Activists oppose granting churches the right to open schools

The opponents of the idea say it violates the right to freedom of religion.

As the Human Rights Information Centre correspondent reports, this year’s amendments to the Law of Ukraine “On Higher Education” stipulate that churches and religious communities may establish their own schools. According to the experts, the amendments level the human right to freedom of religion, provided for by the Article 35 of the Constitution of Ukraine.

“Now we will have the situation when children, yet incapable of critical thinking, will be given to religious kindergartens by decision of their parents,” says Roman Leksykov, member of the Direct Action independent student union.

In the Soviet era, the school reached the secular, i.e. laic education standards separated from religion. Now Ukraine experiences the opposite process as the amendments recognize religion and science as equal systems of knowledge.

“Religion and science are different categories, since religious education does not bear critical thinking,” Roman Leksykov notes. “Even the thought of reuniting schools and religion is unacceptable for modern global standards.”

The experts have already appealed to the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, requesting to provide the explanation of the concept of separation, set forth in the Article 35 of the Constitution of Ukraine, “The Church and religious organizations in Ukraine are separated from the State, and the school – from the Church.” The Constitutional Court has not provided explanation yet. The lawyers consider that separation of religion from the state prohibits religious organizations from managing schools.

The proponents of such amendments to the law on higher education argue that the rule of separation of church from school, provided by the Constitution, is not violated, as the public schools will operate along with religious schools. Such practice already exists in the Western countries – Germany, France, the United States. However, the experts believe that the international experience includes the negative practices as well and the blind imposing of religion on children may have such critical consequences as reducing the level of education among the population and one-sided bringing up of children in a certain religious tradition.