Twenty four out of the twenty five countries of the European Union, with the formal exception of France, recognise either state religions (in northern Europe, of the Protestant tradition), established state churches (as in England and France), or, in the case of countries with a Roman Catholic tradition, concordats with the Vatican.
An initiative to instil religious education in European countries has recently been introduced with the draft resolution ‘Education and Religion’ and whilst its outcome is uncertain it may nevertheless represent an indication of the direction European education policy is headed in. The report deplores that, while many European countries give little or no attention to religious education, others choose to focus on one religion, in accordance with their national history and cultural identity and with the beliefs of their nations. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe adopted the report in September 2005 though it has only advisory status.
This report conveys a need to give greater importance to the teachings of all religions in primary and secondary schools, with complete impartiality. It affirms that it is essential to promote a more tolerant attitude towards other religions and to eliminate religious fundamentalism and extremism. It also proposes to centralise religious teachings at the European level, while denying the right of Member States to choose which religion to teach and how to teach it. Whilst such an approach may seem to threaten the prerogatives of denominational schools, they should continue to be protected by the ECHR (European Convention on Human Rights) and EUCFR (European Union Charter of Fundamental Rights) religious freedom clauses that protect the right of parents to choose an education for their children in accordance with their own beliefs, and probably is not too different from current practice in UK schools anyway.
What is of concern is that the report apparently offers no protection for any previous arrangement with official national churches (concordats and other arrangements) or for national educational programs devoted to a specific religion that reflects the historic beliefs of the nation. This appears to be an attempt to privilege European directives above national sovereignty and effectively deny the right of a democratically elected government to make choices for its population. It is currently unlikely that the Report will be formally adopted by the Committee of Ministers in the Council of Europe. Nevertheless, as with many draft proposals within the European context, there are indications as to how thinking is developing and continued vigilance by Christians is essential. Careful arguments need to be made on the differences between tolerance, acceptance and impartiality.
