01-09-16 Ministry introduces comparative religion, in lieu of Orthodox catechism

Education, Research and Religious Affairs Minister Nikso Filis told parliament that religion classes will be revamped at all levels of education as of this year.

“It will be a course of knowledge of religions, certainly including Orthodoxy, and not confessional and catechetical,” Filis said, summarising the change in orientation.

The minister’s full statement follows:

“I would like to inform the Greek Parliament that as of this year, at all levels of education, the new programme of religion classes will be implemented. I heard a statement of New Democracy leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis a month ago on a television programme, in which he said he agrees with changing the religion curriculum at schools.”

“The programme prepared by the Institute of Education Policy was drafted by a special committee that was created and heard all sides, including the [Orthodox] Church and theologians. The decision certainly was made by the state; this is how schools operate. They do not operate based on the decisions of others. We are prepared to conduct teacher retraining and we will proceed with a programme to change religion classes, so that they are no longer confessional and catechetical, but rather a course offering knowledge of religions, certainly including Orthodoxy, but also the other religions that surround our country, or religions whose faithful live in our country. We hope to soon present the programme for training theologians,” Nikos Filis concluded.