Leading civil society figures warn about dangers posed by initiative to introduce religion in schools

The Initiative Group for the Promotion of the Secular State that consists of leading figures of the civil society is against the introduction of the subject of religion in schools and pleads for the separation of the Church from the State and non-interference of the power in the activities of the religious communities. Several members of the Group made public a Statement to this effect in a news conference at Info-Prim Neo on May 11. One of the signatories, Arcadie Barbarosie said the inclusion of religion in the school curriculum and the introduction of this course as optional would split the society. According to him, a referendum on the introduction of religion in schools is inadmissible as it is unconstitutional and seriously affects the freedoms of the Moldovan people, including the freedom of conscience. The secularism promoted by the Initiative Group does not represent atheism. The Group only wants that the religion is not involved in the organization of the state. Arcadie Barbsarosie considers that the state cannot admit the protection of a certain religion, interference in the internal affairs of the religions and financing of religious activities from public money. Another signatory of the Statement, Antonita Fonari said a Sunday schools can be organized to familiarize the children with Orthodoxy. She considers that the introduction of religion in schools will lead to the division of the children by their religious affiliations. “It is the parents who should decide what religion their children will practice, while the taxes paid by them should be used to solve acute problems, not destroy the relations,” Antonita Fonari said. Galina Precup said representatives of at least three religions live in every village and the children will start to fight between them if the Orthodox religion is introduced as school subject. The supporters of this initiative could obtain other results than the projected ones. “Religion should unite us, not divide the society,” Galina Precup said. According to Cezar Gavriliuc and Sergiu Ostaf, before making a decision as regards the introduction of religion in schools the students should be consulted about this. They consider the referendum that the Orthodox Church of Moldova wants to hold is unconstitutional, while the possible decision to include religion in the school curriculum would run counter to a number of international documents and would defy the Constitution, which says that religion is separated from the state, education is secular in character and the parents have the right to choose what subjects their children should be taught. The Statement of the the Initiative Group for the Promotion of the Secular State will be submitted to the Parliament, the Government, the Moldovan Metropolitan Church, the Bessarabian Metropolitan Church, political parties, NGOs, the mass media, international organizations working in Chisinau.