Religious Symbols in Public Schools: Key Issues and Debates

Aleš Črnič,Anja Pogačnik

doi:10.26529/cepsj.684

Abstract

When discussing Religious Education, the topic of religious symbols in educational spaces is largely overlooked in academic literature and often side-lined in political considerations as well. This paper examines the issue of religious symbols in public schools by highlighting two foci: how the Muslim veil is managed in public schools in select European countries and zooming in on specific suggestions for managing religious symbols in public schools in Slovenia. By combining a broader, comparative perspective with practical, small-scale policy suggestions, the paper highlights the need to include a discussion of religious symbols in public schools in our academic and political considerations of religion and education.

Highlights

While the content of and provisions for religious education in public schools is an oft-examined topic, another, hidden – though arguably more visible – side of religious education is the management of religious symbols in public educational spaces
If we look in particular at the European Convention on Human Rights7 (ECHR) and its Article 9,8 there have been numerous court cases brought before the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR); several cases involved restrictions on religious symbols, whether they allegedly happened in prisons,9 hospitals,10 courtrooms,11 schools,12 or public spaces in general
When children enter public school spaces, they learn about the place of religion in their country and society through the curricula of Religious Education classes or other subjects covering content on religion, and through observing how expressions of religious belief and affiliation are managed by people in places of authority

Summary

Introduction

While the content of and provisions for religious education in public schools is an oft-examined topic, another, hidden – though arguably more visible – side of religious education is the management of religious symbols in public educational spaces. The authors of this paper, while not proposing a one-size-fits-all solution or even propagating a single idea of how countries and their national educational systems should approach the issue of Muslim head-covering, do believe that general bans on Muslim headscarves (such as the one implemented in France under their strict laïcité policy) are infringing on people’s – women’s – ability to practice their religion and tend to do more harm than good. They might further alienate an already infringed group and further legitimise Islamophobia within the country’s borders. The 2018 general ban is relatively new, there have been cases of adult students banned from wearing face veils and Denmark has seen a general rise in Islamophobia, especially after the Jyllands-Posten controversy involving the caricatures of the prophet Muhammad in 2005

A Practical Example of Systemic Guidelines

Findings

Conclusion