Russia’s president, Dmitri A. Medvedev, said Tuesday that the federal government would begin a national program to teach religious education in the schools, such initiative being among the most debated and controversial in Russian society.
“I have made a decision to support both these ideas: teaching the basics of religious culture and secular ethics in Russian schools, and I also consider it expedient to organize on a regular basis the work of clergymen representing traditional Russian confessions in our Armed Forces,” said Medvedev at the meeting with top religious and government officials at his Barvikha residence outside Moscow.
The New York Times informs that with the new program, russian parents would be able to choose studies in four federally recognized religions — Russian Orthodoxy, Islam, Judaism and Buddhism — as well as a course in comparative religion. Russia’s president said the national program would begin next year as a pilot project including about 20 percent of Russia’s schools in 18 regions.
According to the New York Times, the issue of religious education in the public schools has been provocative, highlighting the growing influence of the Russian Orthodox church since the end of Soviet Union, officially atheist.
In the eyes of The Moscow Times, which holds often a critical position towards the current Russian government, such initiatives could pose a major challenge to the constitutional separation of religion and state. The presse quotes the critics that the Russian Orthodox Church is “significantly better prepared to install its priests in schools and garrisons, which would leave others at a disadvantage”. Opponents also think a conflict of subordination could arise in military units between priests and commanders.
On the other hand, some people worry that “teaching religious classes in schools would likely degenerate into religious propaganda, while little freedom would be left for nonbelieving or non-Christian soldiers who do not want to attend religious services.” reported Moscow Times.
Chaplains from major Russian religions will be hired by school to give lessons. The Moscow Times montioned that proponents of the initiatives — with the most vocal being the Russian Orthodox Church — maintain that they would contribute the moral and spiritual education of the younger generations.
Medvedev stressed on Tuesday that any interaction with clerics in schools or the Armed Forces should be voluntary.
The Russian Orthodox Church counts in its congregation more than 100 million people in Russia and tens of millions elsewhere. But polls show that only about 5 percent of Russians are observant believers, announces the Associate Presse.
By Chen Yu
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