The leading Church of Finland supports the Moscow Patriarchate on the issue of teaching religious subjects in schools

24 September 2008, 14:23

St. Petersburg, September 24, Interfax - The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland supports the Russian Orthodox Church on the need to teach school children the foundations of religious culture of their ancestors.

"Religious freedom is a fundamental human right. Every child has the right to receive religious education in accordance with his own tradition", the summary of the 4th Theological Colloquium of representatives of the two Churches, ended in St. Petersburg on Wednesday, reads.

According to the Orthodox and the Lutherans, "there is no absolutely "neutral" transfer of knowledge about religion in school, because every educational system reflects a certain worldview and value system".

The participants of theological meeting however emphasized that the inclusion of religious education in school curriculum does not violate the principle of secularism in education. "It is necessary to distinguish the church catechism from the religious education in school. School children should have the possibility to receive a profound knowledge about their religious tradition, as well as basic knowledge about other traditions", the authors of resolution added.

They are convinced that the educational goals of a secondary school and of the Church can tune with each other. It is no coincidence that in many European countries, including Finland, the school trains its own religion in accordance with the principle of freedom of conscience. "Studying of religious traditions accords with this principle," the theologians of both Churches confirm.

They also note that Christian education build the moral values of society in a spirit of responsible freedom and create the preconditions for the dialogue of different religions and value systems. So the duty of Christian Churches is to act actively to resolve cross-cultural conflicts and to support for cross-cultural harmony and peaceful coexistence.

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