Vol.

LXV
No. 1/2013
93 - 100

School religious education in countries with majority

orthodox population. A comparative analytical approach

Constantin Cuco *
Al. I. Cuza University, Ia i, Romania

Abstract

This study focuses on highlighting similarities and differences regarding religious education in countries with an
Orthodox majority population in Europe. Our aim is to investigate several levels of achieving this dimension of the
education: the legal and normative framework, the relation between religious education in school and outside of
school, the adjacent curriculum, the strategic and didactic framework for conducting activities, deficiencies and/or
development directions of action.

Keywords: religious education; confessional education; Christian spirituality; comparative approach

1. Introduction

European unification, whose beginnings have been noted from one day to another,
has to take into account the spiritual background of this polymorphous space and
manage it cleverly. If the economic, legal, administrative etc. differences or contrasts
must be diminished or annihilated, by using common models and strategies, it is not
the same thing as far as the cultural, spiritual, religious level is concerned.
Unification, which has been talked about, does not mean uniqueness, lack of
differences and it does not require to happen at the same rate and rhythm,
mechanically, for all the components of the societies as a whole. From the strategic,
military, economic, legal point of view, unification (progressive and partial, certainly)
is shown to be just because it is going to guarantee the community space to function
and to rationalize in a certain way.
Cultural unification, under the (linguistic, religious, artistic, etc...) uniqueness
spectrum, leads to identity dissolution, spiritual atrophy and results only in
nightmares. As far as religious education in schools is concerned, in future Europe, at
least in the near future, one must start from what has already been, from the multiple
formulae and situations which have been registered so far, from the more orless
exemplary national experiences (countries with tradition and educational alternatives
in this respect - such as Italy, Belgium, Spain, etc. ...., or countries where religious
education in schools has not been agreed to - for example, France).
Each stat entity comes with its own specific (judicial, ethnical, religious, socio –
cultural etc. …) avatars and problems which can be solved only differentially. To
claim a unique formula of religious education achievement means to assume, right
from the start, that also the education systems are identical (concerning the structure,
process, curriculum) which is nonsense. The principles, rules of functioning, finalities,
values under the auspices of which education is achieved, these can be unique,
negotiated and established by mutual agreement. The strategies of action – on the
other hand – must be different, conceived by contexts and problems.

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: cucos@uaic.ro
 Constantin Cuco /Journal of Educational Sciences and Psychology 94

2. Religious Education in Schools (Country Presentation)

2.1. Greece

Religious education in Greece is founded on the principle of liberty of religious

expression stipulated by the Constitution, Article 13 and by the Human Rights
European Convention, Article 9. Political and civil rights Convention, in accordance
with Article 18, paragraph 4, also stipulates that the states participating in the present
convention include the respect for parents or legal tutors’ liberty, if needed, to ensure
“moral and religious education, according to their own convictions”. In a society
where there is the population’s high adhesion to a religious faith – the case of Greece
– it is the state itself which is involved in organizing the religious education, in
accordance with the majority ‘s faith, Orthodoxy (90 %). At the same time, in the case
of a child who is not an Orthodox, s/he has got the right not to participate in the
Religious Education classes, if his/her parents or school require this by a simple
petition. The religious minorities, more and more obvious in Greece, due to the
economic migration or political refugees, have transformed the spiritual background,
resulting in multiple multi-religious and multi-cultural orientations. Consequently, a
new education system has emerged, called intercultural schools, where the new school
populations (12%) may develop their own religious and cultural diversity. In Greece,
the religion study starts in the third year of the primary school and goes on during the
whole compulsory education. During the last year of the secondary education,
Religious Education is included in a module together with Philosophy, History,
Foreign Languages, this being a strategy of all school types. Like other school
subjects, Religious Education is studied in accordance with the school curriculum and
textbooks issued by both representatives of church and teachers who teach these
subjects. Concerning the training of teachers, there is a transition from a two to a four-
year training period, the Religious Education teachers’ statute undertaking a positive
influence. (cf. Lexicon…, p.761)

2.2. Romania

The legislative documents which support the achievement of institutionalized

Religious Education are, first of all, the Constitution and the Education Law of 2011.
The new National Education Law, as well as the Law of 1995, adjust the legal
framework in order to achieve the institutionalized Religious Education in Article 18:
(1) “The framework - plans of primary, secondary, tertiary and vocational education
include Religious Education as a school subject, as part of the common trunk.
Students belonging to religious cults recognized by the state, regardless their number,
have the constitutional right to participate in the Religious Education class according
to their own confession. (2) According to the written request of a major student, of
his/her parents or legal tutor respectively, the student may not attend the Religious
Education classes. In this case, the school report will be ended without the school
subject Religious Education. The procedure is also similar for the pupil whom, due to
objective reasons, was not ensured conditions to attend this class. (3) The school
subject Religious Education can only be taught by qualified staff according to the
stipulations of the present law and authorized staff on the basis of protocols concluded
between the Ministry of Education, Research, Youth and Sport and the religious cults
recognized By the state” (Legea Educatiei Nationale, in Monitorul Oficial, nr. 0018
din 10 Ianuarie). We specify the fact that there are very few cases of non-attendance
of Religious Education classes at the parents’ explicit request (Cucos, 2008).
The confessional education is also present in Romania, both through the network of
high-schools and several confession faculties which train those who serve the cult
(priests, church singers, social caseworkers, etc. …) and also through a network of
primary, secondary or high schools which are patronized by churches. The Education
Law in Romania, by means of Article 60, encourages explicitly such a network of
schools which meet the didactic rules of the Ministry of Education and Research.
 Constantin Cuco /Journal of Educational Sciences and Psychology 95

Here is what this article stipulates: In Romania, Religious Education is a subject

included in the curriculum area Man and Society, together with History, Geography,
Civics Education, Philosophy, Psychology, achieving simultaneously with these
subjects, a class a week, generally. For the primary school (classes I – IV ) and the
secondary education ( classes V – VIII ) Religious Education is a compulsory subject,
and for high school education, it is an optional subject. Religious Education is taught
in schools according to the stipulations of the education plans, school curricula and
specific education laws. Religious Education is included in the school timetable and
assessment is done according to the school rules stipulations and to known didactic
exigencies. The teaching staff is employed by contest, like all the other teachers,
through the school Inspectorates of the country departments; to attend a contest,
candidates must also present a recommendation referring to their moral behavior,
from the cult they represent. The state establishes the norm and wages for Religious
Education classes according to the Teaching Staff Statute and the regulations of the
Ministry of National Education. The Religious Education framework – plans are
thought of in a non – confessional perspective, specialist theologians and different
teachers working at these framework – plans, each cult having specific themes, the
intersection zone for the Christian cults being minimum or accidental (Timis, 2004).
The performance of working in teams has not been reached, at least in some moments.
The common points have been brought together by the same finalities, that is by the
same framework – objectives (what is the purpose of Religious Education?) stipulated
by the curricula of all confessions, namely:
1. Knowledge of and love for God as the basis of people’s salvation and perfection;
2. Knowledge and appropriate language usage of the religious values;
3. Knowledge of the Holy Scriptures teachings, of religious traditions and of Church
history;
4. Christian virtue formation and consolidation of moral – religious behavior skills;
5. Education of acceptance, understanding and respect attitude towards people of
other convictions (Programe scolare pentru clasele I- a VIII-a, vol. 7, Aria
curriculara - Om si societate, Religie, MEN, Bucuresti, p.6).
We have to note that, at present, the other school subjects are not “tuned” to the
Religious Education objectives, and they are not sufficiently based on a spirituality
which should be in perfect agreement to the Christian faith. On the contrary, there is
still much atheistic, disjointed information, contrary to the religious values.

2.3. The Republic of Moldavia

In the Republic of Moldavia schools, moral – religious education, being in its first
years of development, is achieved according to Article 4, Paragraph 3 of the
Education Law that stipulates that this education is optional and elective at all the
education levels. According to the data communicated by the Ministry of Education
and Science, in Chisinau, at present, the moral – religious education class occurs in
the curriculum of 35 state schools of 10 departments, it is taught by 7 laic teachers and
24 church officials. The number of schools teaching Religious Education has been
increasing if the usual tuition class has been included among those classes which
make moral – religious education. At present, the Mitropolitan Church of Chisinau
and of the Whole Moldavia is thinking of a new conception if teaching Religious
Education in school, namely, the Orthodox Christian religion, to achieve an integrated
educational process.
The framework – objectives of the Religious Education are:
Knowledge of and love for God and of His church according to the Holy Scriptures
and the Holy Tradition;
Christian attitude acquirement towards peers, society and environment;
Increase of man’s role on earth and Christian attitude acquirement towards himself.
Religious Education in the Republic of Moldavia, through objectives and contents,
follows the direction carried on in Romania, but the focus is on its role in keeping the
national – cultural values, on pointing out historical roots and descendants, on
“awareness of the affiliation to the Orthodox Ancient Church and to the historical,
 Constantin Cuco /Journal of Educational Sciences and Psychology 96

ethnical and cultural space”, to “toleration as well as firmness (!) towards the
pluriconfessional realities of Moldavia”. (Teaching Conception of Orthodox –
Christian Religion, grades I – IV, the Orthodox Church in Moldavia, the Mitropolitan
Church of Chisinau and of the Whole Moldavia, Chisinau, 2003). In addition to this
strategy, there is the endeavour of some authors to make responsible factors be aware
of the importance of the moral – spiritual education (in fact, religious education) ;
they have worked out a conceptual guide on Moral – Spiritual Education, under the
patronage of the Department of Education, Science, Youth and Sport and of the
municipal Methodical – Scientific Centre “Art of becoming a Man “ (cf. Bujor,
Calistru, Mahu, Smerea, Educatia moral-spirituala (Ghid conceptual), Chisin u,
2001).
The lack of qualified teaching staff represents a problem. The people who teach
religion have been selected both among the teaching staff, but unqualified yet for
teaching religion, and among the competent theologians of psycho –pedagogy and
theology, who have irreproachable moral profile. In the future, there is the desire to
elaborate autochthonous textbooks and guides for teachers.
The improvement process of bringing in religious education in schools in the
Republic of Moldavia has been made difficult because of the ideological and political
disputes of different groups alternating at the country government.

2.4. Bulgaria

The Bulgarian Constitution guarantees the religious freedom but designates the
“Eastern Orthodox Christian religion as being a traditional religion”. The Government
supports the Eastern Orthodox Church financially and also several other religious
communities considered as having an important historical place in the society, namely
the Muslim community, the Catholic community and the Jews. Generally, the
different communities have found a certain improvement but they are waiting for the
answers to the concrete problems, such as the problem of Islam education in schools
where students would like to study it, the restitution and the access to mass media.
The problems concerning the church, school and state relation have returned to
Bulgaria, too, since the democratic changes of 1989.The highest church forums
(Bulgaria’s Orthodox Church and the High Muslim Council) have not reached
common points of view, so that the internal schism (at a certain moment there were
parallel metropolitan archbishops) had a negative effect on religion introduction in
school. Between 1996 and 1999, the internal disputes were calmed down and the new
conditions of relative unity led to the agreement of religion study in schools.
This delay is due, on the one hand, to the disputes and misunderstanding inside the
cults, on the other hand, to the headmasters and teaching staff’s atheistic, materialistic
mentality. There was the (wrong) conclusion that if education is laic, culture
conveyed by means of school, should not have any spiritual or religious dimension.
This point of view prevailed up to 1997, when after several conferences, seminars,
meetings of church representatives and political and school people, this perspective
started to change.
The beginnings of systematic religious education are placed in 1998 – 1999 school
year. Religious Education as a school subject was introduced in the primary school for
grades 2 – 4, as an optional subject. There were a small number of classes because of
the bad organization of the pupils’ groups at the beginning of the school year. During
the 1999 – 2000 school - year, Religious Education was studied in grades 2 – 8, in the
primary and secondary school as well. Religious Education was taught as an optional
subject, an hour a week. A class of Religious Education could be organized if at least
13 students wanted to learn this subject.
Religious Education as a school subject has a confessional character and it is
mainly directed towards the doctrinarian contents and the practice of the cult. In the
secondary school, it becomes less confessional; it is directed towards Orthodoxy
(more or less than 70% of the contents) but also towards other Christian or religious
confessions (Jews and Islamic practices).
 Constantin Cuco /Journal of Educational Sciences and Psychology 97

Religious Education like any other school subject recently introduced in schools,
has encountered great difficulties. One of the first difficulties was the lack of the
material to be taught. Up to the end of 1998 and the beginning of 1999, there were no
Religious Education textbooks and pupils used old books which had a totally another
character than that of a school textbook. In 1999, the first Religious Education
textbook for grades 2 – 4 was published and in the autumn of 1999 two other
Religious Education textbooks were issued for grades 5 – 6 and 7 – 8.
Secondly, the position of a Religious Education teacher has not been established yet
administratively in schools; firstly, theologians were employed as Religious
Education teachers. They graduated from the Faculty of Theology in Sophia and in
Veliko Turnavo, where all the students are obliged to study and to own a teacher
qualification.
Thirdly, the responsibilities of the Religious Education contents and the topics to be
taught have not been clearly defined. There is a commission for Religious Education
in MEC that inspects and approves the contents to be taught and the courses the
teachers have to attend.
Fourthly, the relations of the state with the other confessions and religions
concerning the Religious Education school subject have not been regulated
administratively.

2.5. The Russian Federation

Some articles of the Russian Federation Constitution legislate the right of teaching
Religious Education (Article 17, 28, etc.) The education law in the Russian Federation
is quite restrictive concerning institutionalized Religious Education. Here is what it
stipulates:
1. The education system has a civil character (Art. 2) Religious Education in
school is allowed exclusively in the following situations:
- as part of teaching religious, religious – philosophical, religious knowledge
subjects, outside the curriculum, supplementary;
- as part of ethno-confessional course teaching in state schools which have a
(national) ethno – cultural education component;
- in the situation when teaching of Religious Education takes place as out – of
school optional classes.
2. In state and municipal educational institutions it is forbidden to found religious
organizations and their activity is forbidden as well.( p.5, paragraph 1 of the
Education Law).
The present legislation authorizes the so called “traditional” religions to open
secondary schools and higher institutes. There two types of educational programs of
these institutions. Some of them include general education in their courses according
to the education norms stipulated by the Ministry of Education and they grant besides
a religious diploma, a corresponding State diploma. Some others limit themselves to
religious education. Within the framework of public schools, new school subjects,
whose delimitation has not been rigorously defined yet, have appeared: History of
Religions and Theology. The main difficulties are connected to the ambiguity
concerning the diploma itself. In addition it is not known precisely if the public
institutions can train theologians.
In practice, it is the administration of different public institutions that decide , each
in their own way, on the new school subjects to be taught, according to their own
ideological preferences and at the same time according to their capacity of making the
Ministry of Education approve the new subjects.
An example to support the Religious Education study in schools is also represented
by the new religious legislation. Adopted on 26th September 1997 and come into
force on 1st October 1997, the new federal law “Regarding the Liberty of Conscience
and Religious Associations”, takes into account and regulates all the activities of the
religious associations. The law stipulates two principles: the liberty of conscience and
of religion is recognized for all the citizens and residents in the Russian Federation
and it reaffirms the separation between church and state, promulgating the idea that
 Constantin Cuco /Journal of Educational Sciences and Psychology 98

there is no religion which can claim the statute of an explicit alliance with the state,
but at the same time the special role of Orthodoxy in the development of the Russian
nation and culture” has been stressed.

2.6. Ukraine

Article 35 of the Ukraine Constitution ensures the liberty of religion.

This article stipulates:
- Each person has the right to liberty of conscience and religion. This right
includes the liberty to profess or not to profess a religion, to participate in
individual or collective rites or rituals and to direct the whole activity
religiously.
- To put this right into execution can be limited by law only in the interest of
protecting the public order, the population’s health and morality or
protecting other individuals’ rights and liberties.
- The church and the religious organizations in Ukraine must be separated from
State and School separated from Church. No religion can be recognized as
mandatory by the State.
- No one can be exempt from the debts towards the State and no one is allowed
to refuse obeying the law because of religious beliefs. If serving in the
military service is contrary to the religious belief, this duty can be replaced
by alternative military service.
The 1991 Constitution guarantees the liberty of religion and practice of the cult. An
amendment of 1993 restricts the missionary activities and the invitation of foreign
missionaries only to communities registered by the administration.
The local authorities often intervene in the religious problems, either conflicts
among Orthodox churches or foreign missionaries. The religious liberty is effective in
Ukraine except these interferences of the Administration. Churches try to get a
legislation which could legalize the existence of the confessional schools and could
allow them to exist on an equal level with the State Schools. They ask for the same
recognition for confessional Universities.
The problem of religious education study in schools continues to be on the project
and discussion stage. Concrete proposals on how to work out the new law on the
“liberty of conscience and of religious organizations” have been talked about by MPs,
culture people, state institution officials – Ukraineform News Agency informs. One of
the authors who works out this law is MP Vasilii Kostitkii who announced that he had
proposed the Parliament to examine the on the collaboration between Church and
School. This law will allow the teaching of Religious Education in schools optionally.
The idea of the religious study introduction in school curricula has been supported
by the Muslim Centre representative, Suleiman Muhamedzeanov. According to his
opinion, knowing the Koran will lead to the spiritual closeness between the Muslim
young people and believers of other religions.

2.7. Belarus

After the division of the USSR, the Republic of Belarus proclaimed its
independence on 27th July 1990, ratified by the Parliament on 25th August 1990, after
the putsch of Moscow. The President Alexander Loukachenco ratified a new law on
Religious Education, on 31st October 2002. This law calls for the registration of
religious groups and of the foreigners ’activities working their services. The defenders
of the religious liberties denounce this legal discrimination which affects half of the
Catholic clergy of the country.
The militants for religious liberties denounce these “draconian measures” taken
against the religious minorities. They say that because to this law the minority
Churches in Belarus have been threatened. They warn: a great number of their
communities could disappear. The majority Orthodox Christians are satisfied with this
law, the protestant part being revolted. The Government defend themselves arguing
that they have to fight against sectarian proliferation.
 Constantin Cuco /Journal of Educational Sciences and Psychology 99

The new law forbids any activity of religious association if it is not registered on a
Governmental level and it stipulates censoring of religious literature.
In fact, according to this law, no foreigner has the right to be the head of any
religious organization. Cardinal Swiatek explains that the Catholics are not the group
the most affected by these restrictions. Certain groups, such as the Protestants, who
are not yet very well settled, are affected toughly”. According to the latest
estimations, the number of Catholics in Belarus is as high as two million, out of a total
population of about ten million inhabitants.
John Paul II received the visit of the bishops of Belarus, ad limina, in February
2003, and he invited them to work for the benefit of the youth, family and mainly of
the Orthodox – Catholic mixed couples. Actually, he insisted on the importance of the
Polish priests and believers’ presence in their country to “consolidate the Catholic
community”.

2.8. The States of ex- Yugoslavia

The division of the Yugoslav state generated deep conflicts due to different
religious platforms, too. From the legislative point of view there are not bases yet to
achieve religious education. There is still the fear that the Religious Education study
in schools will activate the old inter- ethnical conflicts which are not over yet.
Religious Education has been still practiced vaguely, non – systematically, within
the religious organizations and less in state institutions. For the time being, there is
not a general legislation which can regulate clearly the relation between church and
state, and between those ones and school.
For example, the federal and Serbian legislation stipulates the religious right
guaranteed by the international documents concerning the human rights. In Serbia
there are not laws on the religious communities and there is no distinction between
“traditional” and “new” or “big” and “small” religious communities. The state
intervention into the internal problems and activities of the religious communities has
not been authorized.
A new republican law on religious communities is being prepared. The law project
on the religious communities has not passed yet and nothing shows that the public or
at least the experts in religious problems will have the possibility to see it before
having been adopted. The information available about the law contents is subject to
speculations.
Some say that the project would be modern and liberal; some others are suspicious
that it would be similar to the restrictive Russian law which favors the Orthodox
Church and presents it as being a kind of State Church.
Religious Education being studied in schools has been supported by the church
representatives. Here are two examples: 1) the representatives of Islamism in Kosovo
and 2) the Orthodox and Islam representatives in Macedonia.

3. Conclusions

The space of Christian spirituality in the East of Europe offers heterogeneous

situations, dynamics and experiences concerning the study of Religious Education in
schools. The common characteristics are transition, experimentation, passing from
error, attempt, and empirical periods to somehow coherent, reasonable improvable
strategies. A transition with small but obvious steps can be noticed, a transition from
amateurism to professionalism.
Teaching Religious Education in schools has got a short experience of about 20
years in the case of Romania, 12 – 13 years in Moldavia, Russia and Ukraine, 9 – 10
years in Bulgaria and almost no experience in the countries of former Yugoslavia
because of unfavorable political and ideological circumstances. During the communist
period, Religious Education in schools was forbidden. The educational practices of
Religious Education teaching between the two world wars are no longer suitable from
a didactic, pedagogical or philosophical point of view.
 Constantin Cuco /Journal of Educational Sciences and Psychology 100

Religious Education as a school subject has not had yet a unitary statute,
didactically and formally in these countries. While in Greece and Romania it is an
obligatory school subject, in other countries, such as Ukraine, Moldavia, or Russia, it
is elective or optional, or even extra or peri – school, like in the countries of former
Yugoslavia. So, there is a symbolic devaluation because of its didactic statute which is
non – compulsory.
An advantage of this spiritual resurrection (introduction of Religious Education in
schools) is that it is happening in a period of cultural, diplomatic re-defining in
Europe. From the beginning, the process of Religious Education introduction in
schools can be connected to dynamics which will characterize our continent for a long
time, to principles extremely necessary to our present-day world, such as confessional
alterity, inter-culturalism and tolerance observance and mutual respect.
In most cases, the initiative of Religious Education introduction in schools
belonged to the majority as well as minority clergy who by means of diplomacy,
persuasion, effort have been militating in favor of this spiritual resurrection judicially,
politically and personally. Besides these ones, representatives of laity, artists – the
civil society, in general, have added. The most obstacles have come from some
politicians who are representatives of the old totalitarian regimes.
The more obvious the democratic processes become, the more mono - confessional
steps are taken, without any risks, at least at the beginning of the religious formation,
so that later, some other confessions specific to the near community space could be
approached. The action principles would be as follows: respect and love for
confessional alterity, spiritual difference acquirement, mutual confidence,
communication and didactic experience share, purpose unity through value and
strategy diversity, common action.

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