In Pilot Program, Some Russian Schools to Offer Classes on Selected Religions or Secular Ethics

Last week the New York Times and AP reported that Russian President Medvedev had announced that an experimental program will offer preteen students the opportunity to take courses on Russian Orthodox Christianity, which is the country’s dominant faith, Islam, Buddhism, or Judaism, a course offering an overview of all four faiths, or a class on secular ethics. The pilot effort in approximately twenty per cent of Russian schools may be expanded nationwide in 2012. Announcing the project, Mededev stated that  "[a]ny coercion, pressure will be absolutely unacceptable and counterproductive" as students and their parents consider the available offerings.  Several Russian regions had previously mandated that students take classes in Orthodox culture, and concern has grown within the country about close alliances that had been forged in recent years between leaders of the Russian Orthodox Church and a number of government officials, including Vladimir Putin. As described in the New York Times last year, the relationship between Putin and Orthodox Church leaders has prompted great apprehension about the possible repression of non-believers or adherents of other faiths.

JFB