Tusk's Government to Reduce Participation in Religious Education in Schools

Under the new Polish legislation, fewer pupils would be allowed to attend religious education in schools, and school administrators could group children enrolled in religious education by age. The proposed changes face opposition not only from the Catholic Church but also from parents.

Statue of Pope John Paul II in Poland (Photo: NurPhoto/AFP/Artur Widak)

As a potential consequence of the changes, pupils enrolled in faith-related classes might receive insufficient educational content in different groups each year. This could lead to fewer students choosing religious education, resulting in a significant reduction in the number of religion classes offered, Polsatnews reports. However, according to the national education ministry, the decree on the organization of religious education is legal and will improve the functioning of schools, even granting students more flexibility in organizing their timetables, Deputy Minister Katarzyna Lubnauer was quoted as saying by Dzieje.pl.

Katarzyna Lubnauer, ex-leader of the liberal Modern ("Nowoczesna") political party, attends a meeting of the Civic Coalition political alliance with the president of the opposition Civic Platform party, Donald Tusk, in Rzeszow, Poland, on April 25, 2023. (Photo: NurPhoto/AFP/Artur Widak)

Despite this, the First President of the Supreme Court, Małgorzata Manowska, has appealed to the Constitutional Court against the national education ministry's decree on the conditions for organizing religious education classes.

The ministry's new amendment has been criticized for, among other things, violating the principle of the established regulation of the relationship between the state and the churches, and for potentially preventing the teaching of religious education in accordance with the curriculum.

The Constitutional Court has also been asked to suspend the application of the contested provisions. "The decline in the number of pupils attending religious education classes, the shortage of catechists, and the growing problem of having to teach in two shifts, especially in urban areas, is a phenomenon that required an urgent response from the education minister," the ministry states in its report.

End-of-year mass in the chapel of the private secondary school Isaac de l'Etoile. The priest speaks to the young people before the altar and the cross (Photo: Hans Lucas/AFP/Jean-Francois Fort)

According to the state secretary in charge of education, the new regulation will give school directors greater flexibility in scheduling and organizing classes in ways that are most beneficial for students. Being aware of the specific needs and characteristics of their local communities, directors are best suited to determine whether—and to what extent—they will utilize the possibilities offered by the regulation. Mr. Lubnauer noted that the regulation will come into force after May 31 next year, so it will not affect the operation of schools in the 2024/2025 academic year.

Polish bishops protest

The decree was unanimously rejected by the Catholic Church. A circular from the Polish Bishops' Conference states: "Dear parents, please ensure that your children participate in religious education at school. You made the decision on the day of their baptism to guide them on the path of faith."

"Let us educate together," 

– the bishops said in a pastoral letter.. 

They also pointed out that the educational process should include not only the mental, intellectual, and physical spheres but also the spiritual sphere, including appropriate faith formation, Kath.net reports.

"The need for a relationship with God is a natural human need," they stress.

"Parents, whose taxes also finance the school, have the right to demand that the school educate their children according to the values handed down in the family and the Church through faith education," they write.

Poland Protests Ministry of Education Decision to Cut Religious Education Hours

(Poland) Hundreds protested in Warsaw against reduced religious lessons in schools. The Ministry of Education’s decision to cut class hours sparked the demonstration, organized by the Association of… pic.twitter.com/RgdYGfPzc9

— Midnight Crier (@prepperdaves) August 22, 2024

The decree affecting religious education prompted the Association of Secular Catechists  to organize a protest in Warsaw's Castle Square. The protesters wrote on their banners:

"Science and religion", "Stop discrimination against believers", "Religion is the most important good in the life of the nation", "We want God in books in schools".

The Association of Secular Catechists also asked President Andrzej Duda to appeal to the Constitutional Court against the amendment of the decree.

Cover photo: Statue of Pope John Paul II in Jaroslaw, in the Carpathian Voivodeship, Poland, on August 2, 2024  (Photo: NurPhoto/AFP/Artur Widak)