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Religious instruction is a vital component of moral education
EKD Council's stand on the referendum campaign in Berlin
November 24, 2008
The Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) has issued a statement in favor of a referendum in Berlin which would allow pupils and parents to freely choose between religious instruction and lessons in ethics. If it carries, residents of the Federal State of Berlin will be able to exercise their constitutional right of freedom of religion in the educational sector as well.
Below is the text of the statement:
Statement by the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) concerning religious instruction in the State of Berlin and on the current referendum campaign
The Council of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD wholeheartedly salutes the initiative on the part of the citizens of Berlin in favor of a free choice between religious instruction and lessons in ethics. If the petition currently under way succeeds, pupils and parents in the Federal State of Berlin will be able to exercise their constitutional right of freedom of religion in the educational sector as well.
Religious instruction as part of the regular curriculum is an essential component of moral education. It is inherent to the educational system's mandate. It reaffirms the religious freedom of pupils while respecting pluralism. Children, adolescents and young adults are placed in a position to freely and independently choose their religious orientation.
State-imposed instruction in philosophical or religious issues as that which has been implemented in the Federal State of Berlin does not comply fully with the principles of a free, democratic society and irresponsibly curtails the school's mission to educate. In no other federal state are young people obliged to take part in classes in ethics without the alternative of confessionally-oriented religious instruction provided by churches or other religious or philosophically-minded communities.
The concern that separating religion and ethics in the classroom will compromise the fostering of common values and attitudes on the part of pupils is not warranted. Religion and ethics are partners in dialogue, even if they are fundamentally different. In the compulsory curriculum, the choice between religion and ethics as called for by the Berlin referendum and as has been proposed on several occasions by the Evangelical Church of Berlin-Brandenburg-Silesian Upper Lausitz, would allow for separate but equal subjects that would share compulsory status. A dialogue that fosters understanding and tolerance in the classroom and in society can only succeed when no partner is disadvantaged - as religion is under the current school law in Berlin. The council of the EKD therefore supports the goal of the referendum to grant religious instruction and ethics equal status.
Hanover/Berlin, 24 November 2008
Press Office of the EKD
Christof Vetter