Row over religion study in schools

On Tuesday, the Romanian Patriarchy lobbied again for the religion study in schools, saying “Religion’s current statute within public education system is complying with the national legislation”. The Romanian Orthodox Church’s statement comes less than a month after the Constitutional Court rules as unconstitutional a provision of the Education Law which stipulates that a parent who doesn’t want his child to study religion in school should ask for the child’s withdrawal from that class. Judges of the Constitutional Court have compulsorily ruled that those who should make this claim are the parents who want their child to attend the Religion classes. So far, the Education Law has not been revised to be consonant with the Constitutional Court’s ruling.

“The current statute of religion in the public educational system is complying with the Romanian legislation and it can also be found in other European Union countries,” reads a Patriarchy’s press release. The religious institution argued that “religion study is mandatory, pupils’ attending it is not.”

After the Romanian Constitutional Court ruled into this matter on November 12, the Patriarchy’s representatives were retorting that the ruling was “discriminating and humiliating for the religion class”.

As for the Education Ministry, minister Remus Pricopie said that until the Parliament or the Government amended the current law in order to abide the CC ruling, the ministry would comply with the law in force, meaning the parents who don’t want their children study religion anymore must make this claim officially and fill in a special blank for that.

The Romanian Patriarchy also asked the Senate on Tuesday to veto the draft law initiated by MP Remus Cernea, also president of the Green Party and an advocate of the separation of church and state, which frames replacement of the Religion teaching line with Ethics and civic culture study.