criticism concerns the fact that teachers are not issued with guidelines for teaching the subject.49 A further critic of both the official interpretive authorities on Islam in BiH and the manner of their argumentation on religious issues is Rusmir Mahmutc´ehajic´, who after a long active period in the Assembly of the Islamic community distanced himself from his previous political and religious work. Arguing from the 49 All these criticisms were made in an interview held on 26 June 2007 in Sarajevo.

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position of an external observer, he has stated that he considers ‘ignorance’ to be the key reason for the rise of ‘the modern ethno-national ideologies’ (Mahmutc´ehajic´ 2002: 289f.) and that faith-based religious education can, in his view, have little impact on this ignorance, which he has attempted to resist by founding an NGO, the ‘Forum Bosnae’, dedicated to dialogue and to the mystical side of Islam from the perspective of philosophia perennis (Sˇtimac 2009). Mahmutc´ehajic´’s involvement in the discussion around religious education via his coeditorship, with Catholic, Jewish and Serbian Orthodox colleagues, of a handbook for religious education teachers represented an indirect expression of criticism in this context. Many critical voices can also be found within the Catholic Church. Some representatives of the order of Franciscans in the Franciscan province of Bosna Srebrena hold views on religious education which do not conform to the official position taken by the Bishops’ Conference of BiH. Ivan Sˇarcˇevic´ OFM has drawn the general conclusion that there are two extreme opposing positions on religious education in state schools, the one dogmatically secular and militantly atheist, the other dogmatically religious and evincing a tendency to regard discourses around schools as secular institutions and encouragement of children to learn about other religions and worldviews as attempts to cast particular faiths in a relative light (Sˇarcˇevic´ 2001). Sˇarcˇevic´ is in favour of religious education at state schools and considers that there is no real alternative; however, he also supports school subjects in which a range of religions are discussed and taught about (Ibid). Luka Markesˇic´ OFM, who was involved in drawing up the inaugural curriculum for ‘Culture of Religions’ in 2001 and in the development of some similar curricula produced subsequently to this, holds the view that ‘Culture of Religions’ is a model of education which may be able to promote and deepen dialogue and mutual respect among religions (Markesˇic´ 2001). Marko Orsˇolic´ OFM is a Franciscan monk whose interreligious and intercultural work focusing on dialogue, and whose activities in the International Multireligious Intercultural Centre Zajedno (IMIC) (Voss 1994), have won him both multiple national and international awards and public criticism. He supports the idea of a secular school subject on religion, such as ‘Culture of Religions’ or history of religions, which he considers urgently necessary, and is in favour of it being delivered separately from faith-based religious education (Orsˇolic´ 2003: 257f.). He is critical of the ‘German’ model of school-based religious education, in which each religious institution delivers its own teaching, as being unsuitable for BiH. The most vigorous criticism of church policies has been formulated by Drago Bojic´ OFM, who considers religious education curricula to be severely lacking in appropriate educational criteria and regards all religious education textbooks in BiH as suffering from ideological taint (Bojic´ 2007: 111f.). A serious problem in his view is the abuse of religious freedom by religious institutions to create

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employment for their theologians at the cost of the state. Bojic´ regards the behaviour of representatives of religious institutions with regard to religious education as indicative of the continued and ongoing influence of the legacy of Communist ideology in BiH and to be similar in its manner to that of those who upheld that ideology (Ibid.: 114f.). His views, while not shared by all Franciscans in BiH, can stand in exemplary fashion for a critical attitude towards religious education which is exclusive to this order in BiH and which is also indicative of the current breadth of opinion within BiH’s Catholic Church. Even though there are a few different criticisms both of confessional religious education and “Culture of Religions” that have been stored, it is clear that all these points are indicative. All these opinions show that there are a variety of educational designs and ideas missing in socialist past for a very long time. Both of these forms of teaching show characteristics that can be interpreted as strengths and weaknesses under given circumstances. Alone this fact speaks for a pluralization and differentiation in society. Different stakeholders have been deeply involved in the pluralisation of education discourses, thus opening the field, in which many options exist for today’s young people that can be chosen.

13

Further information50

Islamic Community in BiH Rijaset of the Islamic Community: http://islamskazajednica.ba/. Faculty of Islamic Studies (Fakultet islamskih nauka): www.fin.ba. Bihac´ Academy of Education: http://ipf.unbi.ba. Zenica Academy of Education: www.ipf.unze.ba. El-kalem (textbook publisher): School textbooks for Islamic religious education. http://www.elkalem.ba/udbenici-i-prirunici/mekteb-i-vjeronauka?page=2. http://www.elkalem.ba/udbenici-i-prirunici/mekteb-i-vjeronauka?page=3.

Islamic periodicals Glasnik Rijaseta: https://www.islamskazajednica.ba/glasnik/118-islamska-zajednica/glasnik. Preporod: http://www.preporod.com/. Novi Muallim: http://ilmijja.ba/novi-muallim/.

50 Last access for all websites 20. 11. 2019.

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Roman Catholic Church in BiH Archdiocese of Vrhbosna (Vrhbosanska nadbiskupija): http://vrhbosanska-nadbiskupija. org/. Catechistic Office of the Archdiocese: http://kuvn.org/. Faculty of Catholic theology: https://kbf.unsa.ba/. Theological and Catechistic Institute, Mostar: http://www.tkim-mostar.com/stranice/ religijska-pedagogija. Franciscan Province of Bosna Srebrena (Sarajevo): http://www.bosnasrebrena.ba/v2010/. Faculty of Franciscan theology: https://franjevackateologija.ba/. Catholic periodicals appearing in BiH: – Katolicˇki tjednik: http://katolicki-tjednik.com/arhiva.asp. – Crkva na kamenu: http://www.cnak.ba/. – Svjetlo rijecˇi: http://www.svjetlorijeci.ba/.

Serbian Orthodox Church Srpska pravoslavna crkva: http://www.spc.rs/. Orthodox Theological Faculty of St. Vasilije Ostrosˇki (Focˇa): http://bogoslovski.edu.ba/. (The Catechistic Office does not have a website). Serbian Orthodox periodicals: – Pravoslavlje (periodical of the Serbian Patriarch’s Office): www.pravoslavlje.org.rs. – Vidoslov: http://eparhija-zahumskohercegovacka.com/?page_id=91.

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Islamska zjednica u Bosni i Hercegovini: Nastavni plan i program medresa. 2014. Sarajevo. Jabucˇar, A. 2000.: Vjeronauka u ˇskolama. Federalno Ministarstvo obrazovanja, nauke, kulture i sporta. [Religionsunterricht an den Schulen. Das Ministerium für Bildung, Wissenschaft, Kultur und Sport der Föderation Bosnien und Herzegowina] In: Religijski pogledi, Nr. 4, 5–7. Jabucˇar, A. 1998. Sˇkolski sistem u Bosni i Hercegovini. In: Nasˇa sˇkola, 6/98. Jurisˇic´, P. 2006. Katolicˇki ˇskolski centar. Nastavni plan i program za gimnaziju. Sarajevo: Nakladnik Sustava KSˇC. Jaksˇic´, J. & Mic´anovic´, K. M. 2005. Let’s grow to love God and people, religious education textbook for year 1 of primary education, Bishops’ Conference of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Glas Koncila Zagreb, Sarajevo. Karic´, E. 1999. Obredno obrazovanje i vjerske zajednice. Kultura religija u ˇskole. [Ritual Education and Religious Communities: “Culture of Religions” to be introduced in schools] In: Didakticˇki putokazi no. 14, 79–81. Katalinski, R. et al., 2009. Kultura religija. Sarajevo: Sarajevo Publishing. Katalinski, R. & Kalauzovic´, Z. 2011. Kultura religija: prirucˇnik za nastavnike/ce predmeta Kultura religija i druge interreligijske predmete u srednjim ˇskolama. Sarajevo: Sarajevo Publishing. ‘Kultur der Religionen’ in den Schulen in Bosnien und Herzegowina. Internationale Fachkonsultationen. 2001. Dokumentation I and II. Kuljic´, R. et al. 2008. Kultura religija za srednje ˇskole. Zavod za udzˇbenike i nastavna sredstva. Sarajevo: Istocˇno. Mahmutc´ehajic´, R. 2002. Islam, katolicˇanstvo i pravoslavlje. O matricama pojmovnih preslikavanja. [Islam, Catholicism and Orthodoxy; On the matrix of creating images through terminology] In Th. Bremer: Religija, drusˇtvo i politika. Kontroverzna tumacenja i priblizˇavanja. Wissenschaftliche Arbeitsgruppe für weltkirchliche Aufgaben der deutschen Bischofskonferenz, 289. Mahmutc´ehajic´, R. 2005. Malo znanja. O drugome u muslimanskim vidicima [Knowing Little: The Islamic Perspective on the Other]. Zagreb: Antibarbarus. Markesˇic´, L. 2001. Vjeronauk u obrazovnom sustavu BiH. Presentation given at symposium on religious education in BiH’s education system organised by the WCRP and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation and held in Sarajevo, 8.-9. 2. 2001. Unpublished manuscript. Mojsilovic´, N. 2006. Orthodox Religious Education for Year 6 of Primary Schools: The History of the Christian Church. Banja Luka : Catechistic Committee. Nakicˇevic´, O. et al. 1997. Arapski jezik. II razred osnovne ˇskole, issued by the Ministry of Education of the Federation of BiH, Sarajevo. Offe, C. 1991. Dilemma der Gleichzeitigkeit. Demokratisierung und Markwirtschaft in Osteuropa. In: Merkur Vol. 4, no. 505, 279–292. OHR 1999. Information and Reporting: Guidelines to the Field 3 September 1, 1999. Overview of Educational Problems in BiH and Guidelines for Intervention. OHR 2000. HRCC Human Rights Quarterly Reports, For item nr. 81 see URL: http://www. ohr.int/ohr-dept/hr-rol/. OHR, 10 May 2000, Statement: Meeting of the Conference of the Ministers of Education of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Agreement. URL: www.ohr.int/print/?content_id=382 [last access] Point 4.

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OSCE; OHR 2002. Curriculum “Culture of Religions”: http://web.archive.org/web/ 20080203082628/ www.kultura-religija.ba/kdr/dow/lrp/bs401.html [last access 27. 03. 2015]. OSCE 2002a. A Message to the People of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Education Reform. OSCE 2002b. Implementation Plan for the Interim Agreement. OSCE 2006. Textbook Commissions. URL: http://web.archive.org/web/20061014183200/ http://www.oscebih.org/education/textbook.asp?d=2. OSCE/ODIHR 2007. Toledo Guiding Principles on teaching about religions and beliefs in public schools. URL: http://www.osce.org/odihr/27217?download=true [last access 21. 04. 2020]. Orsˇolic´, M. 2003. Zlodusim aunatocˇ. Novinski intervjui 1988–2002. IMIC / adamic´. Sarajevo-Rijeka, 275 Orsˇolic´, M. Multireligiöser Dialog in Bosnien und Herzegowina. Sarajevo: Archiv IMICzajedno. Pazˇin, Ivica et al. 2004: At the table of love and reconciliation: Religious education textbook for year 3 of primary education, issued by the Bishops’ Conference of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Krsˇc´anska sadasˇnjost, Zagreb-Sarajevo. Perisˇ, J. et al. 2005. S Kristom u zˇivot. Vjeronaucˇni udzˇbenik za osmi razred osnovne ˇskole. [Mit Christus ins Leben. Religionsbuch für die achte Grundschulklasse.] BK BiH, Krsˇc´anska sadasˇnjost, Zagreb, Sarajevo. Pingel, F. 2004. Is grammar history? Searching for a textbook solution in BiH. In: OSCE Magazin, Mai 2004. Pingel, F. 2009. From Ownership to Intervention – or Vice Versa? Textbook Revision in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in A. Dimou (ed.), “Transition” and the Politics of History Education in Southeastern Europe, 251–305. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. Popov, Z. & Ofstad, M. 2006. Religious Education in Bosnia and Herzegowina. In: Z. Kuburic´, Z., C. Moe. Religion and Pluralism in Education, 81–82. Novi Sad: CEIR. Pstrocki, S. (ed.) 2009. Analiza rezultata istrazˇivanja provedenog u okviru projekta: Interreligijski dijalog kroz obrazovanje i komunikaciju mladih u multikulturnom drusˇtvu u Bosni i Hercegovini, 2007–2009. Sarajevo: IMIC-Zajedno. Razum, R. et al. 2003. Invited to Freedom: Religious education textbook for year 6 of primary education. Krsˇc´anska sadasˇnjost. Sarajevo : Zagreb. Razum, R. et al. 2003. I am the Way; religious education textbook for year 5 of primary education. Bishops’ Conference of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Zagreb-Sarajevo: Krsˇc´anska sadasˇnjost. Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport, Educational Institute (ed.) (1994). Plan i program vjerskog odgoja i obrazovanja. Zenica. Rijaset Islamske zajednice u Bosni i Hercegovini 1999. Plan i program vjeronauke za osnovnu i srednju ˇskolu. Sarajevo. Rijaset Islamske zajednice u Bosni i Hercegovini 2011. Plan i program vjeronauke za 9. razred osnovne ˇskole http://www.vjeroucitelji.ba/skola/npp-udzbenici/osnovna-skola/ item/vjeronauka-za-9-razred-osnovne skole. Spahic´-Sˇiljak, Z. & Abazovic´, D. (eds.) 2009. Monoteisticˇko troglasje. Uvod u judaizam, krsˇc´anstvo i islam. [A monotheist triad: An introduction to Judaism, Christianity and Islam] Sarajevo: Rabic. Sudar, P. 1998. Crkva u BiH – izmedju Evandjelja i politike. In Vrhbosna, 3, 557–565.

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Sulejmanovic´, Sˇ. & Kapetanovic´, E. (2004). Religious Education for year 8 of schooling, Rijaset Islamske zajednice BiH, El-kalem. Sarajevo. Sˇarcˇevic´, I. 2001. Vjeronauk u ˇskoli. Presentation given at symposium on religious education in BiH’s education system organised by the WCRP and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation and held in Sarajevo, 8.–9. 02. 2001. Unpublished manuscript. Sˇtimac, Z. 2017. Islamic Religious Instruction in the Context of EU Integration and Education Reform, in G. Ognjenovic´ & J. Jozelic´(eds.), Education on Post-Conflict Transition. Politicization of Religion in School Textbooks, 33–59. Cham: Palgrave. Sˇtimac, Z. 2017. From Vrhbosna to Brussels. Catholic Religious Education Between Local and European Perspectives, in G. Ognjenovic´ & J. Jozelic´(eds.), Education on PostConflict Transition. Politicization of Religion in School Textbooks, 99–127. Cham: Palgrave. Sˇtimac, Z. 2018. “Culture of Religions” – A Controversial Secular School Subject, In: British Journal of Religious Education 2018 (online: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10. 1080/01416200.2018.1516194). Stojanovic´, V. 2006. Orthodox Religious Education for Year 8 of Primary Schools: Dogmatic Theology. Banja Luka: Catechistic Committee. Strategy 2003. “Strategy of Education development Projects/Programmes, Maps”. Thomaß, B. & Zankoff, M. (eds.) 2001. Medien und Transformation in Osteuropa. Wiesbaden: Westdeutscher Verlag. Voss, G. 1994. Für einen interreligiösen und interkulturellen Dialog in Sarajevo. In: Una sancta 4, 49. Jg.,1994, 343–357. Vrhovac, S. 2005. Orthodox Religious Education for Year 9 of Primary Schools: Orthodox Ethics. Catechistic Committee, Banja Luka. Vukovic´, V. 2005). Odnos ucˇenika prema nastavi pravoslavne vjeronauke. [Das Verhältnis der Schüler zum orthodoxen Religionsunterricht.] Grafika, Banja Luka. Vuksˇic´ T. 2007. Crkva i drzˇava u Bosni i Hercegovini. Zakoni, podzakonski akti, ugovori i komentari. Sarajevo, Biskupska konferencija Bosne i Hercgovine. White Paper. Shared Modernisation Strategy. Education Reform Strategy Paper has been endorsed by all Ministers of Education and by the Peace Implementation Council.

Textbooks for Islamic RE ´ atic´, Refik R. & / Sˇtulanovic´, Omer O. (20045). Vjeronauka za trec´i razred osnovne sˇkole. C Sarajevo: El-kalem. ´ atic´, Refik R. (1996). Metodicˇni prirucˇnik za nastavu vjeronauke. Sarajevo: El-kalem. C ´ atic´, Refik R. (20024): Vjeronauka za cˇetvrti razred osnovne ˇskole. Sarajevo: El-kalem. C ´ atovic´, Mensura M. (20045). Vjeronauka za ˇsesti razred osnovne ˇskole. Sarajevo: El-kalem. C Nisˇtovic´, Hazema H. (20044). Vjeronauka za drugi razred osnovne ˇskole. Sarajevo: El-kalem. Nisˇtovic´, Hazema H. et al./Ajanovic´, Dzˇevdeta/Vejo, Edina (20046). Vjeronauka za prvi razred osnovne ˇskole. Sarajevo: El-kalem. Omerdic´, Muharem M. & / Kalajdzˇisalinovic´, Fahira F. (20033). Vjeronauka za sedmi razred osnovne ˇskole. Sarajevo: El-kalem.

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´ esir, Elma / Slinic´, Anesa / Alicˇkovic´, Lejla / Hodzˇic´, Melisa (2004, Racˇic´, Ajsˇa A. et al./ C 5. Auflage). Vjeronauka za peti razred osnovne ˇskole. El-kalem, 5th edition, Sarajevo. Sulejmanovic´, Sˇevko Sˇ. & / Kapetanovic´, Esma E. (2004²). Vjeronauka za osmi razred osnovne ˇskole. Sarajevo: El-kalem.

Textbooks for Catholic RE Jaksˇic´, Josip J. &/ Mic´anovic´, Karolina K. Manda M. (2005). Rastimo u zahvalnosti. Vjeronaucˇni udzˇbenik za drugi razred osnovne ˇskole. BK BiH, Glas Koncila Zagreb, Sarajevo 2005. Jaksˇic´, Josip J. &/ Mic´anovic´, Karolina K. Manda M. (2005). Ucˇimo ljubiti Boga i ljude. Vjeronaucˇni udzˇbenik za prvi razred osnovne ˇskole. Bischofskonferenz Bosnien und Herzegowina, Kommission für den Religionsunterricht an der Schule in Sarajevo [henceforth BK BiH]. Glas Koncila Zagreb, Sarajevo 2005. Pazˇin, Ivica I. &/ Pavlovic´, Ante A. (2005). Na putu vjere. Vjeronaucˇni udzˇbenik za cˇetvrti razred osnovne ˇskole. BK BiH, Krsˇc´anska sadasˇnjost, Zagreb, Sarajevo. Pazˇin, Ivica I. et al. (2004). Za stolom ljubavi i pomirenja. Vjeronaucˇni udzˇbenik za trec´i razred osnovne ˇskole. BK BiH, Krsˇc´anska sadasˇnjost, Zagreb, Sarajevo. Perisˇ, Josip J. et al. (2003). Zajedno u ljubavi. Vjeronaucˇni udzˇbenik za sedmi razred osnovne ˇskole. BK BiH, Krsˇc´anska sadasˇnjost, Zagreb, Sarajevo. Perisˇ, Josip J. et al. (2005). S Kristom u zˇivot. Vjeronaucˇni udzˇbenik za osmi razred osnovne ˇskole. BK BiH, Krsˇc´anska sadasˇnjost, Zagreb, Sarajevo. Razum, Ruzˇica R. et al. (2003). Ja sam put. Vjeronaucˇni udzˇbenik za peti razred osnovne ˇskole. BK BiH Krsˇc´anska sadasˇnjost, Zagreb, Sarajevo. Razum, Ruzˇica R. et al. (2003). Pozvani na slobodu. Vjeronaucˇni udzˇbenik za ˇsesti razred osnovne ˇskole. BK BiH, Krsˇc´anska sadasˇnjost, Zagreb, Sarajevo.

Textbooks for Serbian Orthodox RE Dubravac, Krstan K. (2005). Pravoslavna vjeronauka za trec´i razred osnovne ˇskole. Biblijska istorija Novog zavjeta. Katehetski odbor, Banja Luka. Dubravac, Krstan K. (2006). Pravoslavna vjeronauka za drugi razred osnovne ˇskole. Biblijska istorija Starog zavjeta. Katehetski odbor, Banja Luka. Jevtic´, Hrizostom. (2004). Pravoslavna vjeronauka za cˇetvrti razred osnovne ˇskole. Katihizis. Katehetski odbor, Banja Luka. Mojsilovic´, Niko N. (2006). Pravoslavna vjeronauka za ˇsesti razred osnovne ˇskole. Istorija hrisˇc´anske crkve. Katehetski odbor, Banja Luka. Pajic´, Nedeljko N. (2002). Pravoslavna vjeronauka za sedmi razred osnovne ˇskole. Istorija Srpske Pravoslavne crkve sa narodnom istorijom Katehetski odbor, Banja Luka. Pejicˇic´, Momcˇilo M. (2002). Pravoslavna vjeronauka za peti razred osnovne ˇskole. Pravoslavns liturgika Katehetski odbor, Banja Luka. Stojanovic´, Veljko V. (2006). Pravoslavna vjeronauka za osmi razred osnovne ˇskole. Dogmatsko bogoslovlje. Katehetski odbor, Banja Luka.

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Vrhovac, Slobodan S. (2005). Pravoslavna vjeronauka za deveti razred osnovne ˇskole. Pravoslavna etika. Katehetski odbor, Banja Luka.

Laws and Statistics Census 1992: Zavod za statistiku Bosne i Hercegovine – Bilten no. 234, Sarajevo 1991. Constitution of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Ustav Federacije Bosne i Hercegovine). In: Sluzˇbene Novine Federacije Bosne i Hercegovine, 1/94, 13/98, 16/02, 22/02, 52/02, 60/02, 18/03, 63/03. Dayton Abkommen Accords (General Framework Agreement). In T. Vuksˇic´ Tomo (2007). Crkva i drzˇava u Bosni i Hercegovini. Zakoni, podzakonski akti, ugovori i komentari. Sarajevo, Biskupska konferencija Bosne i Hercegovine, Sˇiroki brijeg, Suton, 356–396. English version: http://archive.is/9ELG8 [last access 05. 12. 2016]. Framework Law on Primary and Secondary School (Okvirni zakon o osnovnom i srednjem obrazivanju u BiH), “Sluzˇbeni Glasnik BiH” Nr. 18/03. Law on Amandments to the Law on primary and secondary education in Republika Srpska, Official Gazette of RS 38/04 and Law on Amandments to the Law on primary and secondary education of Brcˇko District, Official Gazette of Brcˇko District Bosnia and Herzegovina 28/03. Law on Secondary Vocational Education was adopted in 2008: Official Gazette of BiH, No. 63/08. Statute of the Brcko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina: BiH_Statute Brcko District_100_eng(1) (05. 12. 2016). Sluzˇbene Novine Federacije Bosne i Hercegovine 9/00 und Sluzˇbene Novine Republike Srpske 8/00. Temeljni ugovor izmedju Svete Stolice i Bosne i Hercegovine. In: T. Vuksˇic´ Tomo (2007): Crkva i drzˇava u Bosni i Hercegovini. Zakoni, podzakonski akti, ugovori i komentari. Sarajevo, Biskupska konferencija Bosne i Hercegovine, Sˇiroki brijeg, Suton. 11–18. Ustav Republike Srpske. iIn: Sluzˇbene Novine Republike Srpske, 6/92, 8/92, 15/92, 19/92, 21/ 92, 28/94, 13/96, 15/96, 16/96, 21/96, 70/02. Zakon o obrazovanju u osnovnim i srednjim sˇkolama u Brcˇko Distriktu Bosne i Hercegovine. URL: http://www.skupstinabd.ba/zakoni/157/b/Zakonoobrazovanjuuosnovnimisrednjim skolamaBDBiHB.pdf [last access 05. 12. 2016]. Zakon o pravnom polozˇaju vjerskih zajednica u SRBIH: Sluzˇbeni list SRBiH, 36/76, Sarajevo 1976. Zakon o slobodi vjere i pravnom polozˇaju crkava i vjerskih zajednica u Bosni i Hercegovini [The law on freedom of faith and the legal status of churches and religious communities in Bosnia and Hercegowina]: Sluzˇbeni Glasnik BiH, 05/2004. http://www.mpr.gov.ba/ biblioteka/zakoni/default.aspx?id=1896&langTag=hr-HR [last access 21. 04. 2020].

Kostadin Nushev / Valentin Kozhuharov

Religious Education at Schools in Bulgaria

1

Socio-religious background

Christianity in Bulgaria was adopted quite early in the history of Europe. After the Bulgarian state was established in the Balkan peninsula in 681, it quickly became noticed by both state and religious leaders of Europe of that time, and in its most successful years in the 9th century, after a series of negotiations between Rome and Constantinople, in 870 the Bulgarian Knyaz Boris ultimately chose to baptise the people in Eastern Orthodox Christianity and claimed from Byzantium an independent Bulgarian church (Vlasto 2011: 155–186). In the centuries to follow, Christianity became firmly established, and it was the only religion Bulgarian people knew. Due to the Ottoman invasion and Bulgaria having been submitted to the Ottomans in the 14th century that also Islam was introduced and then practiced in the country. After Bulgaria was liberated from Turkish ruling in 1878, in the following decades also a number of Jews and Armenians arrived and settled here. In modern times Bulgaria, like most European states, is home to a multitude of ethnic and cultural groups, such as Bulgarians, Turks, Roma, Armenians, Russians, Greeks, Jewish, etc. According to the most recent census data of the Bulgarian National Institute of Statistics from 2011, the Bulgarian population consists of 84.8 % ethnic Bulgarians, the Turks comprise 8.8 % of the population, 4.9 % are of Roma ethnicity (Prebroyavane 2011: 4).1 As to the languages spoken in Bulgarian families, 85.2 % of the population answered that their native language is Bulgarian, 9.1 % affirmed that they speak Turkish at home, 4.2 % of the population speak the Roma language (Prebroyavane 2011: 5). Bulgarian citizens are also diverse in terms of religious affiliation: 76 % claimed membership in Eastern Orthodox Christianity, 10 % in Islam (with 9.1 % Sunni and 0.2 Shia 1 In Bulgarian language. In English see: Francis William Carter, Philip Dimitriv (2020). Bulgaria, Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/place/Bulgaria/People#ref253977 [last access 27. 04. 2020].

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Muslims), 1.1 % in various Protestant denominations, and 0.8 % in the Roman Catholic community; some 4.7 % didn’t claim membership in any religion, and 7.1 % avoided answering the question of whether they are members of a religion or not (Prebroyavane 2011: 5). We should note that these statistics are not entirely representative for the whole country because a certain percentage of those surveyed did not answer all the questions. For examples, not everyone mentioned their ethnic group or their mother tongue or relation to religion. That is why the above figures can only be considered provisional. It was mostly the young people of Bulgaria who avoided answering the question about religious affiliation, and they are mostly living in the three largest Bulgarian cities – the capital Sofia and the cities of Plovdiv and Varna. In order to understand the way religious education is taught in Bulgaria, it is important first to say something about education in general. Statistical data from the 2011 census show that 63 % of the population have finished secondary and higher education (43.4 % the former, and 19.6 % the latter). Children of certain social groups of obligatory schooling age in Bulgaria, which is 7 to 15, do not regularly attend school. For example, 23.2 % of Roma children do not attend school, neither do 11.9 % of children from Turkish families and among ethnic Bulgarians, some 5.6 % avoid schooling. In spite of these statistics, nationwide illiteracy is very low – it is only 1.7 % for citizens of age 9 and above (Prebroyavane 2011: 6). We have noticed that families where the parents have scholarly degrees are less inclined to allow their children to attend religious education lessons, and the same can be said for the parents who find Bulgarian education system quite time-consuming for their children and so are not willing to spare extra time on an additional school subject like religious education. The conditions of life in the cities, unlike villages, especially in larger urban areas, also prevent religious education from better representation in Bulgarian schools. The most recent statistics show that 73.7 % of the Bulgarian citizens live in cities and towns, and 26.3 % live in villages.2 One third of the Bulgarian population lives in the second and third largest urban agglomerations of Plovdiv and Varna, and of the capital Sofia. Religious education is taught almost exclusively in the cities and despite the fact that religious traditions are more firmly established in rural areas, only very few parents from these areas are interested in sending their children to religious education classes. These data show the official statistics but the actual situation is not the same because the questions, as they were formulated in the statistical sheets, do not 2 Bulgaria: naselenie i demografski procesi prez 2019 godina, Sofia: Natsionalen staisticheski institut, 2020, 4–5; (Bulgaria: Population and demographic processes in 2019, Sofia: National Institute of Statistics, 2020, 4–5); also at: https://www.nsi.bg/sites/default/files/files/pressre leases/Population2019_XE8MEZL.pdf [last access 27. 04. 2020].

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describe in more exact terms what it means to be affiliated with a religion, or which specific religious communities people are connected to, or whether the respondents practice their faith or not. Although more than 76 % of Bulgarian citizens responded that they are affiliated with Eastern Orthodox Christianity, in actual fact the number of believers who to one degree or another take part in the life of the Christian communities is much lower.3 The same applies to the believers in other Christian churches and for the Muslim faithful. These facts are important to keep in mind when trying to answer the question of how many pupils and students attend religious education classes, because those wishing to study religion mostly belong to families who already know their religion (to one degree or another) and take part in the life of their religious community more or less regularly. The percentage of children who come to religious education classes is extremely low (much less than 1 % of the primary and secondary school pupils and students, as our personal observations have shown), and the subject takes place in the framework of the so called “freely-elective subjects”. This implies that both parents and children are not interested in religious matters that, in turn, is a consequence of the poor participation of Bulgarian people in the life of their religion. There are other reasons for this low level of interest in religious education, too, and some of them will be mentioned below. The above circumstances, surrounding the school subject religion, do not allow for a better description of the actual tendencies and possible future tendencies in teaching religion, mostly because the factors influencing the subject are quite unsettled and varying. One of these factors, as mentioned above, is the low degree of interest on the part of children and parents in religious education. If its position in the regulatory acts of the ministry of education remains unclear, as it is now, we should not expect higher levels of interest in the subject. On the other hand, more and more people today understand what an important role religion plays in contemporary society, especially in times of unsettled migration, which is a challenge to intercultural communication. These facts may increase the interest in religion in general and in the subject of religious education, more specifically. While summarising the socio-religious background of the school subject religion, from our experience in Bulgarian history and in observing the efforts of both government and people to overcome many contemporary challenges, we can say the following: A greater awareness of the importance of religion can only be brought about if the state realises that religious knowledge today represents an 3 Independent sources, such as Encyclopædia Britannica, point out that up to 40 % of the Bulgarian population continue to be atheistic, cf. Francis William Carter, Philip Dimitriv (2020). Bulgaria, Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/place/Bulgaria/Peo ple#ref253977 [last access 27. 04. 2020].

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integral part of general education and culture of every young person. We also need to point out the continuing secularisation of the Bulgarian society (as well as of most European societies), and this could negatively influence efforts towards firmer establishment of religious education in schools. We can learn from history that the increase of one tendency often gives rise to opposing forces. We can see this unfolding between the tendencies of secularism and religion: more and more people are realising that whenever religion is pushed to the fringes of society, people lose the ability to properly appreciate the values that truly guide them through life. The spiritual dimension of life is often left out and people focus exclusively on its material aspects. They relate to each other in strictly “economic” terms instead of maintaining warm human relationships. A society that has gone down this path realises that children and young people must receive education about the human and spiritual side of life in which the material goes hand in hand with the spiritual. Our hope is that this can be accomplished in Bulgaria, in the realm of religious education.

2

Legal frameworks of RE and the relationship between religious communities and the state

Teaching religion in Bulgaria is regulated by the general laws of education; the education system, on the other hand, is rooted in the constitution, the laws and other acts of normative legislation. The constitution stipulates that religions in the country are to be kept separate from the state, the same is restated in the Law of religion; as far as education is concerned, the Law of education states that education in Bulgaria is secular. None of these regulations and definitions prevent religion from being taught at schools in Bulgaria. Since the political changes that took place in Eastern Europe in the beginning of 1990s, when persecution against the faithful ceased, religion has been taught as a school subject in state and the municipal schools, though on a very low level. Religious education (RE) was first established by the theological faculties of universities in 1997: they created the first syllabuses and recruited and trained teachers so that they could organise religious education at schools. The lessons were organised on a voluntary basis: RE could only be set up after the headmaster, parents and students had each given their consent. The ministry of education at that time did not regulate teaching religion in any way and in spite of this, the number of religious education classes increased quickly. In 1998 and 1999, the ministry of education issued regulations according to which teaching the subject was allowed at schools, following the same principle: voluntary participation of schools, pupils and parents in the process, and the subject was given

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the status of a “freely-elective” subject. This means that children are given the opportunity to choose it, and teaching is done outside the normal school day and lessons’ timetable. Nevertheless, we, the professors at theological departments of universities who were involved in the establishment and the organisation of RE teaching in Bulgaria, noticed that between 1998 and 2003 both children and parents showed great interest in the subject and the number of religious education classes increased with every year. This prompted universities, through their theological departments, to organise training courses for teachers of humanitarian school subjects to become religious education teachers so that the increased demand for RE groups could be met. It was only in 2003 that the ministry of education made some amendments to one of its educational acts (called Rules on application of the law of education) where it states that RE can be taught in Bulgarian schools as a “freely-elective” or “compulsory-elective” school subject (where children are obliged to choose at least two subjects among several others).4 The document also confirms that teaching religion is regulated by another normative act, called Instruction on teaching, which was issued by the minister of education on 23 June 2003.5However, RE continues to be taught as elective school subject outside the school day of the students, which puts pressure on the subject itself and on the students and the teachers because teaching religion still relies on the desire to participate on the part of parents and children and on the good will of school headmasters not to prevent the organisation of RE. Such an unregulated status of RE within the Bulgarian education system is one of the reasons (among many other) why the percentage of attendance of the subject is extremely low. Our own observations suggest that even today much less than 1 % of school children in Bulgaria take part in RE classes which means that RE is practically almost non-existent in Bulgaria. While this is technically true, teaching religion does take place according to concepts (or principles) approved by the ministry of education for the implementation of RE at schools. These concepts were created and presented to the ministry by the Christian and Muslim religious communities – the two represent the vast majority of the Bulgarian population: the other religious communities are also allowed to organise their own RE classes at schools, provided they comply with the terms and conditions of teaching school subjects at the state schools. There are certain requirements about the minimum number of students in class (currently 13 students for the elective subjects), the qualification of the 4 Cf. the Rules as amended in 2014: https://www.navet.government.bg/bg/media/PPZNP_05_ 09_14.pdf [last access 27. 04. 2020]. 5 Cf. https://www.mon.bg/upload/10595/instrukcia_2_2003_religia.pdf [last access 27.04. 2020].

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RE teachers and the conditions under which schools can provide lessons in RE. If a religious community wants to teach RE but cannot comply with these requirements, teaching religion is postponed until these requirements are met. This practice, in our opinion, does not imply discrimination against any religious organisation in the country; all it means is that the ministry of education wants to make sure that all school subjects, including RE, are taught according to the same rules and that teaching occurs under certain conditions applicable to all students in all schools. Since 2012, new legislation in education has been implemented, and some religions in the country, especially the Bulgarian Orthodox Church (BOC), have continuously insisted that RE should become an obligatory school subject, or at least part of the so called obligatory-elective school disciplines. While pointing to different goals and objectives of the education system in Bulgaria, BOC has developed and proposed numerous conceptions, statements and appeals to the Bulgarian parliament and the Council of ministers. The cultural-educational department of BOC insists that RE should not be regulated only by means of instructions and orders6 but that the ministry of education should give the subject the same status which is given to all other school disciplines. This includes the development of a special statutory educational standard of competence for RE, as this was done for all other subjects at schools. There is another possibility, too: RE can be included in the state’s educational standards that apply to the education area of “citizenship, intercultural and ecological education.” Such a position of RE would make it stronger and more secure within the schools’ curricula. The ministry of education, however, prefers to continue to regulate the status of RE on the basis of instructions and orders. In August 2016, a new Education law was adopted.7 The Law aims to modernise the education system and align it to the new conditions of life. The goals of education are not limited to the academic sphere. The Law clearly states that the “Main goals of preschool and school education are children’s intellectual, emotional, social, spiritual-moral and physical development, and the support of every pupil and student in accordance with their age, needs, capabilities and interests.”8 6 In Bulgaria, as well as in other Eastern European countries, “Instruction” is a form of executive order of the government (or other authoritative state’s bodies) that describes in every detail what people and organisations are obliged to do; “Order” usually bears more general meaning, though details to be followed may be given in such documents. 7 The Law regulates preschool and school education for students of age 5 to 19, there is another Education law that concerns higher education at colleges and universities. Cf. https://www. mon.bg/upload/18448/zkn_PedUchObrazovanie_291218.pdf [last access 27. 04. 2020]. 8 The Education law, art. 5, para 1; cf. https://www.mon.bg/upload/18448/zkn_PedUchObrazo vanie_291218.pdf [last access 27. 04. 2020].

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The new law does not clearly define to what extent RE complies with the defined goals and objectives of education in Bulgaria. The new educational area of competence, that of citizenship, health, ecological and intercultural education, most closely relates to religious education and yet it has not been included there and no statutory educational standards have been envisaged for RE. The Bulgarian Orthodox Church analysed all the controversies in the Law and insisted that they be resolved in favour of religious education. BOC continues to insist that RE should not be regulated only by instructions and orders issued by the ministry of education. New regulative principles for teaching religion at state schools need to be developed in accordance with the new law on education. Teaching RE according to standards of competence most closely relates to the standards of competence as established for the educational area of citizenship, health, ecological and moral education: these were approved and adopted by Ruling No 13 of 21 September 2016.9 Religion was not included in this normative document. And yet the Education law of 2016 (with its latest amendments of January 2019) stipulates that religion may be taught at schools (in its article 76, point 4). In our view, the ministry of education is not yet prepared to give RE its necessary statute in state schools. But the ministry agreed to work closely with the religion commission – a department within the ministry that advises the minister of education on the subject of RE and prepares all the documentation for its proper implementation at schools. However, the lack of sufficient normative and legislative regulation concerning RE makes it difficult for religion teachers to form RE groups and teach the subject because the old instructions and rules were cancelled and new ones have not been adopted yet. As far as relations between the different religious communities in Bulgaria are concerned, we need to point that for decades the different religions have existed and functioned as independent organisations and groups that show tolerance and respect for anyone who is different from them. At the beginning of the transition period between communism and democracy in the countries of Eastern Europe, especially at the beginning of this process in the early 1990s and the first several years after that, there were tensions between the different believers, mostly because of the massive influx of missionaries from foreign countries (the USA, most of all), who impudently intervened in the religious matters of the state and its people. But now for more than thirty years religious communities of Bulgaria live in an environment of peace, understanding and tolerance. On this basis, religious education in Bulgaria is taught in different forms, such as “Christian RE” and “Islamic RE”. We need to acknowledge, 9 Cf. https://mon.bg/upload/16793/ndbr13_2016_GZEIObrazovanie_280918.pdf [last access 27. 04. 2020].

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however, that teaching Islamic RE at school is more difficult than teaching about Christianity: partly because there is not sufficient number of teachers in Islam that hold education qualification (thus meeting the requirements for teaching at schools) and partly because in many regions of Bulgaria it is difficult for the education authorities to form Islamic RE classes (mostly because they cannot form a class with at least 13 students). The Higher Islamic Institute in Sofia, preparing specialists in Islamic studies, seems not able to organise and provide pedagogical qualification for its students and some of them, who want to teach Islamic RE, have to study additionally at other universities in order to obtain such a qualification.

3

Developments in the country’s education policies

Bulgarian education has had a centuries’ long tradition, and it continues to follow it in many ways. At the same time, the new conditions of life of Bulgarian people require that education policy be adequate to the new realities in society, and since the time of the political changes in Eastern Europe in the early 1990s, the education legislation was renewed and somewhat aligned with that of the other developed democratic countries. As mentioned above, Bulgarian education is grounded in the Constitution and the whole system of legislation and legal regulations, and it is clearly stated that in states and municipal schools any teaching should be secular. This does not contradict teaching RE at schools because religious education is considered one of the cultural aspects of human development.10 In the Education law it is clearly stated that no ideological or religious doctrines are allowed in Bulgarian schools,11 and at the same time it states that religion can be taught at schools from the perspective of history, philosophy and culture and that such religious knowledge may have a place in the content of different school subjects. Although in some of them religious themes have been included, the state gives the religious organisations in Bulgaria the opportunity to provide RE at state schools on the basis of the existing legal and other normative regulations. The Bulgarian educational policy has its foundations not only in the Constitution and the laws but also in the different regulatory acts of the state that define the direction of development of education; these regulations concern different governing departments of the state, such as the department of finance, 10 Education Law of 2016 (latest amendments of 2019) is clear: “At state schools, religion may be taught in its historical, philosophical and cultural aspects through the content of different school subjects.” (Cf. https://www.mon.bg/upload/18448/zkn_PedUchObrazovanie_291218. pdf, article 76, point 4) [last access 27. 04. 2020]. 11 See the above, article 11, point 2.

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of economics, of youth and sport, etc. In this way, education is an essential element of the entire spectrum of social development and its furtherance is one of the goals of the modern Bulgarian state. On the other hand, the ministry of education defines specific educational requirements, which both schools and the curriculum must meet. These requirements also apply to the state’s educational standards of competence, and all schools and all school subjects must comply with them. As mentioned above, religious education has not been included in any educational area, but we insist that it is part of intercultural education and that its standards of competence should be developed within this educational field. In 2019, the Commission of religion to the minister of education developed state’s educational standards of competence for RE and proposed them for approval and adoption but they have not been considered yet (as at the time of writing of this chapter). Bulgarian educational policy aims to provide all schools with highly qualified teachers in the different subject areas taught at schools. The aim of having good teachers at schools has been pursued for more than a century and today in all primary and secondary educational establishments well qualified teachers are devoting skills, professionalism and life to the younger generation of Bulgaria. Highly qualified teachers are required for all school subject, and the same applies to RE teachers who are usually trained at the theological departments of universities (for the Christian RE) and at the Higher Islamic Institute (for the Islamic RE). In the years when more teachers were needed, special teacher training courses were organised for teachers of humanitarian disciplines, and also for primary school teachers. Bulgarian educational policy also aims at closer integration of the Bulgarian education with the educational systems of other countries, especially with those of the European Union (EU). Such an integration requires that school curricula are constantly updated so that they efficiently meet the contemporary requirements of a modern and progressive education for the 21st century; this specifically concerns the areas of humanities and religion. By taking examples from the education systems in other EU countries, Bulgaria has introduced new educational areas in the schools, in which young people need to acquire certain knowledge and skills to apply them in the contemporary circumstances of life. These include such subjects as citizenship, ecological and intercultural education, entrepreneurial skills, financial management, programming, etc. The ministry of education has been considering introducing sexual education at schools for several years now, and at the time of preparing this article, it has not been introduced in Bulgarian schools yet; different topics of sexual education are included in the school subject “health education”.

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

Religious schools supported by the religious communities themselves can be found in many countries of the world. During the communist rule in Eastern Europe, however, such schools were almost unthinkable: when the communists came to power, they destroyed them and wherever religious schools continued to function, they were severely censored and totally controlled by the communist party and the secret services. Bulgaria had its religious schools, too, but their true life and ministry only came to fruition after the changes in this part of the world in the early 1990s. The freedom Bulgarian people got enabled the establishment of both Christian and non-Christian schools and educational centres that have fulfilled specific religious and educational needs of the respective religious communities. Among the educational religious establishments, the Christian schools seem to be better organised12, and their educational programmes prepare the students well for life and service in society. The good results of these schools over the decades have allowed the ministry of education to review their curricula and conditions of study and to grant these schools state recognition. This means that the schools meet all the requirements of the Bulgarian education system, all obligatory subjects are taught in them and the certificates for secondary education they give the students receive equal recognition to those of the state’s secular schools. There are two Christian seminaries (Eastern Orthodox Christian) for students of age 14 to 19, one in Sofia and the other in Plovdiv,13 and they both are supported by the Bulgarian Orthodox Church; the ministry of education, however, provides salaries for the teachers and oversees the educational process, as far as the secular school subjects are concerned, so that the seminaries comply with the general requirements of the education system. The two religious schools train the clergy of the Bulgarian church but not all students start their ministry in the different parishes and dioceses: quite a number of them find realisation of their knowledge and skills in the secular environment of the society.

12 “Better organized” means that they have met all educational requirements the Bulgarian ministry of education has set to schools, and since 2004 all Christian educational establishments have been financially supported by the state; the other religious schools, such as Muslim and Catholic, failed to meet those educational requirements (or some of them) and this prevented them from better organising their activities and education process. The three Islamic secondary schools (about them – see below) are also well organised and they have met all requirements the ministry has set for primary and secondary schools. 13 http://www.bg-patriarshia.bg/en/ [last access 29. 04. 2020].

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In addition to the two seminaries, a new Orthodox spiritual academy was opened in 2014, financially supported only by the Bulgarian Orthodox Church.14 The Academy’s students study in bachelor’s degree programmes; the Academy prepares mostly theologians and clergy to work and serve in dioceses of the BOC. There are other Christian schools in Bulgaria, too, where mostly believers from different Protestant communities study. Almost immediately after the political changes in the country in 1991, a Pentecostal theological faculty was opened in the city of Russe. In 1999 it was transformed into a Higher Evangelical theological institute where students from almost all evangelical churches in the country come and study.15 The students get a bachelor’s degree but the diplomas are not recognised by the ministry of education because the institute does not meet certain educational standards; the diplomas, however, are recognised by many educational Christian departments in other countries. After graduation, the students of this institute can become pastors of churches in their communities and some of them continue their education in secular universities. There is another Christian educational establishment, “Victory Christian Centre”, where mostly students from the United Church of God study; they claim they have some three hundred churches in Bulgaria.16 Although teaching is done in a form similar to Bible courses, the students study mainly in two programmes – pastoral and biblical. The graduates work as pastors in churches or as evangelists and preachers, or they can do other types of missionary work in their communities and beyond. Christian educational activity is also carried out by the “Pistis school for Christian ministers” which is the educational body of the Evangelical Christian Centre in Sofia.17 It was founded in 2012 and offers two-year study programmes to those who want to become leaders of their communities. The certificates of the Centre are not recognised by the Bulgarian education system or any other education authority, they are mostly of nominal value for local Evangelical churches. It is worth noting that because of the high quality of education at the Christian Orthodox theological departments of universities, students from Evangelical and different Protestant churches often apply and study at these departments, although they have been established as Eastern Orthodox educational schools and their curricula and syllabuses continue to be generally Orthodox. This fact shows another important feature of theological education in Bulgaria – its interdenominational character. In their study at these universities, the students from 14 15 16 17

http://duhovna-akademia.org/ [last access 27. 04. 2020]. http://www.sofiapbc.org [last access 27. 04. 2020]. http://www.victory.bg/ [last access 27. 04. 2020]. https://ccsofia.org/category/english/ [last access 27. 04. 2020].

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Evangelical churches can receive pedagogical qualification and become teachers of RE, provided they manage to form RE groups according to the requirements of the ministry of education, as mentioned above. The second most numerous religion in Bulgaria, Islam, also has its own religious schools, which are maintained only by the religious institutions, which in our case is the Bulgarian Grand Mufti’s Office in Sofia. In the early 1990s, Islamic schools were opened in the cities of Russe and Shumen and in the town of Momchilgrad. They were established as private schools and their activities were not widely known, only in 1998 they received the approval of the Bulgarian Directorate of religious affairs; the same year, the Higher Islamic institute was established in Sofia and approved by the Directorate. In 2015, the three Islamic secondary schools were acknowledged by the ministry of education in the same way as the two Orthodox Christian seminaries, and the graduates receive government certificates for secondary education on an equal footing as the graduates of all other Bulgarian schools. The three schools accept students aged 15 to 19 (school years 9 to 12) who study all obligatory school subjects taught at all Bulgarian secondary schools, and additionally they study a couple of Islamic subjects, most notably the Quran. Lessons are taught only in Bulgarian language, except for the teaching of the Quran, which is in Arabic or Turkish. The three Islamic schools receive financial support from Turkey, too, and the students’ education is entirely free of charge. In the same way, the support for the Higher Islamic institute comes from the Turkish Diyanet – the Presidency of Religious Affairs of Turkey. Only in 2014 and 2015 could Bulgarian journalists visit the three schools and find out what exactly the students learn there; in 2016, journalists from one of the Bulgarian TV channels met with students and teachers and asked them different questions.18 The students shared that they study here because Islam is the religion of peace and through it they acquire better knowledge about the world and life, according to the Islamic moral principles, which the students think are moral principles of humanity in general. The teachers told the journalist that some 80 % of the students find employment in secular society (or continue their study at universities) and some 20 % of the boys become imams. From the brief overview of the religious schools in Bulgaria we can see that they function according to the principles of tolerance and respect for the needs and the interests of every believer in the country, irrespective of their religion. The activities and the understanding of the world on the part of the different schools do not infringe on the activities and the understanding of the other 18 TV Beitrag vom 7. Februar 2016: Behind the Murals of Mufti Schools: https://vesti.bg/bulgaria /obshtestvo/zad-stenite-na-miuftijskite-uchilishta-6049612 [last access 27. 04. 2020].

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religious schools but reflect the real social situation in Bulgaria. We also noted that the certificates and the diplomas of some of them are recognised by the educational system and others are not approved and only carry meaning within their religious communities. What is common for all religious schools is the fact that they all function in the Bulgarian society as indicators of the religious diversity of the country and its multi-ethnic and multicultural character. This is why their role in society is important for maintaining religious tolerance and mutual respect among the believers of different religious groups.

5

Conceptions and tasks of RE

Teaching religion at state schools in Bulgaria after the political changes of 1990s started on a completely voluntary basis: theologians with pedagogical qualification went to schools and organised children and parents and tried to convince headmasters to allow RE in their schools. It was these theologians who developed the first RE textbooks without full understanding of what in fact teaching religious education in state schools means and what concepts or principles should be followed. Over time the number of students attending RE increased and the need for a better organisation of the subject arose; this led to the development of a concept (principles) on RE. In fact, two independent educational bodies of experts worked at the same time: one was the religion commission which the minister of education appointed in early 2007, and the other was a group of experts of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. In the autumn of 2007, the first group presented its Principles and they were discussed mostly among interested people, not as a public discussion. Soon it became clear that the commission on religion developed a non-confessional approach to teaching RE which was meant to be obligatory for all school children in Bulgaria without exception and without offering any alternative school subject for those who would not want to study religion. The Principles of BOC, however, offered a confessional approach to RE with an alternative humanitarian subject, namely ethics. The experts and representatives of BOC (in fact, most of the Bishops of the Synod) organised a public presentation of their vision on RE on the Bulgarian television in February 2008, after which talks with the ministry of education were carried out to clarify some details as to how the subject could be introduced at schools. An offer of RE was made also by the Islamic institute. The concept and the principles of RE, developed by the religion commission to the ministry of education, received negative responses, especially on the part of the religious organisations, for various reasons. The first among others was the approach to teaching RE: the commission envisaged a non-confessional ap-

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proach giving the students some historical and even some abstract knowledge about religion, rather than pointing to the practical meaning of religion in the lives of people in their communities and through their activities. Secondly, the opponents rejected its obligatory status for every pupil and student at Bulgarian schools without offering an alternative subject and without taking account of the various religious backgrounds and understanding of the students and their families. Thirdly, the content of the proposed curricula and syllabuses, which was later developed and offered to the ministry of education, was also criticised, especially the way the various themes and topics for the different school years were represented in the syllabuses. For example, Christianity was meant to be studied by students for more than three quarters of the school year (the school year in Bulgaria has nine months), meaning that for more than seven months every child at school would acquire knowledge about it, including the 10 % Muslim students, and then for one and a half months everyone should study Islam, meaning that the 90 % non-Muslim students are expected to learn this religion, albeit in a non-confessional way. BOC’s representatives draw the attention of the ministry of education on the fact that the content of RE should be integrative, rather than consecutive, meaning that knowledge about all major religions should be offered at any moment in the teaching content by giving information about them and pointing to similarities and differences, thus religious knowledge would be acquired in an integral connection with the knowledge the students get in other school subjects, especially in the humanities. The representatives of the Bulgarian church also pointed out that the integral approach to teaching RE would give students every possibility to learn their “own” religion while at the same time learning about the religions of others. The concept (the principles) which BOC has developed offered a confessional approach where the students of all major religions in the country could learn about their religion as it functions in society. In other words, the students from Christian background would learn about Christianity in the country and in the world, the students from Muslim background would learn about Islam as it is found in Bulgaria and in other Muslim countries, etc. But what is also important is the fact that in the textbooks of the Christian, the Islamic, the Jewish, the Armenian, etc. religious education, space is allocated also for other religions present in the country, thus the students from Christian background will learn about their Muslim or Jewish neighbours, the students from Muslim background will learn about Christianity, Judaism, etc. BOC’s RE syllabus was clear in offering an alternative – the school subject ethics – for those who do not want to study religion. It was this character of RE that made it more appealing and that was supported by the majority of Bulgarians as it was deemed more appropriate for the way of life of Bulgarian society.

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Later the same year 2008, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church made further amendments to the RE principles and published the document on their website.19 The confessional approach to teaching RE was reconfirmed and two distinct subjects were offered: RE as Christianity and RE as Islam. In both types of RE, knowledge about other religions is included, too. BOC offered an alternative subject, religious studies, for those who do not want to study religion. This approach somewhat differs from what BOC offered back in the autumn of 2007 when the non-religious subject of ethics was initially meant as an alternative: the revised document of 2008 affirms that everyone at school should study religious education, either in its confessional form (Christianity or Islam) or in its nonconfessional form (religious studies). The new vision for RE sees it as a religiouscultural school subject, not only a religious one, and the authors of the RE principles are confident that such type of teaching RE will contribute to affirming the religious-cultural relations traditional for Bulgaria that have not only sustained the nation over many decades and centuries but continue to sustain the Bulgarian people today. Since 2008, several governments and new ministers of education have come and gone, which has not only slowed down the process of dialogue between the religious communities and the educational authorities but has broken any dialogue at all and the proposed RE principles were not considered by any authority at the ministry of education. This standstill continued for more than seven years and only after a new minister of education was appointed in February 2016, the dialogue was re-established and the talks about RE were resumed. The talks, however, did not produce any specific result and today, at the time of writing, RE continues in its old forms.

6

Practice / reality of RE in different schools

The practical implementation of RE at state schools in Bulgaria exposes various problems as to how it is found in the education system. The status of the subject is still uncertain, which prevents it from occupying its proper place in schools and from better developing RE syllabuses for the different school years. All this influences children and parents and for the last decade the number of students choosing to study the subject has considerably decreased, as we have observed this. One of the reasons for the uncertain status of RE is the fact that the ministry of education did not make any efforts to regulate the process of developing and publishing new teaching aids for the subject. Since 2003, no new textbooks were 19 https://bg-patriarshia.bg/index.php?file=concepts_1.xml [last access 27. 04. 2020].

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published (with only a couple of exceptions), and no RE content has been offered to the educational authorities for consideration and approval. Since 2004, RE textbooks and teaching aids have not been approved; the ministry found the excuse for this: RE is not part of the obligatory subjects for the primary and the secondary schools – only these school subjects are provided with textbooks and teaching aids with the financial support of the ministry. The lack of funding for RE books prevented the local education authorities to supply enough books for the subject, and the RE teachers found it difficult to form new groups of students to study RE. The adoption of the Education law in August 2016 seems to have opened up more opportunities to RE and its organisation at kindergartens and schools, and yet the subject cannot be well placed in the education system without considering a new Concept on RE, developing new syllabuses and issuing new ministerial instructions on its practical implementation at schools. All this makes the status of RE unstable and uncertain, and experts feel that its further organisation at schools will be even more difficult. The Law states that the syllabuses of all school subjects must be approved by the minister of education, and once approved, then textbooks and teaching aids can be developed; after their approval by the ministry, they can receive state support and be published. This is not the case for RE: it is not among the school subjects whose state-defined educational standards of competence were approved by the ministry and, consequently, its syllabuses and textbooks cannot be offered to the educational authorities for consideration and approval. The point is that RE continues to be regulated by concepts, instructions and orders, and this puts the subject in a lower position in comparison to all other school disciplines; all this makes it more difficult to practically implement a proper RE subject at schools. The Education law sees schooling as acquiring knowledge and skills through four types of education: general education, extended forms of education, specialised education and vocational education; there is one more type of educational activity called supplementary educational skills. Pupils and students receive general education in the school years 1 to 12, and specialised and vocational education is given in-between – to students of years 8 to 12; extended forms of education can be given to students of all school years whereby in some school years its components are obligatory and in some years they are not; general education is obligatory in all school years but it is especially important in the years 1 through 7 when children acquire basic knowledge and skills about the world and their closest environment. In later school years, general education only supports the knowledge and skills given by the subjects related to the specialised and the vocational areas of educational competence. Some educators are of the opinion that RE syllabuses can be approved by the ministry of education if religious knowledge has been included in the extended forms of education – this

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is the type of educational knowledge and skills which builds on the foundation laid by general education. RE teachers insist that RE should be made part of the general education of the students and that excluding it from that education makes its position unclear and the development of syllabuses difficult. This situation shows that the educational authorities have once again neglected RE while making it difficult for the normative requirements stated in the law to be applied to RE and enable its practical implementation at schools. The experts of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church insist that the ministry of education develops and adopts state educational standards of competence for RE to enable it to properly develop its own syllabuses and to grant the right for textbooks and teaching aids to be supported by the state. The cultural-educational department of BOC proposed to the Synod of Bishops to continue the dialogue with the educational authorities so that RE is better organised and regulated and appropriately introduced in the Bulgarian kindergartens and schools.

7

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

Since its inception in 1997, RE in Bulgaria has only occurred on voluntary basis when children, with the consent of their parents, wish to attend RE classes and where the headmasters of schools agree to such classes to take place in the school. This approach to RE teaching in the country makes it clear that there is no alternative subject to be taught parallel to RE as there is no demand for such a school discipline. As mentioned above, BOC’s principles of RE of 2007, that was offered the ministry of education in early 2008, envisaged the alternative secular subject of ethics for students who would not want to study religion if RE was to become obligatory for all students of the state and municipal schools. The revised version of the RE principles of 2008 replaced ethics with another more general religious subject, namely, religious studies, as an alternative to the two main religious subjects, RE in Christianity and RE in Islam. It was recognised that in fact religious studies does not actually represent an alternative as it also offers religious knowledge, although presented in historical and philosophical forms.

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Dealing with religious diversity

The contemporary conditions of life in European countries with their cultural diversity inevitably requires tolerance and respect for religious diversity. The different religions of Bulgaria are also important participants in the conversation for state and other civil institutions and structures that are called to guarantee equal rights and freedoms to all citizens in the country irrespective of their cultural and religious or irreligious differences. It is this fundamental principle that enables different religious institutions, organisations, schools, foundations, etc. to properly function in Bulgaria, they all equally work for the benefit of everyone in society, not only for the benefit of their own members. At the same time, this principle allows each religious community and religious school to organise their life without any interference on the part of the state authorities, and this fact once again reconfirms the constitutional stipulation that religion and state must function separately. These fundamental principles are the foundation on which different Christian schools and institutions operate in Bulgaria – Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Evangelical, Pentecostal, etc.; on the same ground, Muslim, Jewish, Armenian and other religious communities work and live according to the precepts of their religion and according to the requirements of the Bulgarian constitution and laws, including the Law on religious affairs.20 Attention to religious diversity is paid also in teaching RE in state schools where the textbooks of the different religious communities provide information about the understandings and the practices of other religions, too. This greatly contributes to higher integration of the Bulgarian society as one unified nation of different believers and different members of social groups within the country. It is this diversity that makes teaching RE at schools comply with the legal and normative system of education in Bulgaria. It is also worth noting that RE teaching is regulated by different bodies and participants: the ministry of education, the local education authorities, the municipal bodies and authorities, the headmasters of schools and the RE teachers; the role of the parents is also substantial. In the early years of RE teaching in Bulgaria after the political changes in the 1990s, six experts of religion were appointed in some of the regional education management offices but over the years their number was reduced to only two, currently in the city of Plovdiv and Russe. Practice has confirmed that where there is such an expert to support 20 The census 2011 stated that Bulgarian population includes 7,36 million people; for the same year researchers point that Roman Catholics are 44 thousand people, Protestantism is followed by some 40 thousand believers, about 11 thousand are the followers of the Armenian Apostolic Church, and that even one thousand people have become Buddhists. (Cf. Chary 2011: xxi).

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RE teachers and RE classes, teaching RE is well established and progressive, especially as the headmasters of schools receive all necessary guidance and methodological support from those experts. And the reverse is also true: where there is no expert in the regional educational offices to give support to teaching RE and encourage both teachers and children in their choice to study RE, to help forming RE groups at the beginning of every school years, and to set up RE as freely-elective or compulsory-elective subject, depending on the types of schools in the region, then RE is not successful, the number of RE classes diminish with every year and often they disappear from schools. Today we can see the largest number of RE classes in the regions of Plovdiv and Russe where the teaching process is supported and organised by regional experts of religion. The dialogue between members of the religion commission to the ministry of education and the ministry’s officials continues and the hope is that all religious communities would be given the possibility to teach at Bulgarian schools while meeting the requirements of the legal and the educational system. Such an approach would enable the subject, like any other discipline in the humanities, to become obligatory, well-functioning and useful to both students and society at large.

9

Religion in school outside of RE

In addition to RE at state and municipal schools, in Bulgaria there are different forms of teaching religion at a local level. Christianity is regularly taught in churches, monasteries, recreational and educational youth camps, etc., organised both by the Bulgarian Orthodox Church and by other Christian communities. These are mostly Sunday classes for children, young people and adults, catechetical courses and summer camps and educational activities in monasteries. This type of learning about religion is organised by the churches themselves, and it is perceived as an alternative form to RE at schools as the possibilities for teaching RE in the state education system are minimal. Such religious and educational activities are also carried out in social care institutions where children with special needs live: these are orphans or young people who have difficulties learning and acquiring knowledge and skills. Christian catechetical courses are organised for orphans in children’s social homes, and for deaf children and young people special Christian courses were developed, for example, classes for the deaf currently take place in Sts Cyril and Methodius Orthodox church in Sofia where a special methodology is used to present Christian content by using sign language or special gesture language. This type of work was transferred also to a wider RE teachers’ guild: now students at the theological faculty of Sofia university are trained in sign language so that

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they become RE teachers in groups composed of deaf people; such RE teachers are trained outside the faculty, as well. The educational and catechetical activity of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church is carried out along with its social and charitable activity, especially among children in social homes, adolescents with a history of drug abuse and children with disabilities. In this way, the educational activity goes hand in hand with the pastoral care, which BOC offers to those who are in need. This is especially true for the larger Bulgarian cities, such as Sofia, Plovdiv and Varna, where numerous courses are offered, children’s summer camps are organised and different programmes are developed to meet the needs of those among whom the church carries out its social and pastoral work. Such an activity was spread to a wider society in 2011 when the Bulgarian Orthodox Church and the ministry of labour and social policy signed an agreement of cooperation in the area of social care. It is notable that the agreement was signed by the Bulgarian Patriarch – the head of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church – and the minister of labour and social policy, and this once again shows that both church and state are looking for appropriate forms of cooperation for the benefit of everyone in need. For the church, it is important that through this agreement churches and different Christian organisations reach and help people who otherwise would not receive adequate help from the state; the activity of social care is extended also to many families who are in need, especially when some of its members become unemployed or the children cannot receive adequate care and support from the local authorities.21 Muslims, who make up the second largest religious community in Bulgaria, also carry out educational-religious activities, mostly on a local level in mosques and with the help of the imams. The children who take part in these activities come mostly from devout Muslim families, but children and young people from the Turkish minority, who may not be believers, are also welcome in the Islamic social centres, as many people of that minority believe that learning about Islam is good for their moral development. Unlike the Christian educational and social activities, which are entirely supported by the churches themselves, the Muslim educational and social centres receive funds from Turkey and they account for the funds to their Turkish sponsors. The other Christian communities (mostly Evangelical and Pentecostal) are also active in their educational-religious work: they also organise Sunday schools, catechetical courses, children’s summer camps, seminars, and social care for 21 The theological faculty of Sofia university created a special qualification Master’s degree in social work, and now graduates find realisation in many social settings to help the state in its work with people in need: https://www.uni-sofia.bg/index.php/eng/the_university/faculties/ faculty_of_theology2/degree_programmes/master_s_degree_programmes/faculty_of_theol ogy/church_social_work [last access 27. 04. 2020].

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those in need. These activities are supported by the churches (by their members) but some of them receive some funds from churches in Europe or North America. We should note that the above educational-religious work is done independently from state-regulated RE at schools which is monitored by the local education authorities and by the ministry of education. This means that these activities are not under the control or the regulation of any governmental body, neither the textbooks nor any other teaching materials are approved or reviewed by any educational body. Nevertheless, all educational materials are more or less known to the public and the government does not object to their use in the different religious organisations. The government, however, tries to observe what educational activities are carried out in the religious communities, not to limit or prevent these activities but to be sure that they contribute to the peaceful and tolerant dialogue between cultures and religions. This is especially important in the current circumstances in Bulgaria where thousands of immigrants of different culture and religious stances have settled in the country. This makes it necessary that state authorities are also aware of the private educational initiatives of the different religious groups in Bulgaria.

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Training of teachers of RE: institutes, structures, priorities, issues

RE teachers in Bulgaria are professionally and pedagogically trained in the theological faculties of the universities in Sofia and Veliko Tarnovo and in the theological departments of the universities in Plovdiv and Shumen. The students study all necessary pedagogical and psychological university disciplines, including teaching practice at schools, and at their graduation they receive a diploma of theology giving them teaching qualification in full compliance with the requirements and the normative regulations of the ministry of education concerning teachers. Getting teaching qualification is not obligatory for theology students and yet a relatively high percentage of them study and get it. While studying, the students carry out teaching practice at state schools and in the two Orthodox seminaries, and at the end of the practice they take a special pedagogical examination while being assessed at an RE lesson taught at school; in this way, Bulgarian theological students acquire higher skills giving them the opportunity to teach both in secular schools and in specialised Christian schools and colleges. Additionally, the theological faculty of Sofia university offers courses for postgraduate students to give them pedagogical qualification and the right to be RE teachers. The programme is intended for both students at the faculty, who

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wish to get this qualification, and teachers of primary and secondary schools who want to add religious expertise to their main teaching qualification. The teachers of the three Islamic secondary schools are trained in the Higher Islamic institute in Sofia. The institute was opened by the decision of the Directorate for religious affairs of the Bulgarian Council of ministers and its educational activity has been approved by the state, but the diplomas of the graduates are not recognised by the ministry of education as the institute’s educational policy does not fully comply with the educational requirements of the government (not sufficient scientific university disciplines are taught at the institute and it mostly trains Muslim clergy). Teachers from Bulgarian state schools teach at the three secondary Islamic schools, too, because the schools are recognised by the ministry of education and the students study all obligatory school subjects, which are taught in all Bulgarian schools. In this way, the Muslim schools function on the same pedagogical level as all other schools in the country. Islamic subjects are an exception to this, such as reciting the Quran – they are taught by Muslim teachers who can be pedagogically qualified or they can be any other Islamic preacher or scholar; that is, the special religious school subjects stand outside the pedagogical requirements of the state. It is important for us to note that if RE becomes an obligatory school discipline at the state and the municipal primary and secondary educational establishments, the four theological faculties and departments of universities are prepared to organise as many qualification courses for RE teachers as needed. The number of teachers will depend on the approach, which will be taken in introducing RE at schools in the country: if RE is introduced year by year, then the theological faculties can easily provide the necessary number of qualified RE teachers, and if it is to be introduced for all (or most) educational levels of the primary and secondary education at the same time, then the ministry of education together with the theological faculties and with other universities training teachers would solve the problem of providing a sufficient number of RE teachers for the schools in the country. For now, however, teacher training courses have not been envisaged and it seems that the ministry of education is not much interested in giving RE a better status at schools.

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Empirical research concerning RE

Not much empirical research on RE in Bulgaria has been done, mostly because the subject has been taught on a voluntary basis, because it is only a feely-elective subject with very low percentage of attendance (much less than 1 % of the primary and secondary school children in Bulgaria take part in it, as mentioned above). Between 1998 and 2003, the interest in RE was much higher and there were

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tens of thousands of students studying the subject, but later the interest decreased and the number of those attending RE classes dropped substantially. This is why there are currently only opinions and unofficial statistical data, rather than systematic and well organised empirical research on the subject. In 2005, the ministry of education initiated a massive sociological research project on the attitude of the Bulgarian society towards RE teaching in state schools. The research aimed to uncover what parents, students and teachers think about religious education. This study was carried out by one of the leading Bulgarian sociological agencies, and it showed that some 60 % of the respondents approved teaching RE at schools. The research also included a question of whether clergy can teach RE at state schools, and it became clear that most of the respondents answered negatively. The research was carried out once again on 2015 and its results were presented at conferences and talks with interested people and organisations (Garvanova & Shapkalova 2015).22 Lecturers and professors teaching at universities have also carried out their own empirical research on RE and the attitudes to it but the surveys covered only a limited segment of public opinion and cannot be used as a measure for national representation. Recently, the university of information technology and library studies carried out empirical research on RE attendance juxtaposing it with the meaning of religious values in Bulgarian society (Garvanova & Shapkalova 2015). In 2016, RE teachers and students from the theological faculties organised a promotional campaign in some regions of Bulgaria aiming to raise interest in RE, and this produced some good results. For example, in the town of Petrich and its region, some 900 children attended RE classes in the school year 2016–2017, in the town of Elin Pelin and its municipality, some 150 children signed up for the subject. Such good results are characteristic of other regions where the percentage of students choosing RE has increased, but in other regions it remains low. Among some of the reasons for the success of RE teaching in some of Bulgaria’s municipalities is the willingness of some municipal councils to financially support the subject by helping with the teaching aids and the remuneration of the teachers. As long as RE remains one of the freely-elective school subjects and continues to be unsupported by the state, closer cooperation with the local municipalities could increase the number of RE classes throughout the country. More substantial empirical research can be expected only when RE becomes a well-established school subject taught in accordance with the respective legal and normative educational regulations of the country. We hope that this can be achieved not long from now and that we will be able to more specifically point out 22 Cf. also https://www.researchgate.net/publication/282643655_Krizata_na_religiozni_cennos ti_v_svremenna_Blgaria [last access 27. 04. 2020].

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what the benefits are of RE teaching at state schools for the Bulgarian education system and for society at large.

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Desiderata and Challenges for RE in a European context

What is needed for the Bulgarian RE to become a well-recognised school subject confidently taught at state schools in the country? First of all, it has to occupy its proper place in the education school system so that it can become a school subjects on a par with all the other school disciplines taught in Bulgaria. Only if RE receives all the support from the ministry of education and the government, can it adequately resolve the challenges which it faces today. In many ways, these are challenges that other European countries and their education systems face too, especially taking account of the intensive migration processes whereby many thousands of people belonging to specific cultures and religions have moved to countries with very different culture, religion, customs, habits, and different understanding of what faith is and what moral values constitute life in a democratic country. Secondly, RE could work more closely with schools and find ways of developing its own syllabuses and teaching aids. The Education law offers greater possibilities for this, and these need to be used. Even on the level of individual schools, RE can find its proper place among the school subjects offered within the different types of education in the general school system of education. RE can become part of general education, but it can also be offered as part of the socalled extended education. And even in its current form as a freely-elective school subject, RE can better develop under the new conditions of the aforementioned law while co-authoring its syllabuses and programmes with the participants of the process – parents and students and the headmasters of schools and the municipal authorities. A better cooperation with municipalities and schools could result in an increased number of RE classes and in including the subject into the general schools’ curricula. In this way, RE would receive a higher status and appreciation among the teachers of other school subjects and among the students of the schools. Third, RE will aim to become an obligatory school subject among all others, and this would give it all the benefits of a regular school discipline: state-supported syllabuses which are approved by the ministry of education, state-funded textbooks and teaching aids, better distribution of RE teachers among the different schools, and better image of the subject among the other secular subjects. Fourth, it may be possible that RE becomes one of the specialised subjects taught in the last four school years of the students when they choose which disciplines they are going to take examinations in order to receive vocational

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certificates. This, however, can be done only when the ministry of education defines which educational area RE belongs to: the humanities or social sciences. This would also open up the possibility that the subject be taught in the last four years of secondary education, thereby preparing students well for their exams. Choosing RE as a qualification subject would greatly increase its status among the other school subjects. Fifth, Bulgarian RE could benefit from sharing experience with teachers and educational bodies from other European countries that could suggest to the Bulgarian experts different ways, in which teaching RE in their countries has become and remains to be a highly respected and well established school subject in the state schools. There are different forms of sharing that experience: these may be seminars and conferences, visits of Bulgarian RE teachers to other European schools and vice versa, of European RE teachers to Bulgarian schools, exchange of students’ groups and of experts of religion to the corresponding departments of education, etc. Such an exchange of experiences could not only help the Bulgarian RE in its more stable establishment in the Bulgarian education system but could also suggest better content for the Bulgarian RE textbooks and teaching aids, as many European countries have been developing educational content for RE for many decades now and have acquired substantial knowledge, skills and mastery in creating appealing RE materials for the different school stages. Ultimately, RE in Bulgaria will be successfully introduced in state schools as a regular school subject only if the ministry of education favourably accepts its importance for the education system and for society in general. Although there have been beneficial talks between different sides in the issue of RE, especially between the Bulgarian Orthodox Church and the educational authorities, these have produced little more than wishes and intentions rather than a practical resolution of the issue. Everyone in the country has long realised that RE can become a school subject if there is the political will to do so, and we hope that now the time has come for this to happen. The commission on religion to the ministry of education, that was appointed in 2016, has the unique opportunity to turn the talks with the educational authorities to a new direction and convince the education minister that RE in its obligatory form of teaching is the only way of drawing benefits from its proper place and function at the state schools. The new circumstances, in which most European countries live, including Bulgaria, attach great importance to religion, and acquiring more knowledge about it seems to have become an obligatory skill for every modern school education, and Bulgaria is no exception.

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Further information

Online sources [all last accessed 27. 04. 2020] http://www.nsi.bg/sites/default/files/files/pressreleases/census2011final.pdf. https://www.navet.government.bg/bg/media/PPZNP_05_09_14.pdf. https://www.mon.bg/upload/18448/zkn_PedUchObrazovanie_291218.pdf. https://mon.bg/upload/16793/ndbr13_2016_GZEIObrazovanie_280918.pdf. https://bg-patriarshia.bg/index.php?file=attitude_7.xml. https://bg-patriarshia.bg/news.php?id=211556. https://www.bg-patriarshia.bg/index.php?file=spiritual_school.xml. https://duhovna-akademia.org/. http://www.sofiapbc.org/. http://www.victory.bg/. https://ccsofia.org/category/english/. https://vesti.bg/bulgaria/obshtestvo/zad-stenite-na-miuftijskite-uchilishta-6049612. https://bg-patriarshia.bg/index.php?file=concepts_1.xml. https://www.britannica.com/place/Bulgaria/People#ref253977. https://www.nsi.bg/sites/default/files/files/pressreleases/Population2019_XE8MEZL.pdf. https://www.mon.bg/upload/10595/instrukcia_2_2003_religia.pdf. https://vesti.bg/bulgaria/obshtestvo/zad-stenite-na-miuftijskite-uchilishta-6049612. https://www.uni-sofia.bg/index.php/eng/the_university/faculties/faculty_of_theology2/de gree_programmes/master_s_degree_programmes/faculty_of_theology/church_social _work. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/282643655_Krizata_na_religiozni_cennosti_v_ svremenna_Blgaria.

References Aikonen R. & Alexandrov A. (eds.) (2015), Methods of Teaching in Religious EducationLearning by Heart or by Experience? Proceedings of the Conference held in Sofia, Bulgaria, 17–21 June, 2014, Sofia. Berov H. P. 2011. Religion in the Public Education System of Bulgaria, in G. Robbers (ed.), Religion in Public Education, Proceedings of the conference 11–14 November 2010 (73– 85). Trier, publication of the European Consortium for Church and State Research. Bulgaria: naselenie i demografski procesi prez 2019 godina, Sofia: Natsionalen staisticheski institut. 2020 (Bulgaria: Population and demographic processes in 2019). Sofia: National Institute of Statistics. Chary F. B. 2011 The history of Bulgaria.Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood. Denev I. & Gros E. (еds.). 2004. International Symposium on Religious Education Held in Sofia: “Religious Education within the Context of Common European Home” (5–10. 10. 2003). Sofia. Garvanova M. & Shapkalova S. 2015. Krizata na religioznite tsennosti v Bulgaria (Religious values in Bulgaria in crisis), Sofia.

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Kozhuharov V. 2001. Religious education in Bulgaria, in: Panorama, vol. 13, No. 2, 2001, 45– 49. Kozhuharov V. 2001. Pravoslavnoto obrazovanie v didakticheska svetlina (Christian Orthodox education from didactic perspectives). Veliko Tarnovo: Bulgaria. Kozhuharov V. 2006. In dialogue with children – a comparative view of the interface between children, theology, and religious education in Germany, England, Bulgaria and Russia, in: P. Schreiner, G. Pollard & S. Sagberg (eds.), Religious Education and Christian Theologies. Some European Perspectives, 19–45. Münster: Waxmann, 2006. Kozhuharov V. 2009. Religioznoto obrazovanie v evropeiskata uchilishtna systema dnes (Religious education in the European school system of today), Veliko Tarnovo: Vesta Publ. Kozhuharov V. 2010. Uchitel’ religii v sovremennoi gosudarstvennoi shkole: kto on? (Religious education teachers in the contemporary state schools: who are they?), in B. Melikov, V. Kozhuharov & K. Olivestam (eds.), Aktual’nye voprosy religioznogo obrazovania, vyp. 2: sbornik statei (Contemporary challenges to religious education, Vol. 2, Collection of papers), 84–99. Moscow. Nazarska G. & Shapkalova S. 2015. Metodika na obuchenieto po religia vyv vysshite svetski uchilishta (Teaching Methods for Religious Education in Secular Universities), Sofia. Nushev K. 2006. Vazmozhnosti za synchronizirane na programite za sexualno vazpitanie s niakoi osnovni principi na nravstvenoto bogoslovie (Possibilities for synchronising the sexual education syllabuses with some fundamental principles of moral theology), v: Sbornik Obshtopedagogicheska i defektologichna deontologia, Sayuz na uchenite v Balgaria , 84–92 (in: Collection of papers: general pedagogical and defectologic deontology, Sofia: Union of the scientists in Bulgaria). Nushev K. 2007. Debatyt za vyvezhdane na verouchenie v balgarskoto uchilishte, v: Strategii na obrazovatelnata i nauchnata politika (The debate on the introduction of faithteaching in Bulgarian schools, in: Strategies of the educational and scientific policy), year 15, Vul. 2, Sofia, 2007, pp. 120–127. Nushev K. 2008. Missiata na pravoslavnata tsyrkva v savremennoto informatsionno obshtestvo, v: Sbornik, Ikonomika na znanieto – vazmozhnosti i predizvikatesltva pred vissheto obrazovanie: mezhdunarodna nauchna konferentsia 13–15 juni 2008, Burgaski svoboden universitet (The mission of the Orthodox Church in the contemporary information society), in: Collection of papers, Economics of knowledge: possibilities and challenges to higher education (International scholarly conference 13–15 June 2008, Burgas Free University), Burgas, 2008, pp. 163–166. Prebroyavane 2011, Sofia: Natsionalen staisticheski institut, 2011 (Census 2011, Sofia: National Institute of Statistics, 2011). Vlasto A.P. 1970. The entry of the Slavs into Christendom. An introduction to the medieval history of the Slavs. UK: Cambridge University Press.

Ednan Aslan / Xhabir Hamiti

Religious Education at Schools in Kosovo

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Socio-religious background

The Republic of Kosovo is a secular state. The Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo1 protects and guarantees freedom of religion and is neutral in matters of religious beliefs2. The majority of the inhabitants of Kosovo are Muslims who practice a very moderate form of Islam. Most Kosovars still consider their Albanian ethnicity to be of higher importance than their religious identity3. Estimates of Kosovo’s population range from 1.9 to 2.4 million. According to the last two population censuses conducted in 1981 and 1991 Kosovo’s population stood at 1.6 and 1.9 million respectively, but the 1991 census probably undercounted Albanians. The latest estimate by the OSCE from 2001 puts the number at 2.4 Million.The population density is close to 200 per square kilometer, making Kosovo one of the most densely populated countries in Europe4. There are no official statistics regarding religious affiliation, but we estimate that around 90 % of the population of Kosovo are Muslim, 5 % are Orthodox, 4 % Catholic and 1 % other. Kosovo has a large number of mosques5. The number of Catholic and Orthodox churches is also quite considerable. Three religions – Islam, Orthodoxy, and Catholicism, have long coexisted in Kosovo. A large majority of Kosovo Albanians consider themselves, at least nominally, to be Muslim. A minority are Orthodox and Catholic. There are also around 45 (evangelical) Protestant churches across Kosovo and a small Jewish community.

1 The Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo was adopted by the National Assembly on April 9, 2008, and entered into force on June 15, 2008. 2 Law no.02/L-31 Official Gazette no. 11, 01 April 2007. 3 http://www.kosovo-info.com/kosovo-religion/ [last access 24. 02. 2020]. 4 http://enrin.grida.no/htmls/kosovo/SoE/popullat.htm [last access 24. 02. 2020]. 5 https://archive.koha.net/?id=27&l=114757 [last access 24. 02. 2020].

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Albanian Muslims make up the largest religious community in Kosovo. The vast majority of them adhere to the Sunni branch of Islam, based on a religious school of hanafi Islamic law, established by the scholar Abu Hanifa in the 17th century. This religious school of law is currently predominant in Central Asia and countries formerly ruled by the Ottoman Empire, since it follows a ‘middle course’ of interpreting Islam and recognizes the institution of analogy in the elaboration of legal religious provisions. It also allows the use of logic in the argumentation of religious matters by taking into account the ‘time and place’ perspective (Heine 2003 :15). Another considerable portion of Kosovo’s Muslim population, approximately 10 %, adhere to the Sufi Dervish orders (Norris 1993: 271), which are religious mystic groups, operating under denominations such as: Khalwati, Qadiri, Malamatis, Mevlevi, Naqshbandi, Shadhili, Rifai, Bektashi, Sinani, etc. Their particular rites, as well as their glorification of Ali, the fourth Muslim caliph who died in the year 661 A.D. are among the defining characteristics that distinguish them from the Sunni Muslim majority in Kosovo. Dervishes perform their rites in special shrines called “tekke” rather than in mosques. Despite their differences in terms of religious rites, the Dervish orders were within the frameworks of the Islamic Community of Kosovo (ICK) until 2013. Under the new draft law regulating the legal status of religious communities in Kosovo, mystic groups were set apart as an independent religious community6. Aside from ethnic Albanians, Kosovo is home to Turks, Gorani and Torbeshi (who speak a Slavic language), as well as to Roma and Ashkali minorities. Islam and Muslims are no new phenomenon in Kosovo, similar to many other countries in the Balkans and beyond. A quick look into the history books shows that the journey of Albanians with Islam as their spiritual religion is not something new but rather a centuries-old current of Kosovoran history. Elements of Islam among the Albanians can be traced back to the tenth and eleventh century A.D. Starting with occasional contacts with Muslim naval merchants that traveled the Adriatic and the Mediterranean Sea from Andalusia (today’s Spain) all the way to Cyprus (Ibrahimi 1997). From 1389 onward the Ottoman Empire started invading the Balkan and Islam started to expand rapidly in its wake within and outside the area now known as Albania.

6 http://www.btkonline.net/. [last access 24. 02. 2020].

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Legal Framework of RE and the relationship between religious communities and the state

Since the end of the war in Kosovo in 1999, religious communities and state authorities have not yet managed to establish an official relationship, neither when it comes to organizing religious life in general, nor to religious education in particular. Indigenous religious communities continue to perform their day-to-day activities in the absence of a renewed legal status in the newly established state of Kosovo. Consequently, lacking relevant legislation adopted by the Kosovo parliament, the aforementioned communities are still not officially registered by the state authorities of Kosovo. The Islamic Community of Kosovo (ICK) 7, being an institution that represents the largest religious community in the country, still carries out its internal activities according to its old status. After the end of the war in 1999, the institutional organization of Islamic religious life in Kosovo resumed its work based upon pre-war foundations and institutional structures, however with much greater difficulties, due to substantial damage to its infrastructure inflicted by the destructive war led by the Serbian army. For many Serbs Kosovo is the historic center of their nation and therefore carries speial significance. According to the Office for Statistics in Kosovo and Metohija Serbian citizens make up only 7 % of the Kosovar population (Kuburic´ 2014: 137–146). Meanwhile, the Serbian Orthodox Church (Eparhija RaskoPrizrenska) remains subordinated to the Belgrade-based Serbian Orthodox Church, which strongly opposes recognition of Kosovos independence and maintains the view that falling under the umbrella of post-independence Kosovo is not part of its political agenda. In addition to Kosovo, their sphere of influence also includes the areas bordering central Serbia to the north. Today the diocese ist the Kosovar town of Prizren. The church has more than 100.000 followers in Kosovo. According to internal sources more than 100 Serbian Orthodox churches were destroyed between 1999–2004 “Unlike the Islamic Community, the Serbian Orthodox Church has always been a factor – although generally a subordinate one – in the politics of Kosovo. It played an important role in the wave of nationalist euphoria in Serbia in the late 1980s“12.

The Catholic Church in Kosovo performs its activities in the absence of a regulated legal status with country’s institutions, but unlike ICK, which is not part of 7 http://www.bislame.net/ [last access 24. 02. 2020].

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any umbrella institution, whether in or abroad of the country the diocese PrizenPristina is under the direct control by the Holy See. Todays diocese was established on May 24, 2000 with the division of Skopje-Prizren as the Apostolic Administrator Prizren. The number of Catholics is estimated at 65.000. Additionally there are Catholic Roma as well as small communities of Croat Catholics. The Catholic communities are located in Prizren, Klina, Janjeva and Gjakova. The Catholic church in Kosovo includes 24 parishes with a total of 37 Diocesan priests. Small protestant communities are found in most big cities, the biggest one in Prishtina (Hagen 2012: 246). According to internal sources, the number of Protestant communities has increased significantly in recent years. While in 1992 there was only one congregation with 15 members in the Balkans, today there are 36 congregations with more than 5,000 members8. Besides the traditional religious communities, which have coexisted throughout the centuries, several new religious communities have emerged in post-war Kosovo, which hadn’t previously been very active as recently such as: There are still around 50 Jews in Kosovo today. They belong to three families, all of whom live in the city of Prizren. The presence of Jews in the areas of Kosova dates back to the 15th century, when many Jews fled Spain and Portugal. Over the years they organized community life, founded their own school (yeshiva), commune, synagogues, which survived the Ottoman period, and only in 1963 was the Jewish community destroyed by the regime at that time. In post-war Kosovo, the Jews have no schools and hold close ties to the Jewish communities in Israel. In the 2011 census, 2.09 % of Kosovo’s residents identified as Bektashi. The Bektashis in Kosovo are a tight-knit group internationally as well as on a local level. Due to the legal limbo faced by all religious communities, the Republic of Kosovo and its authorities have so far failed to establish official working relationships with any of the aforementioned communities. It’s fair to assume that formal coordination between them may be anticipated only after Kosovo parliament passes the law intended to regulate the legal status of all religious communities in the country, which is currently pending final review.

8 https://www.idea.de/frei-kirchen/detail/kosovo-zahl-der-protestanten-nimmt-stark-zu-2045 7.html [last access 24.02.20].

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Developments in the country’s education policies

The educational system in the public schools of Kosovo is secular. Since the end of the war in 1999, the Ministry of Education and Technology in Kosovo has been actively developing new policy regarding programs, methodologies and curricula. So far the MET has drafted a lot of strategies in this direction. Strategic planning in the area of education in Kosovo is in fact a fairly recent phenomenon: it was really only in the 1990’s that disillusionment with traditional planning, in particular the lack of ownership and involvement by key players, the lack of emphasis on monitoring and evaluation, and low levels of flexibility in terms of implementation, combined with insufficient regard for the changing environment, led to the widespread development of what was called ‘strategic’ planning. In many countries experiencing transitionary phases strategic planning has been linked to the gradual introduction of Sector Wide Approaches (SWAp) in development cooperation from the mid-1990s onward. The first comprehensive strategic plans for education produced in Kosovo were the Higher Education Strategy 2005–2015 and the Pre-University Education Strategy 2007–2017. When Kosovo adopted the Education SWAp in 2009, it was decided that a comprehensive and unique plan for the whole Education Sector was necessary, which led to the development of the Kosovo Education Strategic Plan (KESP) 2011–2016. The plan was implemented with some success in various areas – in others, results stayed far behind expectations. This was demonstrated by the detailed Evaluation Report published in November 2015. Both the process of developing KESP 2017–2021, and the resulting document, have benefitted from the lessons learned from the experience of developing, implementing, and reviewing KESP 2011–2016. More specifically there is now a greater understanding of the importance of integrating monitoring, evaluation and assessment within the framework of objectives, and an increased appreciation of the role of the wider group of stakeholders in education.9 But religious education in public schools is not part of the discourse within Kosovoran institutions. However, there are some voices like the Islamic Community of Kosovo who are demanding the introduction of religious education in public schools, following the example of some of Western countries, which already have regulated this issue in their public schools.

9 http://www.kryeministri-ks.net/repository/docs/KOSOVO_EDUCATION_STRATEGIC_PLAN. pdf [last access 12. 02. 2020].

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

Religious education in Kosovo is largely organized independently by religious communities themselves in their private spaces. Officially and legally, religious education as a teaching subject is not part of Kosovo’s public schools, except for Serbian Orthodox religious education, the community which did not recognize and accept Kosovo institutions after its declaration of independence in 2008. In addition, the Serb pedagogical staff is entitled to financial support from Serbia to cover the expenses for renumerating the teachers who teach Orthodox religious education in public schools in Kosovo. The Islamic Community of Kosovo has lobbied successfully to obtain a budget from the Ministry of Education of Kosovo for its private, secondary professional school tasked with the training of imams, known as the Secondary “Alauddin Madrasa” in Pristina. Under an informal agreement, the Department of the Ministry of Education, shall not exercise its direct influence over the school curriculum nor interfere in the appointment or dismissal of its staff. It is worth noting that this department of the Ministry of Education has no such relations with other public schools in the country.

5

Conceptions and tasks of RE

In no other country the opinion on religious education in state schools is as divided as in Kosovo. While the religious community sees religion as a guarantee of social peace, this attitude is rejected by the state based on the following argument: “The legal framework governing the preuniversity education in Kosovo does not permit public institutions to teach religion in schools. It states: “Public educations shal refrain from teaching religion or other avtivities that propagate a specific religion”” (Ognjenovic´ & Jozelic´ 2018: 301).

While the majority of religious communities support religious instruction in public schools, the Protestant Church does not necessarily see religious education as a task for the state. “We have also expressed our deepest concerns towards the idea of introducing “Religion” in the public schooling curriculum. Not only that such action would reiously harm the tolerance in the country but we are concerned it will make our public schools as camps for training Islamic terrorist” (Ognjenovic´ & Jozelic´ 2018: 302).

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RE in Kosovo in general is practiced within religious schools organized by religious communities of the country. Public schools, except those operating under the supervision of Serbs in Kosovo do not offer any religious classes. Since the legal status of religious communities in Kosovo has not yet been established, there are no official links and cooperation between the state and religious educators regarding the preparation of curricula and textbooks. Theologians are authors of books, which are part of programs in private schools sponsored by religious communities. So far there is no state control over religious books in religious schools.

6

Practice/reality of RE in different schools

6.1

Islamic Education in Kosovo

As mentioned above, Islamic education in Kosovo is organized in private institutions of religious communities. The most important educational organization of the Islamic community in Kosovo is the Alauddin Madrasa ”in Pristina, which was of great importance not only in the present but also in the history of Muslims in the Balkans. This school was founded in 1949 and is considered one of the most important educational institutions for Muslims in the Balkans. “The Alaud-din Madrasah continues tradition of its predecessors; madrasahs established in the beginning of twentieth century, all had been closed in 1927 during the time of the Serbian Kingdom (Hamiti 2009). Both male and female students are currently admitted. The Alaud-din Madrasah was the only Islamic school in Albanian language during the Communist regime. Today, the madrasah curriculum combines religious and nonreligious subjects, and its diploma is recognized by the Kosovo Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MEST), which allocates Finances for the employees’ salaries” (Isanovic Hadzˇiomerovic 2018: 819).

The internal organization of “Alauddin Madrasa” is left entirely in the hands of its management, which is directly supervised by the Islamic Community of Kosovo, which is also in charge of appointing and dismissing its staff. The decision to introduce the “Alauddin Madrasa” in the budget of the Ministry of Education of Kosovo made in the period between 1999 and 2008, when Kosovo was administered by the UNMIK (United Nation Interim Mission in Kosovo). “Alauddin Madrasa”10, represents one of the oldest Islamic religious schools in the Balkan Peninsula, being only slightly younger than the “Gazi Husrevbeg Madrasa” in Sarajevo, which was established in 1951. 10 http://medreseja.com/ [last access 21. 04. 2019].

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This school was active under the former socialist system, with a mixed student body consisting of predominantly Albanians, but also of members of other nations and countries. Currently, “Alauddin Madrasa” has two branches, one in Prizren and another in Gjilan and a total of around 600 students, both male and female. Students graduating from this school are entitled to pursue studies in different directions, both in Kosovo and abroad. Alauddin Madrasa in Pristina is the second highest most influential school in South-eastern Europe, for the preparation of imams and Albanian-speaking religious teachers after the “Gazi Husrevbeg Madrasa” in Sarajevo. Duration of studies in this school until 1984 was 5 years, from 1984 to 2013, 4 years, whereas from 2011 onwards has been reduced to 3 years. Over the past decades, the Alauddin Secondary Madrasa in Pristina has significantly stagnated when it comes to developing and reforming the new syllabus and curriculum. Moreover, this school suffers from shortcomings in terms of pedagogical and didactic methodologies. Most subjects have not yet undergone professional and pedagogical review, neither in terms of content, arrangement or selection of teaching units. The study material in this school remains based primarily on tradition, which to a large degree is not compatible with modern social and scientific developments. Nevertheless this school has been chosen as one of the top schools for several years in a row and been praised for its discipline and its zealous spirit of research. Subjects in this school are divided into three main groups11: As mentioned above, religious education in Kosovo is an optional subject. Generally, children except those of Serbian nationality are taught about their religion in their places of worship, such as; mosques, churches, masjids, or any private facility dedicated to this purpose. In the post-war Kosovo, several private schools, sponsored by various religious donations, have been established, however, not all of them have introduced religious education in their curricula, but their background is religious nonetheless. Several other private institutions also have offers for religious education at schools. In 2013, the Turkish Association “Atmosphere” founded the high school “Hasan Nahi”. Different from the two above educational institutions, this school, in its curriculum, has incorporated some Islamic subjects, such as: Arabic language, basics of belief, knowledge of the Qur’an, and the subject of religious rules. “Atmosphere” is part of the operations carried out abroad by Fethullah Gülen’s move11 http://medreseja.com/lendet-mesimore/klasa-e-12-te/ [last access 12. 02. 2020].

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ment in Turkey and beyond. However, this school does not call itself an Islamic high school, but rather a school that offers Islamic Studies.

6.2

Religious education in mosques and Quran schools

In addition to these official schools, numerous mosques and religious boarding schools also offer religious education. In the Albanian mosques Quran courses are offered on weekends. In addition to these courses private foreign foundations are also very active. 6.2.1 The “Süleymaniye” Association The “Süleymaniye” Association, headquartered in Istanbul, is also privately involved in Islamic religious education in Kosovo. This Association has an active outreach throughout main towns of Kosovo. It develops its activity mainly through establishment of boarding homes, opening doors to all those interested, mainly young people. Students of this Association receive free-of-charge accommodation and food. After being placed in boarding homes, students are asked to comply with strict internal rules, which they call an educational rule. The Islamic religious literature used by the Association is mainly selected from a Turkish Sufi mystic school, called the “Nakshibendi”. Most part of their literature has been translated into Albanian. The leader of this religious movement is Osman Nuri Topbas¸, who lives and works in Istanbul. 6.2.2 Private University for Teacher and Imamtraining ICK, except religious secondary education, also organizes religious higher education through the Faculty of Islamic Studies (FIS), established back in 1992. Unlike Alauddin Madrasa, FIS is neither part of the public budget of the Ministry of Education of Kosovo, nor of the University of Pristina. This institution, which is recognized as the highest tier in the field of education on Islamic theology in Kosovo, continues to carry out its educational activity on the basis of financial support directly from its founding institution, the ICK. Due the legal limbo the ICK is experiencing in the framework of country’s institutions, FIS still is not listed nor licensed by country’s legal authorities. Nevertheless, the independent accreditation agency, functioning as an independent institution under the Ministry of Education in Kosovo, accredited the curricula of both the Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in 2013, 2015 and 2019.

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Christian religious education in Kosovo

6.3.1 Religious Education in Orthodox Schools12 The Kosovar government does not keep statistics on the Serbian children who live in the north of Kosovo. This applies to both primary and secondary schools. The Serbian authorities in the north of Kosovo have their own educational structures. So far the government of Kosovo has generally had neither access nor influence on the development of the educational curriculum of the Serbian community in Kosovo, let alone on the subjects with religious content. “The Serbian Orthodox Church has managed to spread its influence rapidly throughout society. In the last few decades it has gained increased influence over the public institutions. As a result, the Government of the Republic of Serbia has introduced the religious education in 2001 in all Serbian schools, not as mandatory but as an optional subject, which is in compliance with international standards. In this context, it has been observed that the number of pupils attending this course is very high” (Ognjenovic´ & Jozelic´ 2017: 302).

According to field data over 80 % of Serbian students in Kosovo attend religious education in public school13. Students of the lower classes of primary education may opt for religious education with their parents’ permission. It’s worth noting that religious education for children of the Orthodox community is optional. Apart from that, students of this community are entitled to choose between civic and religious education, given parental consent. A child of Orthodox parents likewise can attend civic education throughout a school year, and in the following year religious education or can opt for both at once14. Religious education for children of this community is carried out from the first grade until the end of secondary school15. In recent years, there has been a big controversy in Serbia between those in favor of of teaching religious education in public schools and those who oppose this practice. The Serbian Orthodox Church continues to insist that religious education remain mandatory, while both secular institutions and civil society insist that this subject must be optional.

12 http://www.spc.rs/eng [last access 18. 01. 2020]. 13 http://www.slobodnaevropa.org/a/veronauka-popularna-u-srpskim-skolama/27879123. html [last access 23. 02. 2020]. 14 http://www.blic.rs/vesti/drustvo/veronauka-od-1-oktobra/leq5vly [last access 14.02.2020]. 15 http://veronauka.rs/nastava/srednja-skola/ [last access 15. 02. 2020].

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6.3.2 Religion Education in Catholic Schools The Catholic Church, known as the “Archdiocese of Kosovo”, is part of the oldest religious communities in Albanian society, in the Balkans and beyond. The Catholic Church in Kosovo is a traditional religious institution, which around 5–7 % of the overall population in Kosovo adhere to. Throughout their history, Albanians, regardless of religious affiliation, have demonstrated a high degree of respect and tolerance towards each other, and history has not yet recorded an open interfaith conflict amongst them. Various conflicts that have arisen in this region cannot simply be attributed to religions. As Bishop Theodosije Sˇibalic´ of Raska and Prizren has stressed: “…although the conflict in Kosovo was not a religious one, religion has nevertheless played a role in the culture of the people who misleadingly still see religious sites as symbols of national ideologies rather than as the house of God. ‘We must change this perception and this is our primary task now’” (Mehmeti 2016: 281).

Unlike the ICK, the Catholic Church in Kosovo, so far, does not operate any religious elementary, secondary of higher education institutions in Kosovo, neither public nor private, and hence preaching represents its entire educational activity, whether by means of written media, such as the periodic journal “Dita”, followed by online media, but also via the broadcasting stations of Radio Mary and Vatican Radio, diffusing religious messages in Albanian to Christian believers. The Diocese of Prizren-Prishtina includes 24 parishes in total. In 22 of them services are rendered by diocese presbyters (priests), whilst in 2 parishes services are rendered by deacons (Franciscansin the town of Gjakova and Salesiansin Pristina). A total of 37 altar servers serve in these parishes, of whom 28 are diocese altar servers, 5 Franciscans and 4 Salesians16. The Catholic Church in Kosovo operates a few youth centres, such as: “Father Lorenc Mazreku” in the town of Peja and the “Catholic Youth Forum”. These organizations promote the values and belief in the Catholic religion through various forms of religious literature.

16 http://www.kishakatolike.org/?cid=1,6 [last access 19. 03. 2020].

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Further religious schools

6.4.1 Don Bosko Social Centre17 Don Bosko Social Centre develops its activity in different areas of Kosovo and the broader Balkan region. In 2007, this centre opened its primary and secondary level school in Pristina, and now stands at about 850 students. The school bears the name of a prominent Catholic priest of the 18th century called “Don Bosco”. According to its internal charter, the school in question operates according to the laws and legal norms of Kosovo and Regulation of Salesian Congregation. 6.4.2 Jesuit community The Jesuit community based in Germany, Austria and Croatia has also established a secondary school in the town of Prizren, named “Loyola Gymnasium”. This school has been operating in this city since 2003. Two of the abovementioned schools, do not carry out any religious education in their teaching program, although their founders are representatives of the Christian religious community. The vast majority of students attending this school adhere to Islam. According to a report by the Religious Congregation Order of Austria, the Jesuits withdrew from the Loyola High School in Kosovo. Although the internal conflict cannot be assessed, the supporting association justifies this as follows: “There is a lack of support in the sponsoring association”, explained P. Bernhard Bürgler, Provincial of the Austrian Jesuits. The school project in Kosovo, which is unique in its type and focus, has built a bridge to the disadvantaged children and young people of Roma and Ashkali ”18.

6.5

Religious Education in Protestants Schools

Unlike other traditional communities, the Protestant Church in Kosovo is much younger in its activity. This Church itself started flourishing and spreading its activities and branches in Kosovo 20 years ago, reaching a peak after the Kosovo war. This Church, headquartered in Pristina, currently operates 17 branches, located in towns and various parts of Kosovo. This small community develops its religious educational activity mainly in its sanctuaries, particularly churches, Sundays and during holidays and religious events throughout the year. The 17 http://www.donbosko-kosova.com/ [last access 22. 02. 2020]. 18 https://www.ordensgemeinschaften.at/artikel/4818-jesuiten-ziehen-sich-aus-loyola-gymna sium-im-kosovo-zurueck [last access 25. 02. 2020].

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leaders of the Protestant Church in Kosovo, in addition to church activities, often organize charity concerts with religious content in public halls throughout Kosovo, where they disseminate leaflets and literature with religious content to participants and the general public. The Protestant Church in Kosovo has a well-trained staff, known for its liberal approach to other religious communities in the country. Due to the absence of a Protestant educational institution in Kosovo, religious and professional training of pastors is done mainly in Protestant religious schools abroad, and recently through an international theological program called “BUILD”19. In addition to the official website, through which the Kosovo Protestant leadership keeps their believers in contact with information and education, the Church is also active on Facebook. Kosovo Protestants receive their religious education based on widely recognized grounds and criteria established by renowned Protestant schools in Europe and beyond.

7

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

All international reports criticize ethical education in the kosovar bilateral system.20 For social reasons, it is unfortunately not possible to conduct an independent debate on the position of ethical education in Kosovo. According to a report by Shala and Muhrati, it is strongly recommended that the curricula be reformed accordingly: “Early education institutions shall make sure that ethical education is provided through education programs.2) The Ministry of Education shall define policy that requires and promotes ethical education in all the study programs and in particular in law programs.3) Universities shall first include the professional legal ethics course as a mandatory course and prepare the program of the course in such a way that the ethical legal education be provided as it should. It would be necessary that the course is taught by professors with an understanding of the legal profession” (Shala & Muharti 2018: 54).

However, it should not be inferred from this that the education system has completely removed the importance of citizenship education from the curricula.

19 http://kishaprotestante.net/diplomojne-studentet-e-teologjise/ [last access 25. 02. 2020]. 20 Corruption Risk Assessment in the Education Sector in Kosovo, Nov 7, 2015, in: https://www. ks.undp.org/content/kosovo/en/home/presscenter/articles/2015/11/07/corruption-risk-assess ment-in-the-education-sector-in-kosovo/ [last access 26. 02. 2020].

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The education system has formulated certain competencies that define Citizenship Education as a task for the country, such as Competence for life, work and environment, personal competence and civil competence, which should be achieved through subjects such as Society and environment or Life and work. (Aliu 2018: 65) “Through the field Society and Environment, students develop the knowledge, skills, attitudes and trends that are needed for a democratic society. It is intended that students learn to participate and contribute actively and critically to society and the world. The Curriculum field Society and Environment at the lower secondary level (grades VI– IX), is realized through subject lesson. The subjects of this field at this level are: history, geography and civic education” (Ibid: 67)

The goal of this education is to teach pupils to gain not only political skills but also the position of norms, rights and responsibilities for society. In addition, the curriculum aims to empower students to make decisions independently. “In upper secondary education (grades X–XII), the curriculum field Society and Environment is addressed through subject teaching such as history, civic education, sociology, psychology, philosophy and logic. Specific concepts in the field of Society and the Environment in upper secondary education, which also address social, political and economic issues.” (Ibid: 68).

From this current discussion it can be deduced that the government in Kosovo must find a solution to religious and ethical education in public schools in the medium term. Under the new government, which is slowly allowing more open debates in Kosovo and can count on new alternatives.

8

Dealing with religious diversity

Religion and nationalism in the history of Kosovo were not easy to separate. History shows that many religious leaders were leaders of the nationalist movements at the same time. “The main obstacle to dialogue and reconciliation was the involvement of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SOC) in politics. The first problem was that the head of SOC for Kosovo, Bishop Artemije (bishop of Raska and Prizren), was at the same time the head of the Serb National Council of Kosovo, a political position which came into direct conflict with his position as the spiritual leader of the Kosovo Serb community” (Mehmeti 2016: 219).

History has shown that when religious authorities support military activity, its activities are sanctified, which galvanizes fanaticism in situations of conflict. Even though the Liberation War between Serbs and Albanians was not a religious war, religious leaders played a crucial role.

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After the war ended, religious communities tried to increase their efforts for dialogue. The “Statement of Shared Moral Commitment” was adopted in Kosovo in 2000, a joint declaration by the three main religious communities in Kosovo. Politically based tensions arose later among the religious representatives. The dialogue events were resumed with the mediation of the OSCE and KFOR groups from NATO. The attacks on the Serbian churches in 2004 were once again a reason for a inter-religious dialogue in Kosovo (Schon 2019: 122). The Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) organized a two-day interreligious conference in the Patecarchate Pec. The meeting was also intended to re-establish Kosovo’s Interfaith Council. It includes the heads of the SPC, the Islamic Community and the Roman Catholic Church in Kosovo21. The success of these efforts depends on the political situation in Kosovo. As long as the problem between Serbs and Albanians regarding Kosovo’s independence remains unresolved, there can be no talk of an open dialogue between Ortodox and Muslims. The only religious community in Kosovo, which still is not fully ready to cooperate with other communities in Kosovo is the Serbian Orthodox Church, not because of the dominant number of Albanian Muslims and Catholics, but because the Orthodox Church in Kosovo is not ready to accept the new reality and new rules in Kosovo following its independence, without the permission of the Orthodox Church in Serbia. Dialogue between Muslims and Serbs is a very tedious process under the conditions in Kosovo. The dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Muslim community is a historically grown dialogue and is carried by both religious communities. The Secretary of the Diocese of Kosovo, Don Shan Zefi, said: “The memory of the past should contribute even more to the fact that we can make progress in an honest dialogue – without bigoted rhetoric – and strengthen the fraternal relations here in Kosovo among the Catholic, Orthodox and Muslim brothers”22

9

Religion in schools outside of RE

Since different ethnic groups and religions shape everyday school life in Kosovo, talk of religion is avoided in public schools. Because religion is a ubiquitous issue in society for political reasons, schools try to avoid religious debates. The schools 21 https://www.dw.com/de/religionsgemeinschaften-im-kosovo-wollen-dialog-f%C3%B6rder n/a-1993703 [last access 22. 02. 2020]. 22 Ibid.

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continue to be shaped by a secular teaching staff and religious discussions are avoided.

10

Training of teachers of RE: institutes, structures, priorities issues

Because there is no religious instruction in public schools, the training of religious teachers has still not been sufficiently institutionalized. Each religious community tries to find a solution under its own circumstances. One cannot speak of professional teacher training for religious instruction. The imams, priests or other theologians try to shape the RE at their own discretion. Unfortunately, so far no science-based training program of religious education has been established. Most teachers of RE in Kosovo are educated and trained in different places and institutions. Most Catholic Priests are trained in Catholic institutions like in Zagreb23 and Rome. Orthodox Priests, who are active in Kosovo are educated and trained at the Faculty of Orthodox Theology24 in Belgrade and in Greece25. Muslim religious teachers are educated in and outside Kosovo. Most of them are trained at the Faculty for Islamic Studies in Prishtina, others in Sarajevo, Cairo, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey etc. Without the establishment of RE in public schools, it will hardly be possible to establish a binding standard for RE.

11

Empirical research concerning RE

There are still no studies written on the topic of RE in Kosovo. There are some studies based on secular education in general, but not specifically on RE in Kosovo. There are a lot of books, which have been written on history of the religion in Kosovo or on its religious background in general, but none of them has tackled the subject of religious education or religious teaching institutions in Kosovo in detail.

23 http://www.kbf.unizg.hr/studiji/ [last access 22. 02. 2020]. 24 http://bg.ac.rs/en/members/faculties/FOT.php [last access 22. 02. 2020]. 25 http://www.hchc.edu/ [last access 22. 02. 2020].

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139

Desiderata and challenges for RE in a European context

Religious education in Kosovo, and the Balkan countries in general, should be developed in compliance with recognized European pedagogical and didactic norms of religious education, wherein, as we speak, most European countries have made it part of their school curricula. It should include studied content, which calls for respect of freedom and the right of each citizen to freely choose his religion and beliefs. All RC communities have a duty to engage in developing curricula complying with new changes and challenges faced by modern societies at present. Religious communities in Kosovo, without distinction, should operate separately from the state authorities, but seek to obtain a clear legal status, respect the equality and freedom of all citizens, and keep out elements of religious hatred and intolerance against any of the religious communities are incorporated in their educational curricula. The unstable political situation in Kosovo and its economic development may pose an insurmountable obstacle and the main challenge in developing a balanced and thoroughly studied, religious education curricula for all religious communities in Kosovo, which is also on par with the European standards. The steps mentioned above can only be achieved if the status of religious communities is passed within the Kosovo Parliament, which still is work in progress.

13

Further information

Aslan, E. 2009. Islamische Erziehung in Europa (Islamic Education in Europe). Wien: Böhlau. Aslan, E. & Windisch, Z. 2012. The training of Imams and Teachers for Islamic Education in Europe. Wien: Peter Lang. Norris, H.T. 1993. Islam in the Balkans. University of South Carolina Press. Hamiti; X. 2010. Historiku i Bashkësisë Isalme të Kosovës (History of the Islamic Community of Kosvo). Prishtinë. Ibrahimi, N. 1997. First contacts of Islam with Balkan nations in the pre-Ottoman period (Kontaktet e para të slamit me popujt e Ballkanit para sundimit osman). Skopje, 1997. Nielson, J. 2009. Yearbook of Muslims in Europe: Vol. 1. Leiden: Brill. Troncota˘, M. 2018. ‘The association that dissociates’ – narratives of local political resistance in Kosovo and the delayed implementation of the Brussels Agreement. Southeast European and Black Sea Studies 18:2. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/ 14683857.2018.1474585 [last access 19. 03. 2020]. Weidenfeld, W. & Wessel, W. (eds.) 2019. Jahrbuch der Europäischen Integration. BadenBaden: Nomos.

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Web sources http://www.kosovo-info.com/kosovo-religion/ [last access 24. 02. 2020]. http://enrin.grida.no/htmls/kosovo/SoE/popullat.htm [last access 24. 02. 2020]. https://archive.koha.net/?id=27&l=114757 [last access 24. 02. 2020]. http://www.btkonline.net/. [last accessed 24. 02. 2020]. http://www.bislame.net/ [last access 24. 02. 2020]. https://www.idea.de/frei-kirchen/detail/kosovo-zahl-der-protestanten-nimmt-stark-zu-2 0457.html [last access 24. 02. 2020]. http://www.kryeministri-ks.net/repository/docs/KOSOVO_EDUCATION_STRATEGIC_ PLAN.pdf [last access 12. 02. 2020]. http://medreseja.com/ [last access21. 04. 2019]. http://medreseja.com/lendet-mesimore/klasa-e-12-te/ [last access 12. 02. 2020]. http://www.spc.rs/eng [last access 18. 01. 2020]. http://www.slobodnaevropa.org/a/veronauka-popularna-u-srpskim-skolama/27879123. html [last access 23. 02. 2020]. http://www.blic.rs/vesti/drustvo/veronauka-od-1-oktobra/leq5vly [last access 14. 02. 2020]. http://veronauka.rs/nastava/srednja-skola/ [last access 15. 02. 2020]. http://www.donbosko-kosova.com/ [last access 22. 02. 2020]. https://www.ordensgemeinschaften.at/artikel/4818-jesuiten-ziehen-sich-aus-loyola-gymna sium-im-kosovo-zurueck [last access 25. 02. 2020]. http://kishaprotestante.net/diplomojne-studentet-e-teologjise/ [last access 25. 02. 2020]. https://www.ks.undp.org/content/kosovo/en/home/presscenter/articles/2015/11/07/cor ruption-risk-assessment-in-the-education-sector-in-kosovo/ [last access 01. 04. 2020]. http://library.fes.de/pdf-files/bueros/kosovo/15185-20190220.pdf. Bonn, 2018, p.65. [last access 01. 04. 2020]. https://www.dw.com/de/religionsgemeinschaften-im-kosovo-wollen-dialog-f%C3%B6rde rn/a-1993703 [last access 22. 02. 2020]. http://www.kbf.unizg.hr/studiji/ [last access 22. 02. 2020]. http://bg.ac.rs/en/members/faculties/FOT.php [last access 22. 02. 2020]. http://www.hchc.edu/ [last access 22. 02. 2020].

Aneta Jovkovska / Petko Zlateski

Religious Education at Schools in Republic of North Macedonia

The Republic of North Macedonia is a secular country with a separation of church and state. The churches and religious communities in North Macedonia have the right to found religious educational institutions on all levels of education, except for the elementary level, for the education of clergy and other personnel. Hence, the two most common religions in North Macedonia: Orthodox Christianity and Islam have their own educational institutions in middle and higher education with old traditions and many years of experience. In public education, religious education is found only in elementary education, where the subject Ethics in religions is learned as an optional subject in sixth grade. According to the curriculum this subject has the purpose of developing a sense of responsibility, the capacity to tell good from evil, prudence, to understand the significance of spiritual and material, respect toward religious wealth, religious traditions and religious differences in the world, as well as of increasing the children’s personal integrity and dignity.

1

Socio-religious background of the country

According to the global study: “Religiousness and atheism” of “Gallup International” Macedonian citizens of North Macedonia are the most religious in Europe. Eighty eight percent of Macedonian citizens consider themselves religious. Answering the same question “Do you consider yourself do be a religious person or atheist, regardless if you visit a liturgy place or not?”, eight percent of Macedonians consider themselves non-religious, and only two percent consider themselves atheists.1 1 In Republic of North Macedonia, “Brima Galup” has conducted a field survey, face to face in the participant’s home, on a representative sample of 1204 participants at the age of 15 years in the period from 1st to 24th of November 2014 year. (http://telma.com.mk/vesti/istrazhuvanje88-od-gragjanite-vo-makedonija-se-religiozni).

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The majority religion in the Republic of Macedonia is Orthodox Christianity. It is confessed by 64,8 % of the population, most of whom are ethnic Macedonians (Census of Population, Households and Dwellings in the Republic of Macedonia, 2002: 334). Christian life in the territory of the Republic of North Macedonia was continuously present since early Christian times. Since the first centuries, there have been Christian centers with bishop’s seats: Stobi, Heraclea, Bargala, Skupi, and others. In the ninth century, the most prominent among the disciples of St. Cyril and Methodius, the brothers who created a Slavic alphabet, were St. Clement and St. Naum of Ohrid, who have continued their missionary activities in Ohrid. Naum, who was a monk, retreated to the south shore of the Ohrid Lake, where he built a monastery and formed a brotherhood; he is considered the founding father of the monasticism in North Macedonia. St. Clement, instead, established a well-organized school in Ohrid, where in seven years, 3500 students were educated. Later, he was appointed bishop of the Dremvica and Velika Diocese, the territory around the Ohrid Lake. This diocese soon grew into the Ohrid Archbishopric. This Church of Ohrid, as autocephalous, held jurisdiction over various territories during different periods, sometimes even from the Danube and Dalmatia to the Black Sea and Sicilia, but the seat was always in Ohrid, in the territory of North Macedonia. Exactly 250 years ago, in 1767, the Ottoman administration abolished the Ohrid Archbishopric and its dioceses were given to the Constantinopolitan Patriarchate. With its abolition, the Archbishopric of Ohrid provoked a deep impact not only on the ecclesiastical, but also on the civic history of that area, because, for centuries, it was positioned between the most important institutions which left a strong imprint on the history and the destiny of the population on the Balkans (Gjorgjevski 2017: 2). In the nineteenth century, the Ottoman Empire, under international pressure, allowed the national Orthodox churches of neighboring Bulgaria, Greece, and Serbia to work in various parts of North Macedonia. During the Balkan Wars of 1912–1913 and during World War I, the territory of present-day North Macedonia came under Bulgarian rule; after the war, in 1920, it became a part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia wherein the renewed Serbian Orthodox Church took on the dioceses in this part of Republic of North Macedonia. This state of affairs lasted until 1941, when, after the beginning of the World War II, the Serbian hierarchy left North Macedonia and the people and Bulgaria established the jurisdiction of the Bulgarian Church in the eastern part, while a small part of western North Macedonia fell under the jurisdiction of the Albanian Orthodox Church. These forced changes of foreign church jurisdiction provoked a revolt among the people and the native clergy, who decided not to ever allow a church administration which is not of the North Macedonian people. In 1943, on the first liberated territory in Debarca, near Ohrid, at the Assembly held by the priests from that region, as well

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as at the Clergy-Laity Council held in 1945 in Skopje, a renewal of the Ohrid Archbishopric and an independent church were demanded (Gjorgjevski 2017: 3). At the Clergy-Laity Assembly held in Ohrid in October 1958 (attended by priests, monks, and faithful people), the Ohrid Archbishopric in the form of the Macedonian Orthodox Church was renewed and Bishop Dositej, vicar of the Serbian Patriarch, was elected the first Head of the Church. The name “Macedonian Orthodox Church” was taken following the example of the other Orthodox churches. Immediately after this decision for the renewal of the Ohrid Archbishopric, the Council of the Serbian Orthodox Church, held in July 1959, concluded that the dioceses in the People’s Republic of North Macedonia had established an independent church and the Constitution of the Serbian Orthodox Church was no longer valid for those dioceses and for their bishops (Gjorgjevski 2017: 4). In the period that followed, mutual understanding was missing: the Serbian Orthodox Church insisted on an autonomous status of the MOC, while the Macedonian Orthodox Church demanded complete independence, i. e. autocephaly. Thus, in 1967, at the Clergy-Laity Assembly in Ohrid, the attendees voted to renew the Ohrid Archbishopric as an autocephalous Macedonian Orthodox Church. With the renewal of the Ohrid Archbishopric as the church of Macedonian people in the country and abroad, it started with organizing its church life, to establish its own educational institutions – a Seminary and a Faculty, and to renew the monastic life. However, the opposition of the Serbian Orthodox Church to the new reality officially isolated the Macedonian Orthodox Church from the other Orthodox churches. For all the subsequent efforts to gain recognition, the autocephaly of the Macedonian Church is not yet recognized by other Orthodox churches in defense of Serbian opposition. After the several meetings at the end of the twentieth and the beginning of the twenty-first centuries, in 2002 in the Serbian city of Nisˇ, Macedonian and Serbian Orthodox Church officials met to discuss the status of the Macedonian Church. The Macedonian side was asked to sign an agreement that would downgrade the Macedonian Church to an autonomous body within the Serbian Orthodox Church and the Macedonian Church would be renamed the Archbishopric of Ohrid. This proposal was unanimously rejected by the Macedonian Synod and the Macedonian people. But, one of the bishops of MOC, metropolitan Jovan (Vranishkovski) of Povardarie, had crossed over to the Serbian Orthodox Church, which used his departure to appoint him as “exarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church in North Macedonia” (at that time, Jovan was already accused in Macedonia for canonical offences and criminal activities). With a decision of the Archierarchs’ Bishops’ Council of the Serbian Orthodox Church on 24 May 2003, a parallel Synod of the Serbian Church for North Macedonia was

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formed, led by Jovan, with the election of two new bishops, one of them being only 25 years of age. The Serbian Orthodox Church in Macedonia (“Orthodox Archbishopric of Ohrid” – OAO) is still not registered in North Macedonia as areligious community nor does it have legal status (Gjorgjevski 2017: 5). In 2004, the Macedonian Parliament adopted a declaration that supported the Macedonian Orthodox Church, all efforts and decisions made by the Macedonian Synod, as well as its commitment to preserving its integrity, significant status, and role in the social life of the country. On November 2009, the Macedonian Orthodox Church at its regular Clergy-LaityAssembly, changed the Constitution and added to its name the title “Archbishopric of Ohrid” (Gjorgjevski 2017: 5). Islam is the second largest religion in North Macedonia. It is confessed by 33,3 % of the population, mostly ethnic Albanians, and fewer Macedonians – Muslims, Albanians, Turks or Roma (Ibid). From a historical perspective Islam was brought to North Macedonia by the expansion of the Ottoman Empire over the Balkan Peninsula and its conquest in the fourteenth century. During this period the Islamization of the country began. The unequal social-economic position of Christians in relation to Muslims and their status of second class citizens, were the biggest reasons to accept the new religion. The magnitude of the Islamization in the cities is also shown by the fact that in the second half of sixteenth century, a quarter to a third of the Muslim population in the cities were Islamized Christians (Chepreganov 2008: 143). In the middle of the eighteenth century, Albanians intensively started to settle on the territory of today North Macedonia. Today there is an Islamic religious community in the country. The majority of Muslims in the Republic of North Macedonia are followers of Sunni Islam. Islam has always been represented by a state organ since the days of the Ottomans in the region until the dissolution of the Yugoslavia in the 1990s. Since then, the institution that has played a mediating role between the government of North Macedonia and the followers of the religion of Islam in the country has been recognized to be the Islamic Religious Community (Idriz, Ali, 2016). There are also other churches, religious communities and groups with followers in the Republic of North Macedonia. The most significant ones are the Catholic Church (eastern and western rite) (0,3 %), United – Methodist church and other Protestant churches (0,02 %) and Jewish community in Macedonia, counting around 200 followers (Census of Population, Households and Dwellings in the Republic of Macedonia 2002: 334). The Catholic Church in North Macedonia is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome. There are around 20,000 Catholics in the country Catholic believers from North Macedonia mostly include Albanians, ethnic Macedonians and Croats and are most concentrated in

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the Skopje and the Southeastern Region of North Macedonia. In North Macedonia there are Catholics of Byzantine-Catholic rite that fall under the jurisdiction of the Macedonian Apostolic Vicariate. The Catholic Church of the East or Byzantine rite falls within the union of Roman Catholic and East Orthodox churches. It uses the Macedonian language in the liturgy. The church was founded in the year 1918, with the creation of the kingdom of Yugoslavia and when small parts of Macedonians converted to Catholicism, in what is known as the Kukush Union. The Exarchate was dissolved in the year 1924. In the year 2001, after Yugoslavia fell apart, the Holy See re-established the Apostolic Exarchate in North Macedonia and appoints the Roman Catholic bishop of Skopje as the head of the Apostolic Exarchate in Macedonia. Protestantism in North Macedonia started growing in the second half of nineteenth century. Its influence was limited in east part of North Macedonia, with a few followers in Bitola. It spread through the first American missionaries, who came after the official establishment of diplomatic relations between the Ottoman Empire and the USA (Cacanoska 2001). With the opening of the first missionary headquarters, opportunities were created for planned action and the conscious spread of Protestantism, primarily among the Christian population, because the Islamic followers who converted were punished by death. In the Republic of North Macedonia today there are more minority Christian religious communities, most followers of which are from the following groups: the United-Мethodist church, the Baptist church and the Evangelical church. The history of Jews in North Macedonia starts with the Roman Empire, when Jews came to the region for the first time in the fourth century B.C. The oldest evidence for the existence of Jews in North Macedonia is the old synagogue in the ancient city of Skupi, originating from third century B.C. The Jewish community in North Macedonia was also numerous in Macedonian society under the Ottoman Empire, when the second large wave of Jews came from Spain and Portugal (Jewish Virtual Library – Macedonia https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/ macedonia-virtual-jewish-history-tour). Today there are around 200 Jews in North Macedonia, almost all of whom live in the capital Skopje, Sˇtip and Bitola. The suffering of the Macedonian Jews during the Shoah is commemorated in the memorial center of the Holocaust of Macedonian Jews in Skopje’s center.

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

The Constitution of the Republic of North Macedonia, ratified in 1991, determines the legal position of religious communities and guarantees the freedom of religious confession. Freedom of religious expression is guaranteed freely and publicly, individually or in conjunction with others. Religious communities and groups existing in the country exist separately from the state and are equal by Constitution and law. It is further stipulated that the religious communities and groups are free to establish religious schools and social or charity institutions in an act prescribed by law (Constitution of Republic of Macedonia 1991).

Constitutional legal position and guaranteed freedoms and rights With the Constitution, in its provisions for the basic freedoms and citizen rights, it is stipulated that the citizens of Republic of North Macedonia are equal in freedoms and rights regardless of gender, race, skin, color, national and social origin, political and religious beliefs or financial and social position. The Constitution also guarantees the freedom of belief, conscience, opinion and public expression of opinion. The Constitution equally guarantees the national minorities living in the country protection of ethnical, cultural, linguistic and religious identity. These freedoms and rights can be limited only in times of emergency or war for the prevention of damage to the right of free expression of faith, and may not discriminate on the basis of gender, race, skin, color, language, faith, national or social origin, financial or social position. Even in such situations the freedoms and rights regarding the freedom of believe, consciousness, opinion, public expressing of opinion or religion mustn’t be limited.

There isn’t national religion in Republic of North Macedonia The relations between religious communities and groups in the country are regulated by the Constitution of the Republic of North Macedonia, The law on bodies of the country’s government and the rules within the church, religious community or group. Item 19 of the Constitution of the Republic of North Macedonia regulates that the Macedonian Orthodox church, the Islamic religious community, the Catholic Church, the United-Methodist church, the Jewish community and other religious

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communities and groups are separated from the state and are equal before the law. This clearly implies that in the Republic of North Macedonia there is no national religion. The country is secular with religion separated from it. This means that the country hasn’t got the right to interfere with church matters, nor the church to interfere with state matters. The Commission for relations with religious communities and groups is established as a separate body from the country’s government by the law on the bodies of the country’s government. This body has the status of a legal entity. In item 29 of this Law it is stipulated that the Commission for relations with the religious communities and groups handles the legal position of religious communities and groups and the relations between the country, religious communities and groups.

Rights and obligations In North Macedonia religious discrimination isn’t allowed. Religious conviction doesn’t free the citizen of the obligations he or she has according to the Constitution. The churches, religious communities and groups have the right to organize themselves internally with their bodies of management, hierarchy and authority and to appoint persons who will represent them and will establish acts regarding such matters. The country respects the identity of churches, religious communities, groups and other forms of religious associations and establishes a relation of constant dialogue and forms of constant cooperation with them. The church, religious community and group carry their activities according to positive regulations of the Republic of North Macedonia, international declarations and conventions on freedom of religion and its expression. The country’s bodies within its authorities and powers create conditions for the uninterrupted performance of the activities of the church and the religious communities. The freedom of expression of religion or conviction can be limited by law it it’s necessary for the interest of public safety, the order, health, morale or protection of rights and freedoms of others.

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Religious lesson and educational activities The church and religious communities can perform religious lesson. The religious lessons can be held in rooms where religious rites and other ways of public expressing of religion are practiced, as well as in other public or private spaces and places, if there is no harm to public order and peace. The curricula and programs in religious educational institutions must comply with the Constitution and the law. The body of the country’s government authorized for education can review the curricula and programs of the religious educational institutions (Constitution of Republic of Macedonia, 1991). Any citizen of the Republic of North Macedonia may teach at a school in religious sponsorship with the exception of when the church or religious community needs proper staff, the curriculums in a religious educational institution can be also taught by a foreign citizen with approval of the body authorized for the relations between the country and the religious communities. The church and the religious communities manage the religious educational institutions individually (Constitution of Republic of Macedonia, 1991).

3

Developments in the country’s education policies

It can be said that the educational system in the Republic of Macedonia was long based on a single organizational and didactic – methodical structure. However, the social changes are going in the direction of emphasizing individuality. The specific differences between students create the need for empathy, respect, cherishing of difference and mutual development. Hence requests for the modification of the education in such direction have appeared. The executive agency for education, culture and audiovisual politics describes the education system of Republic of North Macedonia in the following way: “The education system in the Republic of North Macedonia reflects the needs of the society for education and science, as to the permanent need of education and science in the economic, social, technological and cultural development of Macedonian society as whole. The educational process contributes to the development of creative and work potentials and influences the quality of life of every citizen in Macedonian society. As a result, the Ministry of education and science enables constant development of the educational system, moral education and science in the Republic of North Macedonia” (European Encyclopedia on National Education System 2013).

The educational system in North Macedonia is comprised of three subsystems: Elementary education lasting nine years. It is free and obligatory for all children between the ages of 6 and 15, regardless of gender, religion and nationality. The

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educational activities in elementary education are defined and regulated with the Law on elementary education and the curricula for the nine-year period of elementary education. The mission of this subsystem is to educate and lead. Next comes high school education, which is split into general high school education (gymnasium) lasting for four years and vocational education (vocational high schools) lasting for two, three or four years. High school education in the Republic of North Macedonia is obligatory for all adolescents between the ages of 15 and 18 years. The activities and responsibilities of high school education are defined and regulated by the Law on high school education and the Law on vocational education and training. High school education is free in public high schools, but the students have the legal possibility to attend private high schools. University education implements undergraduate, master and doctor studies in university institutions and institutions which are autonomous or independent. In North Macedonia there are five state universities and fourteen private universities. Their activities are defined and regulated by the Law on university education. The curricula and programs for the subjects in elementary and general high school education, as well as the common subjects in vocational education are prepared by the bureau for the development of education in Republic of North Macedonia, and the vocational subjects by the Center for vocational education and training. The task of insuring the quality of educational institutions falls upon the State educational inspectorate. In order to separate education from politics and political situations within a society, the educational process should be continually improved by implementing principles of interethnic and intercultural tolerance. To promote dialogue as a means of peaceful conflict resolution and the de-politicization of education as well as to reduce certain tensions among students, parents, teachers and other societal factors, the non-governmental sector in the field of education and the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of North Macedonia published the Declaration for the De-politicizing of Education, Multiethnic Tolerance, and Non-violent Communication on September 9th, 2009. With the signing of this declaration, all participants in the educational process as well as the societal factors involved, are obligated, within their means, to contribute to the de-politicization of education, the promotion of interethnic tolerance and the advancement of dialogue, as a basic means for communicating and solving conflicts through: – Consistently and indiscriminately implementing constitutional principles and legislation concerning the educational process and the accepted international regulations.

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– Consistently implementing control mechanisms, functions and quality standards that work towards respecting these regulations, to counter favoritism of individuals based on their ethnicity or political orientation. – Regularly tracking the conditions and relations among students, emphasizing ethnically mixed schools as well as promoting the goal of this declaration through meetings of the relevant state and local authorities, school boards and parent committees, student organizations and non-governmental organizations, with the aim of promptly and effectively resolving conflicts. – Increasing the professional capabilities of the teaching staff for reacting appropriately in tense situations through continuous professional education on mediation, the peaceful resolution of conflict and affirmative communication. – Implementing projects for students’ intensive socialization, especially students coming from different ethnic and religious backgrounds, where students’ creativity and inventiveness is emphasized. – Promoting cooperation and dialogue between the Ministry of Education and Science, municipalities, schools, the civic sector, parents and students, for continuous and mutual problem solving of everyday issues. – Continuously promoting new policies, measures and activities whose aim is the complete and consistent implementation of the core goals of this declaration. The contribution and the role of formal and informal education to the building of interreligious and interethnic tolerance among primary school students in the Republic of North Macedonia. The Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of North Macedonia, civic organizations and other signatories of this declaration are committed to focus on respecting and realizing the aims and the regulations brought about by this declaration. The Ministry of Education and Science takes it upon itself to regularly follow the implementation of the regulations of this declaration and to regularly report to the signatories and the public about the advances in the process of de-politicizing education, as well as informing them about interethnic tolerance and non-violent communication (Declaration for De-politicizing Education, Multiethnic Tolerance and Non-violent Communication 2009). As a result of the declaration’s obligations, the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of North Macedonia and non-governmental organizations have conducted a series of projects in education with the aim of strengthening interethnic and interreligious tolerance among students. In this same vein the following subjects were introduced as elective courses in elementary schools in North Macedonia in the year 2010: ethics in religions, introduction to religions and classical culture in European civilization.

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The subject ethics in religions covers ethics as a science of morality; then, common principles of religious learning (Orthodox Christian learning, Islam, Judaism, Catholic and Evangelical – Methodist learning). It is expected that the students will be introduced to ethics and morale values of the implied religions by attending this course; to accept and respect human behavior among people; to become acquainted with the different religions of people in North Macedonian society and to develop skills of tolerance, dialogue, respect and cooperation with others (Curriculums for the subject ethics in religions 2010). The curriculum for the subject introduction to religions enables the students to familiarize themselves with the values of world religions, the nature of religion, its origins and significance for man in general. The goals of the curriculums are: to introduce the students with the nature and values of different religions; to learn to respect different religions; to understand the role of religions in the modern world and to develop capabilities and skills for dialogue and cooperation with different religions (Curriculums for the subject introduction to religions 2010). The curriculum for the subject classical culture in European civilization offers the students an introduction to classical culture as a source of foundational cultural, scientific and social principles upon which modern Europe is built and provides paradigms desired and necessary in forming of young generations. The frequent implementation of this kind of content is considered to facilitate the acceptance of some universal moral and civil virtues and will contribute in building of young persons with wide cultural knowledge (Curriculum for the subject classical culture in European civilization, 2010).

4

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

As mentioned earlier, in North Macedonia, churches and religious communities have the right to establish religious educational institutions from all degrees of education, except for elementary education, for teaching of holy persons and religious servants. Accordingly, there aren’t any religious schools of elementary education. The schools from the middle to higher education are organized by the Macedonian Orthodox Church and Islamic religious community, respectively. They independently run the religious educational institutions in middle degree of education, but the certificates given in these institutions aren’t approved by the state. The Orthodox Faculty of Theology “St. Clement of Ohrid” is a part of Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje. The certificates are approved by the country, and so graduated students can continue their studies in master studies

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on other similar faculties in the country, for example the Philosophical faculty, Philological faculty and Faculty of History. The Faculty for Islamic Science in Skopje is not a part of any University in North Macedonia. The remaining churches and religious communities, because of the small number of followers, don’t have organized religious schools. Among them there are organized lectures in religion for interested followers. These are practiced in the churches and religious institutions, usually right after the end of the liturgy (Koceva & Petrovski 2015).

a)

Religious schools of Macedonian Orthodox church

Continuing the teaching mission of the Saint Clément’s school of Ohrid, according to the modern tracks of theological sciences, but in the apostolic spirit, the theological high school “St. Clement Ohridski” and the Orthodox theological faculty “St. Clement Ohridski” within the Macedonian Orthodox church, teach young theologians, teachers for religious science and priests each year. Macedonian Orthodox theology is a theological high school where the students are taught and educated in the spirit of the Holy story of the Holy Gathering and Apostolic Orthodox Church and are prepared to perform their church liturgies: ministrations, religious teaching and others, and also gain the posibility to go further to the Orthodox theological faculty. The learning in theology lasts for five years and ends with the obligatory passing of a finished theological exam. Only male students can enter the school. Female can study theology only at Orthodox Faculty of Theology in Skopje, because there is no orthodox theological high school in North Macedonia for female. In schools of Macedonian Orthodox theology other subjects aside from the theological sciences are taught, such as for example: Macedonian language, English language, history, etc. Out of curriculum activities contain the following sections: theological debate, literature section, school choir, environmental section, humanitarian section, Red Cross section and Sport section. The sections are run by professors. Macedonian Orthodox Theology in Skopje exists for 50 years and around 1400 students have graduated since its forming. More than 90 % of the active clergy in Republic of North Macedonia, as to half of the highest clergy in Macedonian Orthodox church, graduated high school in Macedonian Orthodox theology. The Orthodox theological faculty “St. Clement Ohridski” in Skopje is founded in 1977 year, ten years after the restoration of the Macedonian Orthodox church. It is actually the restoration of St. Clément’s University from 1130 years ago as its direct heir. Since its foundation the Faculty has enlisted 1386 students, 417 of

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whom have graduated. At the faculty the requirements for entrance are the same for both sexes, male and female. A certain number of females (about 30) that graduated have begun to follow the religious teaching profession, starting in the college year 2009/10. The subjects learned at the Faculty are theological in nature, ranging from the area of bible studies over systematic liturgy, to church history and catechist discipline. Students who haven’t finished theological high school are also awarded the opportunity to enter the faculty, but are required to pass an entry exam. The students who graduate from this Faculty receive a university diploma. The Orthodox theological faculty “St. Clement Ohridski” in Skopje, which has existed for 30 years, is the youngest joint member of the University “St. Cyril and Methodius” in Skopje (Statute of UKIM, item no. 58). In the college year 2008/09 the Faculty gained State accreditation with full funding from the government. The Faculty is likely to develop and transform with increasing speed according to European standards for education and science. The faculty has pledged to work according to the European Credit Transfer System and the Bologna convention. Drafting its constitution took a long time, because it was supposed to be done not only according to the Constitution of the Macedonian Orthodox church, but also according to the regulations and provisions of the Law for University education in the Republic of North Macedonia. Since the year 2015, at the Orthodox theological faculty offers master’s programs, but large numbers of graduated theologians from this faculty today do these at famous theological centers in the world outside the country. The Faculty publishes an annual miscellany of its professor’s works, while the Union of students publishes a newsletter with the title “Pravoslaven blagovesnik”. The newsletter comes out once a semester, and its goal is to stimulate the work of the students, so it has a special mission for those who are interested. There are also plans to reorganize the Faculty and to introduce at least 4 curriculums, including new subjects (Report for self-evaluation of the Orthodox Faculty of Theology “St. Clement of Ohrid”, Skopje, 2013).

b)

Religious schools of the Islamic religious community in North Macedonia

In North Macedonia there is one Islamic high school in Skopje – the “Madrassa Isa Beg”, that continues the tradition of an earlier madrassa carrying the same name, founded in the fifteenth century. The Madrassa has been expanded by adding several distant classes for girls in Skopje and Tetovo, and one distant class for boys in the city Stip. Over 2500 students have graduated from the madrassa from its founding until today. The school educates staff for the needs of the Islamic religious community, but also for the religious needs of all Muslims.

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Students who want to continue their education on the Faculty for Islamic sciences in Skopje are awarded full scholarships by the Islamic religious community. The curriculum is simple for all Islamic classes in North Macedonia and the same is approved by the Riaset, suggested by the Professors council. The program is fully reviewed every four years and is analyzed each year. Within the program, the students learn 30 subjects for four years. Except for the vocational theological subjects, the following sciences are taught in the madrassa: history, geography, computer science, mathematics, biology, philosophy, sociology, logics, didactics, chemistry and physics. Albanian, Turkish and Macedonian language in the madrassas have the status of native languages while Arabic has the status of a vocational language. English is learned as a foreign language. Besides the regular lessons, the students are obliged to finish a Ramadan internship. The faculty of Islamic sciences in Skopje is the highest educational institution of the Islamic community in North Macedonia. It was founded by the Islamic religious community in the year 1997. Male and female candidates who have finished Islamic high school in North Macedonia or abroad are eligible to enter the faculty. Candidates from any other high school in North Macedonia or abroad may also enroll, but these candidates are required to pass an entry exam of the Faculty. The student structure according to sex at level of the Faculty stands at an almost consistent 45:55 in favor of women (Report for self-evaluation of the Faculty of Islamic sciences in Skopje, 2015). The studies of the Faculty of Islamic sciences are regular, and the graduated students gain university diploma. Besides the students from North Macedonia, the doors of this faculty are also open to foreign students. By now more than 150 students have graduated from the Faculty of Islamic sciences. The Faculty is only accredited to give lessons for the first cycle of studies in the area of general theology. The student parliament at the Faculty of Islamic sciences was founded in the year 2001. From its founding until today it has been engaged in a multitude of cultural, scientific and vocational activities. The student union publishes its publications in printed and electronic media.

5

Conceptions and tasks of RE

These are the tasks of the educational institutions within the Macedonian Orthodox church: education of clergy and other personnel for the needs of the Church, as well as the development and promotion of theological sciences. Tasks of the educational institutions within the Islamic community in Republic of North Macedonia are: raising the intellectual awareness in different areas of Islamic sciences, training and expert training of staff for the needs of the Islamic community and wider.

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Higher education institutions within the Macedonian Orthodox church and the Islamic religious community have the following tasks: deepening and intensifying of the scientific researches in different areas, especially in Christian and Muslim environments, оrganizing seminars, workshops and courses of a national and international character. Students have the opportunity to study ancient languages the Bible is written in and other oriental languages. The lessons in religious science for children and adults that are organized by all churches, religious communities and groups in North Macedonia, especially right after liturgies, have the task to introduce the believers with the essence of faith, which will enable them to properly confess it and celebrate religious holidays. The religious science plays a key role in the building of a system of values especially in the younger believers. Its task is to help in strengthening of the spiritual and cultural development of the believers. The optional subject ethics in religions, taught in sixth grade of elementary school, contains religious education, and has the following set tasks: to introduce the students to the ethics and moral values of Christianity, Islam and Judaism; to teach them to treat others humanely; to introduce them with different religions among people in Macedonian society and to develop skills within them for tolerance, dialogue, respect and cooperation with others (Curriculum for the subject ethics in religions 2010).

6

Practice/reality of RE in different schools

In the public education system in the Republic of North Macedonia, religious science was first implemented as a pilot project in the study year 2002/2003 in the fifth grade of elementary school, with two lessons a week. The lectures were organized as an optional course for students showing interest for this subject. The goal of the subject was for the students to gain basic knowledge of their religion. The lectures were organized separately for Orthodox students, as well as for Catholic and Muslim students. The United Methodist Church and the Jewish community in North Macedonia have also entered with their own curriculum, but the lessons weren’t implemented, because there weren’t enough students to form a class. The classes for this subject were held by graduated theologians. Unfortunately, besides the interest shown by the students, this project didn’t live to be realized in the following study year with the explanation that such a concept of religious lectures, where students are split according to their religion and everyone studies only for his own religion fosters divisions in the student body. In the study year 2008/2009 the subject ethics in religion was re-introduced in elementary school, with two lessons a week, but this time as an optional subject, according to the Law on elementary education in Republic of North Macedonia

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for the year 2008.2 The lectures on religious science were held in fifth grade. The students could choose between Orthodox, Islamic, Catholic, Methodist and Jewish religious science, as to the subject history of religions. The curriculum for the subject of religious science had an explicitly religious character; the emphasis was put on catechist education, the lectures were held by theologians, and the students were split based on their religion. Such an implementation of the curriculum is according to the essence of the subject religious science, understood in its narrow sense, which means teaching of religious catechism. Just because of this, the curriculum was marked by the Constitutional Court as a religious act within the state institutions, and as such standing in conflict with the Constitutional guarantee for the freedom of religious persuasion from item 16 part 1, the freedom of religion and religious groups from amendment 7 in the Constitution, but also item 13 from the Law on elementary education, which explicitly prohibits religious actions in elementary schools. The fact that the lectures on the subject religious science were implemented through a ministerial decision for implementing of a program was seen as one of the weaknesses of implementing of religious science in the public education in Republic of North Macedonia. The law on elementary education doesn’t present an implementation of a lecture through implementing of a decision in none of its provisions. Such oversight by the authorities was used by the Constitutional court as an alternative basis for dropping of the decision that implemented the subject religious science. Namely, analyzing the disputed act from aspect of ministerial authorities for its implementation and the form through which the subject was introduced, the Court has concluded that, the implementation of a program and a decision are totally different by authorities, according to item 55 part 1 of the Law on organization and work of the organs of state governing” (Koceva, 2015: 139). Therefore, instead with a decision, the lectures on the subject religious science should be implemented with a ministerial act Program, as it is said in item 26 part 1 of the Law on elementary education and item 56 part 4 of the Law on organization and working of state governing bodies. Because of the mistakes made that were social and pedagogical in nature, the subject was dropped after one year. Meanwhile, around 70 % of the students, following their parents’ decision, visited the lectures on religious science, while 30 % visited the alternative subject: history of religions.

2 Implementing of religious education in schools implied the need of changes in the Law on elementary education. So, in the new Law on elementary education from 2008 year, in item 26 is provided that in elementary school can be performed religious education as an optional subject (Law on elementary education 2008).

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After the cancellation of religious science by the Constitutional court, the Bureau for the development of education didn’t give up the idea to bring it back to schools. It announced a competition for the formation of a team of experts who worked on creating a curriculum for the subject ethics in religions, where ethical values of religions are to be learned. Today, with the Law on elementary education in Republic of North Macedonia item 25 (part 2) in the elementary schools the educational work is organized and accomplished according to a curriculum and program, suggested by the Bureau for the development of education and affirmed by the Minister for education and science (Part 3). The curriculum for elementary schools contains obligatory and optional subjects, supplementary and additional lectures. According to item 26 in elementary school religious education can be done as an optional subject. On September the 1st, 2010 religious education was implemented in VI grade of elementary school as an optional subject, together with two more alternative subjects,. Religious education in Republic of North Macedonia is realized through the optional subject ethics in religions. It is an optional subject chosen by the students in elementary public schools with two more optional subjects: introduction to religions and classical culture in European civilization.3 The students choose between three subjects: introduction to religions, classical culture in European civilization and ethics in religions. The curricula are prepared according to the age of the students. In the beginning of the study year the class teachers are obligated to give to the parents the curriculums of three optional subjects that the children can pick from. Based on the curriculum, the parents decide for the subject their child will learn. The subject ethics in religion for its concept and content is made to teach the ethical dimensions of the religions spoken for in the Constitution of Republic of North Macedonia: Christianity (Orthodox, Catholicism and Evangelic – Methodist Church), Islam and Judaism. According to the curriculum, this subject has 2 lessons a week or 72 hours a year. The content of the program ethics in religions is a firm basis for the accomplishment of basic tasks with the goal of teaching about the ethics as a science for good and morale; knowledge about basics of ethics and basic ethical concepts in different religions such as: Christianity, Islam and Judaism. The nature of the subject, its conceptual structure and the specifics of the content enables the students to familiarize themselves with the different religions of people in Macedonian society and to respect them. The goal of this subject is to

3 The three optional subjects, are in fact implemented for Vth grade for the students with eightyear elementary education or for VIth grade for the students with nine year elementary obligatory education.

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incentivize the development of skills for tolerance among students, dialogue, understanding and cooperation. The content of the subject Ethics in religions in split into three themes: ethics as a science of morality (taught for 10 lessons); ethics in religions (taught for 20 lessons) and the third theme has the status of a chosen module. Depending on the religion, the students learn one of five offered modules: ethics in Orthodox Christian teaching; ethics of Roman Catholic teaching, ethics of Evangelic – Methodist church; ethics of Islam and ethics of Judaism. Each module of choice supposes 42 lessons and is split into three components regarding theoretical bases of religious teaching, its ethical and moral basis (Miraschieva 2010). The subject ethics in religions follows the changes by a didactic – methodic aspect in order to fulfill the demands of a modern lecture concept with all its aspects.

7

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

The students from elementary school, who didn’t choose to follow lectures on the subject ethics in religions can instead make a choice between two subjects and follow lectures on the introduction to religions or classical culture in European civilization. The subject introduction to religions is an optional subject for the students in sixth and seventh grade of elementary school. The extent of lessons for the subject is 2 lessons in a week or 72 lessons during the study year. The students can choose the subject in sixth grade (as a starting learning) and continue to learn it in seventh grade, or, to choose it only in sixth, respectively seventh grade as a starting learning. The curriculum for this subject enables the students to introduce themselves to the values of great world religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam, as well as to the nature of religion, its origins and significance for people in general. The following are set as goals of the subject introduction to religions: to introduce the students to the importance and significance of religion in people’s lives and in society; to introduce to them to the reasons and the beginning of the appearance of religions and their function; to introduce to them the fact that there is almost no human community where there aren’t certain elements of religious beliefs and practices, and to review the question whether this means that man is a religious creature (homo religius); to introduce to them the dominant monotheistic religions in the modern world: Judaism, Christianity and Islam; to introduce to them the nature and values of different religions and to teach them

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to respect different religions in everyday life; to introduce to them the role of religions in the modern world and for them to develop capabilities and skills for leading a dialogue and cooperation with people who are different from themselves, because in this way they will also learn themselves (Curriculum for the subject introduction to religions 2010). As a result of the learning of religions and their customs, it is expected that the students will awaken to the need to get to know different believes from theirs and will have a larger tolerance toward others, different from them and their persuasions. In such way it is expected to achieve larger confidence and cooperation between the students, who will be future citizens of Republic of North Macedonia. The lectures on the subject introduction to religions are held by teachers who have graduated from the philosophical faculty, who carry the title Bachelor professor in Philosophy or Sociology. The subject classical culture in European civilization is learned as an optional subject in VI, VII or VIII grade in nine-year elementary school. The subject is taught two lessons during the week, respectively 72 lessons during a study year. The learning of this subject should enable the students to gain knowledge of ancient classical culture (Hellenic and Roman), as a basis of European science and art; to recognize the influence of certain parts of classical culture in modern European civilization, and also in Macedonian culture. At the same time, the students should be able to realize the continuity in development of European civilization through realizing its roots, in-between dependence of language and cultural – civilization processes and appearances and in such way to incentivize taking a wider interest in national and widened cultural flows. The introduction to the world of ancient classical culture can develop a differentiated self-awareness in the students for the rich cultural inheritance of North Macedonia; it can strengthen their sense of national identity to a demos with rich and long history, embedded in the ancient roots of European culture (Dimovska, T. 2008). Besides this, classical (Greek – Roman) culture, as a source of founding cultural, scientific and social principles upon which modern Europe is built, offers paradigms, desirable and necessary in forming of young generations. The frequency of such contents is expected to ease the acceptance of some universal moral and civilization values and to contribute in building of young persons with wide general culture. The lectures on the subject of classical culture in European civilization are held by teachers with degrees in classical studies or classical philology, who carry the title Bachelor classicist or Bachelor classical philologist. When such staff is lacking, the lectures can also be held by teachers with degrees in the history of art with archeology, philosophy or other groups with a classical language.

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Dealing with religious diversity

Religious education has the goal to give incentives to the students for responsible behavior in school, family and life. It is expected that it will develop a spirit of tolerance and respect of the differences between people in them, especially in terms of faith. The lectures on this subject, enable the students to familiarize themselves with the religious values of people different from them, and through this it is expected that the students will build and develop their personal religious and cultural identity more easily. The teachers teaching religious education point toward positive feelings of tolerance developed among the students from different religions during the realization of the lectures including religious education. Still, the influence of religious lectures on interreligious tolerance and society in general is yet to be the subject of research with the appearance of several generations in the school system that have heard lectures on ethics in religions and introduction to religions.

9

Religions in schools outside of RE

In public education in the Republic of North Macedonia with the Law on education it is forbidden for the students to use any kind of religious symbols, or publicly practice prayers. Religions in schools, outside of the optional subjects including religious education, are learned only when they are in direct or indirect connection with the curriculum in the subject history. The contacts and conflicts among Christians, Muslims and Jews from the past until today are usually treated. Here Judaism is studied most often in the context of anti-Semitism or the Holocaust, or of the conflicts in the Middle East. Islam is studied through its historical expansion, through the penetration of the Ottomans into the Balkans and the five century occupation of North Macedonia by the Ottoman Empire. Christianity is observed as a religion that spread with the Crusading wars in the time of the “dark” middle ages. The differences between Orthodox, Catholicism, Protestantism and other newly formed Christian communities aren’t made clear enough. Lessons on the subject Macedonian language and literature, and in the lectures on native language of other nationalities in North Macedonia also touch on the topic of religious literature. Students also gain basic knowledge on art threaded with religious content through the work of famous artists learned about in lectures on art and music.

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163

Training of teachers of RE: institutes, structures, priorities issues

The lectures on the subject ethics in religions are held by theologians who have finished theological faculty and post graduate studies on methodic of religious education. Professional training of teachers plays a key role for the realization of lectures that are modern and of high quality. Therefore, the teachers teaching ethics in religions are regularly included in training sessions and seminars, organized by relevant subjects, to permanently increase their knowledge and develop their consciousness for interreligious tolerance.

11

Empirical research concerning RE

In the year 2014, in Skopje, a survey was conducted on a sample of 358 students of Macedonian and Albanian nationality following lectures on one or two optional subjects: ethics in religions or introduction to religions. The research project was conducted in order to gain insight of the contribution of these optional subjects to the students’ relation to interreligious tolerance and respect between the students, the building of religious values and the desire to help others. According to the survey the students who studied ethics in religions expressed greater appreciation for others than those who attended the subject Introduction to Religions. Attendees of ethics in religions reported having positive exchanges with students different from themselves and are aware that all religions have developed ethical principles and that people are worthy of respect. They also have respect for the values of students of other nationalities or religions. The students of Albanian nationality learning the subject ethics in religions most appreciate solidarity toward poor of all the religious values. The students of Macedonian nationality, avoid situations that could be a reason for religious conflicts more than their Albanian classmates (Jovkovska 2014). In the year 2013, in North Macedonia, a survey was conducted on a sample of 370 participants (high school and students) with the aim of examining the differences in preferred life styles in adolescents depending on the type of education. Adolescents learning religious subjects and ethics (education in religious educational institutions) were included, then adolescents learning only ethics and adolescents not learning neither religious subjects, nor ethics during their education. The most obvious difference discovered in this study was that the adolescents learning about religious subjects and ethics can find a balance between their

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personal needs and the needs of others. This conclusion can be seen as an benefit of the influence of the type of education or the choice of life styles, besides the fact that the priorities of all adolescents (participants in this survey) are family orientation. Love and marriage are still the most important life values of young people today (Jovkovska 2015).

12

Desiderata and challenges for RE in a European context

The key goal in the development of the educational system in North Macedonia is the opening and moving education towards the accomplishments and experiences of European countries, and especially countries in the EU. Therefore, approaches and politics should be identified that will contribute to religion becoming a factor that promotes dialogue in the context of European development, instead of being a driver of conflicts. Religious education, through the process of education, plays an important role in the building of a system of values in the students – building religious and moral values: helps in building of general, basic and common human values, such as: democracy, nationality, individualism and pacifism, as in strengthening of the spiritual and cultural development; enabling crucial familiarizing with the other, through learning of other religions. We think that in modern society, where a crisis of moral values is present, it is necessary for the students to form their personal view of the world while educating them, to get to know the basic ethical principles of religions, to develop skills for moral reasoning and to encourage them to respect their classmates and people with religious persuasions different from theirs. This is the goal of the optional subject Ethics in religions. Such a form of education contributes to the students’ successful walk on the road toward the European family. Still, one year of learning this subject, within the total education of the students, is a short time period to achieve all planned goals of the curriculum. For these reasons we recommend, like in many European countries, that the religious education in North Macedonia continue to be learnt in more years of elementary education, and be present in middle and high education. In this case, it is sure that the expected results for building of high morale persons with developed skills for interreligious and interethnic tolerance, in-between respect and coexistence will be more obvious. The form of religious education, contributing for better understanding of religious pluralism and giving opportunity for learning of religious values, including values of peace, should be available to all students in the educational system. Religious education can be a field for research of values in relation to languages of religion and can become a “laboratory for peaceful education”. Such

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approaches toward religious education, of course, require teachers well trained in the teaching of religions.

13

Further information

Further information about religious education in Republic of North Macedonia can be found at the following websites: Orthodox Faculty of Theology “St. Clement of Ohrid” – Skopje http://www.pbf.edu.mk/. Faculty of Islamic Science – Skopje http://www.fshi.edu.mk/eng/. Madrasa Isa Beg – Skopje http://www.medreseja-isabeu.com/. Textbook “Ethic of Religion” (module: Orthodox Christianity) by Petko Zlateski http:// www.e-ucebnici.mon.gov.mk/pdf/Etika_vo_religiite_5_mak.pdf. Textbook “Ethic of Religion” (module: Islam) by Naser Ramadani http://www.e-ucebnici. mon.gov.mk/pdf/Etika_vo_religiite_5_alb.pdf. Textbook “Introduction to Religions” by Biljana Shotarovska and Tatjana Gjeorgjievska. http://www.e-ucebnici.mon.gov.mk/pdf/Zapoznavanje_na_religii_5_mak.pdf.

References Cacanoska, R. 2001. The Emergence and Development of Protestantism in Macedonia, Religion, State and Society, 29:2, 115–119, DOI: 10.1080/09637490020007049. Chepreganov T. 2008. Историја на Македонскиот народ (History of the Macedonians), Скопје: Институт за национална историја (Skopje: Institute of National History). Constitution of Republic of Macedonia (Устав на Република Македонија) (1991). Службен весник на Република Македонија (Official Gazette of R. Macedonia), No. 52, year XLVII, Skopje. Curriculum for the Subject Classical Culture in European Civilization (Наставна програма за предметот класична култура во европската цивилизација). (2010). Skopje, Bureau of Education Development. Retrieved from: http://bro.gov.mk/docs/izborni_predmeti/ klasichna%20kultura%20vo%20evropskata%20civilizacija.pd. Curriculums for the Subject Ethics in Religions (Наставна програма за предметот етика во религиите). (2010). Skopje, Bureau of Education Development. Retrieved from: http:// bro.gov.mk/docs/izborni_predmeti/Etika%20vo%20religiite%20konechna%20verzija. pdf. Curriculums for the Subject Introduction to Religions (Наставна програма за предметот запознавање на религиите). (2010). Skopje, Bureau of Education Development. Retrieved from: http://bro.gov.mk/docs/izborni_predmeti/ZAPOZNAVANJE_SO_RELI GIITE.pdf. Declaration for De-politicizing Education, Multiethnic Tolerance, and Non-violent Communication (Декларација за деполитизација на образованието, мултиетничка толеранција и ненасилна комуникација). (2009). Министерство за образование и

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наука на Република Македонија (Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Macedonia). Retrieved from: http://mon.gov.mk/index.php/novosti/309-ddo1. Dimovska, V. & Tomovska, V. 200). Прирачник за наставата по изборниот предмет Класичната култура во европската цивилизација (Manual for elective subject Classical Culture in European Civilization). Скопје: Биро за развој на образованието (Skopje: Bureau of Education Development). European Encyclopedia on National Education System. Eurypedia.2013. Retrieved from https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/fpfis/-mwikis/eurydice/index.php/former_Yugoslav_Re public_of_Macedonia:Overview. Faculty of Islamic Science .2015. Извештај за самоевалуацијата на Факултетот за исламски науки во Скопје за период 2010/2014 година (Report for self-evaluation of the Faculty of Islamic sciences in Skopje for the period 2010/2014). Retrieved from: http://www.fshi.edu.mk/data/file/finalen.pdf. Gjorgevski, G. 2017. Macedonian Orthodox Church in the Context of Balkan and European Orthodoxy. In: P. Mojzes (Ed.). Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe (Special Issue on the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Declaration of the Autocephaly of the Macedonian Orthodox Church), XXXVII, Vol. 37, Iss. 4. Retrieved from: https://digital commons.georgefox.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2028&context=ree [last access 30. 03. 2020]. Idriz, M. & Ali, M. 2016. Islam in Macedonia: The Origins, Evolution and Role of the Islamic Religious Community from the Ottoman Period to the Present. Retrieved from: https:// www.researchgate.net/publication/307528497_Islam_in_Macedonia_The_Origins_Evo lution_and_Role_of_the_Islamic_Religious_Community_from_the_Ottoman_Period_ to_the_Present [last access30. 03. 2020]. Jovkovska, A. 2014. The Contribution and the Role of Formal and Informal Education to the Building of Interreligious and Interethnic Tolerance among Primary School Students in the Republic of Macedonia. Omis: Ecumenical Initiative of Women. Jovkovska, A. 2015. Education, Spirituality and Value Orientation of Adolescents. Lambert Academic Publishing. Koceva, D. & Petrovski, V. 2015. Проблеми и дилеми за воведување на религиско образование во образовниот систем на Република Македонија (Problems and Dilemmas of Introducing Religious Education in the Educational System of the Republic of Macedonia). Зборник на трудови: Научно -стручна трибина “Компетенциите и професионалниот развој на учителот во 21 век” (Collection of papers: “The competence and professional development of the teacher in the 21st Century”): 137–141. Law on elementary education (Закон за основното образование). (2008). Службен весник на Република Македонија (Official Gazette of R. Macedonia), No. 103/08. Retrieved from: http://www.erisee.org/downloads/2012/libraries/mk/Law%20on%20Primary%20 Education.pdf. Miraschieva, S. 2010. Прирачник за наставата по изборниот предмет етика во религиите. (Manual for elective subject ethics in religious). Скопје: Биро за развој на образование (Skopje: Bureau of Education Development). Orthodox Faculty of Theology. 2013. Извештај за самоевалуацијата на Православниот богословски факултет “Свети Климент Охридски’, Скопје за период 2010/2013 година (Report for self-evaluation of the Orthodox theological faculty “St. Clement

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Ohridski” for the period2010/2013). Retrieved from http://www.pbf.edu.mk/images/ stories/pdf_word_download/Samoevaluacija%20PBF.pdf. Republic of Macedonia, State Statistical Office. 2002. Census of Population, Households and Dwellings in the Republic of Macedonia 2002. Total Population According to the Ethnic Affiliation, Mother Tongue and Religion. Book X: 334.

Emil Hilton Saggau / Sabina Pacˇariz / Vladimir Bakracˇ

Religious Education at Schools in Montenegro

Religious education in Montenegro has not been taught as a subject in public schools since the second world war. The teaching of religion in schools was censured when Montenegro was a republic in the Federation of Socialist Yugoslavia. The new Montenegrin republic, proclaimed in 2006, has not re-introduced religious education in public schools even though there has been a massive revival of religious communities in Montenegro since 1990. Religion is therefore still mainly taught and passed on from one generation to the next within the family and in churches and mosques. However, new religiously sponsored schools and a special civic educational program have recently been introduced, which have slightly altered the picture. Due to the young age of the republic and the long period of Union between Serbia and Montenegro very little research has been done on religion in Montenegro.

1

Socio-religious background of the country

1.1

General information

Montenegro covers 23 different municipalities, which entails very different compositions of ethnicity and religion. The majority of the population identify as either Montenegrins or Serbs. The dominant minority groups are Albanians, Croats and Bosniaks/Muslims.1 There is today a very close link between ethnicity and religion in Montenegro and these two categories are often practically inseparable. Serbs and Montenegrins often belong to Eastern Orthodoxy, Croats to Roman Catholicism, Bosniaks to the Islamic faith and the Albanians are mainly 1 It is possible to describe ones ethnicity as “Muslim” in Montenegro – without being a believing and practicing Muslim – due to complex historical status of Slavic speaking Muslims throughout the former Yugoslavs republics. However, most Slavic speaking Muslims prefers to identify themselves as Bosniaks.

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Muslim and a small minority of them Roman Catholic. This is of course a generalization. Ethnicity Montenegrins

Percentage 44 %

Serbs Bosniak /Muslims

29 % 12 %

Albanians Croats

5% 1%

Other Ca. 1 % Table 1: Ethnic groups in Montenegro (percentage of total of population). Source: Statistical office of Montenegro (2011 census) Religious community Orthodox Islam2 Roman Catholic Atheist

1953 45,84 17,65

1991 69,12 19,18

2003 74,23 17,74

2011 72,07 19,11

4,81 31,46

4,41 1,6

3,54 0,96

3,44 1,24

Table 2: Religious communities in Montenegro (believers in total of population in %). Source: Bakracˇ 2012, p. 116

Table two shows that a high percentage of the population declares membership in a religious community. This is a new development in the country’s socio-religious profile. Montenegro’s social-religious profile changed remarkably after the end of the cold war, as in many other formerly communist countries in Eastern Europe. In less than twenty years, Montenegro went from having a largely secular and non-religious majority population to becoming a country where the majority are religious. This flip in religiosity took place during the breakup of Yugoslavia in the late eighties and early nineties. In 1984 45 % of the total population in what was then called the Yugoslav republic declared that they were religious believers (Perica 2002). In 1991, only seven years later, this number had risen to 91,6 % in Montenegro (Montestat). This change in religious demographic happened among other things, because the majority of the Slavic speaking population of Montenegro, describing themselves as either Serbs, Montenegrins or Yugoslavs, became overwhelmingly conscious of their religious heritage (Bakracˇ 2012). The alteration was therefore not due to a change in the composition of the population or due to any significant migration or group of refugees from neighboring countries. The change in religious sentiment of the majority population from non-believers into self-attesting Orthodox Christians converged with the rise of 2 Originally the category of Islam and Muslims were separated in the official census, but the the Islamic Community strongly reacted to this division, which resulted in merging the categories and official apology of the Statistics Agency.

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ethnic nationalism in the region. The revival of religion in Montenegro (as well as Serbia) was a visible sign of the growing national self-awareness amongst Serbs and Montenegrins. A similar development occurred in Serbia, Bosnia and Croatia (Bakracˇ & Blagojevic´ 2013, Morrison 2009, Buchenau 2012).

1.2

The ambiguous national and religious identity of the Montenegrins

However, the development of religion and nationalism in Montenegro was different from that in Serbia, Bosnia and Croatia, because the majority of the Orthodox and Slavic speaking population became divided on the question of nationality and religion. On the one hand, a part of the Slavic speaking population, intellectuals and politicians, claimed that Montenegrins were simply Serbs and that their language, culture and even religion were Serbian. The Orthodox and Slavic speaking population appeared to belong to the Serbian Orthodox Church. This “pro-Serbian” wing, exemplified by the Socialist People’s party and Democratic Front, favored continual union with Serbia and stood in close dialogue with the main branch of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro, the Metropolitanate of Montenegro and the Littoral). The Metropolitanate is in charge of most of Montenegro’s historical churches, monasteries and other religious buildings (Saggau 2017). Today most Montenegrin citizens, who declare themselves Serbs, belong to the Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro (Morrison 2009). On the other hand, others claimed Montenegro was an independent nationality, ethnicity, culture and even a special and independent form of Orthodoxy. The pro-Montenegrin wing, exemplified by the Liberal Party, favored independence from Serbia and some members of these groups formed in opposition to Metropolitanate a Montenegrin “Orthodox” church as part of a revival process of Montenegrin history, culture and identity (Kube 2012, Sˇistek 2010, Miedlig 2006). The Montenegrin Orthodox church is not a major religious community in contrast to the Metropolitanate and consists only of a handful of self-decaled priest and a few parish churches. This church exists without the blessing and recognition of other Eastern Orthodox Churches. It is unclear to what extent the Montenegrin citizens, who declare themselves as Montenegrins, belong to this church. A recent study showed that only a rather limited portion of Montenegrins actively declare themselves members of this church and participate in its religious activities (Saggau 2017). During the nineties, the Montenegrin political and cultural landscape was formed between these two opposing poles (Jenne & Bieber 2014). The ruling party of Montenegro was also divided on the question of the identity of the Montenegrins, which in the end led to a division of the party and the formation of a pro-Serbian and pro-Montenegrin party. Since 1996/97 Montenegro has been ruled by a moderate pro-Montenegrin

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party in close alliance with representatives of the Albanian and Bosniak minorities (Morrison 2009). The situation for the majority of Montenegro’s citizens, which are Orthodox Christians, is arguably rather blurry, which is crucial to know in order to understand the current legal framework for religion and subsequent lack of religious education.

1.3

Religiosity and major social factors in Montenegro

A recent study (Bakracˇ 2012, 2011) of religiosity in Montenegro showed that the number of religious believers in Montenegro is on the rise. When these new religious believers are asked about their level of their religiosity, the majority (ca. 2/3) of Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Muslims attest that they believe in almost all central dogmas and follow their religion in almost all of their daily activities. This has not manifested itself in a significant religious practice one-toone. The number of church-goes is not on the rise. It is rather in stabile decline, especially amongst the young population. The same study (Bakracˇ 2012, 2011) focused on the major social factors that influenced the religious believers of the population. As the table beneath reveals, the family is still the major stronghold for maintaining religious belief in Montenegro. It is significant that the school system plays a minor role when it comes to affecting the religiosity of the young generation of Montenegro. This number does probably reflect the secularity of schools, which have diminished the role the school system plays in the religious sphere of life. Noticeably, the Roman Catholic minority is affected to a higher degree by religious literature and the religious life of the community. This could be a sign of the influence the Catholic communities in Croatia and Albania plays, when it comes to maintaining Catholicism amongst the Croatian and Albanian minority in Montenegro. Question: You believe in God, who has influenced you? (in percentage of total population) Answers Orthodox Roman Catholic Islam Parents School

66,8 12,8

71,8 10,1

77.4 11.3

Friends Partner (spouse)

16,8 3,5

16,1 2,7

16.4 2.3

Movies religious literature

4,0 12,4

1,3 32,9

0.0 4.5

Social organizations religious life

2,6 8,4

6,0 17,4

2.8 11.9

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(Continued) Question: You believe in God, who has influenced you? (in percentage of total population) Something else 3,5 0,0 0.0 Nobody influenced 20,3 20,1 15.8 I do not know 13,7 8,1 Table 3: Factors that affect the belief in God. Source: Bakrac 2012, p. 116

2

5.6

Legal framework of RE and the relationship between religious communities and the state

The relationship between the Montenegrin state and the religious communities does not take place within a well-defined legal framework. The state is relatively young and due to the internal disagreements between various parties and religious communities a comprehensive framework has not yet been formed. So far there have only been a few attempts in 2016 and 2019, which has been inconclusive. Therefore, the religious communities in Montenegro are governed loosely under the constitution, some minor bi-laws and a few bi-lateral agreements between the state and some of the religious communities (Dzˇomic´ 2009). The relations between the state and the largest religious community, The Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro, are unclear especially when it comes to property right for example, or religious education and the movements of clergy between the former republics of Yugoslavia. Several high profile cases have become roadblocks to the effort to establish a tolerable relationship between the current government and the Serbian Orthodox Church since the early 2000s (Morrison 2009, Religious freedom report 2015, Radio Slobodan Evropa 2016). The constitution of Montenegro (Ustav Crna Gore 2007) from 2007 builds on a western model. It states that there is freedom of religion in Montenegro (article 46) and all “religious communities shall be separated from the state” (article 14). Article 14 thereby indirectly declares the state to be secular, which was also the case with the former Montenegrin republic’s constitution from 1992. The only significant change between the constitution of 1992 and 2006 in terms of religion is that the Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholics and the Muslim community were mentioned by name in the 1992 version (see Ustav Crna Gore 1992) as the “traditional” religions of the country. This phrase has been removed in the new constitution. The new constitution allows religious communities and individuals to exercise and express their religion as well as establish religious organizations with the support of the state. This framework also allows religious organizations in Montenegro to maintain contact with individuals or organizations, who share

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their beliefs in other countries. This allows for example Catholics to maintain a close connection to the Holy See and the Serbian Orthodox Metropolitanate to remain in contact with the Patriarchate of Belgrade. Religious communities have to be registered at a local police office, which in turn informs the Ministry of Interior Affairs. Registration entitles organizations to own property, hold bank accounts and receive a tax exemption. 20 communities are registered at the moment (International Religious Freedom Report 2015). A more detailed law on religion is not in place in Montenegro and there are therefore many gray areas between the state and the various religious communities. In 2015 the ruling party proposed a draft law on religion that was supposed to replace the old communist law on religion from 1977. The law from 1977 has not really been in force since Montenegro won its independence, largely because it was legislated by the former republic and the general legal framework within the now dissolute Yugoslavia. The newly proposed law from 2015 contained a series of initiatives and articles, intended to emphasize the secular nature of the state and which would have been to the benefit of especially the so-called Montenegrin Orthodox Church. The law was seen by most religious communities – and in particular the Serbian Orthodox Church (Metropolitanate 2015) – as damaging to their activities and status in society. After heavy criticism the law was dropped from the legislative agenda (International Religious Freedom report 2015).3 In the spring of 2019, the government proposed a revised law on religion, which still contained several controversial bi-laws on property right, self-determination, movement of clergy, restitution and so on. The law sparked a heated debate between the government and the Serbian Orthodox Church. In the fall of 2019, the government has sought to find common ground with the religious communities, but so far without any conclusion (Saggau 2019). The relationship between the state and the 20 recognized religious communities therefore still remains unclear. However, the government has made bilateral agreements with the Jewish, Muslim and Roman Catholic communities specifying the rights, responsibilities and freedoms of the communities within the Montenegrin states (International Religious Freedom Report 2015). A comprehensive overview of the Serbian OrthodoxChurch’s, as well as the Muslim and Catholic communities’, positions on the legal framework for religion in Montenegro can be found in Bogljub Sˇijakovic´’s “legal Positions of Churches and religious Communities in Montenegro today” (2009). 3 For more detail on the case: http://religious-freedom-report.org/report/montenegro/ and at http://www.eprid.eu/eprid-statement-concerning-the-draft-law-on-freedom-of-religion-inmontenegro/ and the Serbian Orthodox critic in detail is published in English at http:// orthodoxrights.org/reaction-of-the-orthodox-metropolitan-of-montenegro-and-littoral-onthe-montenegrin-new-draft-law-on-freedom-of-religion.html.

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The secularity of the state is further stipulated in the General Law on Education (Opsˇti zakon o obrazovanju i vaspitanju 2013), which simply states that “education is secular” (Mng: obrazovanje i vaspitanje je svjetovnog karaktera) in article 5 on education. Religious education is therefore not taught in public schools and such forms of education are only allowed within the confines of the religious communities themselves. Religious communities are allowed to establish religious secondary schools (High schools), which are approved as public secondary schools by the state according to article 5a. in the General law on education. The school system should therefore, according to Jean-Paul Willaime’s definition (2007: 63), rather be characterized as a non-confessional religious educational system within the French tradition of a laical rather than a secular system in the British sense of the word.

3

Developments in the country’s education policies

The Montenegrin state’s educational system was modernized in the early 2000s as part of the large transition process of the former socialist and Yugoslavian educational system. The foundational document of this modernization is The Book of Changes of the Education System of the Republic of Montenegro (Knjiga promjena obrazovnog sistema Republike Crne Gore 2001). This document contains a series of analyses of the educational system in Western Europe, but without any mention of religious education. The report suggested a series of changes, based on the conclusion from the analysis, of both the organization, financing and content of education in Montenegro. The main objective of these changes was to transform the Montenegrin system into a more western European one with special emphasis on democratic and multicultural values. The report does not directly deal with religious education in its suggestion, but it does contain a section on multiculturalism. In this section 1.3.11 the report suggests that one of the main objectives of the transformation of the educational system should be “to prepare young people for a life in a multicultural society” and to respect differences in religion as well as race and other differences (2001, 17). Education should be “de-ideologized” (Mng: dezideologizaciju) according to the report (2001, 17). The Book of Changes was to a great extent aligned to the European Commissions and the councils of Europe’s effort to strengthen citizenship education in Europe (Jackson 2007). The publication of this report was followed by a national debate about education, which led to a series of reforms and subsequent adjustments of the educational polices of the country. Religious education in Montenegro became fiercely debated during this period. Many politicians openly opposed it, arguing that it would jeopardize the civic character of the country (Vijesti Newspaper

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2011). Politicians often justified their opposition with the fact that Montenegro is a small country of multi-ethnic character, and religious education in public schools would bring with it unnecessary divisions among students. The major issues behind this debate are the unclear relationship between the state and the Serbian Orthodox Church and the problematic division of the majority of the Orthodox population. The Serbian Church openly supports the introduction of religious education, along the lines of the Austrian or Serbian model (Radio Slobodan Evropa 2016). The former Montenegrin Minister of Education Slobodan Bac´kovic´, stated in 2015 that it would be against the law to start religious education in public schools. And even if the legal system allowed it, the Serbian Orthodox Church would not have access to the Montenegrin educational system, since this would negate the separate Montenegrin people, history and language, according to Bac´kovic´ (Vijesti Newspaper 2015). The most ambitious initiative in the reform from 2001 was making primary public education compulsory and enlarged from eight years to nine (Gavric 2015). In terms of religion the most visible change was the introduction of a Civic Educational program in Montenegrin schools, which promotes the mentioned values and respect of religious differences (Besˇic´ & !ukanovic´ 2000). This program is by and large an implementation of the European Commission’s and the council of Europe’s policies for democratic citizenship education. Another effect of this modernization has been a series of initiatives to decentralize the organization and content of education in Montenegro. This decentralization allows ethnic minorities in particular to have a larger say in the content and the structure of the local schools. The basic idea is that through this decentralization the Montenegrin educational system is better able to integrate minorities such as the Albanians (Gavric 2015).

4

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

Until 1992 there weren’t any religiously sponsored schools in Montenegro, but after the change in regime a few such school were opened in the country. These schools only exist as secondary schools and all Montenegrin primary schools are therefore still public and secular. The formal procedure for the establishment of these secondary religious schools are regulated by a bilateral agreement between the state and the religious community. Today however, bilateral agreements only exist between the state and three of the twenty religious communities in Montenegro. Until now, only the Muslim community has taken advantage of this new opportunity and opened a religiously sponsored school. The Serbian Orthodox

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Church in Montenegro, however, also runs a religiously sponsored secondary school (a sort of Orthodox seminary or high school), but there is no formal agreement between the state and the community regarding this school.

Roman Catholic schools In the agreement between the Roman Catholic Church and the Montenegrin state the Catholic Church is allowed to freely teach and educate its members according to article 4. Article 16 of the same agreement states that the Roman Catholic community is also allowed to open secondary religious schools or higher education for priests within the Montenegrin state, and that they will be treated equally as schools on the same educational level (Temeljni ugovor Crne Gore i Svete Stolice 2011). The Roman Catholic community does not seem to have the capacity and critical mass needed to support a Roman Catholic secondary school in Montenegro. The community makes up only 4 % of the total population and is divided between an Albanian and Croatian minority. Most of the Catholic communities are located near to the Albanian or Croatian border respectively and are therefore in close vicinity to religious educational centers that exist across the border in the city of Dubrovnik and Skhröder.

The Muslim School The Islamic Community of Yugoslavia consisted of four major branches, those of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Macedonia and Montenegro. After the dissolution of Yugoslavia the branch of Montenegro, now named Islamic Community of Montenegro (IC), was the only one that did not provide religious Islamic education within institutionalized schools (madrasas). Islamic education was available only through voluntary classes (mektebs) usually held on weekends by the local imams, in the premises of mosques or their auxiliary facilities. In 2008 the Madrasa “Mehmet Fatih” was established in Podgorica, becoming the single secondary school of Islamic confessional character in Montenegro. The land for the premises was gifted by a local citizen, whereas the funds for construction were collected from different resources: the Islamic Development Bank in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, governmental and non-governmental organizations and foundations from Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, the Turkish Agency for Cooperation and Coordination (TIKA), a smaller portion came from the Albanian and Bosniak diaspora. On a few occasions, the leadership of the IC expressed gratitude to the Montenegrin Government for its support throughout the process of providing all legal documents (Seher Tuzi 2008). At the beginning, the school

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provided education only for male students, but in the school year of 2012/2013 the first female students (seven in total) were enrolled for the first time in the Madrasa “Mehmet Fatih” in Podgorica (Pacˇariz 2014). In 2014, a female Madrasa was opened as well. Its premises are adjacent to the existing madrasa for males, and the two are treated as a single complex. The building of this object was facilitated with funds from the Bayt Al-Zakat (Kuwaiti Governmental Charity Institution – Zakat House) and the Kuwait NGO Rahma International (Mercy International), through the Montenegro-based NGO “Horizonti” (Pacˇariz 2015). The construction of a second Madrasa for females in Ulcinj began within the same year. In 2015, a female branch was added in Rozaje (Sˇkrijelj 2015). According to statistics of the archive of madrasa “Mehmet Fatih”, there were 136 girls and 125 boys attending the Madrasa for the academic year 2016/17.4 Since this school is not a part of the official education system of Montenegro, there is no funding from the state budget. From the very beginning, the maintenance and running costs were borne by the IC, with strong support from TIKA. It is worth mentioning that while the Madrasa is not formally a part of the Montenegrin educational system, it is de facto fully integrated. In principle the students’ graduation diplomas are recognized by the Montenegrin State University, which allows them to enrol in the higher state education (Pacˇariz 2014). The National Council for Education expressed its consent with the curriculum of the Madrasa. Currently the technical processing of the accreditation documents has not been completed yet. However, the leadership of IC believes that the school enjoys great support from the state, which was proved by the presence top officials of the state being present at graduation ceremonies (CDM 2017). According ˇ ekic˙, the Madrasa is not only an important to the director of the school, Fuad C symbol of identity for the Montenegrin Muslims, but has also contributed a lot toward better relations between Montenegro and countries of Muslim majority (CDM 2017). It is interesting to mention that the following foreign languages are mandatory for all students: English, Arabic, Turkish, as well as Albanian and Montenegrin (mother tongues for some students). The general curriculum of the Madrasa is aligned with the vocational education system of Montenegro, according to which 70 % of the subjects can be considered secular education. These subjects are: philosophy, ethics, sociology, psychology, logic, the individual within a group. Subjects that include ethics and philosophical teachings in the light of Islam are: ahlak (ethics), akaid (belief/faith), fikh ( jurisprudence), kiraet and tefsir (teachings and interpretations of the Qur’an), and hadith (practices of the prophet Muhammad).

4 Data attained in conversations with representatives of the IC of Montenegro.

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The Serbian Orthodox School The Serbian Orthodox Metropolitanate runs a secondary school in Montenegro’s old cultural capital, Cetinje, next to the seat of the Metropolitan, who resides in Montenegro’s oldest and most central monastery. The school is located at the site of an earlier religious secondary school, which was founded in Cetinje in 1863 and was the first of its kind in Montenegro. This original school was later integrated into the socialist educational system after the Second World War and its close connection to the Metropolitanate ceased. A new secondary Orthodox school was therefore reopened in 1992 by the Metropolitanate and has been the main educational centre for the Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro ever since. There is no formal agreement between the Montenegrin state and the Serbian Orthodox Metropolitanate regarding the school and therefore it isn’t an ordinary part of the educational system in Montenegro – unlike the Muslim secondary schools. The school functions as a “theological school” (serb: Bogoslovija) and is one of nine of such kind of Orthodox schools founded and driven by the Serbian Orthodox Church throughout the Balkans (Novesti 2015). The school, as a part of the Serbian Orthodox church, is under supervision of the Serbian Orthodox synod, which appoint its teachers. The local metropolitan also supervises the school. The Serbian government partly funds the school in the same manner as the other eight Serbian Orthodox “Bogoslovija” (Metropolitanate 2013). A grade from this school is valid inside Serbia and provides alumni with access to the theological, humanities and social sciences faculties at Serbian Universities. The Serbian Orthodox School in Cetinje is solely based on Orthodoxy and teaches according to this denomination. The school’s staff are all part of the Serbian Orthodox church’s clergy – mostly as deacons and presbyters.5 All of the educational actives are based on Orthodoxy and the school education could therefore be described as confessional in that sense. The school teaches Old and New Testament, Orthodox Catechism, Theology, church history as well as a long line of other classic theological subjects. In relation to religious education its students are taught in religious pedagogy. The school also teaches more “classic” secondary school subjects, such as classes on Serbian language and culture as well as English.6 According to its website twenty students enroll each year. The school and its teachers have been assaulted and harassed on several occasions and their building damaged by groups sympathizing with the Montenegrin Orthodox Church, which is not recognized within the canon. These events were part of the ongoing struggle between the two churches (Religious freedom report 2015). 5 See the school’s webpage http://www.bogoslovija.me/?page_id=18. 6 See the school’s webpage http://www.bogoslovija.me/?page_id=31.

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Aside from this religious secondary school, the Serbian Orthodox Church runs between 40–50 Sunday schools throughout Montenegro on a regular basis. These schools teach a confessional form of Orthodox Christianity.

5

Conceptions and tasks of RE

In public school there is no formal conception or well-defined scope for teaching of religion. Religion has become a minor part of the special program for civic education (see paragraph 7.) The religious communities have all organized religious training on a voluntary basis for pupils in public schools – but these activities take places at religious sites (churches, mosques etc.) and outside of the regular school’s schedule. Religious education in schools therefore only exists as a subject in itself within the religiously sponsored schools, where the educational program is based on the specific denomination and the teachers often receive their education from universities outside of Montenegro – primarily Serbia or Bosnia. As mentioned before, the Serbian Orthodox Metropolitanate would like religious education to be introduced in Montenegro in accordance with the conception and task of this subject in Austria or Serbia. The Metropolitanate would like to see religious education as a part of the public schools, but only when taught by teachers approved by the community. The leadership of the Islamic community of Montenegro also argues for the introduction of religious education in primary and secondary public schools, under the condition that the curriculum become aligned with the interests of the community and only if the teachers are qualified professionals that are approved by the community. And while religious education should not be an obstacle for the organization of society on the basis of secularism, the Islamic community believes that it would facilitate tolerance of religious differences and establishing harmony between all communities in the country (CDM 2016). When it comes to the religious educational tasks of the Madrasa, the major goal is to improve the capacity of the Islamic community to train qualified professionals, who are able to perform various religious duties throughout the mosques and other premises all over the country. Considering the fact that religious Islamic schools in Montenegro ceased to exist in 1912 and that the opening of the Madrasa is seen as the result of a “100 year battle”, its existence is perceived as essential for preserving Muslim identity in Montenegro (Seher Tuzi 2008). The statements of the ra’is al-‘ulama’ Rifat Fejzic´ speak volumes of the tasks of the Madrasa. According to him, it shows that Muslims are equal to everyone else in Montenegro and its graduates are the best representatives of the

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Montenegrin Muslims.7 In the light of the recent turmoil in the Islamic world, Fejzic´ stated that in the Montenegrin context, the Madrasa would also guarantee the continuation of Islam in its original form (Sˇkrijelj 2015).

6

Practice / reality of RE in different schools

The reality of religious education in public school in Montenegro is that it is not taught. To some extent religious worldviews are presented and introduced in the special program for civic education (see paragraph 7). The religiously sponsored schools teach according to their denomination and the educational activities and as well as learning areas are to a large degree formed from this point of view. The Orthodox school teaches a basic Christian theological program about the bible, church history etc., which is largely colored by the Serbian Orthodox point of view. The program does not contain any general Christian or ecumenical elements. The Muslim Madrassah educates according to the Sunni Hanefi tradition, but introduces other Islamic traditions as well as other religions. The main focus is on other religions of “the book”, such as Judaism and Christianity. The Madrasa is a boarding school, which enables observation of the students’ daily behavior and practices. Apart from the theoretic lessons, the students have additional program where they are expected to apply what they have learned in classes. In such manner, the students’ success is evaluated not only in terms of their marks, but also according to their practices in accordance with the Islamic teachings: regular praying (namaz), proper moral behavior and conduct according to Islamic principles.

7

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

The lack of religious education in Montenegro’s public schools is partly due to the introduction of a so-called program for “civic education”, which intends to provide its students with “civic” competence. Civic competences are defined as the necessary competences and knowledge need to participate in a democratic and multicultural society. The ability to accept and acknowledge religious and ethnic differences in a peaceful way sits at the core of this competences. The main emphasis in the program is on democratic citizenship and human rights. The 7 See http://www.monteislam.com/novosti/zavrsena-svecana-akademija-iv-generacije-matura nata, [last access 06.05. 2016].

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program is implemented both informally, as part of other subjects, or more formally as a special class on all levels in public schools. In the sixth and seventh grade of the primary public schools the subject is taught compulsorily for one hour per week. In the more academic part of the secondary school system (gymnasium/ high schools) the subject is taught compulsorily at all levels between 1–2 hours pr. week and it is also possible to choose special elective courses based on civic education, such as courses on human rights. The curriculum of the subject is described by Besˇic´ & !ukanovic´ (2012) as flexible, because between 15– 20 % percent of the content is decided cooperatively by the teachers and students. The compulsory themes for sixth and seventh grade students do not include religion, but focus on the nation, democracy and a series of social organizations (family, civic society etc.). A central text book for this subject for primary schools has been published. In high school religion is a compulsory theme for third grade students, but only as one out of 14 compulsory themes, which have to be covered over one academic year. The teaching of religion is therefore limited to a maximum of a few hours during this academic year (Strategija Grad¯anskog vaspitanja i Grad¯anskog obrazovanja 2007). The civic educational program was introduced in 2004/2005 in public schools and in 2006/2007 in high schools as part of the reform process that began in the early 2000s. The program is to a large degree founded on cooperation between the state, NGOs and civil society and has been funded by the council of Europe (Besˇic´ & !ukanovic´ 2012). The program reflects two central trends in Montenegrin society. On the one hand the process of transition and the continual effort to build and create a democracy with a strong civil society. And on the other hand, the Montenegrin states effort to make the system adapted and aligned to the standards of the European Union – as part of making the Montenegrin state adapt to the standards required by the Union.

8

Dealing with religious diversity

Generally speaking Montenegrin schools and society at large are characterized by a longstanding tradition of relatively peaceful co-existence between the various religious groups – compared to neighboring countries. Montenegro was involved in the civil wars on the Balkan in the early nineties only to a minor degree and remained neutral during the war in Kosovo. There has therefore not been any major clash between Catholics, Orthodox Christians and Muslims in Montenegro (Morrison 2009). Religious diversity has been a continual part of Montenegrin society and it is therefore not a new challenge for the school system. Montenegrin schools have always consisted of a relative mixture of ethnicities and religions (aside from the religious sponsored schools for obvious reasons) and this has not

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recently created any major problems or incidents in public schools. An example of this longstanding tradition of diversity is that several major religious holidays in the Islamic, Orthodox and Roman Catholic tradition have been state guaranteed holidays in public schools for decades. The schools also organize several extracurricular activities with NGOs in order to promote tolerance between religious groups, which supports this tradition of co-existence. This is a part of the civic educational program as well. (Djukanovic & Kascelan 2012). This picture has only rarely been disturbed by a few incidents, which reveals that under the surface there still are challenges to be dealt with when it comes to religious diversity. Most noticeably, each year there are a few reports of Orthodox clergymen, churches, the Orthodox secondary school or even students being violently attacked or vandalized. These incidents are the visible mark of the continual struggle between the Serbian Orthodox Church and the so-called Montenegrin Orthodox Church (see international Religious Freedom Report 2015). This does not, however, affect the general school system or the public schools. On the other hand, the unclear relationship between the state and the Serbian Metropolitanate does create issues for the public schools, because the Metropolitanate is in possession of most of Montenegro’s historical religious buildings as well as a well-equipped museum in Cetinje. At these sites, which are central for the teaching of Montenegro’s cultural heritage, a Serbian Orthodox narrative of Montenegro’s religious past is told. The unclear relations between the state and the Serbian Orthodox Church resurfaced in 2013 for example, when the Orthodox Secondary school celebrated its twentieth anniversary. At this event all the invited high-ranking government officials refused to participate. This stood in stark contrast to the regular participation of government officials at various events at the Muslim secondary school. The Serbian Orthodox clergy complained about this double standard in one of Montenegro’s daily newspapers, but without receiving any formal answer or reaction from the government (Vijesti Newspaper 2013). The lack of a proper agreement between the Serbian Metropolitanate and the Montenegrin government is a roadblock to the westernization of the school systems in Montenegro. The Montenegrin public school’s curriculum struggles to come to terms with the largest religious community in Montenegro. When it comes to the Muslim community, there have been a few violent incidents between Muslims and Christians, but whether religion has been the key-factor remains unclear. The Muslim community did however initiate a heated debate over whether or not Montenegro’s former ruler’s, the Princebishop Njegosh’s birthday should be turned into a national holiday on the day of its 150th anniversary in 2013. The Muslim community opposed this, because Njegsoh’s central piece of poetry is–in the view of the Muslim community – about the slaughter of Muslim Montenegrins on Christmas Eve by Orthodox coun-

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trymen. The Albanian and Bosniak minority parties have therefore blocked introduction of this holiday in parliament. Many Serbs and Montenegrins in contrast view Njegosh as a classic poet and benevolent ruler, who gave a voice to the Slavic struggle against the Ottoman Empire for national freedom. The Serbian Orthodox Metropolitanate made him a local saint during his anniversary (Tomovic 2016).

9

Religion in schools outside of RE

As mentioned earlier, religion is taught as part of the civic educational program. Besides the civic educational program, religion is also a subject touched upon in Montenegrin language and in history classes. Montenegro’s cultural history is that of a border region between Eastern and Western Christianity where there has been a continual presence of Islam since Ottoman times. However, this religious heritage is only lightly touched on in the periphery of the lessons. There have been two central cases, where the teaching of Montenegro’s religious past has created dispute. The first case is that of language and history classes, where the Prince-bishop Njegosh’s epic is treated. For the same reasons as briefly alluded to in the section above, there has been a dispute about the instructions and interpretation of his works. Some view his work as the cultural underpinning of and justification for ethnic cleansing in the Balkans, because of his central role as the poet par excellence for the Slavic Orthodox population. Others see it as a deeper poetic work about much more than the internal struggle between Muslim and Christians in Montenegro (see Mazower 2004; Zdenko 2007; Anzulovic 1999). The other cases have been the struggle for “religious” ownership of the local saint Jovan Vladimir. He is, in some historical sources, the founding father of the first Slavic kingdom in the Montenegrin region. The saint is claimed by several Orthodox churches – and to some degree even the Catholics and the local Albanian Muslim community- as their saint, which have provided a huge challenge for the teaching about him. His legacy has been a controversially debated matter in Montenegro, especially because a shrine devoted to him on the top on the Mountain Rumija has been the scene for a controversy between Albanian Muslims, Catholics, Serbian and Montenegrin Orthodox Christians. The right to use the mountain summit lies at the center of this unfinished debate between the government and almost all major religious communities. A recent Pro-Montenegrin history textbook about him offers an illustrative example of how this affects teaching in public schools is, which was published during his 1000 years jubilee in 2016, which does not treat this subject with much tact. This textbook interprets his heritage as solely Montenegrin and ignores the Catholic and Serbian Orthodox tradition, which is prominent as well (Perovic´ 2016).

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185

Training of teachers of RE: institutes, structures, priorities issues

Teaches do not receive any formal pedagogical instruction on how to teach religion. However, as part of the introduction of the civic educational program the Montenegrin state has begun to train their teachers within the field of civic education. For primary school teachers this has meant the introduction of a special training program run by the state in cooperation with a few NGOs. The central part of this program has been on how to teach the new educational program combined with a minor subject on political philosophy. The secondary school teachers of this subject often have a degree in political science, philosophy, sociology etc., and they therefore only have been trained in teaching methods and instructed about the new curriculum. The University of Montenegro has held courses on civic education (Strategija Grad¯anskog vaspitanja i Grad¯anskog obrazovanja 2007). It has been possible for High school teachers, both current and those, who still are studying, to take optional classes on sociology of religion at the University of Montenegro since 1991. These classes do not focus on religious education, the pedagogy of the field, but are rather more “classical” classes on the discipline. The department for sociology has also allowed its sociology students to teach religion in public or high schools for almost a decade, if such a subject should be introduced (Vukadinovic´ 2008, 61). Most of the teachers at the religiously sponsored schools have received their education abroad. The majority of the teachers at the Orthodox Schools have been trained in Serbia – often in theological faculties. Many of the teachers at the Muslim school have been trained in Muslim majority countries such as Bosnia, Turkey, Egypt or Malaysia.

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Empirical research concerning RE

The research on religion in Montenegro is limited and only few of the studies are of relevance for studies of religious education. Most of this research is in Serbian/ Montenegrin (see Bakracˇ 2012, 2011, 2013, Besˇic´ & !ukanovic´ 2012). The few relevant English/German publications on religion are mostly preoccupied with the conflict amongst the Orthodox population. These studies focus on the general development of the Montenegrin Nationhood and its consequences in terms of religion – with special interest on the role the Serbian Orthodox Metropolitanate has played in the formation of contemporary Montenegrin culture and politics (Morrison 2009, Dzˇankic´ 2014, Bieber 2003, Kube 2012 & Sˇistek 2010).

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A few studies have been devoted to multiculturalism and civic education in schools, but these are also almost all in Serbian/Montenegrin. These studies focus on the implementation of civic education (Bojka Djukanovic & Vidosava Kascelan 2012) and on how multiculturalism is promoted in schools (Micanovic, V. 2009). However, this is only the general picture for all religious communities in Montenegro. The development, status and legal, as well as social and educational changes for the Muslims in Montenegro are very well documented from 2009 and onwards in the Yearbook for Muslims in Europe (Kajoshaj 2009, 2010 & Pacˇariz 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017), which contains a section on education.

12

Desiderata and challenges for RE in a European context

The transition from the former communist system into a new and democratic one still poses a major challenge to education in Montenegro. This transition has led to a system without religious education, but with a rather rigid focus on multiculturalism and civic competencies. This focus has been colored by the aftermath of the civil wars to a great extent, by the internal political struggles and the political establishment continual push to make Montenegro suited for a complete integration into the European Union. These educational policies reflect the European Commissions and the council of Europe’s huge impact on the Montenegrin educational system as well as that of a few large NGOs. The focus on multiculturalism has to some extent blocked any introduction of religious education and any serious development of the necessary tools for the teaching of religion in public schools. The Montenegrin public system still lacks such parts, which to a certain extent reflects the irreligiously of the government and the secular character it has inherited from the communist system. This laical trait has survived the transition process so to speak. The Montenegrin system still needs to find ways to fully integrate and teach religion in schools without treating as an un-invited guest. The secularity of the state should not block the acceptance of the multitude of religious backgrounds, but rather to a system without discrimination and prejudice where the various religions are introduced and taught. Until now the secularity of the state and the public schools has been an easy excuse not to take religious education seriously. This excuse has been used by certain political players in order to avoid dealing with the question of how Montenegrin schools should present the multitude of religious backgrounds to the pupils. This is a politically controversial matter, because it touches on the unfinished process of forming a Montenegrin nationhood. However, on the positive side the multicultural agenda has opened up possibilities for the introduction of multicultural values and enabled each religious

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community to freely educate its members outside of public schools. This opportunity has enriched Montenegro with religiously based secondary schools that hopefully provide the religious communities with a basis from which they can flourish. Until now, the Muslim community has benefited most from this. There is still a need for continual effort in order to make sure that these schools remain part of the Montenegrin educational system and don’t become isolated satellites of their own. So far, co-operation between the Islamic community and the state and the latest expansion of the Muslim schools can be interpreted as a positive sign of this cooperation. The major task and perhaps the most pressing matter in Montenegro, when it comes to religious education, is to find a middle ground between the Montenegrin state’s and the Metropolitanate’s points of view. This is necessarily not the same as resolving the struggle itself. The Serbian Orthodox Church, the Islamic community and other religious groups need to be accepted as constructive partners in the Montenegrin Educational system and in the formation of a new law on religion. Until this happens, the teaching of and about Eastern Orthodoxy and Islam will continue to be a political and problematic issue. This issue cannot be solved by simply removing religion from public schools.

13

Further information

The Book of Changes of the Education System of the Republic of Montenegro (mng: Knjiga promjena obrazovnog sistema Republike Crne Gore), 2001. Strategy for Civic Educatio, Strategija Grad¯anskog vaspitanja i Grad¯anskog obrazovanja (2007). The Montenegrin Goverments webpage with all laws on education: http://www.mpin.gov. me/biblioteka/zakoni. The Montenegrin Bureau for Education’s webpage: http://www.zavodzaskolstvo.gov.me/ naslovna. Webpage for the Serbian Orthodox Metropolitanate: http://www.mitropolija.com/ and for their Orthodox Secondary School: http://www.bogoslovija.me. The webpage for the Islamic Community in Montenegro: http://www.monteislam.com/ and their secondary school: http://www.monteislam.com/tema/medresa. Webpage for the Catholic Bishopric in Kotor: http://www.kotorskabiskupija.me. Webpage for the Montenegrin Orthodox Church: http://www.cpc.org.me/mne/. The Montenegrin statistical bureau (Montestat): http://www.monstat.org/cg/index.php.

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References Agovic´, B. 2005. Islamska Zajednica u Crnoj Gori. Podgorica: Almanah. Bakracˇ, V. & Blagojevic´, Milosˇ. 2013. Religija i sloboda u Crnoj Gori, Religija i tolerancijaCentar za empirijska istrazˇivanja religije. Novi Sad. Bakracˇ, V. 2011. Religioznost mladih u Crnoj Gori i njihov odnos prema nekim moralnim vrijednostima, Sociolosˇka licˇa, (cˇasopis za sociologiju, socijalnu antropologiju, socijalnu demografiju i socijalnu psihologiju), Niksˇic´: Filozofski fakulet / Institut za sociologiju i psihologiju, Vol. V, Nr. 2, str. 16–28. Bakrac, V. 2012, Religioznost mladih u Crnoj Gori, Sociolosˇka lucˇa V/2. Besˇic´, M. & !ukanovic´, B. 2012. Bogovi i ljudi – religioznost u Crnoj Gori, Podgorica: CID i SOCEN. Branimir, A. 1999. Heavenly Serbia – from myth to genocide, London: Hurst & Company. Buchenau, K. 2012. Religion und Nation in Serbien, Bulgarien und Rumänien, Drei verschiedene Wege in Südosteuropa, in A. Ivanisˇevic´ (ed.), Re-Sakralisierung des öffentlichen Raums in Südosteuropa nach der Wende 1989?, Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, p. 61–83. CDM 2016. Sˇta mitropolit Mihailo i Islamska zajednica misle o Amfilohijevom prijedlogu? http://cdm.me/drustvo/amfilohije-preko-vjeronauke-zeli-da-utice-na-politiku-najple menitijom-rijecju-se-moze-uciniti-najveci-zlocin/ [last access 17.01. 2017]. CDM 2017. Medresa promijenila odnos prema Muslimanima, http://cdm.me/drustvo/ medresa-promijenila-odnos-prema-muslimanima/ [last access 01. 02. 2017]. Dzˇankic´, J. 2014. When Two Hands Rock the Cradle: Symbolic Dimensions of the Divide Over Statehood and Identity in Montenegro, in P. Kolstø (ed.). Southeast European Studies: Strategies of Symbolic Nation-building in South Eastern Europe. GB: Routledge, Farnham. Dzˇomic´, V. 2009. The legal status of churches and religious communities in Montenegro – Model, Intention, Problems, Dilemmas and Solutions, in Bogoljub Sˇijakovic´ (ed.), Legal Positions of Churches and Religious communities in Montenegro today.Niksˇic´: Bona Fides, 165–189. Emil Hilton Saggau zum Kirchenkonflikt in Montenegro, Der Nachrichtendienst Östliche Kirchen (NÖK) https://noek.info/hintergrund/1172-emil-hilton-saggau-zum-kirchen konflikt-in-montenegro [last access 30. 10. 2019]. Folic´, Z. 2001. Vjerske zajednice u Crnoj Gori, 1918–1953. Istorijski institut Crne Gore: Podgorica. Gavric´, S. 2015. Montenegro, in W. Hôrner et al. (eds.), The Education Systems of Europe. Cham: Springer. Jackson, R. 2007. European Institutions and the Contribution of studies of religious Diversity to Education for Democratic Citenzenship, in R. Jackson, M. Siebren, W. Weisse & J.-P. Willaime (eds.), Religion and Education in Europe. Münster: Waxmann. Jenne, E. K. & Bieber, F. 2014. Situational Nationalism: Nation-building in the Balkans, Subversive Institutions and the Montenegrin Paradox, Ethnopolitics: Formerly Global Review of Ethnopolitics. Kajoshaj, O. 2009. Montenegro, in J.S. Nielsen, S. Akgönül, A. Alibasˇic´ & E. Racˇius (eds.), Yearbook of Muslims in Europe, Volume 1. Leiden: Brill.

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Kajoshaj, O. 2010 Montenegro, in J.S. Nielsen, S. Akgönül, A. Alibasˇic´ & E. Racˇius (eds.), Yearbook of Muslims in Europe, Volume 2. Leiden: Brill. Knjiga promjena obrazovnog sistema Republike Crne Gore, 2001 (The Book of Changes of the Education System of the Republic of Montenegro). Kube, S. 2012. Wer repräsentiert die Orthodoxie in Montenegro? Kirchliche Konflikte um den öffentlichen Raum, in A. Ivanisˇevic´ (ed.), Re-Sakralisierung des öffentlichen Raums in Südosteuropa nach der Wende 1989?. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, 115–131. Metropolitanate 2013. Цетињску богословију посјетио директор Канцеларије Владе Србије за односе са црквама и вјерским заједницама Милета Радојевић http://www. mitropolija.com/cetinjsku-bogosloviju-posjetio-direktor-kancelarije-vlade-srbije-za-o dnose-sa-crkvama-i-vjerskim-zajednicama-mileta-radojevic/ [last access 05. 01. 2017]. Metropolitanate 2015. Primjedbe cetinjske bogoslovije na nacrt zakona o slobodi vjeroipovjeste. http://www.mitropolija.com/primjedbe-cetinjske-bogoslovije-na-nacrt-zako na-o-slobodi-vjeroispovjesti/ [last access 05. 01. 2017]. Micanovic, V., 2009, Indikatori multikulturalnosti u nastavi prirode i drusˇtva u prvom ciklusu devetogodisˇnje osnovne sˇkole, in S. Milic (ed.), Elementi multikulturalnosti u nastavnim planovima, programima i udzˇbenicima u Crnoj Gori, Niksˇic: Filozofski fakultet. Miedlig, H.-M. 2006. Zur Frage der Ethnizität und Identität der Montenegriner in Geschichte und Gegenwart, Zeitschrift für Balkanologie 42. Novesti 2015. Obnovljena Bogoslovija na Cetinju: Nov maturanti nastavljaju da ˇsire veru, http:// www.novosti.rs/vesti/planeta.300.html:552862-Obnovljena-Bogoslovija-na-Cetinju-Nov-ma turanti-nastavljaju-da-sire-veru [last access 10.12. 2016]. Opsˇti zakon o obrazovanju i vaspitanju. 2013 (General Law on Education) http://www. mpin.gov.me/biblioteka/zakoni?query=Obrazovanje&sortDirection=desc [last access 10. 12. 2016]. Pacˇariz, S. 2011. Montenegro, in J. S. Nielsen, S. Akgönül, A. Alibasˇic´ & E. Racˇius (eds.), Yearbook of Muslims in Europe, Volume 3. Leiden: Brill. Pacˇariz, S. 2012. Montenegro, in J. S. Nielsen, S. Akgönül, A. Alibasˇic´ & E. Racˇius (eds.), Yearbook of Muslims in Europe, Volume 4. Leiden: Brill. Pacˇariz, S. 2013. Montenegro, in J.S. Nielsen, S. Akgönül, A. Alibasˇic´ & E. Racˇius (eds.), Yearbook of Muslims in Europe, Volume 5. Leiden: Brill. Pacˇariz, S. 2014. Montenegro, in J.S. Nielsen, S. Akgönül, A. Alibasˇic´ & E. Racˇius (eds.), Yearbook of Muslims in Europe, Volume 6. Leiden: Brill. Pacˇariz, S. 2015. Montenegro, in O. Scharbrodt, J. S. Nielsen, S. Akgönül, A. Alibasˇic´ & E. Racˇius (eds.), Yearbook of Muslims in Europe, Volume 7. Leiden: Brill. Perica, V. 2002. Balkan Idols: Religion and Nationalism in Yugoslav States. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Perovic´, S. et al. 2016. Dukljanski knez Sveti Vladimir. Cetinje: Sveti Petar Cetinjski. Radio Slobodan Evropa. 2016. Mitropolit Amfilohije trazˇi uvod¯enje vjeronauke u ˇskolama u Crnoj Gori. http://www.slobodnaevropa.org/a/28198043.html [last access 10. 12. 2016]. Saggau, E.B.H. 2017. The self-proclaimed Montenegrin Orthodox Church: A paper tiger or a resurgent church? In M. Blagojevic, Z. Matic (eds.), Religion in Contemporary Society / Религия и современное общество. Belgrade: Institute of Social Sciences, Department of Education and Culture, Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Branicevo, Pozarevac, 31–54.

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Seher T. 2008. “Medresa na koju se cˇekalo cijeli vijek” http://www.seher.me/index.php? akcion=columns&main_id=416 [last access 20. 01. 2017]. Sˇijakovic´, B. 2009. Legal Positions of Churches and religious Communities in Montenegro today, Niksˇic´: Bona Fides. Sˇkrijelj, R. 2015, Ceremonijalno presjecˇena vrpca za objekte koje je finansirala TIKA u Rozˇajama. http://www.rozaje.me/ceremonijalno-presecena-vrpca-za-objekte-koje-jefinansirala-tika-u-rozajama/ [last access 20. 01. 2017]. Strategija Grad¯anskog vaspitanja i Grad¯anskog obrazovanja. 2007. (Strategy for Civic Education). Temeljni ugovor Crne Gore i Svete Stolice. 2011 (The agreement between the Montenegrin state and the Papal seat) http://www.kotorskabiskupija.me/biskupija/temeljni-ugovorcrne-gore-i-svete-stolice/ [last access 05. 11. 2016]. Tomovic, D. 2016. Montenegro’s Bosniaks Thwart Njegos National Holiday, BIRN Podgorica, 29 Dec 16 http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/bosniaks-oppose-memorialisa tion-of-montenegro-s-royal-poet-njegos-12-29-2016 [last access 20.01. 2017]. Ustav Crna Gore. 1992 (Constitution of Montenegro) The 1992 constitution of Montenegro in an English version could be found at: http://www.venice.coe.int/webforms/documents/?pdf= CDL(2005)096-e [last access 05. 11.2016]. Ustav Crna Gore. 2007 (Constitution of Montenegro) http://www.skupstina.me/images/ dokumenti/ustav-crne-gore.pdf. An un-offical english translation is available here: https:// www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Montenegro_2007.pdf [last access 05. 11. 2016]. Vijesti newspaper, 2015. Vjeronauka ne mozˇe u ˇskole http://www.vijesti.me/forum/vjero nauka-ne-moze-u-skole-847451 [last access 23. 11. 2016]. Vijesti newspaper. 2011. Vec´ina stranaka protiv uvod¯enja vjeronauke u crnogorske ˇskole, http://www.vijesti.me/vijesti/vecina-stranaka-protiv-uvodjenja-vjeronauke-u-crnogor ske-skole-26210 [last access 23. 11. 2016]. Vijesti newspaper. 2013. Dvije ˇskole – dva arsˇina, http://www.vijesti.me/forum/dvije-skoledva-arsina-159075 [last access 23. 11. 2016]. Vukadinovic´ S. 2008. Sociology of Religion in the Montenegrin Academic Circle (1991– 2007), in D. !ord¯evic´ (ed.). The Sociology of religion in The former Yugoslav Republics, YSSSR Journal – year XV. Willaime, J.-P. 2007. Different models for Religion and Education in Europe, in R. Jackson, S. Miedema, W. Weisse & J.-P. Willaime (eds.), Religion and Education in Europe. Münster: Waxmann. Zlatar, Z. & Wachtel, A. 2007. How to use a classic. Petar Petrovic´ Njegosˇ in the twentieth century, in J.R. Lampe & M. Mazower (eds.), Ideologies and National Identities: The Case of Twentieth-Century Southeastern Europe. Budapest: Central European University Press. Zlatar, Z. 2004. The poetics of Slavdom Vol. II. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang.

Laurent,iu Ta˘nase / Daniel Cergan / Cezar Dasca˘lu

Religious Education at Schools in Romania

Introduction Located in the Southeast of Europe, Romania is a Latin country of mainly Orthodox confession with a religious history deeply rooted in European Christianity. Orthodox Christianity is the majority religion of the country and is considered a fundamental element in the construction of the Romanian nation (Iorga 1908, 6). The entire cultural and spiritual history of the Romanian people is influenced and structured around the Orthodox Christian faith. There are also Catholic, Protestant, and Islamic communities in Romania, but these make up a minority and are generally closely linked to an ethnic identity different from that of the majority of Romanians. Throughout the history of the country, the first writing schools appeared in the courtyards of churches, and the priests took on the role of teachers for the village children. Soon the first universities were created, also in close connection with the Orthodox Church. The separation between the State and the Church was implemented aggressively between 1948– 1989, which is during the communist period, through a restriction of the influence of religion on the margins of society. But, upon the fall of Communism in 1989, faith quickly and authoritatively returned to the public space, officially and legally bringing back Religious Education in State schools. At the time of writing, namely the year 2018, Religion is an optional subject in the curriculum, but it is considered one of the main topics of study for schoolchildren from the first to the last grades of high school. Orthodox Christianity enjoys high approval rates within Romanian society, and it is considered fundamental to the history and culture of Romania.

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1

Socio-religious background

1.1

General information about Romania

Romania is a European country located in the south-eastern part of Europe. It has an area of 238,397 km² and a population of nearly 20 million inhabitants, according to the 2011 National Census. Its neighbouring countries are Ukraine to the north, Hungary, and Serbia to the West, Bulgaria to the South, and Moldova to the East. The Black Sea and the Danube Delta are an important part of the eastern border of Romania. The Danube River marks the southern border between Romania and Bulgaria. Romania is a semi-presidential republic and with a bicameral parliament consisting of the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies. Romania has been a member of the European Union since January 2007. The capital of the country is Bucharest, with a population of nearly 2 million people, making it the largest city in Romania and the sixth-largest EU city by population. The official language in Romania is Romanian, a Romance language.

1.2

Some historical references

At the end of World War I in 1918, the modern Romanian State was created and recognized by international treaties, by the Union of all the territories where the Romanian ethnic groups lived. After World War II, Romania entered the USSR’s sphere of influence, and a totalitarian communist regime replaced its democracy. In 1948 the Communist regime began suppressing the Greek Catholic Church and religious education was removed from schools and public education programs. During the 45 years of Communist rule, the Denominations tried to survive by entering into various forms of cooperation (Turcescu & Stan 2015) with the totalitarian regime. The Communist state meanwhile was interested in controlling and diminishing religious life rather than in its violent destruction. Romanians removed the communist dictatorship in December 1989, through a bloody Revolution (with more than 1,000 killed and 3000 wounded), and the country started its long and difficult transition to democracy. Romania has been a member of NATO since 2003 and signed the European Union membership agreement in 2007, thus clarifying its military position and its democratic European course.

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Religious pluralism in Romania

From the perspective of religious life, after almost 50 years of Communist atheism, at the time of the 1992 census, only 0.21 % of the population declared themselves without religion or atheist. However, the political-ideological aspirations of the Communist regime and the massive emigration of various ethnic groups have made the Jewish community and the Greek Catholic Church aware of an essential diminution in the number of believers. Statistics show that in 1930 756,930 Jews lived in Romania. In 1992, this number had dropped to 9,670. The Greek Catholic Church had 1,427,391 members in 1930, while in 1992, the census recorded only 223,327 believers. The percentage of Orthodox believers increased from 72.59 % in 1930 to 86.81 % in 1992, out of a total population of 22,810,035 (Negruti 2014: 43–46). Although faith did not disappear under the coercion of Communist atheism, and membership in religious associations, currently exceeds 99.5 % of the total population across the board, opinion polls have found indications of a marked process of de-Christianization. Even though 96 % of respondents declared that they believe in God, they generally lack knowledge of religious dogma, and only 50 % believe in ideas like “life after death,” “hell,” or “heaven.”1 The period after the fall of Communism characterized the social level, by changing standards of living and a widening degree of poverty to eventually affect about 40 % of the population in 1999 (Zamfir 2001: 9). The economic crisis of 2009 generated significant internal migration (from urban to rural areas) and emigration (mainly to western European countries). Declining birth rates and increasing emigration have led to a significant decrease in population, which stood at around 19.76 million inhabitants in 2016, down by more than 13 % compared to the 1992 population census. Declining birth rates make up for a third of the decline in the resident population, while the remaining two-thirds are the consequence of international migration. Emigration peaked at 544,000 people in 2007, the year Romania joined the European Union.2 This process of migration hasn’t had a substantial impact on the religious structure of the Romanian society. Compared to 1992, the 2011 census indicates a decrease in the number of Orthodox Christians, from 86.81 % in 1992 to 86.45 % in 2011, Roman Catholics from 5.09 % to 4.62 %, Reformed from 3.52 % to 3.19 %. In the same period, an increase in the percentages of followers of non-protestant

1 http://www.atlasofeuropeanvalues.eu/new/home.php [last access 02. 04. 2018]. 2 The National Institute of Statistics, Migrat¸ia Internat¸ionala˘ a României (The International Migration of Romania), Bucharest, 2016, pp. 1–15.

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denominations3, e. g., the Baptist Church, from 0.48 % in 1992 to 0.60 % in 2011 and Islam from 0.25 % to 0.34 %4. From a perspective of ethnicity, the same census shows a dramatic exodus of Jewish and German communities that has undoubtedly influenced the denominational landscape. Thus, in Romania, ethnic Romanians make up the majority (88.6 %), of the other groups being: Hungarians (6.5 %), Rroma (gipsy), (3.2 %), Ukrainians (0.3 %), Germans (0.2 %), other ethnic groups (0.9 %)5. The social and economic developments since early 1990 have facilitated a phenomenon common to formerly Soviet countries, namely the religious revival, of which Romania has not been left unaffected (Voicu and Constantin 2012: 155– 174). Religion has been returning to public space, to school, to the army, and hospitals. However, since 2010, Romanian national surveys (INSCOP, IRES, etc.) show a decrease in religiosity, with confidence in the Church being in a sharp decline, from about 88 % in 2009 to about 50 % in 2017 (Bocancea 2013: 285–286).

2

Legal frameworks of RE and the relationship between religious communities and the State

The Romanian state recognizes 18 religious denominations6 that operate according to constitutional principles and values centred on religious freedom and the norm of state neutrality. The art. twenty-nine of the Constitution of Ro-

3 It should be noted that the legal terminology in Romania uses the term: Religious Cult (Cult religios in Romanian), equivalent to the expression of Religious Denomination, to define with a legal, neutral significance, an administrative structured religious identity, recognized by the Romanian State through law. Often, the term Cult will be used to identify a denomination recognized by the State. The term Cult does not have a negative etymological significance in the Romanian language, as it is in English. 4 See the document drafted in October 2013 by the National Institute of Statistics entitled: What does the 2011 census say about religion? and State Secretariat for Religious Affairs, State and Religion in Romania, 2nd ed. Bucharest, 2019, table 8, p. 36. 5 The National Institute of Statistics, România în cifre 2012 (Romania in figures 2012); Bucharest, 2012, p. 11. 6 According to Art. 49 of the Law no. 489/2006, in Romania were recognized by the Romanian State, by Government Decisions, the statutes of 18 Denominations: 1. The Romanian Orthodox Church 2. The Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Timisoara 3. The Roman Catholic Church 4. The Romanian Church United with Rome, Greek Catholic 5. Archbishopric of the Armenian Church 6. The Russian Orthodox Old-Rite Church in Romania 7. The Reformed Church in Romania 8. The Evangelical Church A.C. in Romania 9. The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Romania 10. The Unitarian Church of Transylvania 11. The Union of Christian Baptist Churches in Romania 12. The Christian Church according to the Gospel in Romania – The Union of Christian Churches according to the Gospel in Romania 13. The Romanian Evangelical Church 14. The Pentecostal Union – The Apostolic Church of God in Romania 15.

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mania7, and Law no. 489/2006, on the Freedom of Religion and the General Status of Denominations,8 regulate the legal framework for the functioning of Religious Denominations The Ministry of National Education organizes the educational system in Romania’s private and denominational education units with proper authorization. Pre-tertiary education is structured as follows: early learning (0–6 years), which includes nurseries (0–3 years) and pre-school education (3–6 years); primary education, comprising the preparatory grade and grades I to IV; secondary education involving classes V–VIII and high school education of grades IX–XII / XIII.9 Religious education developed within the Romanian public education system is regulated both at the constitutional level and at the level of so-called organic laws versus ordinary laws. According to art. 32, par. 7 of the Constitution of Romania, religious education is organized and guaranteed by the state. Religion is considered a curricular discipline within the framework plans of primary, secondary, and high school education and as part of the standard part10 according to the National Education Law no. 1/2011, by art. 18, par. 1.11 The provisions of the Education Law are complemented by those of the Religious Law no. 489/2006, in particular by art. 1, 2, 3, 7, 32, 33, and 34. Religion as a school subject is denominational in character and mandatory for members of the denomination in question with the possibility of withdrawing only on the grounds of conscience12. Romania uses the same educational model as seven other European countries. These are: Austria, Cyprus, Finland, Ger-

7 8 9 10

11

12

Seventh-Day Christian Adventist Church in Romania 16. The Federation of Jewish Communities in Romania 17. The Muslim Cult 18. Jehovah’s Witnesses Association of Romania. The Constitution of Romania, published in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part I, no. 767 of October 31st, 2003. The State Secretariat for Cults, Statul ¸si cultele religioase (The State and the religious cults), Edit. Litera, Bucharest, 2014, p. 117–131. Acc. Art. 23 of Law 1/2011. The curriculum in Romania can be found in the following forms: A. Formal education – including: A1. The common part (mandatory disciplines) for compulsory education; A2. EDC / EDO themes (Council of Europe Charter on Education for Democratic Citizenship and Human Rights) in post-compulsory education; A3. Intercurricular or cross-curricular theme; A4. The national bid for curriculum at the school’s decision (optional subjects); B. Nonformal education. Art. 18, par. (1): “The framework schooling plans for primary, secondary, high school and vocational education, include religion as a school subject, which is part of the common part. Those students belonging to the cults acknowledged by the state, irrespective of their number, are granted the constitutional right to participate in religion class, according to their respective religion”. According to Decision no. 669/2014 of the Constitutional Court of Romania the enrolment for attending this discipline is done freely by written request of the major student, respectively the parent or the legal guardian established for the minor student.

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many, Greece, Ireland, Malta (Andreescu 2007; Tavala 2015). As a consequence, the Romanian State guarantees the freedom of religious education and funds denominational education under the conditions of the laws mentioned above. Religious education was reintroduced in Romania in 1990, after a 42-year interruption from 1948 to 1990, during the communist period. In 1990, the Ministry of Education and Science concluded a protocol with the State Secretariat for Religious Affairs that provided the basis for the reintroduction of Moral-Religious Education into the state education system starting in the 1990– 1991 school year13. In 1991, one year after signing the protocol, the right to religious education was also guaranteed in the new Constitution of Romania, by article 32 para. 7. The term Moral-Religious Education was used between 1990 and 1993, and since 1993 it has been replaced with that of Religion. The purpose was to replace the restrictive character of the former, which had confined the treatment of religion in school to its moral dimension (Opris 2009: 269–270), with a broader view that also takes the cultural and spiritual aspects of faith into account. The Law of Education No. 84 of July 24, 1995, stipulated the compulsory teaching of Religion for the primary and secondary level, and the high school level with optional status14. The organization of moral-religious education in public education was drafted by Government Ordinance no. 36/1997, which aimed at amending and completing the Education Law no. 84/1995, in Article 9, par. (1) and (2)15. A more well-defined status of religious education in school was granted in 2001 by Order of the Minister of Education, no. 3670. The normative act defined the subject “Religion” as a school discipline, part of the core curricular area (Timis 2004: 29). Another normative act that established the status of the religion teacher was the Order of the Ministry of Education and Research no. 5723/23. 12. 2003, by art. 136 par. 1. According to this Order of the Minister, the subject religion can only be taught by authorized personnel, based on the protocols concluded between the Ministry of Education and the Religious Denominations, officially recognized by the State. In 2008, several associations and NGOs launched a public campaign to exclude icons from school and religion classes from the curriculum, invoking the secular status of the Romanian State and the fundamental right to freedom. The debates on the status of Religion class also reached the Romanian Parliament, which 13 The protocol, concluded between the Ministry of Education and Science (no. 150052) and Se the State Secretariat for Cults (no. 7758), of September 11, 1990, regarding the Introduction of Moral-Religious Education into the State Education. 14 See also the Ministry of Education Protocol no. 9715 of April 10, 1996 concluded with the State Secretariat for Cults no. 8159 of April 11, 1996. 15 Official Gazette of Romania, Part I, no. 370/3. 08. 1999.

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emphasized that religious education in Romanian education is a priority for the Romanian State16. After the public debates subsided, the status of Religion remained unchanged according to the laws in force. In 2010, the Romanian Government announced a new draft Law on National Education, in which, according to art. 17, par. 3, Religion class was to be replaced with the History of Religions, History of Culture and Arts, or other types useful in forming ethical, social, or community behaviour. The decision was contested by the Romanian Orthodox Church, together with other religious denominations, which addressed the Chamber of Deputies, no. 2455/27. 04. 2010, requesting the rejection of the proposal coming from the Romanian Government. During the sitting of May 19, 2010, the Chamber of Deputies adopted the draft Law on National Education and Lifelong Learning with the remarks and requests made by the Romanian Patriarchate (Holbea et al. 2010: 43–49). Teaching the school discipline Religion within the public education system is currently in line with the commitments undertaken under collaborative partnerships signed between the Ministry of National Education, the State Secretariat for Religious Affairs, and the representatives of the officially recognized denominations in Romania. Each protocol contains requirements specific to each religious group and regulates any collaboration with the State to ensure the quality of public religious education17. The particular needs in the memorandum refer to the opinion on teacher placement18, religion textbooks, and curriculum development. The religious groups develop them but can reach the educational establishments with the endorsement of the Ministry of Culture and Religious Affairs and the approval of the Ministry of Education and Research (Opris 2011: 88–90). By order of the Ministry of National Education, no. 5.232/14. 09. 2015 on Methodology of organizing the teaching of the subject Religion in pre-university

16 See: Sittings of the Chamber of Deputies of February 26, 2008; Deputy Adrian MOISOIU (term 2004–2008), (http://www.cdep.ro/pls/steno/steno2015.stenograma?ids=6442&idm=1& idl=1, cf. 04, 2018). 17 So far, the Ministry of National Education and the State Secretariat for Cults have signed partnerships with: The Romanian Orthodox Church 29. 05. 2014, The Synod of the Reformed Church in Romania and The Unitarian Church of Transylvania (2015), The Roman-Catholic of Romanian Language Cult, The Roman-Catholic of Hungarian Language Cult and The Greek-Catholic Cult (May 11, 2015), The Christian Church after the Gospel (BCER-UBCE), The Adventist Church, The Baptist Church and the Evangelical Cult (The Lutheran Church). The documents can be found on the website of the Ministry of National Education at: http:// oldsite.edu.ro/index.php/pressrel/archive/all/ (02. 12. 2017). 18 See – The procedure for granting and withdrawing the written opinion of the Bishop in the Orthodox religious and theological education. According to THEME 13.879/2014 of the meeting of the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church; OMEN nr. 5485/2017 – Framework methodology on the mobility of teaching staff in pre-university education.

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education,19 all the legislation in the field of religion teaching harmonized with all the laws of National Education and decision of the Constitutional Court of Romania.20 We refer to the conclusion of the Constitutional Court of Romania number 669 in 2014 and the changes brought by law 153 of 2015 for the amendment of par. 2 of art. 18 of the National Education Law no. 1/2011. The provisions of the document primarily regulate how students enrol in Religion class, based on a written request by the parent or legal guardian registered in the Integrated Education Information System of Romania (SIIIR). The choice remains valid for the entire duration of the school career; any change of option needs to submit in writing to be accepted. Applications for a change of option shall be provided by the end of December for the next school year, according to the Methodology, by art. 3, par. 1 and 3. If an educational establishment cannot provide religion teachers, the students must prove they study this subject through certificates from the religious group they are members. Meanwhile, according to the provisions of art. 63, par. (1) letter c, of the National Education Law 1/2011, in elementary school, there is a minimum level attendance of 12 students for religion teachers to be provided. In high school, this number is 15. If students enrolled in Religion class do not form a didactic norm, that is, 12 or 15 students between a grade, students from several modules, can be reunited, and they will study religion simultaneously, or students can participate in religious lessons provided by their religious group21. Following these regulations, on March 6, 2015, the Ministry of National Education reported a no. of 2,366,086 registered applications, of which 2,123,645, i. e., 89.75 % of students enrolled in Orthodox religion22. Another normative act governing the teaching of religious education in public education is the framework regulation for the organization and functioning of the pre-university education units, issued by order of the Minister of National Education no. 5.079/31. 08. 2016, by art. 4, it is forbidden to organize and carry out activities of religious proselytism in public schools, and art. 125 determine how students and parents can decide for or against classes of Religion. The present number of students attending Religion classes in Romania is 2,094,786, out of a total of 2,524,399 students23 in 2017, of which 1.934.211 are 19 Published in the Official Gazette of Romania, part I, no. 720/24. 09. 2015. 20 Published in the Official Gazette of Romania, part I, no. 59/ 23. 01. 2015, and approved by MECS no. 5232 of 14. 09. 2015. 21 Organizing the teaching of Religion, art. 8 and art. 9 of the Methodology on Organizing the Teaching of Religion in Pre-University Education Order MECS no. 5232/2015. 22 Press Release issued by MEN : http://oldsite.edu.ro/index.php/pressrel/22667, [last access 04.2018]. 23 Cf. to the Statistical Yearbook of Romania, 2017: http://www.insse.ro/cms/sites/default/files/ field/publicatii/anuarul_statistic_al_romaniei_carte_ro.pdf, [last access 04.2018].

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Orthodox, 28.663 Roman-Catholic, 58.173 Roman-Catholic students of Hungarian mother Language, 10.334 Greek-Catholics, 5.229 students of the Adventist Church, 12.400 Baptists, 8.911 Evangelicals, 55.513 Pentecostal students, 4.913 Ukrainian Orthodox students, 61.060 members of the Reformed Church, 5.253 Unitarians, 243 Jehovah’s Witnesses, 5 Jewish students, 8 Buddhist students and 336 students of other religions24. The number of professors teaching Religion is 7,548, of which 6,190 are members of the Orthodox Church. Of the professors teaching with the Orthodox Church approval, 4,393 have tenure, and 1,940 are substitutes. From the total of these 1,324 are clergymen and 5,012 lay teachers with theological studies.25 Religion teachers are paid entirely from the state budget.

3

Developments in the country’s education policy

According to the letter and spirit of its official documents, the Ministry of Education aims to achieve the following objectives in the field of education and training: – ensuring access to education for all children; – ensuring that all children complete compulsory education; – reintegration of early school leavers into the education system; – improving the relevance of vocational training systems for the labour market; – increasing and facilitating access to professional training programs; – improving the quality of lifelong vocational training; – enhancing the significance of education and training systems for the labour market, designing and updating the national curriculum, reducing the phenomenon of violence in educational establishments26. The Romanian Orthodox Church has launched a series of projects in partnership with educational institutions and foundations to achieve these general objectives through religious education in public schools.

24 According to Address no. 11137 of 30. 01. 2018 issued by the Department of Information and Communication Technology, department of the Ministry of National Education. 25 Sinteza activita˘t,ii Bisericii Ortodoxe Române în anul 2016 (The synthesis of the activity of the Romanian Orthodox Church in 2016), in Vestitorul Ortodoxiei – Magazine of Church Information of the Romanian Patriarchate, year X (XXVII), no.1–2, 2017, p. 10–11. 26 According to National Strategies: The strategy to reduce early school leaving in Romania – approved by HG. No. 417/2015, published in the Official Gazette of Romania Part I, no. 439, June 19, 2015.

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The most extensive program since 1996 was Hristos împa˘rta˘¸sit copiilor (Christ shared with the children).27 The project addressed the needs of schoolchildren aged between 6 and 17 on the one hand and those of religious teachers and priests who teach religion on the other by providing various auxiliary teaching manuals to be used as alternatives to textbooks for Religion classes in primary and secondary levels (Lungoci 2011: 53–56). The project was launched together with World Vision Romania Foundation and is still in progress today. The catechetical guidelines respect the basic principles of religious education, and in this regard, the project initiated a series of local, regional, or national programs, developments, and competitions.28 Another project funded by the European Union through the European Social Fund29, implemented by the Orthodox Church in partnership with the World Vision Romania Foundation, was initiated in 2009 and called “Choose School!”30 The overall objective of the project was to prevent and combat the phenomenon of early school drop-outs and to prevent juvenile delinquency by developing alternative offers such as “Sunday school.” The specific objectives aimed at promoting positive behaviours and attitudes towards school and peers for at least 28,854 rural and urban children aged between 6 and 16 years old and at providing training for 3,206 adults involved in preventing school drop-outs. This strategy intends to develop its psycho-pedagogical skills.31 New grant applications were submitted and approved32 in 2015 and 2016, to the Managing Authority for the Human Capital Operational Program (POCU). 27 Hristos împa˘rta˘s,it copiilor (Christ shared with the children) is a project initiated in 1996 by WORDIRECT, a nonprofit Christian organization, developed by “Gospel Light Worldwide” from U.S.A. The project is also being implemented in Europe in countries such as Albania, Armenia, Bosnia, Georgia, Egypt, Lebanon, the Russian Federation, Belarus, Poland and Romania. 28 See the virtual platform of the project: http://hristosimpartasitcopiilor.blogspot.ro/ [last access 08. 12. 2017]. 29 This funding line was managed by the Managing Authority for the Sectoral Operational Program for Human Resources Development 2007–2013 (AMPOSDRU) through the Intermediate Body – the Ministry of Education, Research, Youth and Sport. See the project titled “Choose School!” ID: POSDRU/61/2.2/S/41538 of 2009. 30 According to the Decisions no. 3769 of June 19, 2009 and 747 of February 11, 2010 of the Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church. 31 Sorin LUNGOCI, Proiectul catehetic “Alege S¸coala!”. Interferent¸e cu proiectul “Hristos împa˘rta˘s¸it copiilor” (The catechetical project “Choose School!”. Interference with the project “Christ shared with the children”), in Altarul Banatului, no. 7–9, Timis,oara, 2012; Costin ˘ CLAD, Un proiect de succes. Proiectul “Alege S¸coala!” (A successful project. Project NA “Choose School!”), in Tinerii în Biserica˘, year I, 2011, no. 1, Baia Mare, p. 10–11. 32 The list of approved and rejected funding applications in the technical and financial evaluation of the School for All call: http://www.fonduri-structurale.ro/stiri/19101/pocu-au-fostpublicate-listele-cererilor-de-finantare-aprobate-si-respinse-in-evaluarea-tehnica-si-finan ciara-pe-apelul-scoala-pentru-toti.

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Another remarkable project for the development of RE performance is the project co-funded by the European Social Fund,33 through the Sectoral Operational Program Human Resources Development 2007–2013, for improving teaching staff in pre-university education teaching Religion34. The Faculty of Orthodox Theology at the “Babes-Bolyai” University of Cluj-Napoca in cooperation with the Faculty of Orthodox Theology from “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of Iasi35 developed a project for all the religious groups provided in the national curriculum for 18 months starting May 1, 2014. Another particular category of activities aimed at achieving the objectives of educational policies is national competitions for students. Among these, those on religious education are the National Interdisciplinary Contest of Romanian Language and Literature and Religion “Romanian Culture and Spirituality” and the National Religion Olympiad for VII–XII grades, for the Orthodox Church, the Roman-Catholic Church of Hungarian Language Reformed, Evangelical and Unitarian, the Roman-Catholic and Greek-Catholic groups, Islam in Turkish, the Orthodox Old-Rite Church in Russian, the Evangelical Alliance Church, the Baptist, and Pentecostal denominations.36 The National Religion Olympiad – is a school competition open to students with exceptional skills and interests in the subject of Religion of VII–XII grades. Although the participation is optional, the Framework Methodology for organizing and conducting of school competitions imposes a numerical restriction so that each department can participate with a maximum of 10 students, and for the national phase, only five students can participate from each county. The overall objective of this contest is to promote cultural, ethical, and religious values, fair play, competitiveness and interpersonal communication while also stimulating creativity and critical thinking.37 School inspectors continuously monitor and verify national performance standards, the quality of religious education, as well as the educational policies

33 This funding line was managed by the Managing Authority for the Sectoral Operational Program for Human Resources Development 2007–2013 (AMPOSDRU) through the Intermediate Body – the Ministry of Education, Research, Youth and Sport. 34 Acc. to the project entitled: Improving teaching staff in pre-university education teaching Religion, ID: POSDRU/157/1.3/S/134267 of May 2014. 35 See the virtual platform of the project: http://predareareligiei.ro/. 36 In accordance with the Framework Methodology for organizing and conducting school competitions, approved by OMECTS no. 3035/2012, with the subsequent amendments and completions and according to Annex no. 2 of OMEN no. 3076 / 17. 01. 2018. 37 The Framework Methodology for organizing and conducting school competitions, approved by OMECTS no. 3035/2012.

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and strategies promoted by M. E.N.,38 and for RE there is a Religion inspector for each county (Dragomir & Chichinas 2004: 9–10).

4

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

4.1

Some historical references to understand the evolution of RE and the denominational schools

In 1918, before the unification of Romanian Provinces following World War I, Romanian denominational schools (Orthodox and Greek-Catholic) were considered centres for the preservation of national/ethnic identity by using the Romanian language, symbols, and the popular Romanian costume, etc. Denominational schools were dependent on the Church and implicitly on the community and their financial resources (Soros¸tineanu 2015: 91–102). After World War I and the Unification of Transylvania with Romania, the denominational schools of the Romanian ecclesiastical institutions experienced a process of nationalization (transformation into State units), while ethnic minorities (Hungarian and German) reacted by multiplying the number of Roman Catholic and Lutheran denominational schools, to preserve their ethnic identity.39 The Communist regime abolished faith-based schools and religious education in public educational institutions but offered certain religious groups the opportunity to keep theological seminaries and institutes for the clergy (for example, the Romanian Orthodox Church held in 1989, 6 theological high-schools and two religious colleges of a university degree, in Bucharest and Sibiu).

38 The school inspectorates are decentralized public services of the Ministry of Education, they are organized at county level and act for the achievement of the educational objectives stipulated by the Education Law in the field of pre-university education. https://www.edu.ro/ inspectorate-scolare-judetene. 39 See the debates on Educational Reforms and the mutations of the denominational education during the Interwar Period in the magazine Înva˘¸ta˘torul (The teacher) (The body of the “Association of Romanian Teachers in Transylvania, Banat and the Hungarian Parties”) of 1919–1927 and Foaia Bisericeasca˘-Politica˘ “Unirea” (The Church-Political Sheet “the Union”), Blaj, January- March 1924.

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203

Pre-university denominational education in Romania

After 1989, pre-university faith-based education in Romania is subject to the same criteria, and the National Education Law governs standards and performance indicators common to state education establishments.40 The state provides primary funding from the public budget. Pre-university education with a denominational character is classified into two categories: state and private. According to statistical data, the number of religious education institutions in Romania has seen significant expansion after 1990, both in terms of individual and as well as public funding. The State budget funds the high school level and the seminars/high schools with a theological profile (located in the vocational branch). In the school year 2015–2016, the high school education network comprised 1,566 independent units, 73 of them having a theological profile,41 i. e., 4.7 %. For the year 2014, the Patriarchate of the Romanian Orthodox Church reported a schooling number of 5,540 students (undergraduates, not faculty students) enrolled in 29 seminaries and nine theological high schools,42 with a remarkable difference compared to the end of the Communist regime when only six religious seminars were in operation. Of the total of 9,690 students enrolled in ecclesiastical units,43 more than half enrolled in Orthodox institutions. In comparison, in 1991, 2153 students were enrolled in 14 theological seminaries (for all Cults), the number of schoolchildren, and the number of educational units rising in 1992 to 19 theological seminaries, with 3180 students.44 The teaching language in religious seminars was Romanian (1992/1993 school year) in 80.1 % of the cases and Hungarian in 19.9 % of the cases.45 At the level of primary and secondary education, statistics on the number of denominational education units are unclear. Often, although schools are set up and funded by religious groups or associations/foundations associated with them, they are not labelled as denominational education institutions. The sta40 Article 60 of Law N.E. no 1/2011 ‘Private and denominational education. The structure of the national pre-university education system’. 41 The National Institute of Statistics, Sistemul Educat¸ional în România. Date sintetice. Anul s¸colar/universitar 2015–2016 (The Educational System in Romania. Synthetic data. School/ academic year 2015–2016, Bucharest, 2017, p. 31. 42 DANIEL, the Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church, “Sinteza activita˘¸tilor Bisericii Ortodoxe Române în anul 2014” (The Synthesis of the Activities of the Romanian Orthodox Church in 2014), Basilica, 03. 02. 2015. Source: http://basilica.ro/sinteza-activitatilor-bisericiiortodoxe-romane-in-anul-2014/ [last access 17. 11. 2017]. 43 The National Institute of Statistics, Înva˘¸ta˘mântul Liceal la începutul anului ¸scolar 2014–2015 (High School Education at the beginning of the school year 2014–2015), Buchrest, 2015, p. 11. 44 The National Commission for Statistics, Anuarul Statistic al României 1992 (Statistical Yearbook of Romania 1992), Buchrest, 1992, pp. 188–189. 45 The National Commission for Statistics, Înva˘¸ta˘mântul în România. Date statistice (Education in Romania. Statistical data), Buchrest, 1994, p. 116.

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tistic of the number of classes of religious education does not distinguish between primary and secondary schools, between schools that can be considered denominational and non-denominational. Private primary and secondary education in Romania has developed since 1990 but has not become a significant competitor to the public system.

5

Conceptions and tasks of RE

The increased degree of religiosity in Romanian society and the trust enjoyed by the recognized Denominations in Romania, especially the Romanian Orthodox Church, have had a significant influence on the conceptions and mission of religious education. Informative and formative aspects define the purpose of religious education. The educational sense has cognitive, integrative value and concerns the “assimilation of a set of specific historical, biblical, dogmatic, moral, liturgical, social, cultural character, with a direct effect on the harmonious and fulfilled personality.” (Cucos 2016: 127). In the formative sense, religious education aims to cultivate the values of one’s religious group, the formation of healthy behaviours, the development of some respectful conduct and understanding of denominational or religious alterity. The ultimate goal of religious education is the acquisition of knowledge, to form the consciousness of religiosity, to form spiritual attitudes. Consequently, current school plans and programs are ethnocultural and mono-confessional. The new revisions of textbooks and school curricula also include values common to all confessions, respecting the principles of social cohesion, by understanding and respecting the diversity of denominational doctrines, denominational neutrality, and religious tolerance (Cucos 2014: 56–58). However, the social developments and changes that have occurred in recent years have highlighted new paradigms about the formative role of religious education. One of the objections is that religious education promotes a form of morality based on reward and punishment as an expression of divine justice (Pirau 2007: 72–74). In this sense, fear becomes more critical at the expense of love, and this can be a barrier to educational communication and a reversal of the values that a living religion should embody. Another observation comes from the sociology of religions and addresses the teaching objectives pursued by religious education and its social responsibility. In this context, the tasks of religious education become it becomes unattractive and prone to being abandoned by the education program if they more oriented towards the denominational interest of the Church and less to the immediate benefit of the individual’s social life. According to sociologists, such an orientation might conflict with contemporary society (Tanase 2016: 292–293). In

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these circumstances, it is advisable for the formative role of religious education to be harmonized with modern forms of behaviour and the pursuit of social performance goals (Tanase 2016: 299). Maybe it is precisely these goals, which make a clear delimitation between religious education and catechism. Through the proposed content and the adjoining didactic device, Religion class should entail not only the catechism of the young person but also the development of the social behaviours needed to integrate into the wider community. All these observations call for a critical reflection process on the part of religious education officials, in which they should try to identify as many values as possible, validated both socially and pedagogically or religiously.

6

Practice/reality of RE in different schools

The effectiveness and reception of religious education depending on several factors, among which are: a) the school network and the student homogeneity, b) the school leadership and the teaching staff (teachers/ homeroom teachers), c) the religion teacher and the students’ notation, d) the Religion textbooks.

6.1

The school network and the student homogeneity

The school network and student homogeneity are factors that have a decisive impact on religious education. The demographic and migratory movements in recent years have fundamentally influenced the school network. According to School Cartography analyses46 and data provided by the Romanian Agency for Quality Assurance in Pre-university Education (ARACIP)47, there are significant differences between the regions and counties of the country in Romania, especially between urban and rural areas. Thus, out of several 12,853 countryside education units, 40 % face school dropouts48. The situation means that the teacher has to gather students from different classes and teach students of different ages simultaneously. An example is the case of multi-religious villages, 46 School Cartography from the network of the Integrated Education Information System of Romania (SIIIR). Accessed on 03. 01. 2018: https://www.siiir.edu.ro/carto/#/statistici. 47 National report on quality in public pre-university education in rural areas, ARACIP, 2015, p. 35–38. https://www.edu.ro/sites/default/files/_fi%C8%99iere/studii%20si%20analize/201 6/aracip/RAPORTUL%20NATIONAL%20septembrie%202015.pdf. 48 Acc. the National Survey – Investment in Children’s Education in Rural Areas carries out by World Vision Romania Foundation and Vodafone Romania Foundation during February– July 2017, p. 39. http://fundatia-vodafone.ro/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Investitie-in-edu catia-copiilor-din-mediul-rural.pdf [last access 03. 01. 2018].

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such as those in Dobrogea or Transylvania, where the religious affiliations of students in the educational unit become one of the most teacher’s difficulties. The more homogeneous the students are, the easier it is to organize religious education in these rural schools. On the opposite end, there are urban schools, many of which are overcrowded, with an average of 35 to 40 students per teacher. The problem of crowded classrooms puts the school in the problematic position of trying to offer an alternative to students who do not participate in religious education classes, which is why they remain in the class, often affecting the quality of the educational activity. Being exonerated from any responsibility towards students who, while staying in class, do not attend the course of religion, the teacher has few tools available to impose discipline on them. It is one of the situations that trigger the conflict between the religion teacher and the students who have not opted for his class.

6.2

The school leadership and the teaching staff

The school leadership and the teaching staff (teachers/ homeroom teachers) are among the factors of influence that can accelerate or slow down the process of religious education. One case, in this context, could be the recommendations made to the parent or the student by the director, the teacher, or the homeroom teacher to attend or not to attend religion class. The change of the option for the Religion class is made by the end of December to prefigure the need for teachers in the next school year.49

6.3

The religion teacher and the students’ notation

The educational methods on evaluation, correlated with the students’ expectations or needs, could determine the decision for or against participation in Religion class. In this sense, the Religion teacher draws in students through his or her personality and prestige. In most situations, the grades or high marks notation received in Religion is an incentive for the choice, or not of religious education. As we stated at the beginning of this study, participation in religion class is optional and depends on whether, at the beginning of the year, the student chose to attend religion or refused. The grade received in Religion and the average at the end of the year can influence the general standard of the profile of the student 49 Acc. Art. 3, par. 5 of Methodology of organizing the teaching of the Religion subject.

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who wants to go from the education of the second degree of the high school. Therefore, if the student has a low grade in religion, he is no longer interested in attending religion classes because he risks having a general average inadequate to choose an elite high school or not. In this situation, the student most often refuses to participate in the religion hour so that he does not take any risk of average or low grade. It is important to emphasize that for the secondary level, the average of the study years, at the rate of 20 %, is a high school admission criterion,50 which makes it possible for the Religion grade to help or move any mathematical calculation regarding the student’s school career profile in a beneficial direction. Therefore, it is often the recommendation of Religion Inspectors that the grading of students for religious education to be generous and encouraging. The evaluation and classification of the students are exceptionally subjective, especially when the religion teacher is obliged to maintain the teaching position because it has a minimum number of students enrolled in classes.

6.4

Religion manuals

Another reality of religious education is related to readers. Although through the National Education Law 1/2011, the State provides necessary funding for all preschoolers and all students in the accredited state, private and denominational schools.51 In reality, things are different. For Religion class, the Ministry of National Education only finances the textbooks for primary school. Parents bear the expenses for religious readers for both secondary and high school, at least in the situation of students attending Orthodox Religion classes. For some religious minorities, where there is a smaller number of students, the faith community offers free religious textbooks. In this context, religion teachers find themselves in a difficult situation for an optional subject and many public appeals. Most teachers choose to teach without a manual, or they buy teaching materials using their private funds. There are also cases in which parishes donate the religion textbooks, according to their means.

50 See the Algorithm of distribution in high schools edited on the portal of the Ministry of National Education: www.edu.ro. 51 Art. 9, par. 2 and 3 of LEN no. 1/2011.

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Observations on alternative subject areas like ethics, philosophy, etc.

There are no study alternatives in Romania for those who refuse to attend Religion. Students of a class who do not opt for Religion may remain as audiences in class without being evaluated. But if they do not want to attend Religion classes, the alternatives to attending another class or educational activity are almost nonexistent. There are few, and there is no other optional course for 2–3 students in a class. Of course, educational establishments have the opportunity to establish the activities of those who do not attend the Religion class through classroom rulebooks, but the problem of the current school infrastructure and the financial difficulties of the public education system, at least for the time being, make it difficult to set up alternative courses. Over the years several alternative classes have been proposed for those students who do not want to attend religious education classes. The following courses are among the proposals: History of Religions, History of Culture or Arts, Ethics, or Civic Culture52. However, theologians and experts in education sciences have drawn attention to the fact that understanding the history of religions implies the existence of knowledge on universal history, philosophy, literature, psychology or cultural anthropology, which would require a comparative and trans-disciplinary effort of high level, which could prove confusing for a child of 8, 10 or even 14 years old (Cretu 2009, 15–17). An independent deputy, Remus Cernea, initiated a bill in 2014 proposing the removal and replacement of religious education with “Ethics and Civic Culture.” The purpose of the new discipline was to cultivate the critical spirit, rationality and empathy, and the curriculum consists mainly of the presentation of the central doctrines and moral values of philosophical, scientific, or religious inspiration of humanity and, last but not least, of elements of civic culture.53 The Chamber of Deputies approved tacitly, that is, without a parliamentary debate, on November 19, 2014, the legislative proposal of the discipline “Ethics and civic culture.” But, in the next stage, the Romanian Parliament definitively rejects it after a significant debate of the draft law in the Senate Education Committee, the draft law obtaining a negative vote in the Senate. 52 Many of these initiatives belonged to the independent deputy Remus Cernea (deputy USL 2012–2016), which he took from the recommendations of opinion formers such as Professor Marian Stas¸, Alexandra Anton, Gabrel Liiceanu, or those from the Humanist Secular Association of Romania (ASUR) and the ProEuropa League Association. 53 Explanatory Memorandum to the Legislative Proposal for the Amendment of Article 18 of the National Education Law no. 1/2011, Pl-x no. 353/2014. http://www.cdep.ro/proiecte/2014/ 300/50/3/em552.pdf.

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Dealing with religious diversity

Religious diversity in Romania is shaped by the functional existence of religious pluralism and by respect for the rights of ethnic minorities. The most critical regions characterized by a high degree of ethnic diversity are Transylvania, Banat, Bucovina, and Dobrogea54. Romania’s constitution but also other laws guarantee the preservation and promotion of the cultural, linguistic, or religious identity of each civic community on the territory of the country. In this respect, the specific subjects of study (ethnic language and literature, history, etc.), together with Religion, are taught in the mother tongue to students belonging to national minorities.55 A reference framework for the cultivation of religious diversity is the school curriculum56. As part of spiritual formation each religious group provides knowledge about other faiths as stipulated by the curriculum school, thus contributing to overcoming all forms of discrimination or prejudice. The Consultative Council of Denominations has repeatedly supported the elements of religious diversity in the learning activities associated with specific competences in the debate on the support of religious education in public education. In this respect, the most significant cooperative actions of the religious groups related to the civic campaign named: “Nu vrem liceu fa˘ra˘ Dumnezeu” (No high school without God), of 2008, or the urge titled “Lumina˘ pentru viat,a˘. Important¸a orei de Religie pentru educat¸ia copiilor ¸si tinerilor” (Light for life. The Importance of Religion class for the Education of Children and Youth), of February 28, 2015. The Consultative Council of Denominations57 in Romania is an ethical, social, autonomous, apolitical, non-governmental organization without legal personality and without a profit motive that formed on April 14, 2011. The purpose of the organization is to prevent conflicts between different religions or denominations in Romania, in the pluralistic context. This council includes the religious groups legally recognized by the Romanian State, such as The Romanian Orthodox Church, The Serbian Orthodox Diocese of Timisoara, The Romanian 54 There are 18 ethnic minorities officially recognized in Romania: Hungarians, Roma, Germans, Ukrainians, Lipovans-Russians, Jews, Turks, Tatars, Armenians, Bulgarians, Serbs, Croats, Slovaks, Czechs, Poles, Greeks, Albanians, Italians. 55 https://www.edu.ro/invatamant-minoritati-nationale. 56 According to art. 1 of OMECT no. 1529/2007 – On developing the issue of diversity in the national curriculum; http://www.legex.ro/Ordin-1529-2007-81860.aspx (2018). 57 Once again we highlight that it should be noted that the legal terminology in Romania uses the term: Religious Cult (Cult religios in Romanian), equivalent to the expression of Religious Denomination, to define with a legal, neutral significance, an administrative and juridical structured religious identity, recognized by the Romanian State through law. Often, the term Cult will be used to identify a denomination recognized by the State. The term Cult does not have a negative etymological significance in the Romanian language, as it is in English.

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Church United with Rome, Greek Catholic, The Archbishopric of the Armenian Church, The Russian Orthodox Old-Rite Church in Romania, The Unitarian Church of Transylvania, The Pentecostal Christian Denomination – The Apostolic Church of God in Romania, The Conferences Union of the Seventh-Day Christian Adventist Church, The Federation of Jewish Communities in Romania – The Judaism denomination, Islam – the Muslim denomination, The Baptist Church – The Union of Christian Baptist Churches in Romania and The Christian Church according to the Gospel in Romania – The Union of Christian Churches according to the Gospel in Romania.58 The elements of religious diversity and special education programs were also carried out by the Ecumenical Association of Churches in Romania (AIDROM). The association supports educational classes for training in areas such as human rights or conflict mediation.59

9

Religion in school outside of RE

Public education in Romania is structured legally based on principles and values that guarantee access to learning without any form of discrimination, enable expression of freedom of thought and independence from any ideology or religious dogma. The law of national education also prohibits any form of religious proselytism or any activity that violates the norms of moral conduct and social cohabitation.60 All these principles of contemporary teaching are in line with the constitution of the country and with the international treaties to which Romania is a party. Against the legal framework outlined above, the presence of various forms of religiosity in public schools, not directly related to the teaching of Religion in school, can be observed. We refer first to the fact that throughout the history of the country, the Orthodox religion remained closely linked to the cultural identity and Romanian spirituality can be found everywhere, from spirituality to arts, literature, and ancient architecture. Religious symbols considered an intrinsic part of history, culture, and national identity, but without giving up their spiritual significance. Thus, we often encounter religious symbols in classrooms, such as crosses or painted icons. They are perceived primarily as objects of art and 58 The initiative to create the Consultative Council of Cults in Romania belonged to the Romanian Orthodox Church. The invitation was launched by Patriarch Daniel and was made public by the speech “The Religious Dimension of Intercultural Dialogue” – given during the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, of April 12, 2011. 59 Activity report : http://www.aidrom.ro/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Raport-activitate-20122013.pdf. 60 Art. 3 and art. 7 of National Education Law 1/2011.

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spirituality in Romania. The principals of the schools established in some schools where the financial power of the majority religious community was favourable, spiritual laboratories, or chapels where religious rituals are held at the beginning of the school year or during religious holidays. Thus underline the Christian religious affiliation of the majority population in Romania. The presence of religious rituals in public schools has been the subject of intense debate over the past ten years. The secular-humanist associations are worried that the religious feelings of students belonging to non-Orthodox religious groups are being hurt, putting the denominational diversity within the educational institutions in a negative light. They were also worried about religious proselytizing.61 All these sacred rituals, along with other educational-instructive activities of a religious character have been framed by the education experts in the “hidden curriculum” (hidden curriculum – Horga 2007, 95–98), as they carry values that relate to the doctrinal content of religion in which most of the teachers and students are involved. These practices reflect the desire of the majority, and the school, as a representative institution of the community, naturally takes on its characteristic features, including religious ones. (Cuciureanu and Velea 2008, 92–94). In support of the presence of religious symbols in public schools, representatives of the religious education of the Orthodox Church invoked the judgment no. 30814/06, issued by the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg on 18 March 2011, by which the Grand Chamber decided by a majority that: “the mere presence of religious symbols of the majority religion in public schools does not violate the right of parents to educate their children according to their convictions, nor does it constitute indoctrination.”62 Another feature of the presence of religion in public schools can be represented by religious holidays for Orthodox Christians, which, according to the legislation in force, have become free days.63

61 See the actions of the ProEuropa League Association, Norms and practices in religious education in public schools: http://www.proeuropa.ro/norme_si_practici3.html. 62 Grande chambre affaire lautsi et autres c. Italie (Requête no 30814/06), Strasbourg, 18 mars 2011: https://www.humanrights.ch/upload/pdf/110411_lautsi_et_autres_c_italie.pdf; The release of the Romanian Patriarchate – The presence of religious symbols in public schools is legitimate, of March 19, 2011: http://www.basilica.ro/ro/stiri/prezenta_simbolurilor_religio ase_in_scolile_publice_este_legitima_5365.html. 63 According to art. 139, par. 1 of Law 53/2003 (Labor Code) among the public holidays are included: the first and second day of Easter, the first and second day of Pentecost, the Assumption of the Virgin (August 15), St. Apostle Andrew (November 30) and the first and second day of Christmas and two days for each of the three annual religious holidays, so declared by the legal religious cult, others than the Christian ones, for persons belonging to them.

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Training of teachers of RE: institutes, structures, priorities issues

Many practical and logistical difficulties were encountered in the early 1990s by reintroducing religious education and symbols to school. Thus, the lack of guidance teachers, pedagogy, and teaching specialists who teach Religion and the absence of classrooms or teaching materials constituted significant obstacles to the education of Religion in public schools. The Orthodox Church decided that priests should also teach Religion classes in public schools to cover the need for teachers. The students of the Faculty of Theology also began to teach in public schools as substitutes. In many cases, the participation of priests in the educational process was experienced as an additional burden, which added at least 8 hours of teaching per week to clerical duties, even in small villages. In the large parishes, which included several schools, the didactic task became considerably more challenging (Stan & Turcescu 2005: 385). Thus, in the ’90s and ’91 s, the share of Orthodox priests involved in the provision of religious education in schools in Romania was remarkable. For example, in the Lower Danube Diocese, Galati, and Braila counties, all 289 priests of the diocese taught Religion in State schools from 1990 to 1991(Toma 2016). Other Religious groups failed to cover the needs of teachers for all the schools where the number of members was significant, and they encouraged students to attend religious classes taught by the majority religion, most often the Orthodox Church. There have also been situations in which the school principals, themselves being of Orthodox confession, have only encouraged the teaching of the Orthodox majority religion at the expense of other faiths (Stan & Turcescu 2005: 385). Starting with the academic year 1990/1991, the Faculty of Theology of Bucharest established the specialization in Didactic Theology (Theology Letters), to instruct religious teachers for pre-university education. At the Faculty of Orthodox Theology “Justinian the Patriarch”, a faculty that is part of the University of Bucharest, there were double specializations until 2005: Didactic Orthodox Theology – Classical Languages; Orthodox Theology – Romanian Language and Literature; Didactic Orthodox Theology – English Language and Literature or French Language and Literature (Necula 2003: 749). The double specializations in Didactic Theology have been abandoned, starting with the academic year 2005–2006 as a consequence of the implementation of the Bologna system. The duration of the studies is three years, the student attending standard classes for the clerical staff (ex. Fundamental Theology, History of the Universal Church, History of the Romanian Orthodox Church, Ascetic and Mystic, Patrology, Old and New Testament Study, Missiology and Ecumenism, History of Religion, Christian Moral, Dogmatic The-

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ology, Church Law, Catechetic, etc.), but also disciplines specific to the teaching profession (ex. Classroom Management, Computer Assisted Training, Pedagogy, Psychology of Education, Didactics of Religion, etc.64). In 2018, in the list of university theological units of the Romanian Orthodox Church, there were 8 Faculties and Departments of theology that offered the Specialization” Didactic Theology.”65 The Faculty of Orthodox Theology in Cluj pointed out that “by finishing this specialization, the graduate can make a curricular design, by respecting the truths of faith, following the sacred texts and the confessions of his/her faith, but also with the psycho-pedagogical criteria and principles.”66 The Roman Catholic Church establishes “The Faculty of Romano-Catholic Theology of the Roman Catholic Episcopate of Iasi” in 1991using the same path assumed by the Orthodox Church.67 Similarly, the Baptist Church opened the Faculty of Baptist Theology in 1991, with two specializations: Didactic Baptist Theology and Social Baptist Theology,68 etc.

11

Empirical research concerning religious education in schools

The number of empirical studies on religious education in Romanian schools is low. Many studies in the sphere of the sociology of religion or religious studies analyse the subject of religious education tangentially without, however, carefully observing how it influences the transfer of some specific sets of values or their transformation into social behaviour. In the social and religious context of the country, the main actor in the Romanian religious education scene is the Romanian Orthodox Church. Their 64 According to the Public Schedule at the “Justinian Patriarch” Faculty of Orthodox Theology of the University of Bucharest, the Department of Didactic Theology (consulted on 20. 02. 2018). 65 See “The list of the university theological education units of the Romanian Patriarchate”. Source: http://patriarhia.ro/lista-unitatilor-de-invatamant-teologic-universitar-541.html [last access 11. 02.2018]. 66 The presentation of the Department of Didactic Theology of the Faculty of Orthodox Theology; “Babes¸-Bolyai” University in Cluj-Napoca. Objectives declared: “the educational programs proposed by the Specialization Didactic Orthodox Theology have as a general objective the development, in attitude and manifestation, of the catechetical-educative and the liturgical-confessional dimension within the theological component”. Source: http://ot.ubbcluj. ro/programe/licenta/ [last access 12. 12.2017]. 67 The presentation of the Romano-Catholic Theology Faculty on the official site of Alexandru Ioan Cuza University in Iasi. Source: http://www.uaic.ro/studii/facultati-2/facultatea-deteologie-romano-catolica/ [last access 12. 12. 2017]. 68 The presentation of the Faculty of Baptist Theology on the official website of the University of Bucharest. Source: http://www.unibuc.ro/studii/facultati/facultatea-de-teologie-baptista/ [last access 12. 12.2017].

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specialists coordinated most of the studies on religion and interpreted them in a denominational framework. We mention some of them in chronological order: Vasile TIMIS,, Religia în s,coala˘. Valent,e eclesiale, educat,ionale s,i sociale, Presa Universitara˘ Clujeana˘, Cluj-Napoca, 2004. Bocos, MUS,ATA, Dorin OPRIS,, Monica OPRIS¸, Cercetarea în domeniul educat,iei religioase s,i al educat,iei morale. Modele s,i aplicat,ii, Ed. Presa Univ. Cluj-Napoca, 2006. Monica CUCIUREANU, Simona VELEA, Educat,ia moral-religioasa˘ în sistemul de educat,ie din România, Institutul de S,tiint,e ale Educat,iei – Laboratorul Teoria Educat,iei, Bucures,ti, 2008. Irina HORGA, “Educat¸ia religioasa˘ în ¸scoala româneasca˘. Rezultatele unei cerceta˘ri”, in: Dorin OPRIS¸, Coordonate ale cerceta˘rii pedagogice în domeniul educat¸iei religioase, Ed. Reîntregirea, Alba Iulia, 2009. Dorin OPRIS¸ (coord.), Coordonate ale cerceta˘rii pedagogice în domeniul educat,iei religioase, Editura Reîntregirea, Alba Iulia, 2009. Dorin OPRIS¸ (coord.), Educat¸ia religioasa˘ în dialog cu societatea. Cerceta˘ri pedagogice, psihologice ¸si istorice, Editura Reîntregirea, Alba Iulia, 2010. Monica OPRIS¸, Metodologia evalua˘rii. Aspecte teoretice s,i investigative în educat,ia religioasa˘, Editura Sfântul Mina, Ias,i, 2010. Dorin OPRIS¸, Monica OPRIS¸ (coord.), Religia ¸si ¸scoala. Cerceta˘ri pedagogice, studii, analize, Ed. Didactica˘ ¸si Pedagogica˘, Bucures¸ti, 2011.

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Challenges for religious education in a European context

The prohibition of religious education in schools in Romania during the Communist period has left its mark on religious education in public schools. The lack of teachers, school programs, or teaching materials represented fundamental difficulties for the shaping of a high-quality educational system. The establishment of the Departments of Didactic Theology within the Faculty of Theology was a response to the acute need for staff, and the development of a continuous training and education system has positively influenced the training of specialists and the publication of updated teaching materials. However, the social changes caused by mass emigration, the diminishing of national religiosity correlated with the deterioration of trust in the Church, and the accentuation of the secularization process are parameters that force the Religious Denominations to reevaluate the curriculum of the religious education. Romania’s admission to the European Union – and implicitly to European values specific to social modernity – confronts denominational religious education with new challenges. The public debates on proposals to introduce sex education in schools or Religious groups’ attitudes towards same-gender mar-

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riage, are important topics for Romanian society. The decision-makers on religious education are required to respond to all these challenges. We believe that comparative academic studies for the entire European space can highlight the degree of availability of contemporary societies for their acceptance or rejection.

13

Further information

13.1

Publications

– The magazine “Chemarea Credint¸ei” (Call of Faith) is a publication of the Romanian Patriarchate, which appears every two months. The magazine is addressed to young people and children, but also Christian families. The magazine includes a significant series of educational materials and children’s games.69 – The magazine “Educatio” is a publication of the Orthodox Metropolitan Church of Oltenia addressing religion teachers or people interested in religious, academic, and systematic education (focusing on the role of religious education, educational management, and brainstorming), interreligious dialogue, religious poetry.70 – The magazine “Diaconia” edited by the Association of Religious Teachers “Sf. Parascheva” from Bacau. The magazine appears electronically every two months and promotes the educational activities of the Orthodox religion teachers in Baca˘u County.71 – The magazine Cuvânt Catehetic (Catechetic word), is a weekly electronic publication, catechising the Orthodox Archdiocese of Iasi, with studies for the religious education of young people,72 – The magazine “Lumea Credint,ei” (World of Faith) is a spiritual publication of the Orthodox laity that has been uninterrupted since August 2003. The initiator of the magazine and the entire publishing project, Razvan Bucuroiu, is a respected man of the press, a Christian journalist, and a distinguished specialist in the dynamics of the religious life in Romania. The magazine includes reports, interviews, documentaries, practical information on the Orthodox Christian faith. Since 2005, the magazine has as a supplement “Lumea Cre-

69 70 71 72

http://patriarhia.ro/chemarea-credinei-2014-5367.html. http://ziarullumina.ro/educatio-o-noua-revista-craioveana-22352.html. https://asociatiaprofesorilordereligiebacau.files.wordpress.com/2015/11/diaconia-11.pdf. https://poienita.mmb.ro/26567-cuvant-catehetic.

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dintei pentru Copii” (World of Faith for Children), a magazine understandable to children and adults.73 The magazine Orthodoxia pentru copii, pa˘rint,i s,i profesori (Orthodoxy for Children, Parents, and Teachers) is published by the Orthodox Metropolitan Church of Basarabia in Chisinau since 2002, and it is published every four months in electronic format. The magazine also has a supplement Micul pelerin (The Little Pilgrim).74 The magazine “Credint,a noastra˘, viat,a noastra˘” (Our Faith, our Life) is an online Greek-Catholic publication. The magazine launched in 2006 and it appears every two months.75 The magazine “Actualitatea cres¸tina˘” (The Christian News) is the official publication of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bucharest. The magazine appeared in 1990, monthly, with 12 numbers and one supplement.76 The magazine Pro Memoria is a publication of the ecclesiastical history of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese in Bucharest. The magazine includes studies, articles, and teaching portfolio (religious education); the magazine appears quarterly in Romanian.77 The magazine Crestinul Azi (The Christian Today) is the official publication of the Union of Christian Baptist Churches in Romania.78 The magazine appears six times a year (once every two months) and includes various denominational materials as well as recommendations on the religious, educational act. The magazine Adevarul Cres,tin (The Christian Truth) is the official publication of the Evangelical Church in Romania. The magazine appears quarterly and proposes materials with the evangelical substrate, and biblical study. Jurnalul Pleroma (Pleroma Journal) is the bi-annual periodical of the Pentecostal Theological Institute in Bucharest, established in 1999. The magazine disseminates studies on religious education.79 The magazine Annisaa is a Muslim-based publication that appears monthly in Romanian since March 2010.80 The magazine contains Islamic theology, spirituality, and teaching materials for religious education in schools.

73 Also, the magazine Lumea Credint,ei (World of Faith) has as supplements Lumea Monahilor (Monks World), Atasul lumii cres,tine (Atlas of the Christian World), Sfint,ii ortodoxiei (Saints of Orthodoxy) and Leacuri s,i ret,ete ma˘na˘stires,ti (Monastery Cures and Recipes). http://www. lumeacredintei.com/. 74 https://copilortodox.wordpress.com/ortodoxia-pentru-copii/. 75 http://www.credinta-noastra.cnet.ro/. 76 https://issuu.com/revista_ac. 77 http://arcb.ro/website/presa/instrumente-de-comunicare-sociala/reviste/. 78 http://revistacrestinulazi.ro/. 79 http://www.itpbucuresti.ro/jurnalul-pleroma/. 80 http://www.annisaa.ro/lista-revistelor/.

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Specialty literature81

S,erbu, S., Opris,, M. & Opris,, D. 2000. Metodica preda˘rii Religiei, Alba Iulia: Editura Reîntregirea. Horga, I. 2006. Educat,ia religioasa˘ în s,coala˘ – aborda˘ri s,i tendint,e europene, în Ministerul Culturii s,i Cultelor, Secretariatul de Stat pentru Culte, Înva˘t,a˘mântul religios din România. Sibiu: Editura Tehno Media. Timis,, V. 2004. Religia în s,coala˘. Valent,e eclesiale, educat,ionale s,i sociale. Cluj-Napoca: Presa Universitara˘ Clujeana˘. Constantin Cucos,, C. 2009. Educat,ia religioasa˘. Repere teoretice s,i metodice. Ias,i: Edit. Polirom. Sára, B. & Fekete, K. 1998. Katekétikai és valláspedagógiai szöveggyüjtemény (Culegere de texte catehetice ¸si de pedagogia religiei). Debrecen. Adam G. & Lachmann R. 2002. “Methodisches Kompendium für den Religionsunterricht”, Bd. 1+2. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.

13.3

Websites

Religious digital textbooks for all cults https://www.manuale.edu.ro/ [last access 30. 03. 2020]. http://www.credinta-catolica.ro/manual-rc-sacramente/ [last access 30. 03. 2020].

Didactic projects https://www.didactic.ro [last access 30. 03. 2020]. http://mirelasova.over-blog.com/page-645992.html [last access 30. 03. 2020].

13.4

Educational resources, auxiliaries, games, lessons, planning for religion classes

http://hristosimpartasitcopiilor.blogspot.ro/ [last access 30. 03. 2020]. http://www.orthodoxabc.com/ro/ [last access 30. 03. 2020]. http://www.editurasfmina.ro/produse/172-Materiale-didactice/174-Auxiliare-pentruelevi/ [last access 30. 03. 2020]. https://www.crestinortodox.ro/credinta-pentru-copii/jocuri/ [last access 30. 03. 2020]. http://www.sinaxar.ro/jocuri/jocuri-educative-moral-religioase.html [last access 30. 03. 2020]. https://oradereligie.wordpress.com/ [last access 30. 03. 2020]. 81 The present literature is a part of the bibliography of the programs for the titles of teachers of “Religion”.

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http://stii.cateheza.ro/ghicire-cuvinte/citate-biblice-1/ [last access 30. 03. 2020]. http://www.deiverbum.ro/audio/frasinei/ [last access 30. 03. 2020]. http://games.goarch.org/about.html [last access 30. 03. 2020]. https://viatalatara.wordpress.com/celor-mici/ [last access 30. 03. 2020]. http://pestisoruldeaur-antimis.blogspot.ro/ [last access 30. 03. 2020].

13.5

Catechetic teachings

http://www.cateheza.ro/ [last access 30. 03. 2020]. http://stii.cateheza.ro/ [last access 30. 03. 2020]. https://ortodoxiatinerilor.ro/catehism/ [last access 30. 03. 2020]. http://www.deiverbum.ro/ [last access 30. 03. 2020]. http://www.sfinticatolici.ro/ [last access 30. 03. 2020].

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Iorga, N. 1908. Istoria Bisericii românesti si a vietii religioase a românilor, Vol. I, Tipografia “Neamul Românesc”, Va˘lenii de Munte. Leus¸tean, L.N. 2009. Orthodoxy, and the Cold War. Religion and Political Power in Romania, 1947–1965. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Lungoci, S. 2012. Proiectul catehetic ‘Alege S¸coala!’. Interferent¸e cu proiectul “Hristos împa˘rta˘¸sit copiilor”, in Altarul Banatului, Nr. 7–9. Timis,oara. http://altarul-banatului.ro/? page_id=445 [last access 31. 03. 2020]. Mircea, A. 2011. Educat,ia moral-religioasa˘ în România. Rezultatele unei cerceta˘ri nat,ionale, in Religia s,i S,coala. Cerceta˘ri pedagogice, studii, analize, coord. D. Opris, & M. Opris,, Editura Didactica˘ s,i Pedagogica˘. Bucures,ti : R: A. Necula N.D. 2003. Dare de seama˘ – Raport privind activitatea conducerii Faculta˘t,ii de Teologie Ortodoxa˘ ‘Patriarhul Justinian’ a Universita˘t,ii din Bucures¸ti în perioada 1 aprilie 2000–30 ianuarie 2004, in Anuarul Faculta˘t,ii de Teologie “Ptriarhul Justinian”. Editura Universita˘¸tii din Bucures¸ti. Negrut¸i, S. 2014. The Evolution of the Religious Structure in Romania since 1859 to the Present Day, in Revista Româna˘ de Statistica˘, Supplement Nr. 6 / 2014. Negulescu, A. 2011. Curs de Formare continua˘ pentru profesorii de religie bra˘ileni în Ca˘la˘uza˘ Ortodoxa˘, An XX, Nr. 266, Ianuarie 2011. Opris,, M. 2009. Religie ¸si evaluare, in Altarul Reîntregirii, serie noua˘, XIV, nr. 2, Mai-August, 2009. Opris,, M. 2011, Religie, morala˘, educat,ie. Perspective teologice s,i pedagogice. Bucures,ti: Ed. Basilica. Pira˘u, M. 2007. Educat,ia religioasa˘ pentru mileniul trei, in Buletin S,tiint,ific, Seria A, Fascicula Pedagogie-Psihologie – Metodica˘, vol. 17. Baia-Mare. Schifirnet¸, C. 2013. Orthodoxy, Church, State, and National Identity in the Context of Tendential Modernity, in Journal for the Study of Religions and Ideologies, vol. 12, issue 34 (Spring 2013). Secretariatul de Stat pentru Culte. 2014. Statul ¸si cultele religioase. Bucures¸ti: Edit. Litera. Soros¸tineanu, V., Înva˘¸ta˘toarele de la ¸scoala confesionala˘ ortodoxa˘ a Arhiepiscopiei Sibiului între acceptare ¸si necessitate, in Astra Sabesiensis nr.1/2015, Ed. Argonaut, Asociat¸iunea pentru Literatura ¸si Cultura poporului român, Despa˘rt¸a˘mântul “Vasile Moga” Sebes¸. Stan, L. & Turcescu, L. (2005). Religious education in Romania, in Communist and PostCommunist Studies, 38 (2005). Ta˘nase, L.D. 2016. Educat,ia religioasa˘ s,i responsabilitate sociala˘. Comportamente s,i tendint,e contemporane, in I. Vicovan, P.C. & E.-P. Hârla˘oanu (eds.), Teologie s,i Pedagogie. Identitate specifica˘ s,i responsabilitate comuna˘ în actul educat,iei. Ias,i: Editura Doxologia. Ta˘vala˘, E. 2015. Religionsunterricht im Kontext von Säkularisierung – Der Fall Rumänien. Stockholm: Ed. Felicitas. Timis¸, V. 2014. Religia în ¸scoala˘. Valent¸e ecleziale, educat¸ionale ¸si sociale, Cluj-Napoca: Ed. Presa Universitara˘ Clujeana˘. Toma, C. 2016. “Pepiniera duna˘reana˘” de profesori de religie ¸si de asistent¸i sociali’, in Ca˘la˘uza˘ Ortodoxa˘, An XXVI, Nr. 334, Septembrie 2016. Turcescu, L. & Stan, L. 2015. Church Collaboration and Resistance under Communism Revisited: The Case of Patriarch Justinian Marina (1948–1977), in Eurostudia, Vol. 10, Nr. 1(2015).

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Velea, S., Ca˘pit¸a˘, L., Tes,ileanu, A. & Stoica, E. 2013. Educat,ie pentru ceta˘t,enie democratica˘ s,i drepturile omului în România. Bucures,ti: Editura Universitara˘. Voicu, M. & Constantin, A. 2012. Religious Revival in Romania: Between Cohort Replacement and Contextual Changes, in G. Pickel & K. Sammet (eds.), Transformations of Religiosity. Wiesbaden: Springer. Zamfir, C. (coord.) 2017. Raport social al ICCV 2017. Starea sociala˘ a României Calitatea viet,ii: situat,ia actuala˘ s,i perspective pentru 2038. Institutul de Cercetare a Calita˘¸tii Viet¸ii-Academia Româna˘, Bucures¸ti. Zamfir, C. (coord.) 2001., Situat¸ia sa˘ra˘ciei în România: cauzele sa˘ra˘ciei, evaluarea politicilor anti-sa˘ra˘cie, direct¸ii de act¸iune pentru combaterea sa˘ra˘ciei, Institutul de Cercetare a Calita˘¸tii Viet¸ii-Academia Româna˘, Bucures¸ti, Iunie 2001.

Zorica Kuburic´

Religious Education at Schools in Serbia

Introduction Serbia is officially a secular state that guarantees freedom of worship to its citizens and prohibits any form of religious discrimination. In the 1990ies the Serbian government started moving away from its previous Atheist bias and adopted a more tolerant attitude towards religion. Since this time disparate religious communities have faced the challenge of having to remain tolerant of one another. Religious communities are divided into traditional and confessional groups. The seven traditional communities – the Serbian Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church, Jewish communities, Islamic communities, the Slovak Evangelical Church, the Evangelical Christian Church and the Reformed Church – did not need to reregister, and they were given the right to organize religious education in public schools. All other religious communities formed the confessional group with some religious communities deciding not to register because they viewed the law as discriminatory (Kuburic´ 2014c: 13–140). In 1991, after the breakup of Yugoslavia, Croatia was the first country that introduced Catholic religious education. Then, in 2001, Serbia introduced optional religious education covering the seven traditional religious communities. Confessional religious education was introduced in the Serbian public schools as a multidenominational and optional subject by a governmental regulation published on July 27, 2001. In the autumn of 2001, Religious Education was reintroduced into schools for the first time after in almost half a century. Civic Education was introduced, for the first time, as an alternative subject to Religious Education. Organization and realization of religious instruction is supervised by a committee consisting of one representative of traditional churches and religious communities and three representatives of the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Religious Affairs. The Government of the Republic of Serbia set up the committee (Kuburic´ & Moe, 2006).

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1

Socio-religious background

1.1

General information

Three main religious traditions are present today in Serbia: the Serbian Orthodox Church (prevalent throughout the country); the Roman Catholic Church (concentrated in the northern regions) and Islam (concentrated in the southern regions). The religious complexity of the region is further enriched by the growing presence of Protestantism (Kuburic´ 2019). According to the latest information from the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia1, the estimated population in the Republic of Serbia in 2018 is 6 982 604. Viewed by gender, 51.3 % are women (3 580 898) and 48.7 % are men (3 401 706). The depopulation trend has continued, which means that the growth rate of the population, compared to the previous year, is negative and amounts to -5.5‰. Information of January 1st 2016, was that 7 076 372 people were living in Serbia. The 2011 Census of Population, Households and Dwellings in the Republic of Serbia was published in Book 4, Religion, mother tongue and ethnicity.2 According to the data we find that there were 7 186 862 inhabitants. The last time precise figures on religious affiliations in the country were surveyed was during the 2011 census. At that time, 91 % of the population considered themselves Christian. In terms of denominations85 % are Orthodox Christians (6 079 396). The second largest group are the Catholics with 5 % (356 957) and different Protestant denominations make up about 1 % of the population. 3 percent of the population are Muslims (222 828), Judaism makes up less than 0.1 % (578) and 6 percent fall into the category of other. For the first time, in the 2011 Census, being an Agnostic was an option. In Serbia we find that 4 010 said they are agnostics. Non-believers (atheists) are a very interesting case because this group had doubled in size since the last census (80 053), which means that now the percentage of atheists in the general population is 1 %. In the census from 2002 there were 40 068 (0.5 %) and before, in 1991, that number was 159 642 (2 % atheists in the general population). In the census of 1953 there were 890 031 atheists (13 % atheists in the general population). That was the period (1953) when religious education was removed from the public education system and when the systematic establishment of Atheism (i. e. scientific worldview) was introduced. According to the 2002 census in Serbia (which did not include either Kosovo and Metohija or Montenegro), 83 % of the inhabitants are of Serbian nationality. 1 https://www.stat.gov.rs/sr-latn/vesti/20190628-procenjen-broj-stanovnika-2018/?s=1801 [last access 12. 11. 2018]. 2 http://pod2.stat.gov.rs/ObjavljenePublikacije/Popis2011/Knjiga4_Veroispovest.pdf [last access 10.11. 2019].

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Nearly 85 % of the inhabitants declare themselves Orthodox Christians. Catholics, the second largest religious community in Serbia, make up 5.48 %. The percentage of Muslims in Serbia stands at 3.20 %. There is only a small percentage of Jews in Serbia (0.01 %). According to the census figures of 2002, the number of religious communities was roughly 68, half of them (34) Protestant, but these are small communities, and they make up just 2 % of the population. There are ten religious organizations of Oriental origin (0.01 %). Only 0.53 % of citizens declared themselves non-religious, with 1.83 % of unknown religious affiliation and 2.63 % who refused to declare their confession in accordance with the constitution’s Article 43. A specific characteristic of Serbian society has been a significant variation of attitude towards religion: from its utter rejection, to its acceptance and revival. These variations were not only the result of changes in the religious system, but also of educational and political transformations. Before the introduction of religious education, numerous lectures were held at schools on this topic. Religion also assumed a place in public life, the media and the educational system. Various studies conducted among the adult population and youth indicate that the revitalization of religion and religiosity resulted in a process of de-secularization (Blagojevic´, 2002: 45–50; Kuburic´ & Gavrilovic´ 2012: 201–214). Throughout Serbia’s tumultuous history, the Serbian Orthodox Church has been the backbone of the Serbian state and has served as a custodian of Serbian national identity. Though Orthodox Christianity has dominated Serbia since the 13th century, Islam was ascendant during the rule of the Ottoman Empire, which began in 1459 and lasted until 1878. Serb resistance to the rule of the Ottoman Turks and to the spread of Islam was sustained and informed to a large degree by their Orthodox faith. Serbs have also resisted the Roman Catholic influence of its influential neighbor. From 1918 to 2013 the Serbian region was politically transformed several times (Kuburic´ 2006: 307–312). The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes was established in 1918, and its successor, the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, existed from 1929 until its collapse in 1941. The socialist state of the Federal People’s Republic of Yugoslavia was formed in 1943 and was officially proclaimed with a constitution in 1946. This state was renamed the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1963 and existed until 1991. After that, newly formed Federal Republic of Yugoslavia which included the Republic of Serbia and the Republic of Montenegro. The new Yugoslavian state lasted from 1992 until 2003 and was torn throughout its existence. When Yugoslavia broke apart into six independent Republics, Serbia and Montenegro was one of them. Montenegro, in a referendum held on May 21, 2006, chose to become independent, and it formed its own government.

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Serbia bears three main religious traditions: Orthodox Christianity, prevalent throughout the country; Islam, concentrated in the southern regions; and Roman Catholicism, concentrated in the north. Following the introduction of Islam into the region during the Ottoman conquest in the 14th century, intense antagonism developed between Christians and Muslims, which has marked the country’s history, especially in the predominantly Muslim Kosovo region, in modern times. Since the beginning of the 20th century, population growth among Muslims has been high, while the Christian population has diminished, especially after World War II (1939–45). Between 1990 and 1995 separatist tendencies grew stronger, pushing Yugoslavia into a civil war. It is estimated that during the conflict nearly 800 Serbian Orthodox parishes, monasteries, churches, and chapels were damaged or destroyed. In addition, 300 mosques and other Islamic sacred buildings were destroyed or damaged in Kosovo. Kosovo is seen as a border region where two parallel societies, Islamic and Christian, exist, with frequent conflicts and parallel lives. Ever since the Battle of Kosovo of 1389 between Ottoman Turkish and Balkan Christian forces, there have been established ethnic and religious borders that are now also territorial (Kuburic´, 2019).

1.2

Developments

The Serbian Orthodox Church’s (Kuburic´ 2014a: 137–146; 2014b: 387–402) date of origin is 1219 CE. The approximate number of followers is 6.2 million. If we try to present a brief history of the church, we find the close cooperation between church and state, and in a particularly difficult political situation its dominant role in preserving national identity. Between the seventh and eighth centuries, following the influences of Rome and Constantinople, the area of Serbia converted from the Old Slavic religion to Christianity (Kuburic´, 2014c: 132–140). This conversion was accelerated by brothers Saint Cyril (c. 827–869 CE) and Saint Methodius (c. 825–884 CE), as well as their disciples, who translated Christian religious services from Greek into the Old Slavic language. During the early ninth century, Serbia was the border zone between the Byzantine and Roman spheres of influence. The Serbian Orthodox Church was established in 1219 when Saint Sava (c. 1176–1236 CE) was consecrated by Constantinople Patriarch at that time in Nicea, the first archbishop (1219–35). From that period until the Turkish conquest in 1389 and the collapse of Serbia in 1459, the Serbian Orthodox Church flourished within the Byzantine cultural circle, influencing every aspect of life and serving to uphold Serbian cultural and spiritual heritage. At the same time, an independent branch of the Serbian Orthodox Church existed in the Austrian Empire. Following Turkish rule in 1459, the Serbian patriarchy (head of the church) was abolished, though in

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1557 it was reestablished in Pec´, only to be abolished again in 1766 when the church came under the control of the patriarch of Constantinople. In 1879, after the creation of an independent Serbian state, an autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Serbian Orthodox Church was created in the kingdom of Serbia. The title of patriarch was renewed in 1920, uniting the church under one head (with residence in Belgrade) and embracing all Orthodox Christians in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes. Between World War I and World War II, the Serbian Orthodox Church was the state church until 1920. During World War II hundreds of thousands of Orthodox Serbs were killed in concentration camps. Among those imprisoned were Orthodox clergy, including Patriarch Gavrilo Dozˇic´. Following Allied and Soviet liberation in 1944, the country came under atheistic Communist rule, and efforts were made to uproot organized religion. Serbian Patriarch Pavle, the former bishop of Rasˇka and Prizren, was elected at the end of 1990 and presided over the Serbian Orthodox Church throughout the disintegration of Yugoslavia and during the civil war and its aftermath. When the new state of Serbia and Montenegro was created, Serbs accounted for a larger percentage of the population than Montenegrins. Montenegro, in the referendum held on May 21, 2006, decided to form an independent government. At the beginning of the 21st century, the Serbian Orthodox Church had 39 dioceses in Serbia and in the diaspora. Other Religions Within Serbia: Since the introduction of law concerning religious communities in 2006, seven traditional churches and religious communities and 17 confessional communities have been registered with the government, reflecting the influences of both Western and Eastern traditions. Having defeated the Serbian army on the Marica River in 1371, Turks increased their presence in Serbia. Serbia was defeated in the Battle of Kosovo in 1389 and at Smederevo in 1459, after which the country succumbed to Turkish occupation. During Turkish Ottoman rule a part of the Serbian Orthodox population converted to Islam. This conversion was, in principle, voluntary but not without various forms of pressure, as the Turks gave special privileges to Muslims. Between Serbia’s independence from the Turks in the 19th century and World War I, Islam was accepted in Serbia but held an inferior status to Orthodoxy. During the 20th century, social changes, ethnic divisions, and wars divided the religious communities. With the disintegration of Yugoslavia in the 1990s, these communities were divided further by the borders of the newly formed countries, including Serbia. The breakup of Yugoslavia contributed to a split within the Serbian Orthodox Church itself, causing tensions with Republic of North Macedonia (from 1967), Montenegro, and Kosovo and Metohija (Kuburic´ 2014a). In the early 21st century, the total number of Muslims in Serbia was estimated at more than 200,000. Though Christians and Muslims have lived side by side for centuries, their separation into distinct countries led to the creation of parallel

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and competing institutions. This was especially the case in Kosovo and Metohija, where the majority of the population is Albanian and where animosity led to war and a separation of the territory. The Islamic community in Serbia is divided into those who are more oriented toward Bosnia and Herzegovina, where Muslims are a majority, and those who are loyal to Belgrade and the state of Serbia (Kuburic´ 2010a). In the pre-Ottoman period there was significant correspondence between Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism. In the 12th century Stefan Nemanja, the founder of Serbia’s Nemanjic dynasty was baptized Roman Catholics. Until the time of Emperor Stephen Dusan (Dusan Silni; reigned 1331–55), Serbian rulers were crowned in Rome and maintained communication with the Vatican. Cultural relations flourished between Orthodox and Catholic denominations during this time, as both groups used the same Slavic liturgical language, as well as the Glagoljica and Cyrillic alphabets. Not until the fall of the Ottoman Empire did significant regional differences arise between Orthodox and Catholic churches in what later became Serbia. At the beginning of the 21st century, there were approximately 500,000 Roman Catholics in Serbia and about 65,000 Catholics in Kosovo, most of whom were Albanians. Catechization takes place at the church in the form of Sunday schools and sacraments. Protestant Christianity began to spread into the northern Serbian province of Vojvodina in the 1550s. Lutherans and Reformed Protestants were the first Protestant groups to appear as colonists in the late 18th century. They were organized among the ethnic Germans, Hungarians, and Slovaks and only occasionally gained ethnic Serbian members. The largest Protestant congregations in modern Serbia still include the Slovak Lutheran Evangelical Church, with 40,000 members, and the Reformed Church, whose 16,000 members are mostly of Hungarian, Slovakian, and, to a much lesser extent, German ancestry. Although Lutherans and the Reformed were the first Protestant groups in the area, the Christian Nazarene Community was the first Protestant organization to spread among the ethnic Serbian population. This congregation, however, began to decline in membership after World War I. The largest Protestant community in Serbia not organized according to ethnicity is the Seventhday Adventist Church, which first arrived in Vojvodina in 1890. It has built more than 200 churches, and by the early 21st century the Seventh-day Adventist Church reported 20,000 members. Adventists have strong missionary zeal. In Serbia, however, Adventists have been rejected as atheists because they do not observe Orthodox customs and because they have been associated with Jews, with whom they share a Saturday Sabbath and a prohibition against eating pork. Adventists have been the subject of the greatest religious persecution in Serbia (Kuburic´ 2014d).

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227

Religiosity in population of Serbia

Much research has been conducted on changes in religiosity. In 1999, the In´ iparizovic´ 2002: stitute for Sociological Research in Belgrade (Radisavljevic´-C 223) found that 26.6 % of respondents are convinced believers who believe everything their religion teaches, and 32.7 % of respondents are religious, but do not accept everything that their religion teaches. The undecided make up 14.5 %, the indifferent 6.8 %. Another 17.6 % are not religious, but have nothing against religion. Finally, those who do not believe and are against religion make up 1.4 %. This shows that the majority (one third) of respondents are believers who selectively accept religious teachings. Together with the convinced believers in Serbia, they make up 60 %. Other studies were conducted in detail concerning the accuracy of the census figures and number of members of particular religious communities (Kuburic´ 2005; 2009: 45–56). The study “Sociological aspects of multiculturalism and regionalization and their influence on the development of AP Vojvodina and the Republic of Serbia,” conducted on a sample size of 1,235 citizens of Vojvodina, divides the citizens of Vojvodina into two groups: religious and non-religious. In the first group, religiosity takes different forms, the dominant ones being the Orthodox confession with a critical relationship toward one’s church, and believing without accepting everything that the church teaches (22 %). Second in numbers are the “customary believers”, i. e. those who express their belief by keeping customs, rather than by following certain theological teachings. Of course, there are also more dogmatic believers who accept everything their religion teaches. Finally, a certain number of believers believe in God, without belonging to any particular church or confession. 18 % are non-believers, but keep religious traditions and customs of their national religion, more out of conformity than religiosity. The non-believers who accept the religious affiliation of others make up 11 %, those who are not interested in religion 3 %, and those who are opposed to all religion only 1 %. In short, 61 % of the respondents are religious. One third of respondents are not religious, but consider themselves tolerant toward those who are, and even join religious ceremonies, even though they do not attach any religious significance to them. Those who are not sure whether they are religious or not make up 6 %, while the percentage of those who are against all religions is almost insignificant – 1 % of the respondents (Kuburic´ & Stojkovic´ 2004: 321–342).

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

The status of religious communities in the former Yugoslavia was legally regulated by the Constitutions (1946, 1963 and 1974). Each of these Constitutions adopted the principle of separation of church and state. Religious belief was regarded as a private matter. The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, declared on April 27th1992, didn’t bring any substantial changes in the constitutional status of religious communities. Article 18 emphasized that the church is separate from the state and that churches are equal and free to conduct religious services and religious businesses. Freedom of religion was moved to the Chapter on Freedoms, Rights and Responsibilities of persons and citizens. Article 43 grants freedom of religion, public or private manifestation of religion and conducting religious services. This freedom also assumed that no one is obliged to declare their religious belief. Similar regulations are included in the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia, declared on September 18th 1990. Article 41 grants freedom of religion, which includes freedom of belief and manifestation of that belief as well as conducting religious services. Religious communities are separated from the state and free to conduct religious business. The State can, but is not obliged to, financially support religious communities (Kuburic´ 2010b: 119–136). The new Constitution adopted in 2006 also grants freedom of religion, i. e. equality of all citizens – freedom of thought, conscience, and religion. The year of 2006 is significant because of the Law on Churches and Religious Communities, too, as well as the Rulebook on the Content and Manner of Keeping the Register of Churches and Religious Communities. Milan Radulovic´ (2006: 62) writes that the Serbian Law on Churches and Religious Communities gives back the rights to the traditional churches and religious communities and it also makes possible for the confessional communities (as defined in Article 16) to acquire these rights. Everyone is offered broad freedom of choice in determining their legal status in society. Everyone is offered equality before the law. The website of the Ministry of Justice3 of the Republic of Serbia shares these documents and informs on its website public events within religious communities as well as religious education. The Law on Churches and Religious Communities4 Article 40 talk about religious education: “The right to religious instruction in public and private primary and secondary schools is guaranteed, in accordance with the law.” The 3 https://www.mpravde.gov.rs/tekst/834/crkve-i-verske-zajednice.php [last access 12. 11. 2019]. 4 http://www.pravno-informacioni-sistem.rs/SlGlasnikPortal/eli/rep/sgrs/skupstina/zakon/200 6/36/1/reg [last access 12. 10. 2013].

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return to religious education first occurred in practice (2001) and then came into law (2006). The Regulation of the Government of Republic of Serbia on Forming the Committee for Religious Education in Elementary and Secondary Schools, dating from 2004, allowed each traditional church and religious community to have one representative on this Committee. Therefore, the churches and religious communities have years of experience of cooperation in religious education. The session of the Committee on August 25, 2010 was significant because they made a request that religious education teachers be permanently employed, but this has not yet been realized.

3

Developments in the country’s education policy

Religious education was brought back into the public educational system in 2001 – at first as a mandatory, then as an elective subject – for seven traditional churches and religious communities (Orthodox catechism; Islamic religious education [Ilmud-din]; Catholic religious education; Evangelical-Lutheran religious education of the Slovak Evangelical Church; Religious education of the Reformed Christian Church; Christian Ethic of the Evangelical Christian Church; and Religious Education – Judaism) (Kuburic´ & Zukovic´, 2010). However, confessional communities are excluded from these commissions, because they are excluded from the right to organize religious education in the educational system in Serbia. Perhaps they would not be able to exercise that right due to a small number of children. However, this raises a question of the majority and minority in Serbia, since we are dealing with religious distance, among other things, as well as a question of the relations between the state and the church. An important question is also posed whether the religious education with its multi-confessional approach, would contribute to religious tolerance or to distancing and segregation of the society (Kuburic´, 2010b: 119–136).

4

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

The private schools and faith schools in Serbia in the period of Socialistic Federal Republic of Yugoslavia were separate from state and just in function of inner needs of religious communities. This means that it was forbidden for religious communities to have private schools that were open to the public.

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Students who graduated from a religious school, in order to prepare for work in the church, they could not continue their education at state schools because their diplomas were not recognized. In cases when certain religious communities had private high school or other schools, students had to take exams in public schools if they wanted to obtain a diploma of graduation, although they were established by the national plans and programs. After 1990 and the change of the political system which was based on an atheistic worldview and the one-party system, in Serbia was formed several private schools that had a general educational character, with a church as a founder. The Seventh-day Adventist Church founded a gymnasium in Novi Sad, with all rights for public work, and one gymnasium in Merusˇevac (1971–1991), which was treated only as a religious school. Also, it is important to mention that the State, through competition and open calls, allocates substantial grants for all religious schools and scholarships of individual pupils and students as well.

5

Conceptions and tasks of RE

In 2001/2002, Religious Education and Civic Education were introduced only for first grade students in the elementary and high schools (Kuburic´ & Vukomanovic´ 2005: 229–255). Their attendance was optional. In the following academic year, Religious Education and Civic Education were given the status of elective subjects at both levels of schooling, which implies the compulsory attendance of either of the two subjects once the selection is made. In 2002/2003 Religious Education and Civic Education were introduced for the first- and second-grade students of elementary and high schools. Today, if a student selects Religious Education, this means that this subject will be compulsory throughout his or her education. Religious Education is attended from the first to the fifth grades of elementary school and all grades in high school. Within the next three years, all students in elementary and high schools will have an opportunity to attend Religious Education. The program of Religious Education for the elementary schools in Serbia is designed for one hour of classes per week, or 36 hours annually. There is a tendency, however, to make it two hours per week, because otherwise the students tend to forget what they learned.5 Curricula and textbooks are proposed by the seven “traditional” religious communities. The tasks and contents of Religious Education are defined for each

5 This argument is put forth by Sandra Dabic´, secretary of the Council for Religious Education of the Belgrade-Karlovac Serbian Orthodox Metropolitan.

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of these seven churches and religious communities. Since 2005/2006 this opportunity has been given to the Romanian Orthodox Church as well.

Aims and goals of Religious Education The reform of the educational system in Serbia started with the introduction of religious and civic education. This was the result of a broader social change. The return to religion and rise of religiosity were some of the most important reasons for introducing religious education. The aim of the Religious Education subject is to promote confessional religious beliefs, provide information on the students’ own religion, and to encourage and train students to perceive and to practice the Liturgy. While the specific contents of the subject are confessional defined for each of the traditional churches and religious communities, the stated aims are largely the same for all. It is significant that the goals of Religious Education have not changed since the outset. Those aims and tasks were identically formulated for the elementary and high schools6. The general goals of Religious Education in Serbia are to acquaint the students with the faith and spiritual experiences of their own church or religious community, to enable them to develop an integrated religious view of the world and life, and to enable them to acquire the spiritual values of their church or religious community, as well as to preserve and cultivate their own religious and cultural identities. One might say that the goal of religious education is to develop a theistic world view, faith in God, and the capacity to practice religion in everyday life. The goal of Orthodox catechism in the first grade of high school is to develop trust, love and unity with classmates and fellow students, and to cultivate solidarity and mutual assistance, and care for nature and the world. Another goal is to point out the basics of the faith and experience of the Church as a source and inspiration for personal and community development. Talking about religious education in high schools, Orthodox bishop and textbook author Ignjatije Midic´ says that adolescence is actually the best period for making live contact with God and attending church. However, he thinks that religiosity is not established by the simple presentation of a certain world view, or by teaching a certain number of concepts and aspects of theology, thus enforcing ethical norms and rules of conduct. Religiosity represents an ethos of freedom and love. This is why the goal of the classes for the first high-school grade is to 6 Sluzˇbeni glasnik RS – Prosvetni glasnik 5/2001, 4/2003 and 6/2003.

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develop the awareness of students that Christianity is a church, a liturgical community, and to draw the attention of students to the notion of character as a basic Christian concept. Without an adequate understanding of the concept of character, it is impossible to understand that the Christian belief in God is a way of life, and not an academic doctrine or ideology (Midic´ 2003: 63). Religious Education in the second grade of high school emphasizes Christian ontology, based on the doctrine of the One God who is the Holy Trinity. In the third grade, the plan is to convince students that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the created world, while the goal of the fourth year is to suggest to students that history has its goal: the created world will become of the Kingdom of God, and death will be overcome.

6

Practice/reality of RE in different schools

In July 2001, the Decree of the Government of the Republic of Serbia on organizing and implementing Religious Education in primary and secondary schools in our country completed a long-term joint effort of the Serbian Orthodox Church and all traditional churches and religious communities in Serbia to exercise their basic human and religious rights as citizens of Serbia. Since 2001/ 2002, religion – as an elective school subject – is present in all primary and secondary schools. Today Religious Education is attended by c. 500,000 students and implemented by more than 2,000 religious teachers7. Information of needs for improvement the program for the Evangelical-Lutheran religion education of Slovak Evangelical Church a.v., Reformed Christian Church, Evangelical Christian Church and the Jewish community

6.1

The Evangelical-Lutheran religion education of Slovak Evangelical Church a.v.

On behalf of the Slovak Evangelical Church the necessary information on Religious Education is delivered by Mrs. Evka Hlavati. This church realized religious education for 1 388 pupils in 24 primary schools and 105 students in 8 secondary schools. In relation to the grades there are an optional number of students. According to teachers’ opinions the themes in the first cycle of primary school are appropriate to the age of students, and the best and most interesting themes that 7 http://www.spc.rs/sr/komisija_vlade_republike_srbije_za_versku_nastavu [last access 9. 11. 2019]. http://beseda.rs/odrzana-sednica-komisije-vlade-republike-srbije-za-versku-nastavu/ [last access 9. 11. 2019].

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stand out are close to the experience and interests of students: My Family, My environment, Holidays – Celebrations, Creation of the World, Stories from the Old Testament, Moses – his life and work, Suffering of Jesus Christ. There is only one proposal concerning the theme Decalogue to be present only in the fifth grade instead of the fourth grade. According to the second cycle of primary school, teachers believe that some issues in the programs for the fifth and in particular the seventh grade are not appropriate to the age of the students. They say that the material is too hard to understand and that the intended method and the way of teaching are not adequate enough. Teachers are generally satisfied with the programmes for the sixth and eighth grade. The proposal is to study more about history of the Slovak Evangelical Church a.v. in Serbia. Concerning the program for the fourth grade of high school, teachers emphasize their educational character and have no objections to the contents of the program. They find that these programs help students to take responsibility for their lives and actions, and to provide the opportunity to deepen spiritual growth of students. A special quality of these programs is logically and essentially to build on the themes that the students have learned at a younger age. They did not put forward proposals for improving the program at this level of education. Teachers who teach religious education have the opportunity to participate in trainings organized by the Ministry of Education or the Commission for Religious Education of the Government of the Republic of Serbia, and attend several seminars concerning the theme of teaching methodology. They generally have a need of more in-depth knowledge in the field of theology (“because not all teachers are graduated theologians”), comparative theology (“meeting with other religions”), pedagogical work with children (“theologians do not have it in the study program”) and of curriculum preparations. Obstacles and problems in the realization of religious education are mainly connected to organizational and technical issues in schools (time, space, schedules). However, teachers indicate that the position of the object is not favorable, because they consider that way of grading marginalizes it. In order to achieve the mission and goals of religious education in the education system, these teachers are committed to maintain interdenominational seminars, where all teachers can meet and represent their church. Besides this, teachers strive for the accreditation of seminars for teachers (development of professional competences) and competitions from Religion Education. They estimate that these activities could contribute to the quality of teaching and increase student motivation. In global, there is possibility for improvement of the program of Evangelical – Lutheran Religious Education of the Slovak Evangelical Church a.v., in certain grades in elementary school. The teachers are willing to further develop their professional skills and to improve

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teaching competence and have high-quality proposals that can contribute to the affirmation of the religious studies in general.

6.2

Reformed Christian Church

On behalf of the Christian Reformed Church the necessary information on religious education is delivered by Mr. Atila Oros. This church realized religious education for about 350 students in six primary and six secondary schools. According to their estimates, changes in the program of religious education in primary and secondary schools of the Reformed Christian churches are not necessary. The church organizes courses and lectures on catechism, church history and liturgy for their religious teachers and priests. None reply that they need some additional training. In the religious education in schools there are no problems and obstacles; the teachers have not applied for help and support in the development of religious education.

6.3

Evangelical Christian Church

On behalf of the Evangelical Christian Church the necessary information on religious education is delivered by Mr. Gabor Lowland and his team. In their opinion, there is no need for a revision of the curricula in primary and secondary schools. They also believe that teachers who teach religious education in Evangelical Christian churches are not required to go through additional training or seminars. There is a remark about language issue. Even if they organize classes in Hungarian, there is a demand for participation in trainings to develop skills in the Serbian language. This is why they are not able to participate in training sessions that are organized for teachers of religious education. The teachers also note the obstacles to religious education in the Evangelical Christian churches that arise in cooperation with schools. The schools avoid paying their contributions to the teachers, because they cannot realize the full number of hours due to the small number of students opting for this program of religious instruction. Some schools also favor and prefer Civic Education, over Religion Education, so a decision was made to organize lectures in the form of a church Sunday school. Concerning the necessary support and assistance, the teachers mention necessary funds for the purchase of Hungarian literature and supplies to work with students. Accordingly, it can be concluded that the existing model of the organization of religious education in the Evangelical Christian Church is not functional.

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The Jewish community

In the name of the Jewish community information was given by Mr. Isak Asiel, Rabbi. This religious community does not maintain religious education in schools because of the small number of children who attend school. Students attend Civic Education in the school, and courses of their tradition are organized in local Jewish communities. The Jewish community has no teachers of religion.

7

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

In Serbia, civic education was introduced in parallel religious education, as a kind of “asymmetric” alternative. Implementation was gradual and in 2001 program was introduced to the first grades of primary and middle school (1st and 9th grade). Law regulations from 2003, 2004 and 2009 with their sub acts, the course are conducted under different modularity’s: elective, obligatory elective chosen for the duration of the cycle and obligatory elective chosen for each school year. Today, civic education has the status of elective obligatory which is to be chosen for each school year (Aprcovic´ 2016: 103–122). In the evaluation of the first year of Civic education in Serbia 2001–2002, the research of Alan Smith and Susan Fontaine (2002) stands out Grad¯ansko vaspitanje u osnovnim i srednjim ˇskolama u Republici Srbiji. This research was initiated in agreement with UNESCO and UNICEF, the foundation for an open society as well as the program for support in education. The research was conducted using 6 questionnaires intended for the following groups: parents of students attending Civic education, students themselves, school principals and teachers of Civic Education. The national sample of schools included in the research project included 66 schools in Belgrade, 91 in Vojvodina and 212 in central Serbia. Beside this research, international researchers conducted informal interviews with a certain number of people in January 2002. The interviews involved scientists and professionals who worked on the creation of the educational plan and program for Civic Education. The research (Joksimovic´ 2003) was conducted drawing on a sample of pupils of the first year of middle school (9th grade) from Belgrade, Novi Sad, Kovin, Nisˇ, Krusˇevc, Parac´in and Sˇabac. This research provides significant insights about socio-demographic characteristics of pupils who attended the elective course. Unlike the mentioned study of Slavica Maksic´ (2003), which analyzed parents’ thoughts regarding the elective courses, here the focus was placed on the thoughts of pupils regarding courses content and realization (effects).

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The research (Pavlovic´ & Maksic´ 2004) represent an evaluation of the International Project “Citizen”, which was later used as grounds for developing the program Civic education for the 6th grade of elementary school. This research produced statistical data on the implementation and realization of this project in Serbia. Representatives from 93 schools answered the questionnaire which asked them about their expectations regarding the presentation, to what degree have these expectations had been met, what had proved most useful to them and what they needed to continue working on the project. The significance of this research lies in the fact that by implementing this project in the program of Civic education, a highly participatory method of education was introduced. Students were specifically involved in their local community through perception, questioning and suggesting solutions for various problems (Aprcovic´, 2016: 103–122). Snezˇana Joksimovic´ and Slavica Maksic´ (2006: 441–452) in their study “Obrazovanje za demokratiju u sˇkolskom kontekstu” (“education towards democracy in the context of school”, 2006) consider the necessary conditions and obstacles for democratic upbringing and education which actually produces outcomes generally expected of Civic education. According to them, this process includes the organization and functioning of the school, curriculum and methods, textbooks, the role and contribution of teachers, educational goals of the school, personal characteristics and values of students. Critical analysis of the authors is focused towards all participants of the educational upbringing: students are more interested in the rights then in the obligations and responsibilities and teachers as a rule are not ready to discuss “sensitive” topics (actual politics, religious and national tensions, inappropriate conduct of teachers and similar…). The study unearthed certain shortcomings, but also states that 47 %, so almost half of the students and 57 % or more than half of the parents feel that their expectations have been met regarding the course. It was also stated that they had to choose again between Civic and Religious education, 69 % of students and parents would make Civic education their choice. This data indirectly indicates the satisfactory and acceptable degree of fulfillment of goals of the course and an adequately competent staff, which correlates to the data of our study. The substantial objection of the authors relates to the school in general. In their opinion, in reference to the data acquired, for school to be able to prepare students for a life in democratic society, it is essential for school to become a democratic community itself. The next evaluation is significant, namely Procena efekata grad¯anskog vaspitanja (“Assessment of the Effects of Civic Education”), published by Grad¯anske inicijative from 2009 (Baucal et al. 2009). In this research, 1955 students were interviewed from the entire territory of Serbia. The research also involved 304 teachers of primary and middle schools. Data was gathered trough a questionnaire, composed of 29 questions in reference to knowledge obtained from

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Civic education course content; attitude toward Civic education; questions in regard to involvement of students in the society; and at the end, questions which involve demographic information. Students state that the atmosphere during class is mostly relaxed, but at the same time a working and cooperative atmosphere. The authors summarize that Civic education has succeeded in promoting an atmosphere which is suitable for the students and which makes them feel comfortable enough to discuss certain topics with teachers and other students. The significance of this study lies in the precise assessment of the degree of mastery of various subjects which are elaborated on in the classes of Civic education. The department for the assessment of the quality of education and upbringing in 2013 has conducted an evaluation of the program and competence of teachers of obligatory elective courses in the educational system of Serbia. A systematic upgrade of the program is needed for both courses and an increase in the competence of teachers. The goal of the evaluation is the advancement of educational programs of the course of Civic Education for primary and middle school and the development of competence of the teachers who conduct this course. The sample in this research consisted of539 teachers, 94 teachers of the second cycle of the primary school, 62 teachers of middle school, 209 students of elementary school and 120 students of middle school.

8

Dealing with religious diversity

Serbia is a multinational and multi-confessional state. A tripoint of Catholicism, Orthodoxy, and Islam in this rather small area is enriched by the presence of Judaism, but also of Protestantism; which, since the very beginning, has found its adherents here, who, with their life and work, bring in a new culture and contribute to the “wealth of differences” or the “curse of small differences”. Orthodoxy meets Catholicism in the North of the country to the same degree as it meets Islam in the South. The Serbian Orthodox Church has always had – and it still has – a strong influence on the identity of the Serbian people. Islam was a religion of Serbian enemies and foreigners who, during the Middle Ages, enslaved the Serbian people, who preserved its identity by preserving its faith. Those who abandoned Orthodoxy and converted to Islam during the history were considered traitors. According to the Census 2011 – population 7,186,862; Orthodox 6,079,396; Catholic 356,957; Protestant 71,284; Other protestant 3.211; Islam 222,828; Jewish

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578; Eastern religions 1,776; Other 1,776; Agnostic 4,010; Not a believer 80,053; Not say 220,735; Unknown 99,714 (2011).8 This list is an evidence of the religious pluralism in Serbia. Regarding the numbers of believers, the data change from year to year. Furthermore, the numbers are not entirely reliable and accurate, and even mistakes are unpredictable. However, they are the best data since they are an official and easily accessible source that everyone refers to. If one compares the data on religious adherence from the state and from the religious sources, one can notice that the numbers are inconsistent. Do the members of the minority religious community reluctantly state their religious adherence or do census takers reluctantly record minority religions? Perhaps linking the faith with the nation, a common practice in Serbia, resulted in automatic ascribing the faith from the nationality. While we do not know the true reasons for this, we may still notice, for instance, that 26 % of Jews stated that they belonged to the Jewish religion during the census. The same phenomenon can be seen in Roma people, who are much more numerous than it is provided in the official statistics. However, a mistake has occurred with the Seventh Day Adventist Reformed Movement, the census data shows a larger number of those who stated to belong to this movement than it is shown in internal statistics of this movement. This discrepancy is characteristic of those communities which accept only adult members or count only active members of a local community. Therefore, there are categories of formal belonging, active believers, as well as a category of friends of a religious community.

9

Religion in school outside of RE

The Sociology textbook for the third and fourth grade of high school includes a special chapter on the sociological definition of religion, magic, animism, mythology, and monotheistic religion. There are also sections on Judaism, Buddhism, Christianity and Islam. The syllabus for Philosophy classes at the same level does not give preference to any single world view or philosophy but aims at general education. This includes sections on e. g. Philosophy and Christianity, and the relationship between knowledge and faith.

8 https://www.stat.gov.rs/sr-latn/oblasti/popis/popis-2011/ [last access 22. 6.2019].

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239

Training of teachers of RE: institutes, structures, priorities issues

Almost every year since religious education has returned in the public schools in Serbia, numerous seminars for professional development of teachers were organized by the Ministry of Education and by the religious communities, too. Seminars, held by officials of the Ministry of Education, were designed for teachers of all different religious communities that had the right to organize religious teaching. The intention was to support religious teachers in the education system; to coordinate its work program with the general requirements of public schools. Otherwise, the seminars organized by religious communities were religiously homogeneous and organized themselves according to their territorial units. The seminar that was offered to the religious teachers was Methodology for religious instruction.

11

Empirical research concerning RE

Several studies have examined attitudes towards religious education prior to its introduction to the Serbian educational system (Kuburic´ 1997a: 405–425; 1997b: 451–480; 2001; 2002; 2002a; 2002b: 117–127; 2003a; !ord¯evic´ & Todorovic´ 2000). Attitudes towards religion, atheism and sects are interesting research subjects, due to their significant transformation over a short period of time. One may note significant differences in the responses of experts, religious leaders, Orthodox theologians, Protestant students and secular students. Orthodox Christians would like to have confessional education for their own community only. Protestants, as well as secular students, prefer education about religions, to be taught by philosophers and sociologists rather than theologians. According to the Ministry of Education data, about 30 % of parents whose children started their education decided that their children would not attend either Religious or Civic Education. One third opted for Religious Education, ´ iparizovic´ 2002: 20 % for Civic Education, while 10 % chose both (Radisavljevic´-C 222). In the next year, the option not to select any of those subjects was canceled, so that Religious Education and Civic Education became the alternative subjects (Joksimovic´ (Ed.), 2003). More than 50 % of elementary-school children, and half as many in high schools, applied for Religious Education. This demand was not fully met, due to a shortage of staff and teaching materials. In the second year, according to informal data, enrollment was 49 % for the first grade of the elementary schools.

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A joint study by the Center for Empirical Research of Religion, Novi Sad, and the Institute for Pedagogical Research, Belgrade, was carried out in 2003 (Kuburic´, 2003b). The sample comprised 540 parents and 628 high school students. The questionnaires included questions related to the following questions: Why did parents and students opt for a certain subject? How high was the degree of expectation fulfillment and satisfaction with learning a selected subject and the willingness to select the same subject again? The respondents were also asked to express their opinions about the content of the lessons and the quality of the teachers, as well as to assess the teaching effects of the selected subject. The parents think that their children have positive attitudes towards the teachers of the optional subjects. The parents of children attending Religious Education (Serbian Orthodox Church) frequently point out changes in children’s behavior related to religious restrictions. If one compares what the parents and children say about Religious Education, one may conclude that positive opinions prevail. Both the parents and students assess the content of this subject most favorably. A considerable number of them are also satisfied with the teaching method, because it differs from that of other subjects. Favorable assessments of teachers pertain to both their methods of teaching and personal characteristics and attitudes towards students. At the same time, a number of parents and students make remarks about the process of teaching with regard to the organization and conditions of work, teaching methods and teachers themselves. The remarks about teachers of religion indicate the importance of teachers’ selection and training, so that they can get acquainted with the methods most appropriate for students’ development according to their previous knowledge and capacities (Joksimovic´ (Ed.), 2003). In general, more than 50 % of elementary school children, and half as many in high schools, applied for Religious Education. The Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development has entrusted the Institute for Education Quality and Evaluation with an evaluative research which has a goal to examine the quality of teaching programmes and competencies of teachers of religious education. The sample of the research was comprised of 192 teachers of the Orthodox Catechism from six cities in Serbia. According to the results of the study, religious education teachers believe that the greatest advantage of the subject is in moral guidance which students receive. Approximately 75 % of respondents think that the advantage of the subject is in the goals related to the development of a complete view of life, an encouragement to personality development and providing a foundation for a responsible and proactive life in a contemporary society. Only 9 % of the respondents see the advantage of the subject in its contents, and less than 3 % in the methodology (Kuburic´ 2018: 273– 297).

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Desiderata and Challenges for RE in a European context

12.1

Between national and international identity

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Religious education in the public schools has its devoted proponents, but there are also those who constantly oppose it. The principal objection is that children are divided according to their religious affiliation. Besides, as an elective course, which is not graded and with teachers whose employment status is not regulated, it has a potential either to become equal to other courses and to be transformed into a general education course without a confessional character or to be canceled again in public schools. The analysis of the contents of textbooks of Orthodox catechesis clearly indicates the effort to preserve the national identity of Orthodox believers, and this is a political reason for confessional religious education instead of an integrative approach to studying religion as a phenomenon either on the form of religious culture, sociology of religion or the history of religion (Kuburic´, 2018: 273–297).

13

Further information

13.1

Journals

http://katiheta.net/home/index.php/pedagosketeme/casopis. ˇ asopis “Smisao” http://www.crkvaulazarevcu.org/aktivnosti/casopis-smisao. C ˇ asopis “Sabornost” https://casopis.sabornost.org/kategorizacija. C ˇ asopis “Zˇicˇki blagovesnik”, C ˇ asopis “Pravoslavni svetionik”, Parohijski. List “Hram”, C List “Mali misionar” http://eparhija-zicka.rs/. Decˇiji cˇasopis “Svetosavsko zvonce” http://www.zvonce.spc.rs/. Pravoslavni cˇasopisi https://zeljko.popivoda.com/pravoslavni-casopisi-na-internetu/. Katolicˇki list “Zvonik”, mjesecˇnik Suboticˇke biskupije.

13.2

Further literature

Aleksov, B. 2004. Veronauka u Srbiji. Nisˇ: JUNI. Dacˇic´, S. 2002. Verska nastava u ˇskoli: izmed¯u znanja i verovanja. In Z. Kuburic´ (ed.), Religija, veronauka, tolerancija, 51–71. Novi Sad: CEIR. Desˇic´, Z. et al. 2005. Pedagosˇko-psiholosˇka i metodicˇka priprema nastavnika verske nastave za rad u osnovnoj i srednjoj ˇskoli: Prirucˇnik za voditelje seminara. Komisija vlade Republike Srbije za versku nastavu, Ministarstvo vera Republike Srbije i Ministarstvo prosvete i sporta Republike Srbije, Beograd.

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Грађанско васпитање као обавезни изборни предмет у основној и средњој школи, Евалуација програма и компетенција наставника, 2013. Завод за вредновање квалитета образовања и васпитања, Београда. ˇ igoja Kuburic´, Z. & Dacˇic´, S. 2004. Metodika verske nastave. Novi Sad: CEIR, Beograd: C ˇstampa. Kuburic´, Z. 2005. Veronauka u Srbiji – rezultati istrazˇivanja. In Vera – znanje – mir, M. Sitarski & M. Vucˇinic´ (Eds.), 345–352. Beograd: Beogradska otvorena sˇkola. Kuburic´, Z. & Vukomanovic´, M. 2006. Religious education: The Case of Serbia. In Religion and Pluralism in Education. Comparative Approaches in the Western Balkans, Z. Kuburic´ & Ch. Moe (Eds.), 107–138. Novi Sad: CEIR in cooperation with the Kotor Network. Kuburic´, Z. 2007a. Verska nastava u Srbiji kao indikator drusˇtvenih transformacija. In Godisˇnjak Filozofskog fakulteta u Novom Sadu, knjiga XXXII, 153–176. Novi Sad: Filozofski fakultet. Kuburic´, Z. 2007b. Religious Education in Serbia and Montenegro. In Religious Education in Europe. Situation and current trends in schools, E. Kuyk et al. (Eds.). Oslo: IKO Publishing House. Nimlad¯i, R. 2002. Veronauka u ˇskoli: da, ali kako? In Religija, veronauka, tolerancija, Z. Kuburic´ (Ed.), 113–116. Novi Sad: CEIR. Nisˇtovic´, H., Ajanovic´, D. & Vejo, E. 2001. Ilmudin: Islamska vjeronauka za prvi razred osnovne ˇskole. Beograd: Zavod za udzˇbenike i nastavna sredstva. Novakovic´, D. 2004. Sˇkolstvo islamske zajednice: Sˇkolski sistem Islamske zajednice na jugoslovenskim prostorima od 1879–1991 godine. Nisˇ: JUNIR. Penzes, J. & Kopilovic´, A. 2005. Upoznaj samoga sebe, katolicˇki vjeronauk za prvi razred srednje ˇskole. Beograd: Zavod za udzˇbenike i nastavna sredstva. Православни катихизис као обавезни изборни предмет у основној и средњој школи, Евалуација програма и компетенција наставника. 2013. Завод за вредновање квалитета образовања и васпитања, Београд. Vukomanovic´, M. 2002. Religious Education in Serbia. In Ch. Koulouri (ed.), Clio in the Balkans: The Politics of History Education. Ch. Koulouri (ed.). Thessaloniki: Center for Democracy and Reconciliation in SEE.

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Joksimovic´, S. 2003. Misˇljenja ucˇenika o verskoj nastavi i grad¯anskom vaspitanju u srednjoj ˇskoli. In S. Joksimovic´ (ed.), Verska nastava i grad¯ansko vaspitanje u ˇskolama u Srbiji. Beograd: Institut za pedagosˇoka istrazˇivanja. Joksimovic´, S. & Maksic´, S. 2006. Obrazovanje za demokratiju u ˇskolskom kontekstu. In Pedagogija, 61 (4), 441–452. Kuburic´, Z. 1997a. Stavovi studenata prema uvod¯enju veronauke. In Godisˇnjak Filozofskog fakulteta u Novom Sadu 25, 405–425. Kuburic´, Z. 1997b. Stavovi studenata prema religiji, ateizmu i sektama. In Sociologija 3, 451–480. Kuburic´, Z. 2001. Veronauka izmed¯u duhovnosti i ideologije, in N. Sekulic´ (ed.) Zˇene, religija, obrazovanje izmed¯u duhovnosti i politike,). Beograd: NANDI. Kuburic´, Z. (Ed.) 2002. Religija, veronauka, tolerancija. Novi Sad: CEIR. Kuburic´, Z. 2002a. Vera i sloboda. Verske zajednice u Jugoslaviji. Novi Sad: CEIR. Kuburic´, Z. 2002b. Veronauka kao deo reforme obrazovanja. In Religija, veronauka, tolerancija, Z. Kuburic´ (ed.) 117–127. Beograd: CEIR. Kuburic´, Z. 2003a. Realizacija verske nastave u osnovnoj i srednjoj ˇskoli. In Verska nastava i grad¯ansko vaspitanje u ˇskolama u Srbiji, S. Joksimovic´ (ed.), Institut za pedagosˇka istrazˇivanja, Beograd. Kuburic´, Z. 2003b. Zˇivot u verski homogenoj ili heterogenoj sredini. In J. Sˇefer, S. Maksic´ & S. Joksimovic´ (eds.), Uvazˇavanje razlicˇitosti i obrazovanje. Beograd: Institut za pedagosˇka istrazˇivanja. Kuburic´, Z. & Stojkovic´, N. 2004. Religijski self u transformaciji. In Sociolosˇki pregled 38 (1– 2), 321–342. Kuburic´, Z. 2005. Religious and National Identity in Process of Globalization of Serbia. In D. Gavrilovic´ (ed.), Religion and Globalization. Nisˇ: JUNIR. Kuburic´, Z. & Vukomanovic´, M. 2005. Religious Education: the Case of Serbia. In Sociologija, 47, No. 3/2005, 229–255. Kuburic´, Z. & Moe, Ch. (eds.) 2006. Religion and Pluralism in Education, Comparative Approaches in the Western Balkans, CEIR and in cooperation with the Kotor Network, Novi Sad. Kuburic´, Z. 2006. Religion in Serbia and Montenegro. In Worldmark Encyclopedia of Religious Practices Vol. 3, T. Riggs (ed.), 307–312. USA: Gale. Kuburic´, Z. & Kuburic´-Borovic´, M. 2009. Revitalization of Religion in the Balkans. In D. Gavrilovic´ (ed.), Revitalization of Religion – Theoretical and comparative approaches, 45–56. Nisˇ: YSSSR. Kuburic´, Z. & Zukovic´, S. 2010. Verska nastava u ˇskoli. Centar za empirijska istrazˇivanja religije i Savez pedagosˇkih drusˇtava Vojvodine. Novi Sad. Kuburic´, Z. 2010a. Verske zajednice u Srbiji i verska distanca. Novi Sad: CEIR. Kuburic´, Z. 2010b. Verska nastava izmed¯u prosˇlosti i buduc´nosti. In M. Sitarski, M. Vujacˇic´ & I. Bartulovic´-Karastojkovic´ (Eds.), Isˇcˇekujuc´i Evropsku uniju: stabilizacija med¯u etnicˇkih i med¯ureligijskih odnosa na zapadnom Balkanu, tom 1, 119–136, Beograd: Beogradska otvorena sˇkola. Kuburic´, Z. & Gavrilovic´, D. 2012. Revitalizacija religije u savremenoj Srbiji. In Religija i tolerancija, Vol. 10. No 18, 201–214. Kuburic´, Z. 2014a. Serbian Orthodox Church in Kosovo and Metohija: Between past and Future. In Balkan Journal of Philosophy, 6, No. 2/2014, 137–146.

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Kuburic´, Z. 2014b. Serbian Orthodox Church in the Context of History. In Religija i tolerancija, 12, No. 22/2014, 387–402. Kuburic´, Z. 2014c. Serbia. In Worldmark Encyclopedia of Religious Practices, 2nd Edition, Volume 4, Religious and Denominations, 132–140. Gale, USA. Kuburic´, Z. 2014d. The Self-Image of Adolescents in the Protestant Family: a study of Seventh-day Adventist families in predominantly Orthodox Serbia. Edwin Mellen Press, Lewiston. Kuburic´, Z. 2018. The Analysis of the Textbooks for Orthodox Religious Education in Serbia. In G. Ognjenovic´ & J. Jozelic´ (eds.), Education in Post-Conflict Transition: The Politicization of Religion in School Textbooks, 273–297. Palgrave Macmillan. Kuburic´, Z. 2019. Religious Communities in Serbia and Religious Distance. Novi Sad: CEIR. Midic´, I. 2003. Pravoslavni katihizis, Prirucˇnik za nastavnike osnovnih i srednjih ˇskola. Beograd. Pavlovic´, B. & Maksic´, S. 2004. Prva godina projekta Grad¯anin u Srbiji. Beograd: Grad¯anske inicijative. ´ iparizovic´, D. 2002. Religija i svakodnevni zˇivot: vezanost ljudi za religiju i Radisavljevic´-C crkvu u Srbiji krajem devedesetih. In S. Bolcˇic´ & A. Milic´ (eds.), Srbija krajem milenijuma: Razaranje drusˇtva, promene i svakodnevni zˇivot. Beograd: Institut za sociolosˇka istrazˇivanja Filozofskog fakulteta u Beogradu. Radulovic´, M. 2006. Crkva i drzˇava u svetlu zakona o crkvama i verskim zajednicama. Beograd: Sluzˇbeni glasnik. Sluzˇbeni glasnik RS – Prosvetni glasnik 5/2001, 4/2003 and 6/2003. Smit, A. & Fontejn, S. 2002. Grad¯ansko vaspitanje u osnovnim i srednjim ˇskolama u Republici Srbiji.Beograd: Fond za otvoreno drusˇtvo Srbija, Beograd.

Internet sources https://www.stat.gov.rs/sr-latn/vesti/20190628-procenjen-broj-stanovnika-2018/?s=1801 [last access 12. 11. 2018]. http://pod2.stat.gov.rs/ObjavljenePublikacije/Popis2011/Knjiga4_Veroispovest.pdf [last access on 10. 11. 2019]. https://www.mpravde.gov.rs/tekst/834/crkve-i-verske-zajednice.php [last access 12. 11. 2019]. http://www.vere.gov.rs/cir/ [last access 21. 04. 2020]. Direktion für Zusammenarbeit mit Kirchen und Religionsgemeinschaften: http://www. pravno-informacioni-sistem.rs/SlGlasnikPortal/eli/rep/sgrs/skupstina/zakon/2006/36/ 1/reg [last access 12. 10. 2013].

Pınar Usta Dog˘an

Religious Education at Schools in Turkey1

1

Socio-religious background of the country

Turkey functions as a meeting point of Asia and Europe geographically and its population consists of various ethnic groups, 98 % (Türkiye’de Dini Hayat Aras¸tırması, 2014) of whom are Muslims. Although today it has a more homogenous structure in terms of religious affiliation, Turkey used to be a multi religious and multicultural empire. The developments in education and especially religious education in Turkey started with the enactment of The Law of Unification of Education. To give the reader an understanding of this law, which is the cornerstone of the Turkish education system, and the changes it has brought the reasons why this law has been brought forward will be discussed shortly. After the Ottoman Empire, founded in 1299, had started to decline in the second half of 17th century, some military, political and social reforms started to be implemented. Some of these changes were made in the field of education. As a result of seeing the Ottoman Empire’s main education institutions, madrasahs’ inefficiency among the reasons of this decline, European style new education institutions started to be opened and accepted as pioneers of development and modernization. As a result of non-Muslims’ rapid activities on schooling with the new rights they had gained with the 1839 The Rescript of Gülhane and 1856 Edict of Reform, the conflict between madrasah and school became a pressing issue. Especially while school graduates see themselves as the representatives of education and science, the dysfunctional madrasahs’ with their clumsy structures caused the school-madrasah conflict. After the dissolution of Ottoman Empire and the foundation of the Turkish Republic in 1923, this situation resulted in a gathering of all education institutions under one roof with the enactment of The 1 I want to thank from deep in my heart and show my great respect to my professor Professor Dr. Mualla Selçuk who has supported me at every step from planning to development of this article by reading every word of it.

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Law of Unification of Education for the recruitment of national unity and solidarity in the country. Union of education was thought of as a safeguard the country’s unity. The articles of The Law of Unification of Education are as follows (Tevhid-i Tedrisat Kanunu, No. 430, 3/Mart/1924): – Article 1 – All scientific and educational institutions are connected with Ministry of National Education. – Article 2 – All madrasahs and schools directed by The Ministry of Religious Affairs or private foundations are bound to Ministry of National Education. – Article 3 – The funding belonging to schools and madrasahs in the budget of the Ministry of Religious Affairs will be transferred into the budget of the Ministry of National Education. – Article 4 – To educate religious functionaries, a Faculty of Theology will be opened and different schools for religious services such as imamate and preaching will also be founded by the Ministry of National Education. – Article 5 – Starting from the publication of this law, together with military secondary schools and high schools that are dedicated to national defense until now and responsible for general education and training, the budgets of orphanages that are bound to Ministry of Health and the education staff are now bound to the Ministry of National Education. The connections of education staff in these secondary schools and high schools will be organized according to the ministries that these schools are bound to from now on and these teachers will continue their involvement in the military until then. This law whose articles we mention because of its upmost importance brought innovation in two important fields. The first of these is that all educational institutions are gathered under one roof which is the Ministry of National Education. Second is the decision to open new educational institutions in place of madrasahs to educate religious functionaries. Madrasahs that are the remainder of Ottoman Empire and connected to the Ministry of National education were closed with a circular letter right after the enactment of the law (As¸ıkog˘lu 2012: 216). Following the Article 4, a Faculty of Theology and Imam Hatip schools were opened. However, these schools could not survive long and Imam Hatip schools were closed in 1930 (Parmaksızog˘lu, 1966: 25) and Darulfunun Theology Faculty was closed in 1933 (Ayhan 1999: 38–51). On account of the fact that there are not only Muslim students in Turkey, religion lessons were taken out of the curriculum in all secondary and high schools (Cebeci, 2005: 148). As mentioned frequently “conduction of The Law of Unification of Education could not keep its spirit and dimension in the first place” (Bilgin, 1980: 45). Following French style secularism, it was thought that religion lessons were not applicable in a secular government school.

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When we look at the historical process, we see that religion lessons were not part of the National Education System in Turkey starting from 1930 until 1949. For reasons that we will mention later, these lesson were taken into curriculum in 1949. Religion lessons were first added to the 4th and 5th grade curriculum of primary schools; in 1956 they were added in secondary schools’ and in 1967 high schools’ curriculum (Cebeci, 2005: 152–154). Additionally, in 1949 with the opening of Ankara University Faculty of Theology, religion lessons were given at the level of higher education (Ayhan, 1999: 218). Imam Hatip schools were opened again in 1951 (Cebeci 2005: 180). The year 1982 was a milestone for Turkish religious education. With Article 24 in the constitution of 1982, Religious Culture and Ethics Knowledge lessons were secured constitutionally and were to take place as compulsory lessons in all primary and secondary school along with high schools. With this regulation Religious Culture and Ethics Knowledge lessons which start in primary school 4th grade took place for 2 hours in a week in 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th grade, 1 hour in a week in secondary schools in 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th grades. In 2000 big changes were carried through for the contents and approach of these lessons which have taken place in the curriculum since 1982. Lesson content has been revised using a more scientific approach. With the transformation of the 12-year compulsory education starting from 2012 new elective courses have been added into the curriculum. These lessons are Basic Religious Culture, Holy Qur’an and Life Story of Our Prophet. By adding these lessons into the curriculum, elective religious courses, which are mentioned in Article 24 of the constitution and have also been criticized because they were never applied, took place in the curriculum. In 2017 the hours of the course for 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th grades were extended from one hour to two hours per week. Members of other religious groups are exempt from these compulsory religion lessons. In other words, only Muslim children take these lessons.

2

Legal frameworks of RE and the relationship between religious communities and the state

The Turkish Republic is a secular and democratic state. The relationship between the government and religious sects in Turkey has been regulated in the Article 24 of the constitution. According to this Article “Everyone has the freedom of conscience, religious belief and conviction. Acts of worship, religious rites and ceremonies shall be conducted freely, as long as they do not violate the provisions of Article 14. No one shall be compelled to worship, or to participate in religious rites and ceremonies, or to reveal religious beliefs and convictions, or be blamed

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or accused because of his religious beliefs and convictions. Religious and moral education and instruction shall be conducted under state supervision and control. Instruction in religious culture and morals shall be one of the compulsory lessons in the curricula of primary and secondary schools. Other religious education and instruction shall be subject to the individual’s own desire, and in the case of minors, to the request of their legal representatives. No one shall be allowed to exploit or abuse religion or religious feelings, or things held sacred by religion, in any manner whatsoever, for the purpose of personal or political interest or influence, or for even partially basing the fundamental, social, economic, political, and legal order of the State on religious tenets.” Besides, according to the Article 10, everyone is equal before the law without distinction as to language, race, color, sex, political opinion, philosophical belief, religion and sect, or any such grounds. According to The National Education Principal Law Number 1739, the Turkish education system consists of two parts: formal and a non-formal part. Formal education is tiered into four levels, these are: preschool, primary, secondary and higher education. Primary school lasts for eight years as 4+4 and secondary education for 4 years is part of compulsory education. The Ministry of National Education is responsible for opening preschool, primary, secondary schools and all kinds of formal and for non-formal education institutions and for planning, programming, conducting, following and controlling all education and training services that concern teachers and students. Universities that are considered higher education institutions are under the responsibility of the Council of Higher Education which is known as YÖK. YÖK is in charge of planning, organizing, managing and inspecting education in higher education institutions. Some 12-year compulsory education institutions that we focus on in this study are part of the government and some others are private enterprises. While talking about private enterprise education institutions, this needs to be understood: educational institutions whose expenses are not paid for by the government count as private education institutions. These institutions may belong to natural or legal persons. However, this situation does not change their dependence on the Ministry of National Education in terms of curriculum and curricula that they have to implement. Compulsory Religious Culture and Ethics lessons take place for 2 hours on a weekly basis in primary school from 4th grade until secondary school 12th grade. In an educational year that 180 days in total, students take Religious Culture and Ethics Knowledge lessons for 72 hours in all school grades. Besides Religious Culture and Ethics Knowledge lessons, there are also selective courses for willing students called Basic Religious Culture, Holy Qur’an and Life Story of Our Prophet.

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Some arrangements for members of religious groups besides Islam who live in the Turkish Republic are made by virtue of the Treaty of Lausanne which was signed on 24 July 1923. Even though Articles 37 to 45 of this treaty are about minorities, Articles 40 and 41 are important for this study. According to Article 40 of the Treaty of Lausanne; Turkish nationals belonging to non-Muslim minorities shall enjoy the same treatment and security in law and in fact as other Turkish nationals. In particular, they shall have an equal right to establish, manage and control at their own expense, any charitable, religious and social institutions, any schools and other establishments for instruction and education, with the right to use their own language and to exercise their own religion freely therein. Article 41 contains the following stipulations: “As regards public instruction, the Turkish Government will grant in those towns and districts, where a considerable proportion of non-Muslim nationals are resident, adequate facilities for ensuring that in primary schools instruction shall be given to the children of such Turkish nationals through the medium of their own language. This provision shall not prevent the Turkish Government from making the teaching of the Turkish language obligatory in the said schools. In towns and districts where there a considerable proportion of Turkish nationals belong to non-Muslim minorities, these minorities shall be assured an equitable share in the enjoyment and application of the sums which may be provided out of public funds under the State, municipal or other budgets for educational, religious, or charitable purposes. The sums in question shall be paid to the qualified representatives of the establishments and institutions concerned. As seen in related articles, religious groups are not specifically mentioned in the Treaty of Lausanne. However, what is considered non-Muslim minorities is that Greek Orthodox Christians, Armenian Orthodox Christians and Jewish people. When we mention schools for minorities, we understand preschool, primary and secondary educational institutions which are founded by Greek, Armenian and Jewish minorities and protected by Treaty of Lausanne and where students who belong to their own minority group with Turkish nationality study. Schools of minorities are taken into consideration under the title of private education institutions. Therefore, approval and implementation of curriculum of these schools is under the responsibility of Ministry of National Education. In these schools, minorities have the right to educate in their own languages. They teach their own religion in their religion lessons. There are total 74 schools servicing Greek, Armenian and Jewish communities in preschool, primary and secondary school in Turkey. According to 2018–2019 statistics, 3770 students are educated in these schools (MEB, 2018–2019 National Education Statistics). Upon the decision of High Council of Education and Training on 9 July 1990, Christian and Jewish students of Turkish nationality and studying in primary and secon-

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dary public schools have the right to be exempt for Religious Culture and Ethics Knowledge lessons provided that they have necessary documentation.

3

Developments in the country’s education policies

Researchers have shown that the problems that originate in the education system were partly responsible for the dissolution of Ottoman Empire. Contemporary agents of the period who were aware of the situation attempted to implement reforms to prevent the fall. It is possible to take these reforming activities which started especially with the effect of failures in military which goes back to the year 1774. This date is also accepted as the period of initial modernization and westernization activities in Ottoman Empire. These attempts which created a dual education system were not enough and eventually Ottoman Empire collapsed at the end of World War I. We can analyze the periods which can be considered turning points in policies of education of the Turkish Republic, which was founded after the success of War of Independence.

a.

One Party Period (Early Republic Period 1923–1946)

The core strategy of the newly founded Turkish Republic government’s education policies was to construct the nation-state and national identity in imitation of other countries at the time. With the fall of Ottoman politics as a result of the defeat in the Balkans in 1912, reflection of nationality and Turkism in education started the period of national education (Kenan, 2013: 16). The idea of nationalism and social cohesion in education has created the paradigm of the Republic Period. There was a conversion of the Imperial Cult into Turkish identity, from religious education into secular education to construct its national identity. In this sense, the activities made to redesign the educational system and important changes that have directly or indirectly affected the education system can be listed as follows. – All of the educational institutions were bound to the Ministry of National Education with The Law of Unification of Education.2 – After the legislation of this law madrasahs were closed and Imam Hatip schools were opened. However, all of these Imam Hatip schools were closed due to a lack of students until 1932. The law from 1927 that took away grad-

2 Further explanations about this subject can be found under the title of “Legal frameworks of RE and the relationship between religious communities and the state”.

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uates’ of these schools right to become civil servants played a big role why these institutions couldn’t find any students (Öcal 1998). Education at the Faculty of Theology which was opened in 1924 and lasted until 1933. Religion lessons were taken out of the curriculum of high schools in 1924, secondary schools in 1927 and primary schools in 1929. In 1929 the activities of the courses that teach Qur’an were ended. The statement “The religion of the Turkish Republic is Islam.” was removed in 1928. After the removal of the Arabic Alphabet, Latin alphabet was started to be used in 1928. In 1937 the principle of secularism was added to the constitution. In 1924 John Dewey, in 1925 Alfred Kühne, in 1927 Omar Buyse, in 1932 Albert Malche and such education experts were invited to the country (Tangülü, Karadeniz, Ates¸, 2014). They were asked about the new education system and prepared reports on it (Gündüz 2015: 43).

The changes and regulations mentioned above should be read as attempts to construct national and secular identity. Ataturk’s secular approach to the field of education can be summarized as putting education under the control of the government by insulating it from religious authorities and by organizing the content according to this philosophy. Besides, during the years of the foundation of the Republic, the effects of the French education system could be felt and the roots of this influence can go back to the Ottoman Empire and its relationship to the French.

b.

Multi-Party Period Transition (1946–1980)

From 1924 onward, gradually removing religion lessons from the curriculum and ignoring the public need in this sense started to be seen as a lack of spirituality. With the effect of the Great Depression and World War II, the idea to reintroduce religion lessons entered the discussion. Spirituality was considered by many to be the ideal antidote to Communism. However, religion lessons only slowly took hold in the curriculum. Elective religion lessons were added to the curriculum in 1949 in the 4th and 5th grades of primary school, in 1956 in the 1st and 2nd grades of secondary schools, in 1967 to the 1st and 2nd grades of high school. Starting in 1974, compulsory ethics lessons took their place in the curriculum. In 1949, the Faculty of Theology was opened in Ankara University. In 1951, Imam Hatip schools started to be reopened. If we summarize these developments shortly, this period until 1980 could be called the elective religion lesson period.

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Taking a more general perspective, the American influence comes into view, particularly in the period following the signing of an education agreement with the USA on 27 December 1947 and after sending many students and scholars to America after this. In addition, it is also necessary to mention The National Education Principal Law Number 1739 legislated in 1973. First article of this law is as: “This law consists of assignments and responsibility in education scope of the government as system integrity by organizing the basic purposes and principles in Turkish national education, general structure of education system, teaching profession, school building and facilities, teaching tools and equipment.” From this article, it can be understood that this law is the backbone of Turkish National Education system.

c.

12 September 1980 Military Coup and Afterwards

The 12 September 1980 coup is one of the turning points in the history of the Turkish Republic. The biggest impact of this coup on education was the introduction of Article 24 to the constitution, which added compulsory Religious Culture and Ethics lessons into the curriculum starting from primary school 4th grade to protect youth from any possible ideological and political propaganda and threats by providing them sentimental value starting from 1982. Compulsory education was regulated from five years to eight years in 1997. When religion lessons are analyzed in terms of curriculum development from the foundation of the republic to the 1980s, it is possible to say that it is in the same vein as the education movements of perennialism and realism which are based on ideological and realist philosophies. Scientific researches in religion education increased after 1980. An approach that focuses on problem and purpose centered is accepted instead of a topic-based approach with the new curriculum prepared in 2000 (Yürük 2011: 190). During this period the start of meetings with the European Union in 17 December 2004 has also affected religion lessons. Starting from 2005 to 2006, curricula that are structured according to constructivist approach have started to be applied in primary schools. Thereby, the transformation from a behavioral approach to curriculum to a cognitiveconstructivist approach has occurred. The period of compulsory education was changed in total 12 years in 2012. In the same year, by following the statement in Article 24 in the constitution – but hasn’t come into force since 1982 – “… Other religious education and instruction shall be subject to the individual’s own desire, and in the case of minors, to the request of their legal representatives.” elective courses Basic Religious Culture, Holy Qur’an and Life Story of Our Prophet lessons took their place in curriculum.

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4

253

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

There are no schools in Turkish Republic, which are financed by religious groups or communities with their own curriculum. All schools carry on their activities in education and training under the inspection and control of Ministry of National Education. Even though schools of minorities can be considered exceptions in this sense, their status and the point they can be independent from the current curricula are explained under the 2nd title.

5

Conceptions and tasks of RE

The naming of religion lessons in Turkey has been diverse during the process. They were named “Qur’an and Religion Lessons” in the 1924 curriculum of primary schools. While its name was “Religious Knowledge” in 1926 curriculum it was seen as “Religion Lessons” in 1930. Its name changed into “Religious Knowledge” in 1956. Religion lessons that were made compulsory in the constitution were named “Religious and Ethic Knowledge” by combining “Religious Knowledge” and “Ethics” lessons (MEB Teblig˘ler Dergisi, 29/03/1982, No: 2109: 155). With another change in the same year, the lessons name was changed into “Religious Culture and Ethics Knowledge” (MEB TTKK, 21/10/1982, No:139) and it lasts to the present time. As may be evident, the content and approach of the lessons changed parallel to the changes in name. In the first curriculum in 1924, a doctrinaire approach was adopted (Yürük, 2011: 72) whereas after it became compulsory in 1982 when the curriculum was analyzed it was seen that instead of training in religion, presentation of a more cultural aspect of the religion came into prominence. After 1982, various curricula were applied for Religious culture and ethics knowledge lessons. As there were almost no changes in 1982, 1988, and 1992 curricula, it is possible to analyze them altogether. When all these three curricula are looked overall, the point to be considered is that they were prepared during a period when its legitimacy was discussed instead of how to pursue religious education scientifically. Another point is that they were prepared under the pressure of the 1980 coup. Therefore, the content of the curriculum generally focused on national unity and solidarity. It was mentioned that religion is one of the assets that unites the nation. Its aim was for students to gain an understanding of religion free of superstitious beliefs with the basic information of religion of Islam that is proper to secularism by focusing on the importance that Islam has had for the

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sciences (Yürük, 2011: 148). This concept was emphasized in the curriculum as general objective with these statements: “to teach adequate basic information about religion, Religion of Islam and moral knowledge that is proper to Turkish National education policies, general objectives, principles and Ataturk’s secularism principle in primary and secondary schools; thereby to strengthen the ideas of Kemalism, national unity and solidarity, humanism in terms of religion and morals; to educate individuals who have morals and are virtuous (MEB Teblig˘ler Dergisi, 29/03/1982, No: 2109: 155)”.

The curriculum of Primary School Religious culture and ethics knowledge in 2000 was a milestone in terms of the change in the approach of religious culture lessons in the history of the Turkish Republic. This curriculum was shaped in accordance with new pedagogical approaches and distinguished between varying needs. This curriculum emphasized the principles of educating individuals to actively participate in the education period, take their abilities into the future, consider scientific data, possess the habit of lifelong learning, research, question, interrogate, internalized democracy and are morally decent. It intends to teach that religion gives individuals’ lives a meaning, it helps people live humanely, it has basic communication codes that are necessary for understanding other individuals, it is a phenomenon that regulates God and human relationships; to teach that religion can contribute to a culture of universal peace and create a virtuous environment, to teach integrating belief with the mind, people’s need to be virtuous and respectful of other nations’ religion, traditions and customs as much as they are to their own etc. (MEB Teblig˘ler Dergisi, 01/10/2000, No: 2517: 913)”, the content and objectives are prepared by basing them on these principles. For the first time ever in this curriculum, it is mentioned that other religions also have the basic function of nurturing virtue in people and the history and discipline of other religions were added into the curriculum. (Yürük 2012: 114) The curriculum of secondary schools in 2005 and of primary schools in 2006 was revised. Together with these changes in 2005 and 2006 constructivist, multiple intelligence and students centered education approaches were taken into consideration. The units were divided into learning domains. Learning outcomes that are mentioned in the previous curriculum as “objective” and “behavior” were changed to “attainment”. Attainments contain information, values, skills and manners that students gain at the end of the education period. With these curricula, students’ notions and value education with the help of Religious culture and ethics knowledge lessons took place. Another important change with respect to these curricula is that they contain texts and supplementary materials about Alevism and Bektashism. Alevi means people who depend on, love and respect Ali who is the son-in-law and cousin of the Prophet Hz. Mohamed. Alevism in the Sufii tradition has become the common name of the religious

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groups which reach the Prophet Hz. Mohamed through the channel of Ali. During the Ottoman Empire Qadiriyya, Mevlevi, Bektashi and similar religious groups were called Alevi. The current Alevis consist of Qizilbash people who follow the tradition of Seikh Safiyuddin Erdebili and Bektashis who belong to the religious group of Hacı Bektas¸-ı Veli. Even though these movements differ in some areas, because of their similarities and interaction with one another, some researchers prefer to use the term Alevism-Bektashism.3 Another change with regard to the religious culture and ethics curriculum occurred in 2010 with the revision of both the primary school and secondary school curricula. However, the changes were not radical and structural. The places and classes of some certain topics and units were changed and new topics were supplemented and texts about Alevism and Bektashism started being read. When the changes in primary and secondary school curricula were analyzed, it was seen that the 2000 approach was at the centre again. This approach, as stated above, was to encourage respect for mankind, mindfulness, independence, moral issues and understanding cultural heritage properly in teaching religion. Furthermore, religion lessons in school were based on anthropological, social, cultural, universalist, philosophical and judicial principals. Taking the changes made in 2010 into consideration the vision of the curriculum for primary schools was explained by the following statements: This vision contributes to educate citizens of Turkish Republic who – adopted Ataturk’s principles and reforms, equipped with democratic values, have the equipment that the age requires, are respectful to human rights, sensitive to their environment, – take pleasure in learning religious culture and ethics knowledge lessons, use religious terms accurately, express oneself efficiently, communicates, solve problems, think scientifically, research, question, interrogate, criticize, – create religious data in social and cultural aspect by interpreting with one’s experience, use and organize the data, developed social participation skills – know, protect and develop oneself, society, cultural inheritance and nature, – have the basic religious knowledge and life skills that are needed in daily life, – know one’s rights and responsibilities, environmentally sound, – understand and interpret the religion that has been effective on individual and society for history of humanity, – learn belief, worship, values together with humane and cultural inheritance of religion of Islam

3 I˙slamiyet-Hristiyanlık Kavramları Sözlüg˘ü, Summarized from Alevism item. For further information please see Sönmez Kutlu, “Mezhep”, I˙slamiyet-Hristiyanlık Kavramları Sözlüg˘ü, C. 2, s. 546.

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– consider the effects of religion of Islam in culture, language, art, traditions and customs; act understandingly towards the members of one’s own religions and other religions; and know other religions – are knowledgeable enough on religious terms to be able to adopt the changes dynamically, – adopt national, moral, humane and cultural values; improve in balanced and healthy in terms of body, mind, morality, spirituality, emotion; know one’s rights and responsibilities, to educate citizens of Turkish Republic (MEB DKAB 4–8 Ög˘retim Programı ve Kılavuzu 2010: 8). When it comes to the vision of secondary school it was stated as such: – who are contemporary in 21st century, adopted Ataturk’s principles and reforms, equipped with basic democratic values, are respectful to human rights, sensitive to the environment they live in, create religious data in social and cultural aspect by interpreting with one’s experience, use and organize the data, developed social participation skills, – understand and interpret the religion that has been effective on individual and society for history of humanity, consider the effects of religion of Islam in culture, language, art, traditions and customs; act understandingly towards the members of one’s own religions and other religions; and know other religions – adopt national, moral, humane and cultural values; improve in balanced and healthy in terms of body, mind, morality, spirituality, emotion; are productive, know one’s rights and responsibilities (MEB DKAB 9–12 Ög˘retim Programı ve Kılavuzu, 2010: 9). The basic approach of these curricula is based on two principles. The first of these is the educational approach. In accordance with this, student’s participation and the teacher’s role as a guide are emphasized by considering approaches such as the constructivist approach, multiple intelligence and student centered learning. The objective of the curriculum was to develop student’s problem solving skills, communication and reasoning abilities by laying the foundation for a cognitive approach towards religion and morality. Another aspect of the curriculum is the theological approach. In accordance with this, during the process of curriculum development the data that is based on research not only on Islam but also on other religions has been considered and information based on superstitious beliefs were avoided. The root values that form the basis of Islam were highlighted by adopting an approach that is Qur’an based, unified and non-confessional in information about Islam. Ultimate attention was shown to prove that these values about belief, worship and moral aspects are a common ground that unifies all Muslims created by The Prophet Hz. Mohamed’s efforts and Qur’an. The ob-

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jective is not to rely solely on one of the interpretations at the expense of others; it is to provide individuals with accurate religious knowledge and moral education. Besides, sects and religious communities are not ignored but rather seen as troves of cultural wealth. In order to integrate into the European Qualifications Framework (EQF) a national qualification framework of Turkey/ Turkey Qualifications Framework (TQF) was created in 2015. Looking at this national framework from an educational point of view the general aim seems to increase the quality of education in theory and practice. The TQF consists of eight qualifications which are “Communication in the mother tongue”, “Communication in foreign languages”, “Mathematical competence and basic competences in science/technology”, “Digital competence”, “Learning to learn”, “Social and civic competences”, “Sense of initiative and entrepreneurship” and “Cultural awareness and expression”4. Due to this general aim every school subject including religious education was revised. The new version of the program was put into practice in 2017. Based on previous changes, the program intends to teach Islam and other religions descriptively. The main sources for teaching Islam would be Qur’an and the Sunnah (the saying and the conducts of the Prophet Hz. Mohamed). When it comes to different interpretations of Islam in history the main approach is intended to be non-confessional. World religion and living faith would be taught in a scientific and descriptive manner as well within the framework of interreligious understanding (MEB DKAB Ög˘retim Programları, 2018). In the tables below, titles of thematic units that are treated in religion lessons in primary and secondary schools were shared for the benefit of the reader (MEB DKAB Ög˘retim Programları, 2018). 4th GRADE PRIMARY SCHOOL AND 5th, 6th, 7th AND 8th GRADE SECONDARY THEMATIC UNITS ACCORDING TO GRADE UNIT NAMES Unit Order 4th grade 5th grade 6th grade 7th grade 8th grade 1

Religious Faith in Expressions Allah in Daily Life

Faith in Prophet and Holy Book

Faith in Angels and Afterlife

Faith in Destiny

2

Let’s Know Islam

Salat

Hajj and Sacrifice

Zakat and Sadaqah

Bad Habits

Ethical Behaviors

Religion and Life

3

Ramadan and Fasting Good ManGood Ethners and ical Conduct Courtesy

4 For further information about “Turkey Qualification Framework” please check https://www. myk.gov.tr//TRR/File6.pdf.

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(Continued) 4th GRADE PRIMARY SCHOOL AND 5th, 6th, 7th AND 8th GRADE SECONDARY THEMATIC UNITS ACCORDING TO GRADE Allah’s Servant Prophet MuProphet MuProphet MuLet’s Know and Messenger: hammad’s Exhammad hammad’s 4 Prophet emplary BeProphet Muand His Life Muhammad haviors hammad Family Life Traces of The Qur’an Religion and Interpretations in and its Char5 Religion Basic Values Cleanliness Thought of Islam around us acteristics Table 1: Table of unit titles 4th to 8th Grade 9th, 10th, 11th AND 12th GRADE SECONDARY SCHOOL CLASSES TABLE OF NAME OF UNITS UNIT NAMES

Unit Order 9th Grade Knowledge 1 and Faith

10th Grade 11th Grade Allah – Human RelationLife and Afterlife ship

2

Religion and Islam

The Prophet MuThe Prophet Muhammad hammad accordand Youth ing to Qur’an

3

Islam and Ibadah (Worship)

Religion and Life

4

Youth and Values

5

Our Soul Geography

Moral Attitudes and Behaviors Faith, Political and Fiqh Interpretations in the Thought of Islam

12th Grade Islam and Science Islam in Anatolia

Sufi InterSome Concepts in pretations in the the Qur’an Thought of Islam Issues Related to Faith

Current Religious Issues

Judaism and Christianity

Indian and Chinese Religions

Table 2: Table of unit titles 9th to 12th Grade

6

Practice / reality of RE in different schools

Religious culture and ethics knowledge is compulsory starting from 4th grade until 12th grade in Turkey. There are 2 hours of lesson per week between 4th and 12th grades. In the current system, there are no religious culture and ethics knowledge lessons in Imam Hatip schools for 9 th, 10 th,11 th and 12 th grades. The reason for this is as it can be understood from its name that there are “Islamic Law”, “Prophetic Biography”, “Hadith”, “History of Religions”, “Qur’an”, “Akaid (Faith)”, “Vocational Arabic ”, “Kalam”, “Rhetoric and Vocational Practice”, “Islamic Culture and Civilization”, “Basic Religious Knowledge”, “Ottoman Turkish” and “Exegetics (Tafsir)” (MEB, AI˙HL Ög˘retim Programları, 2018) vo-

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cational lessons besides other lessons in these schools’ curriculum. In Imam Hatip schools religion lessons are 2 hours for 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th grades weekly. Except for summer holidays, semester breaks, religious and national festivals and weekends, there are 180 days of teaching workdays. In this framework, a student takes approximately 324 hours of religion lesson from 4th until 12th grade. The situation is like this on paper, but in reality the availability of religious culture and ethics teachers determines whether students can take the lesson from the subject matter teacher or not. Especially in 4th grade (after the regulation in 2012, the primary school stage contains 4th grade, this means 4th and 5th) if there is no specialised teacher in the respective school and the class teacher does not feel competent or willing to give the lessons, these lessons can be used to compensate for other lessons. Lack of specialised teachers or the branch teacher’s inability to fill the required number of hours in busy schools- because a teacher’s maximum teaching hours is 30 in a week- can cause these lessons to be assigned to teachers whose specialisation is not religious culture and ethics. This situation has quite a negative effect on lesson quality. Another solution that is applied to address the lack of teachers is to assign a temporary teacher. These temporary teachers are chosen among the graduates of faculties of Theology. However, as not all graduates from faculties of theology have undergone appropriate training, it affects teaching process negatively because even though they have adequate knowledge about the related field, they may not have enough knowledge on teaching and they lack teaching experience. Starting in 2012, after changes in the law of education that is called the 4+4+4 system, students were offered to chose between taking the courses Basic Religious Culture, Holy Qur’an and Life Story of Our Prophet lesson. This has also increased the number of necessary religious culture and ethics knowledge lesson teachers. According to the statistics of Ministry of National Education, religion is one of the fields that is in dire need of additional teachers. According to informal numbers the predicted number of teachers of religious culture and ethics stands ar about 15.000for the year 2020. Another factor that affects implementation of curricula is that of teacher qualifications. A study conducted by the Ministry of National Education in 2006 assessed teacher competencies. In 2008 these competencies were put into effect. These competencies were updated in 2017 in accordance with some new developments in education system and Turkey Qualifications Framework (TQF), (MEB General Competencies for Teaching Profession, 2017). However, defining the necessary qualifications is only the beginning. It is necessary to reorganize teacher training programmes, the criteria for teacher assignment and choice, onthe-job trainings to apply these qualifications to real life. Once the objectives are reached, the success rate of the lessons will increase.

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

In Turkey, Religious Culture and Ethics Knowledge lessons are compulsory for 4th grade up to 12th grade students except for the ones who can prove that they are members of another religion. There is no alternative lesson choice for the students who do not want to take the lesson. Philosophy lessons are among the lessons which need to be taken in the 10th and 11th grade for two hours weekly in secondary schools. However, these lessons are not an alternative to religion lessons. Even though they are not currently part of the curriculum, ethics lessons were determined to be compulsory from 4th grade in primary school until 2nd grade in high school with the 1798 numbered Teblig˘ler Dergisi in 1974 and this implementation lasted until lessons in religion were united with ethics lessons in 1982. While there is no alternative to Religious Culture and Ethics Knowledge, three lessons took their places in the curriculum as elective courses under the heading of “Religion, Ethics and Values” depending on students’ wishes starting from 2012. These lessons are prepared for 5–6–7 and 8th grade and secondary school 9–10–11 and 12th grade students and they are called “Holy Qur’an”, “Basic Religious Culture” and “Life Story of Our Prophet”.

8

Dealing with religious diversity

Turkey is a majority Muslim country. The statistics show the rate as 98 %. According to the results of a study called “Research on Religious Life in Turkey” that was conducted and published in 2014 by Religious Affairs Administration, the rate of citizens who declare themselves Muslim is 99.2 %. The 0.4 % of the ones participating in the study stated that they belong to another religion other than Islam or they declared that they have no belonging to any religion. 0.5 % of them did not give any answers to this question. According to the same survey, while 77.5 % of those who are the members of the religion of Islam declared that they are Hanafi, 11.1 % are Shafii, 1 % are Ja’fari, 0.1 % Hanbali, 0.03 % are Maliki, 6.3 % declared that they are not member of any sects and also 2.4 % of them said that they did not know their sect (Türkiye’de Dini Hayat Aras¸tırması 2014). These statistical data shows the importance of non-confessional approach which is essential for the curriculum of Religious Culture and Ethics Knowledge. It also shows that Turkey is not a country which has plurality in terms of religion affiliations. However, it is a country with a Muslim population that has adopted

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various interpretations in the form of sects which can be described as different interpretations of the religion of Islam. This demographic scene was given special consideration during the preparation process for the curricula for religion lessons which started in 2000 and has led to the adoption of a non-confessional and interreligious approach. In accordance with this, the root values of Islam are emphasized and the factors that are felt to be unifying across sects are carefully chosen as lesson topics. This situation is explained as not being based on any particular sect in the curriculum and not discussing anything that is sect related (MEB DKAB 4–8 Ög˘retim Programı ve Kılavuzu 2010: 2). However, the Hanafi interpretation of Islam tends to play a prominent role, especially when it comes to the descriptions of worshipping activities such as praying as most of the Muslims in Turkey have adopted this sect. There is a teacher’s note for the teachers who teach in places where Shafii or Ja’fari students are more common to encounter problems related to this situation. “When necessary, teachers explain the information related to the different understandings and practices of the sects while teaching the ibadahs (ablution, ghusl, dry ablution and salat etc.) in the religion of Islam…” (MEB DKAB Ög˘retim Programları, 2018: 9). Another factor that was considered while preparing the curriculum for lessons of religion was not putting aside or ignoring the existence of the sects, rather they are described as different understandings of the religion. For this purpose while first the core values were emphasized, later new units and reading texts were added that give descriptive information about various interpretations that have emerged throughout religious and cultural history. In addition, its feature of being open to other religions was enhanced by giving information about other religions as we have mentioned above. A descriptive approach is adopted in order to teach different religions and faiths. In this context, religions and faiths are taught based on their own texts, sources and acceptances. The approaches, attitudes and behaviors which restrict the freedom of religion, conscience and thought are avoided. Students should not be forced to disclose their religious feelings and thoughts and perform the religious practices. Information about other religions is given in 11th grade in the unit “Judaism” and “Christianity” and in the 12th grade in the unit “Indian and Chinese Religions”. While preparing these units, a strategy of giving information about these religions in a scientific and informative manner, free of normative approaches was chosen rather than referring simply to an Islamic point of view. A note is stated in the related unit’s initial declaration: “In this unit, the subjects of “Judaism” And “Christianity” are introduced respectively. Across the unit, the subjects are discussed with main lines according to students’ levels, the objective and descriptive method is adopted in expression, and attention is paid to introduce religions with their own concepts and epistemological acknowledgments.” (MEB DKAB Ög˘retim Programları 2018)

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The same explanation has been made also regarding “Indian and Chinese Religions”. Another point to be mentioned here would be about the unit in 11th grade “Issues Related to the Faith” which covers theism, deism, materialism, positivism, secularism, agnosticism, atheism and nihilism. The stand point addressing these issues comes from the I˙slamic point of view (MEB DKAB Ög˘retim Programları 2018). In terms of plurality in Islam, the biggest handicap that Religious Culture and Ethics Knowledge faces has been about the interpretation of Alevism and Bektashism. Topics about Alevism and Bektashism were first mentioned in the curricula of 2005 and 2006, and new topics and reading texts were added in 2010. The addition of these topics into the curricula has happened as an outcome of government policies called “Alevi Initiative”. The program deals with Alevism as an interpretation of Islam. However, the presence of Alevis who do not see themselves in this interpretation makes it complicated because Alevism is reviewed under the Sufi interpretation in religion of Islam in the curriculum. Therefore, this group is against teaching Alevism in this method in the books. Some of the Alevis see teaching Alevism in religion culture and ethics knowledge lesson as an activity to describe and transform them of the government and reject it because of this. In contrast some other Alevis do not even want to discuss the alternative to be exempt for the religion lessons and claim that this would mean an alienation or discrimination activity for them. Another objection about this issue is also that teaching Alevism and Bektashism in this manner is against the approach of non-confessional. In terms of plurality in Islam, if the Sufi interpretation took place, why other Sufi interpretations such as Naqshbandism and Qadiriyya wouldn’t take place in the curricula was questioned by the stake holders; therefore in 2017 a unit in 12th grade entitled “Sufi Interpretations in the Thought of Islam” (MEB DKAB Ög˘retim Programları 2018) was added to the curricula as a response to this query.

9

Religion in schools outside of RE

The secular character adopted by Turkish National Education after the foundation of Republic has also affected the way religion is treated in lessons other than religion lessons. As mentioned previously the Turkish Republic experienced periods when religion lessons were not part of the curriculum, later they were included as elective courses, became compulsory after 1982, and became both elective and compulsory after 2012 in curricula. During this whole period, the discussions on religion lessons were pursued in the framework of secularism and different interpretations of secularism. This has of course also affected the

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presence of religion in other lessons outside religion lessons. In this sense, the hotly debated and problematic issue whether or not the use of religious symbols and clothing styles that symbolize religious affiliation should be allowed in schools. When we look at the issue in terms of Islam, the subject of the discussions, especially when it comes to clothing, has been women. When we look at the history of the head-scarf ban that was applied in schools, we see that this implementation depended on the Dress Code for the Staff and Students in the Schools that are related to Ministry of National Education (MEB) and Other Ministries which was effectuated in 22 July 1981 with 8/3349 numbered Council of Minister’s Decision. Related regulation was changed in 27 October 2014 and it was indicated that the students’ face should be visible, they must not use materials such as scarf, beret, hat, bag etc. that can be viewed as political symbols, signs and slogans on, they must not dye their hair, have tattoos on their body and use makeup, they must not wear piercings, they must not wear beards and mustaches in secondary and high schools. In addition to these, it was also indicated that students must not wear head-scarfs in primary schools. When the actual implementation in term of piercings, tattoos and makeup is evaluated, it is observed that these are not prohibited in most schools. When the issue is observed in Higher Education Institutions, even though there was no head-scarf ban in the 2547 numbered Law of Higher Education, the head-scarf was banned with the regulations effectuated by YÖK in 1982 and 1987. According to the regulation that was effectuated in 1982 and in terms of the dress code of civil servants, head-scarf usage that was also a prohibition for the teachers was liberated with the regulations called “Democratization Package” in 2013. In Turkish schools there is no tradition of starting lessons or weeks with a prayer. Neither are there celebrations for the religious festivals Ramadan and Sacrifice festival in schools. However, all civil servants and students are sent on holiday during related religious festivals. Schools of minorities also have holidays for their own religious festivals. National festivals are celebrated in ceremonies in schools. This situation is the result of the idea that religious festivals are seen as individuals’ personal space due to secularism and also national festivals’ nature brings all citizens together whatever belief they have. While there are no activities during the special days for Muslims such as religious festivals and holy nights, during the birthday of Prophet Hz. Mohamed (The week of Mevlid-i Nebi) there are some Memorial Day activities organized in some schools in recent years. During these weeks, some activities which show love for the prophet and loyalty are performed.

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Training of teachers of RE: institutes, structures, priorities, issues

When we briefly look at the history of training teachers for the field of religious education, we see the following picture. In 1924, Darulfunun Theology Faculty was opened to educate religious functionaries. Even though training teachers was not mentioned as one the objectives of the school, when the curricula were evaluated and considered that these students can get pedagogical formation from the Faculty of Letters it can be concluded that this school was training teachers for the second half of primary schools and secondary schools. However, as this faculty was closed in 1933 and religion lessons were taken out of the curriculum of schools, these teachers were not needed anymore. Seeing as the opening of both the Ankara Faculty of Theology and Imam Hatip school took place in 1949, this considered to be the year the need for teachers in religion teaching came up. Same as in Darulfunun Theology Faculty, there was no statement of intent to train teachers in the objectives of the foundation of the Ankara Faculty of Theology. However, when the curricula of the faculty were analyzed in 1953– 1954, it was seen that students were given 2 hours of pedagogical formation weekly during the senior year.5 In 1959–1960 with the decision of the Ministry of National Education, the first Islamic Institute was opened for the purpose of training teachers for religion lessons who were needed by the ministry. Starting in 1972, professional teaching knowledge lessons were added into the curricula in the Ankara University Faculty of Theology. In 1980, the “Religious Education Professorship” was founded. The name of this council was changed into “Department of Religious Teaching” in 1982. Therefore, the responsibility to train religion teachers was given to the department.6In the same year, Islam institutes were turned into faculties of theology. Religious Culture and Ethics Knowledge Education departments were opened under Faculty of Theology in 11 universities with a decision taken by Council of Higher Education in 1997 to meet the need for 8-year compulsory education in primary school that started to be implemented between 1997 and 1998. While this department helped students to become Religious Culture and Ethics Knowledge teachers, faculty of theology graduates were given the opportunity to become secondary school religion teachers or vocational lessons teacher in Imam Hatip schools provided that they received a master degree which requires a three semester education. (YÖK, 92. 23. 1660 numbered decision on 11 January 1997; 97. 30. 2248 numbered decision on 10 October 1997.) This situation is quite important in terms of taking faculties of theology, which have taken the responsibility both of training religious func5 http://www.divinity.ankara.edu.tr/?page_id=101 [last access 09. 04. 2020]. 6 http://www.divinity.ankara.edu.tr/?page_id=298 [last access 09. 04. 2020].

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tionaries/theologians and Religious Culture and Ethics Knowledge teachers together with vocational education teachers for Imam Hatip schools, out of their plural purpose structure and moving them towards specialization (Aydın 2016: 247–274). The year 1997 is also significant for faculties of theology. While the quota for the 23 faculties of theology was set at 3288 students at that time, starting from 1998 the quotas started being reduced including Religious culture and ethics Knowledge Education departments. As an example, the student quota for Religious culture and ethics Knowledge Education department was 941 in 2003. Starting from 2005, student quota started to increase a little. Decline of student quota for faculties of theology has created a serious teacher shortage gradually and this has had a negative impact on the way religion lessons and Imam Hatip schools’ vocational lessons are taught. In 2020, according to informal number this shortage in the branch of religious culture and ethics knowledge is 15 thousand and for Imam Hatip school’ vocational lesson is 3 thousand approximately. In 2006, as a result of the decision to update of teacher training curricula taken by Council of Higher Education, the curricula were divided into approximately 50 % for knowledge and skill of the field, 30 % for professional teaching knowledge and skills, 20 % for general knowledge. While the aim was to train teachers intellectually by increasing the rate of general knowledge lessons, by giving the course “Implementation of Servicing the Society” which was made compulsory for all teaching departments the intention was that teacher candidates should be able to display sensitivity to the current issues in the society and provide solutions. Training teachers who solve problems and teach teaching was the goal. Another change that was made in 2006 was opening “Religious Culture and Ethics Knowledge Education” departments which were under the Faculties of Theology within Faculties of Education. While this change was received positively by the academics who think that training teachers is the responsibility of faculties of education, it was criticized by the academics who think that this department should not be separated from faculties of theology because of religion lessons’ private structure and required knowledge of the field. In 2012, these departments were taken from the faculties of education and given back to the faculties of theology. Starting from 2012 besides the present faculties of theology, faculties of Islamic studies were reopened. Both faculties of Islamic discipline and faculties of theology give education for religious culture and ethics knowledge teaching and Imam Hatip schools’ vocational courses. However, these departments’ multipurpose structure is criticized for not providing enough expertise; some academics state that related departments need to branch out to be able to train staff for religion lessons and services about religious affairs.

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The number of schools which teach religious education is increasing all over Turkey. When the data of 2019 is looked at, it can be seen that students were accepted by 34 Faculties of Islamic Discipline and 62 Faculties of Theology.7 This increase brings the question of quality or quantity to the agenda of Turkey. Having more teaching graduates leads to an unemployment problem and creates the challenge of selecting the qualified ones among these teachers. Also, another topic of discussion regards the selectiveness of the examination that is currently held. Some private schools also use their own method of choice besides the grade from this exam. However, employment for the public institutions is made possible according to the alignment of the exam. In Turkey the curricula for universities are prepared by the Council of Higher Education and the faculties are given limited power in this sense. Most current discussion is about taking the lessons “Introduction to Philosophy” and “History of Philosophy” out of the curriculum, increasing the number of major area courses and the decision to change the name of all faculties of theology into “Islamic Discipline”. One of the former members of the Council of Higher Education Professor Doctor Durmus¸ Günay’s statements can give an idea about the topic (Günay 2013): “The religion’s addressing to the mind, making mindful people responsible show the common part of the two which is reaching out the reality. Religion and philosophy which have teleological unity come in front of us as two different sides of the reality. There is no conflict between these two. The answers for the questions about our presence such as why the universe is created, where we come, where we will go, the meaning of our presence are given by “Religion” and “Philosophy”. These questions are metaphysical ones. Satisfactory answers to these questions cannot be provided without philosophy.” The Council of Higher Education has removed this decision from implementation as a result of long discussions.

11

Empirical research concerning RE

When the studies in the field of education that are conducted are looked at, an increase in the field of research is seen. This situation is important in terms of taking religion education out of the discussion of history and bring it to the theoretical level and thereby presenting suggestions solutions for the better. In the last decade (between the years of 2006–2016) we’ve seen that 76 doctorate and 249 master’s degree dissertations have been completed in the department of religious education in Turkey. When we look at the general topics of these dissertations, it is possible to classify them as followed 7 https://istatistik.yok.gov.tr/ [last access 09. 04. 2020].

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Dissertations about student’s development Dissertations about teachers’ qualifications and developments Dissertations about the problem of the field Dissertations about social problems Dissertations about values education

11.1

Dissertations about student’s development

Through the end of the 80s, Professor Selçuk has prepared a doctorate dissertation about religion education. She explains the purpose of his study with these statements (1990: 177): “The Purpose of this research is to construct a program of religious education consistent with the total development of the child and the ways in which he learns were taken into consideration. The whole research has been based on the following two points. a. For what kind of religious teaching are the children ready at various stages of their development? b. What are the possible means, that is to say, methods and materials, which will contribute positively to the religious development of children?”

We see that Selçuk’s study pioneered psychological and pedagogical approaches that take students’ interests and needs into consideration. In another study that is prepared in the same sense about the process of religious development and religion education for 0–6 year-olds, while the way to support child’s religious development is to enrich the social learning environment in terms of language (Bilici 2014). In another study, the level of cognitive acquisition for 5–6 year olds was studied; on the basis of the data collected it was concluded that children’s family structure and the education they get affects their cognitive levels (S¸ims¸ek 2014). In another dissertation that researches the effects of religion lessons on children, students’ religious emotions, thoughts and behaviors are analyzed under a number of variances. According to the results of the study religious culture lessons affect students’ behaviors and manners positively. There are also suggestions to increase this effect in a positive way in the study (Bahçekapılı 2010).

11.2

Dissertations about teachers’ qualifications and developments

Studies which focus on teachers’ role as a guide and a leader have increase in Turkish academia recently. As we explain above the publication of the framework plan about teacher qualifications by the Ministry of National Education has also had an effect on this.

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In one of the studies about the subject, interviews with 557 teachers were made in Istanbul. The researcher has suggested some ways to develop the teachers’ qualifications on testing and assessment by following the outcomes of the study (Gündog˘du 2011). In another doctorate dissertation, the role of on the job training for the teaching profession has been discussed. The most important data of the research for us is that religion teachers do not get adequate professional development training after they start teaching and it is put forward that the current on the job trainings do not contribute enough to the desired development (Öz 2012). In a dissertation aiming to determine quality standards in development of religion lesson teachers in schools, some attempts that will lead to increase the quality of these programs were suggested (Turan 2013). In a study that uses religion lesson teachers’ perception of job burnout, it is proven that perception of job burnout varies according to gender, marital status, type of school, perception of professional qualification, reputation of the profession in society, discomfort because of social expectations, workload, perception of social support and organizational justice (Bayrakdar 2016).

11.3

Dissertations about the problem of the field

After having taken teachers from the center of education and putting them in a position of guiding, showing the way for the construction of knowledge, the questions how to shape religion lessons and what the theology of it should be have come up. It is also a fact that there is an effect of new studies about the neurological and pedagogical construction of knowledge. One of the studies made on this subject is a dissertation titled as “Effect of constructivist approach on realization of aims of culture of religion and ethics course for primary schools”. This study deals with the question whether Primary School Religious Culture and Ethics Knowledge Lessons would be covered by a constructivist approach as well as the things a religion teacher who adopts this approach should focus on and the models that can be implemented in a religion lesson that are covered in constructivist approach (Kızılabdullah 2008). In another study that studies constructivism, the constructivist approach is analyzed according to various aspects and the opportunities and limitations of it were tried to be determined in terms of religion lessons. In this study, the data were analyzed by interviewing teachers to determine the effectiveness of the curricula (Zengin 2010). In another doctorate dissertation, the question of “what makes a curriculum non-confessional one” was explored based on the responses of international religious educators from different religious and cultural backgrounds. So that the main features of a non-confessional curriculum were put forward (Usta Dog˘an 2015).

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269

Dissertations about social problems

One of the most hotly debated and prominent issues about religion lessons concerns their contribution to social peace, mutual understanding and the culture of conviviality. When we search related literature about these issues, we see that there are studies conducted on them. A dissertation focuses on Alevism in terms of plurality in Islam, while information about the perception and expectations from current religious culture and ethics knowledge lessons was given in the interviews (Bora, 2009), in another study these expectations were tried to be determined by literature review (Tosun 2010). In a master’s degree dissertation entitled as “Contribution of religious education to intelligence education in dealing with the religion-related problems that threaten public security (an attempting of development of in service-training model)” the importance of religion education for people who work in security intelligence is analyzed by focusing on their profession (Koçtug˘ 2014). In another study, the aspect of violence is analyzed and the reasons of incidents of violence were examined. As a result of interviews conducted with 1410 students, it is concluded that the violence level of the students who grew up away from a bad environment and friends and in a healthy family, internalized moral values and have peace of mind is low whereas students who are exposed to domestic violence, bad environment and friends’ negative behavior, are present in gangs, carry weapons or blades and whose moral values are low have higher levels of violence and aggression (Avcı 2010).

11.5

Dissertations about values education

When we look at religious culture and ethics knowledge lesson curricula, we see that both Qur’anic and universal values are tried to be transmitted to the students. In the curriculum, some concepts and values that can form the basis of the teaching of morality were included. Some examples for these notions and values are “Friendship”, “Responsibility”, “Patriotism”, “Love”, “Perseverance”, “Helpfulness”, “Justice” etc. (MEB DKAB Ög˘retim Programları 2018). In one of the studies that discusses how to include these values and notions into the lesson, after handling one of the basic notions of Islam “Good Deed and Practice” from various aspects, it is examined how to take it into the lesson by following the philosophy of lifelong learning (Demir, 2013). In the doctorate dissertation called “The role of religious education in just conduct: The example of Istanbul University students” the role of religion education and religiousness in developing righteous manners was tried to be determined with a field study with the participation of 919 students (Güleç 2014). In another study, the role The Prophet

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Hz. Abraham whose name is mentioned frequently in Qur’an was examined as a religious educator. In this study, the notion of the Prophet Hz. Abraham in Christianity and Judaism is also mentioned (Gürel 2011). The identity of the Prophet Hz. Abraham as a unifier of all religions can be seen as a crucial motive that can be used in interfaith and cross-cultural education. The dissertation called “Worldview Model in Religious Education in the Context of Knowing Self and Others” can also be considered an original study. Its originality concerns its focus on how an individual can deepen his or her own religious traditions and rediscover them anew while attempting to learn about another one which opens a new gate to the individual (Tosun 2016).

12

Desiderata and Challenges for RE in a European context

On 28–30 March 2001, a symposium was held in Turkey by the Ministry of Education General Directorate of Religious Education which was attended by religious education specialists from different countries. The contribution of the papers presented in New Methodological Approaches in Religious Education International Symposium to Turkish Religious Education history has persisted until today. The General Director of Religious Education then Selçuk stated the importance of the study in the opening speech of the symposium by these words (2003: 5): “If the world needs peace, there is a need for inter-faith peace. Basic searches on religions are required for the inter-faith dialogue. All of these make the raise of efforts in the field of education and instruction necessary. (No peace, no dialogue, no fundamental reflections without the necessary educational efforts.)” These statements reflecting the global ethical philosophy are also remarkable in that the studies conducted in Turkey in the area of religious education are important on a more global scale including the European context as well. In this symposium, the paper John Hull presented is worthy of note in that “learning the religion”, “learning from religion” and “learning about religion” (Hull 2003: 33–42) concepts be brought to Turkish religious education and in the following years the programs of religious culture and ethics knowledge lessons be interpreted within the framework of these concepts. Selçuk states the following regarding the influence of John Hull on Turkish religious education (Selçuk 2005: 60–61): “The paper presented by John Hull in 2001 covering his considerations on approaches in RE in contemporary societies prompted new research areas for the future. His main arguments can be summarized that ‘learning from religion approach’ among others (learning into religion, learning about religion and faith-based approach) is the most compatible position for the future of member states of the European Union. The implications of this are that religions do abandon the competition between themselves,

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because the history showed that it defiled the process of humanization. Secondly, it is more liable for plural societies or the societies in which tolerance for diversity is acknowledged. Third, in a World in which financial competition and the values of idolatrous Money-God prevailed, there is a need to revive the human values which have been nurtured by faith traditions. Briefly we need to learn, as we have done so far, from religious values for the humanization Project through educational activity. Taking all global and local considerations into account, the remarks by Hull encourages us to reflect upon the strategy in religious education in Turkey with its unique secular and Islamic heritage and to find ways for encountering on a non-competitive bas effort living together. It is Hull’s view, that along these lines, Islam, along with other Abrahamic traditions, may provide a new inspiration for Europe.”

In addition to these studies mentioned above, there are studies focusing on the religious education in Europe. In one of these studies, religious pluralism and religious education in England are discussed (Ers¸ahin 2015). While religious education models are analyzed in Germany in another dissertation (Zengin 2007), in another pre-school religious education in Belgium Catholic schools is studied (I˙nam 2013). The studies that we have chosen to be examples show that not only religious education in Europe but also religious education of Muslims in this continent is on the agenda of Turkish religious educationalists. The last study that we would like to mention under this heading is about the approach of Religious Education teachers to other religions and the members of other religions. The most significant contribution of this dissertation to the area is that it reveals the truth that there is a need for an encounter of moral education in religious education (Yemenici 2012).

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Further information

Along with the studies still being conducted in the area, the studies with the following problem topics can provide clues regarding the future of religious education in Turkey. – What are the goals of religious education? And are there any proper and sufficient studies being conducted in order to achieve these goals? – Which viewpoint is shaping/will shape the future of religious education? – What kind of a role will religious education play in encountering with world views and life styles other than Islam and Muslimism? In the light of these questions, we would like to mention two studies. The first of these is “I˙slamiyet-Hristiyanlık Kavramları Sözlüg˘ü” (ed. Selçuk, Albayrak, Antes, Heinzmann, Turner, 2013); in this work which is an output of eight years of collective efforts of Turkish and German scientists, different concepts are ad-

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dressed with their meanings in Islam and Christianity. When we analyze the dictionary, with regard to addressing audience, it tells us this as a reader: The dictionary provides the believers of these two religions with the opportunity of getting to know each other, understanding each other and correcting the misunderstandings. This dictionary which provides the opportunity of seeing how the concepts, which the believers of two religions use mutually and whose meanings they think that they are talking about the same, are in such a different context opens the door to the depth and the sophistication of the efforts to understand. This dictionary enables both Muslims and Christians to know each other; in addition to this, it enables the individuals to think more deeply regarding their own belief traditions within this encounter. Another study is worldview project: “An Islamic Worldview from Turkey Religion in a Modern, Democratic and Secular State” (Valk, Albayrak & Selçuk 2017). The purpose of this work which describes itself with the following statements is to reveal the answers Islamic religion gives to today’s challenging issues in terms of text and culture. “This book is not about Islam. That is, it is not yet another perspective on Islam’s Five Pillars, its doctrines, teachings, attitudes towards women, or Islamic fundamentalists. Yet, this book is about Islam. That is, it is a journey into Islam – into its heart, into the essence of a world religion – by means of dialogue; a journey and a dialogue that begin with questions and end with even more questions. It is not definitive or prescriptive; neither does it seek to judge or explain. Rather, it explores Islam – from the inside and the outside.”

This book seeks to give new expression to Islam. Its goal is to enliven, raise new questions, and gain new understandings of a religious tradition whose influence will be felt globally and in a heightened manner in the 21st Century. It regards the Qur’an as a sacred text with ultimate authority but how to interpret its message is a complicated business. Insights from multiple perspectives – theological, philosophical, historical, cultural, and sociological – tested deeply held assumptions, probing Qur’anic texts, confronting traditional understandings, discerning between textual mandates and cultural dictates, and more, and all of these are addressed in the book. This projects opens up the possibility to ask basics questions related human beings and increasing the understanding of what it means to be a Muslim, a believer or an atheist.

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Contributors

Ednan Aslan has a PhD in Religious Education. He is a Professor for Islamic Religious Education at the Department of Islamic-Theological Studies and at the Department for Teacher Education at the University of Vienna. Vladimir Bakracˇ has a PhD of Philosophy from the University of Belgrade. He works as a Professor at the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Montenegro, Podgorica. Daniel Cergan holds a PhD in Theology from the Theological Faculty at the Babes-Bolyai University in Cluj, and is Professor for Religious Education in Bucharest. Cezar Dasca˘lu is a Theologian and deacon at the Romanian Orthodox Metropolis for Germany, Eastern and Northern Europe (KdöR). He has completed doctoral training courses in England and Germany and university formation in the fields of theology, history and political sciences. Pınar Usta Dog˘an has a PhD from the Institute of Social Sciences of the Department of Philosophy and Religious Sciences (field of Religious Education) at Ankara University. She currently works as a high school teacher and a researcher in religious education. Xhabir Hamiti has a PhD in Islamic Studies. He is a Professor at the Faculty of Islamic Studies in Prishtina. 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.

278

Contributors

Aneta Jovkovska has a PhD in Religious Pedagogy and is an Associated Professor of Christian Pedagogy and Methodology of Religious Education at the “St. Clement of Ohrid” Orthodox Faculty of Theology of the University St. Cyril and Methodius in Skopje. Valentin Kozhuharov has a PhD in Theology and currently works as a freelance researcher in the fields of religion, education, theology and mission. Zorica Kuburic´ holds a PhD from the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Belgrade and is a Professor of Sociology of Religion and Sociology of Education at the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Novi Sad. Kostadin Nushev has a PhD in Philosophy. He is an expert in religious education and an Associated Professor of Moral Theology at the Faculty of Theology at Sofia University. Sabina Pacˇariz is a PhD Candidate in Politics and International Relations, Queen Mary University of London. Martin Rothgangel has a PhD in Theology and in Philosophy and is Full Professor for Religious Education at the Faculty of Protestant Theology at the University of Vienna. Emil Hilton Saggau is a PhD-student at the Department for Church History at the University of Copenhagen. Gentiana Skura has a PhD in Philosophy and is Associated Professor of Communication at the Faculty of History and Philology at University of Tirana. Zrinka Sˇtimac has a PhD in Study of Religion and is senior research fellow at the Georg Eckert Institute for international textbook research in Brunswick, Germany. Laurent,iu Ta˘nase holds a PhD in Theology from the Faculty of Protestant Theology at the “Marc Bloch” University of Humanities in Strasbourg. He currently works as a scientific researcher at the ICCV – Romanian Academy, and teaches as a senior lecturer at the Faculty of Orthodox Theology of the University of Bucharest.

Contributors

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Petko Zlateski has a MSc in Religious Pedagogy. He worked as an Associated Professor at the “St. Clement of Ohrid” Orthodox Faculty of Theology, University St. Cyril and Methodius, Skopje.