Abstract
AbstractThis paper examines the impact of European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) decisions on the field of religion and education in Greece around the issues of the content and objectives of religious education, the exemption thereof, and religious symbols in school. The findings indicate that despite the relevance of ECtHR case law with the specific field in Greece, the Court's role in influencing such national debates is minimal. Drawing on empirical research and discourse analysis, the paper argues that this is due to the doctrine of the margin of appreciation, apparently linked to strategic references to and varying interpretations of the Court's judgments; the unwillingness of actors to litigate in a potentially sensitive, lengthy, and costly procedure; and to a shared belief in the perceived primacy of constitutional provisions on religion and education that precludes the formation of structured mobilizations.
Highlights
In October 2015, former Greek Minister of Education, Nikos Filis, announced his decision to reform the class of religious education (RE), liberating it from its mono-religious focus on Christian Orthodoxy and rendering it more pluralistic
This study demonstrates that European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) case law is closely relevant to the salient issues in the religion and education field in Greece, namely the content of RE, the exemption process from RE and religious symbols in the school
This study on the mobilizations around religion and education in Greece has demonstrated that ECtHR judgments meet and interact with a legal culture that is strongly based on the pre-eminence of a constitutional doctrine
Summary
In October 2015, former Greek Minister of Education, Nikos Filis, announced his decision to reform the class of religious education (RE), liberating it from its mono-religious focus on Christian Orthodoxy and rendering it more pluralistic. This study demonstrates that ECtHR case law is closely relevant to the salient issues in the religion and education field in Greece, namely the content of RE, the exemption process from RE and religious symbols in the school.
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