Saturday, June 28, 2003
Dispute Erupts Over Teaching of Religion in Spanish Schools
Civil rights groups and leftist political leaders are fuming after the conservative government of Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar said it would make religion class obligatory in high school.
The education reform was expected to be ratified as early as Friday by Aznar's cabinet and to take effect in stages over the next few academic years, said Education Ministry spokesman Roberto Rodriguez. It does not require parliamentary approval, since it will be promulgated as a royal decree.The reform gives all high school students a choice of taking confessional religion classes in their own creed or an alternative class in the history and philosophy of religions, said Rodriguez.
Those classes will count toward the student's grade point average. The average is necessary for graduation and also a factor in determining university entrance eligibility in restricted areas of study such as engineering and medicine.
Currently religion classes are optional in high school and there is no grading. The classes are available in the major monotheistic faiths but 90 percent of those who request them opt for Roman Catholicism.
One labor union said it "brings us back to the Franco area," when the church held sway in matters of education and other social questions such as film censorship.
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