Editorial
The Education Ministry's plan to allow the teaching of a course called Orthodox Culture in state schools raises many questions.
As the ministry's description of the course makes clear, this is not a secular course in religion. It is a course intended to immerse children, beginning in the first grade, in the Orthodox worldview. The course is to be taught by regular teachers -- has anyone thought about how they are to be trained? -- and priests will be allowed in the classroom 'as consultants.'
The church also sees the course as giving moral guidance to Russia's children. In an address to a conference on education last month, Patriarch Alexy II said schools should give children not only knowledge but 'an upbringing.'
How will parents feel about the Russian Orthodox Church taking on this role in their children's lives? Many will likely welcome it, but what about those who do not?
The Moscow Times 19.11.2002 [ïîëíûé òåêñò ñòàòüè]
