Ethics to replace Religious Education in schools amid reactions

From the next school year, an Ethics course will be introduced in schools for around 10,500 students (from 3rd grade of primary school to the final year of high school) who have been granted exemption from Religious Education.

However, theology faculties have reacted, proposing the introduction of Religious Studies instead of Ethics, while academics have sought to involve the Church of Greece in the course’s structure and content, according to a report by Kathimerini.

The general assembly of the Department of Theology at the University of Athens, in a unanimous resolution, expressed strong opposition to the new subject. Among other arguments, it stated that “the Ethics course focuses exclusively on normative principles of behavior, detached from the cultural and historical context of religion, placing the discussion almost entirely on a philosophical level.”

“Religious literacy is not indoctrination, but an essential tool for understanding art, history, culture, and the social structures of Europe and the world. Replacing it with a general course in philosophical ethics deprives students of the interpretive tools needed to understand contemporary reality,” it emphasized.

The course is being introduced following two rulings by the Council of State, which stipulate that for students who are exempted, the state must provide an alternative subject.

The Ministry of Education based its decision on two 2019 rulings of the Council of State, establishing that students who are not Greek Orthodox Christians (e.g. of other religions or atheists) may be exempt from attending Religious Education by submitting a relevant request to the school principal.

The minimum requirement for offering the course is 10 students per class; if fewer enroll, they will either attend other classes or undertake a research project.

The Ministry assigned the drafting of the new textbooks to the Institute of Educational Policy (IEP), headed by emeritus Professor of Philosophy at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Stelios Virvidakis.

Source: Καθημερινή