Religious education in Romania

 

Communist and Post-Communist Studies 38 (2005) 381 e401 www.elsevier.com/locate/postcomstud

Religious education in Romania Lavinia Stan*, Lucian Turcescu Center for Post-Communist Studies, St. Francis Xavier University, Antigonish, NS B2G 2W5, Canada

Available online 18 July 2005

Abstract

This article provides an overview of the Romanian post-communist legislation on religious education in public schools, examined against the background of the 1991 Constitution and international provisions protecting freedom of conscience, critically assesses the pre-university textbooks used in Orthodox and Roman Catholic religion courses, and discusses the churches attempts to ban evolutionary theory from schools and the efforts of the Orthodox Church to introduce religious symbols in public universities.    2005 The Regents of the University of California. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords:  Education; Religion and politics; Post-communist democratization

Introduction

The collapse of the Nicolae Ceausescu regime in December 1989 offered the 15 religious denominations recognized in Romania the possibility to regain the terrain lost after 1945, the year when the Communist Party formed the government and set about to transform the country into an atheistic state along Marxist-Leninist lines. The leg legall ally y rec recogni ognized zed chu church rches, es, esp especi eciall ally y the Rom Romania anian n Ort Orthod hodox ox Chu Church rch,, the co coun untr try’ y’ss larg largest est reli religi giou ouss group group,, pr pres essu sured red th thee po post st-co -comm mmun unist ist au auth thor orit ities ies to introduce religious education in public schools, offer substantial financial support * Corresponding author. Tel.: C1 902 867 5371; fax: E-mail address:   lstan@stfx. [email protected] ca (L.  (L. Stan). 0967-067X/$ - see front matter

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902 867 1871.

2005 The Regents of the University of California. Published by Elsevier

Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.postcomstud.2005.06.007

 

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for the theolo ologica gicall ins institu titutio tions, ns, all allow ow den denomi ominati nations ons to res resume ume the their ir soc social ial rol rolee by pos postin ting g clergy in hospitals, elderly care homes and prisons, maintain the ban on what they considered to be ‘‘reprehensible behavior’’ like homosexuality, de-legalize abortion, and an d pe perm rmit it ch chur urch ches es to play play an incr increa easi sing ngly ly im impo porta rtant nt ro role le in po polit litic ical al aff affai airs rs.. Although Althou gh education was an area where churche churchess registe registered red success in the early stages of post-co post-communist mmunist transitio transition, n, religio religious us educat education ion has remain remained ed unders understudied. tudied. There are scores of studies discussing the reforms that would align the Romanian ed educ ucat ation ion syste system m to Eu Euro rope pean an Un Unio ion n stan standa dards rds or pr pres esen enti ting ng th thee ca case se fo forr th thee introduction of civic education in public schools (Barsan, ( Barsan, 1997; Barzea, 1996; Hufner, 1995; Mihailescu and Vlasceanu, 1994; Sadlack, 1995; Sandi, 1992). 1992 ). Similarly, much attention was given to history curricula changes, criticized for manipulating the past to promote the career of post-communist politicians (Kaase (Kaase and Sparschuh, 2000 Low-Be Low -Beer, er, 199 1995 5), an and d the the op open enin ing g of un univ iver ersi sity ty-l -lev evel el prog progra rams ms in prev previo ious usly ly 1999). ). However, no study was unreco unr ecogniz gnized ed dom domain ainss lik likee poli politic tical al sci science ence (Stan, 1999 dedicated specifically to religious education in that country. This article provides an overview of the post-communist legislation on religious education in public schools, ex exam amine ined d ag agai ainst nst the the ba back ckgr grou ound nd of the the 19 1991 91 Co Cons nstit titut utio ion n an and d in inte tern rnat ation ional al provisions protecting freedom of conscience, and critically assesses the pre-university textbooks textboo ks use used d in Ort Orthod hodox ox and Rom Roman an Ca Catho tholic lic rel religi igion on cou course rses. s. Con Concre crete te exa example mpless are used to illustrate how religion is being taught today in Romanian schools. The study also discusses the churches’ attempts to ban evolutionary theory from schools, and the efforts of the Orthodox Church to introduce religious symbols in universities. Religious education under communism

Shortly after 1945, religious education came under the scrutiny of communist authorities and the notoriously repressive secret political police, the Securitate. The Department of Religious Denominations, a governmental body dealing with religious matters since pre-communist times, continued to exist but was transformed into an agency enforcing stricter state control over religious affairs in the country. Recently it was revealed that the Securitate included a special department supervising religious life life tha thatt tri tried ed to sol solve ve the soso-cal called led ‘‘p ‘‘prob roblem lem of the den denomi ominati nations ons,’’ ,’’ esp especi eciall ally y religious groups and individuals hostile to the new regime (Paiusan, ( Paiusan, 1999). 1999). That was coded language for a systematic attempt to discourage religious participation and to transform the country into an atheistic state. School Sch oolss of the theolo ology gy wer weree reg regard arded ed as esp especi eciall ally y dan danger gerous ous pla places ces whe where re ant antiicommunist ideas were spread among students (Vasile, (Vasile, 2003 2003). ). All but four theology schools in the country were disbanded by the communist authorities, and numerous theological seminaries met the same fate. Some theologians teaching in these schools ended end ed up col collabo laborat rating ing wit with h the com communi munist st reg regime ime by inf informi orming ng on the their ir stu studen dents ts and colleagues, while those who opposed the communists were arrested (Vasile, ( Vasile, 2005 2005). ). Numerous Greek and Roman Catholic professors, priests and bishops were also ar arre rest sted ed.. As late late as the the 19 1970 70ss and 19 1980 80s, s, th thee Se Secu curi rita tate te cl clos osel ely y mo moni nitor tored ed th thee composition compos ition of studen studentt body in the country’s few remain remaining ing seminaries and theolo theology gy schools.

 

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According to documents retrieved from the Securitate archive, in 1980 a total of  1142 114 2 stu studen dents ts were enroll enrolled ed in Rom Romania ania’s ’s fou fourr the theolo ology gy sch school ools, s, of whi which ch 109 1097 7 attended the Orthodox schools of Bucharest and Sibiu and 340 the Roman Catholic schools of Alba Iulia and Iasi. Of the 1007 seminary students, 872 studied in six Orthodox seminaries, while the rest were enrolled in two Catholic, one Baptist, and onee Pe on Pent ntec ecos osta tall semi seminar narie ies. s. A stri strict ctly ly co confid nfiden enti tial al Se Secu curi rita tate te re repor portt da date ted d 12 December Decemb er 1980 noted the high number of candidates competin competing g for seats in theology schools and seminaries (around five candidates per seat, a number comparable to technical programs), and the fact that almost half of the students (1500 of a total of  2973) were members of the Communist Youth Union. Three students even belonged to the Commun Communist ist Party. After summariz summarizing ing the informa information tion that was unavailabl unavailablee to the larger public, the secret report mentioned that serious efforts were made to recruit to the secret police informers’ network faculty members teaching in those schools Departamentulu mentuluii Securi Securitatii tatii Statului, 1980, 1980, pp. 65e66). (Directia Directia I a Departa Whil Wh ilee the the form format at of the the stat statee educ educat ation ion syste system m wa wass re reta tain ined ed (i (inc nclu ludi ding ng ei eigh ghtt pr prim imar ary y and an d seco second ndar ary y grad grades es,, foll follow owed ed by four four ye year arss of hi high gh sc scho hool ol tr trai aini ning ng,, an and d fin final ally ly fo four ur to six si x ye year arss of un univ iver ersit sity y educ educat ation ion at the the ba bache chelo lorr le leve vel), l), th thee curr curric icul ulum um wa wass re reva vampe mped d to su suit it co comm mmun unist ist needs needs.. Re Rese searc arch h an and d teac teachi hing ng we were re di disj sjoi oine ned, d, wi with th th thee latt latter er con condu duct cted ed in un univ iver ersit sitie iess an and d the the form former er rese reserve rved d to th thee Ro Roma mani nian an Ac Acad ademy emy in inst stit itute utes. s. University-level programs in social sciences and humanities were drastically curtailed in favor of economic and technical programs preparing specialists for a sustained indust ind ustria rializ lizatio ation n pro progra gram. m. Voc Vocati ationa onall tra traini ining ng was exp expand anded ed to acc accept ept an eve everr increasing number of students wishing to become welders, carpenters, cooks or bus drivers dri vers.. Mos Mostt the theore oretica ticall hig high h sch schools ools pre prepar paring ing stu student dentss for entran entrance ce int into o univ univers ersiti ities es were turned into institutions institutions training clerks, accountan accountants ts or nurses. Applied traini training ng was introduced as early as the fifth grade, alongside a month-long practicum, which obli ob lige ged d stud studen ents ts to enga engage ge in the the ‘‘vo ‘‘volu lunt ntary ary wo work rk’’ ’’ of ha harv rves esti ting ng fr frui uits ts an and d ve vege getab table les. s. The Ministry of Education designed all curricula and eliminated electives at all le leve vels ls.. As a resu result lt,, all all stud studen ents ts enro enrolle lled d in a give given n pr pree-un univ iver ersi sity ty or un univ iver ersit sity y program had to take the same courses in a pre-approved order. In this process of  unprece unp receden dented ted chan change, ge, rel religi igious ous edu educat cation ion was grea greatly tly affec affected ted.. The tea teachin ching g of  religion religi on in pub public lic sch schools ools was dis discont continu inued ed in 194 1947, 7, chur churche chess were banne banned d fro from m organizing catechesis, and confessional schools were closed a year later, as part of  a larg larger er pr prog ogra ram m des desig igne ned d to allo allow w au auth thor orit itie iess to sh shap apee Ro Roman mania ians ns in into to new atheistic communist persons. At the same time, the history curricula in the public school system were amended so that churches were recognized as having no merit in shapin sha ping g Rom Romania anian n eth ethnic nic ide identi ntity ty or nat nation ionalal- and sta statete-buil buildin ding g proc process esses, es, and Darwinian evolutionary theory was presented uncritically. Post-communist developments

Not sur surpri prisin singly, gly, aft after er dec decade adess of offic officiall ially-b y-backe acked d ath atheis eistic tic pro propag paganda anda,, the resumption resump tion of pre-uni pre-university versity religi religious ous education in public schools represent represented ed one of  the the fir first st de dema mands nds chur churche chess in that that coun countr try y pu putt fo fort rth h af afte terr Dece Decembe mberr 19 1989 89.. In January 1990, less than a month after communist dictator Ceausescu was killed by

 

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a firing squad and well before post-communist authorities had time to revamp the education system, the new Secretary of State for Religious Denominations, Nicolae Stoices Sto icescu, cu, tog togethe etherr wit with h the Rom Romani anian an Ort Orthodo hodox x Chu Church’ rch’ss col collec lective tive lea leaders dership hip structure, the Holy Synod, pledged their support for the introduction of religious education in public schools at all pre-university levels. An optional religion class, for whic wh ich h stud studen ents ts we were re no nott to be grad graded, ed, wa wass to be in incl clud uded ed in th thee pr pree-un unive ivers rsit ity y curricula, with students declaring their religious affiliation in consultation with their parents. For students taking Orthodox religion, the basics to be taught in class were to be select sel ected ed by a Syn Synod-a od-appo ppointe inted d mix mixed ed com commis mission sion of cle clergy rgymen men and lay peo people ple.. Defending the proposal, Stoicescu argued that religious education would contribute to the moral recovery of the nation, while the future Metropolitan Daniel Ciobotea of Mo Mold ldov ova a expl explai ained ned that that reli religi gious ous ed educ ucat ation ion wa wass ne need eded ed be beca cause use ‘‘at ‘‘athe heis isti ticc humanism cannot be replaced by a nihilist, indifferent and confused humanism’’  Romania 24 January 1990). (Radio Romania (Radio 1990 ). Work Wo rkin ing g on the the pr prem emis isee that that Ro Roman mania ians ns wo would uld we welc lcome ome th thee pr prop opos osal al in th thee mo mont nths hs to come come,, the the Or Orth thodo odox x Ch Chur urch ch labo labore red d to so solv lvee th thee mo most st im impo porta rtant nt issu issues es re rela late ted d to th thee introdu int roducti ction on of rel religi igious ous edu educat cation ion in pub public lic sch school ools, s, inc includ luding ing the all alloca ocatio tion n of  timeslots and classrooms, the preparation of teaching materials, and the training of  teachers familiar with church doctrine and ritual. The Church was right to presume that if it did not solve these practical problems the introduction of religion could be deferred. Two different reasons seemingly prompted the Orthodox Church to take the le lead ad.. Fi Firs rst, t, it wa wass the the reli religi giou ouss grou group p that that bene benefit fited ed th thee mo most st,, as a ma majo jorit rity y of  Romanian students were expected to opt for Orthodox religious classes, a choice reflecting their parents’ declared religious affiliation (the Orthodox account for as many as 86 percent of Romania’s total population). Second, during the first years of  post-communist transformation the Ministry of Education was too disorganized and overwhelmed by public demands for reform to be able to redesign the already existing programs progra ms efficien efficiently, tly, let alone manage new projec projects ts like religious education education.. Because the quest for introducing religious education was met with mixed feelings outside Orthodox circles e with some prominent intellectuals opposing the idea of  mandatory religi mandatory religious ous education altogether altogether,, and others critic criticizing izing the potent potentially ially poor qualit qua lity y of rel religi igious ous ins instru tructio ction n and of the rel relate ated d lit litera erature ture   e   not many of the Patr Pa tria iarc rchat hate’ e’ss eff effor orts ts to ad addr dres esss su such ch pr prac acti tica call issu issues es we were re do docu cume ment nted ed in th thee Romanian press. The most reliable information we have to date comes from a case study stu dy of tthe he Bishopr ishopric ic of Bu Buzau zau undert undertaken aken in 2 2002 002 by high school philoso philosophy phy teache teacherr 1 Emil Moise. While the study is limited to only one of the 20 Orthodox Bishoprics in Romania, it is likely that many events unfolded similarly in the rest of the country. On 14 June 1990 the Bishopric of Buzau learned that the Synod discussed the pedagogical training of priests wishing to teach religion in public schools during the September Septemb er 1990eSep Septem tember ber 199 1991 1 aca academ demic ic yea year, r, and dec decide ided d tha thatt eac each h epa eparch rchy y sh shou ould ld se send nd a pr prie iest st to at atte tend nd the the inte intensi nsive ve ped pedag agog ogic ical al co cour urse se off offere ered d by th thee Bu Buch char ares estt

1

We thank Gabriel Andreescu for making available a copy of this unpublished study to us.

 

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Theology Institute during the 16e27 July 1990 period, and then instruct the other priests in the eparchy on the course content. In reply, the Bishopric suggested that schools mark the start of the school year with the Orthodox  Te Deum ceremony, Deum  ceremony, both pare pa rent ntss an and d pr prie iests sts be beco come me invo involv lved ed in the the or orga ganiz nizat atio ion n of re reli ligi giou ouss educ educat atio ion, n, and and th thee Patr Pa tria iarc rcha hate te laun launch ch a ‘‘na ‘‘natio tiona nall radi radio o stat statio ion n to pr pres esen entt th thee te teac achin hings gs of ou ourr Ch Chur urch, ch, to Moise, 2002). inform correctly correctly and promptl promptly y on all religious events’’ ((Moise, 2002). Eight priests representing the Bishopric of Buzau traveled to Bucharest to take part in the summer training, and then presented the program and the requirements for teaching religion in public schools to the other priests of the Bishopric. After the presentation, the Buzau priests admitted that ‘‘this subject [of religious education] make ma kess us thin think k ha hard rd,, an and d we wo wond nder er wh whet ethe herr we ca can n off offer er so ma many ny cl clas asse sess of  religion, religi on, if we can be both priest priestss and teache teachers rs at the same time’’ ((Memo Memo no. 3808/10, September 1990). 1990). The priests felt that their resources were stretched to the limit if  they were required to take on additional responsibilities on top of those demanded by the priest priesthood. hood. Even in small village villagess with a single primary school, the local priest was asked to give as many as eight different one-hour-long religion classes, one for each grade the school enrolled students in, assuming that in each grade there were stud st uden ents ts in inte tere reste sted d in the the ba basi sics cs of the the Or Orth thodo odox x fa fait ith. h. In larg larger er lo loca calit litie iess th thee teaching load was far greater, since either there was more than a single school in every parish, or a school had multiple student groups in each grade taking classes at different times. During Dur ing 199 1990 0e19 1991 91,, relig religio ion n clas classe sess we were re off offer ered, ed, bu butt no nott righ rightt fr from om th thee beg begin inni ning ng of  the school year and not in all schools, depending on the local resources available, the availability of teachers, and the willingness of school principals to introduce in the curriculum what many saw as a controversial subject. Most teachers offering religion classes in the public school system were Orthodox priests or graduates of university programs of Orthodox theology, and as a result more students enrolled in Orthodox religion classes than in classes presenting other faiths. This was partly because there were we re mor moree Or Ortho thodo dox x than than no nonn-Or Orth thod odox ox pr prie iests sts to be begi gin n wi with th,, ot othe herr re reli ligi giou ouss denominations were unable to come up with enough teachers for all localities, schools and an d cl clas asse sess wh wher eree thei theirr beli believ ever erss we were re in sign signifi ifica cant nt nu numb mber ers, s, an and d mo most st sc scho hool ol principals, themselves Orthodox, encouraged the introduction of Orthodoxy to the detriment detrim ent of other religion religions. s. That early success outside an adequa adequate te legal framewo framework rk later came to haunt the Orthodox Church, and opened it to accusations of trying to turn religious education into a tool of Orthodox indoctrination of young minds, undermining the right of other denominations to offer religious instruction in schools, and taking advantage of a disoriented and disorganized Ministry of Education to introduce introd uce Orthodox teaching in the public school system through the back door. While religion was a tolerated subject during the 1990e1991 school year, it was agreed that its presence in the curricula had to be stipulated officially in a protocol signed by the Ministry of Education, which oversaw all matters related to education in Romania, and the State Secretariate of Religious Denominations, which covered the salaries of religion teachers and represented the interests of the churches. On 11 September 1991, only four days before the start of a new school year, the protocol was signed, providing for the introduction of ‘‘moral-religious training’’ in public

 

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schools to ‘‘highlight elements of ethics and cultural history.’’ In accord with their parents, parent s, student studentss could choose the denomi denomination nation and theolo theological gical doctrine covered in their the ir rel religi igion on cla class. ss. The Theolog ologica icall sch school ool gra gradua duates tes cou could ld tea teach ch rel religio igion n in pub public lic scho sc hool ols, s, thus thus allo allowin wing g pr prie iests sts to dedi dedica cate te thei theirr ti time me an and d eff effor orts ts to he help lpin ing g th thee community, commun ity, engaging in social work, and perfor performing ming religious services. Religion was to be taught in an ecumenical spirit, with other faiths not being disparaged, and textbooks were to be approved by the Ministry of Education. The protocol made religion an optional and facultative subject, but failed to define the terms precisely, an oversight church, state and civil society representatives struggled ever since to take advantage of or correct. Apparently ‘‘facultative’’ meant that students had the option to take or not to take a particular subject included in the school curriculum, whereas ‘‘optional’’ meant that students had to choose between two subjects, one of  which was religion and another one was selected by the Ministry of Education. The protocol framed subsequent debates on religious education in Romania, and revealed the churches’ powerful influence in imposing an understanding that gave them the upper hand. Another solution would be to offer religion classes taught by gradua gra duates tes of rel religi igious ous stu studie diess in uni univers versity ity pro progra grams ms tea teachi ching ng rel religio igion n fro from m an ecumenical and comparative viewpoint. In that case, there was no longer the need to divide students in smaller groups according to their denomination, and for different teachers to teach the same class from the viewpoint of different denominations, an option that was therefore more economical in terms of classrooms, teaching staff and teaching materials. In addition, that arrangement prevented teachers from extolling the virtues of a given faith while denigrating other faiths. The proposal was not withou wit houtt its pro proble blems. ms. Rom Romani anian an uni univer versit sities ies inc includ ludee the theolo ologic gical, al, not rel religi igious ous stud st udie ies, s, dep depar artm tment entss trai traini ning ng stud studen ents ts in Or Ortho thodo dox, x, Ro Roma man n Ca Catho tholi lic, c, Gr Gree eek k Catholic, Reformed or Baptist dogma and social work, and despite sustained efforts to promote ecumenism local churches still have a long way before they embrace its sp spir irit it.. St Stil ill, l, the the long long-te -term rm benefi benefits ts wo woul uld d ha have ve grea greatl tly y ex exce ceed eded ed th thee sh shor ort-t t-ter erm m difficulties. At no point was such a proposal put forth, not even by human rights activists or civil society representatives, apparently not because it was unfeasible but because the involved parties were unable to envisage it. The protocol allowed allowed religion officially to enter the curricu curricula la and set legal limits to religious education in public schools, but its commissions and omissions raised some unrealistic expectations. Some argued that the protocol deliberately kept the status of religion among subjects unclear to allow churches, and especially the Orthodox Church, to reach as many children as possible. Following the protocol, churches expected most of the resistance against religion teachers wishing to enter schools to di diee off off,, an and d the the Mi Mini nist stry ry ex expe pect cted ed reli religi gion on to be ta taug ught ht in an ec ecume umeni nica call spir spirit it though tho ugh tea teache chers rs pres present ented ed exc exclusi lusively vely the vie viewpo wpoint int of the their ir den denomi ominati nation. on. The schools expected the Ministry to give them clear guidelines on how to offer religious educat edu cation. ion. The tea teache chers rs exp expect ected ed the sch school oolss to mak makee cla classss-roo rooms ms and time timeslo slots ts available. And students expected to have the chance to enroll in classes presenting the the fund fundam amen enta tals ls of the the reli religi giou ouss den denom omin inati ation on of th thei eirr choi choice ce.. But But th ther eree we were re important importa nt unreso unresolved lved issues. Student Studentss not choosing an officiall officially y recogni recognized zed religious deno de nomi mina nati tion on we were re prac practi tica call lly y de deni nied ed reli religi giou ouss ed educ ucat atio ion n be beca caus usee th thee St Stat atee

 

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Secretariat was unwilling to cover the cost of training, and the Ministry forbade the or orga gani niza zati tion on of reli religi giou ouss clas classes ses in that that fait faith. h. Si Sinc ncee st stud udent entss coul could d cho choos osee th thee denomination of their religion class, more than one classroom had to be available to accommodate students of different denominations, a fact that placed a considerable burden on the Romanian schools, whose lack of space is proverbial. It took time for some of these problems to be sorted out. Even Ev en af afte terr relig religio ious us educ educat ation ion wa wass ma made de offi offici cial al,, th thee Or Ortho thodo dox x Pa Patr tria iarc rchat hatee received letters from priests reporting problems in the territory. The Bishopric of  Buzau complained that its clergy faced problems in delivering religion classes, and mentioned that it insistently asked the Ministry of Education to advise local school principals to ‘‘enter [religion] in the timetable, include it in the grade sheet and keep a record of all religion classes held,’’ presumably because schools still refused to do so so.. In thei theirr pe peti titi tion on to the the Sy Synod nod,, the the prie priest st an and d pa pari rishi shion oner erss of Cane Canest stii vill villag agee presented the ‘‘acute difficulties faced by [our attempts] at reintroducing religion in school sch ool moun mounted ted by the sch school ool lea leaders dership hip,, rep represe resente nted d by Mrs. Pri Princi ncipal pal Ior Iordan dan Flor Floric ica, a, wh who o be belo long ngss to the the old old comm communi unist st   nomenklatura, nomenklatura, se serv rved ed as th thee fo form rmer er de depu puty ty secr secreta etary ry of ou ourr ma mayor yor’s ’s offi office ce,, an and d wa wass in inst stall alled ed ab abus usiv ivel ely y as sc scho hool ol principal princip al after the Decembe Decemberr 1989 revolution revolution.’’ .’’ The petitioners hoped that Patri Patriarch arch Teoctist ‘‘will intervene with the Romanian Government for our village school to reintroduce religion [as a subject] as it was before 1948, since this is one of our rights. This measure will contribute to the healthy education of the new generation in the spirit of Christian morality and honesty, truth, justice, and all the virtues inherited from our ancestors for the good of our Motherland, the glory of our Holy Church and the welfare of our nation.’’ In a separate letter, the local priest offered additional reasons for resolute intervention, including the fact that the principal did not allow the Te the  Te Deum to Deum  to be performed and an icon to be introduced in the school. Without the principal’s approval, the Te the  Te Deum was Deum  was sung on 1 October 1990 and the icon was hanged on a classroom wall, but it soon disappeared. The letter mentioned that the Ministry Minist ry of Education representa representatives tives sided with the princip principal al against the priest, but ‘‘under the pressure of the faithful’’ the principal agreed to introduce religion in the curriculum more than a month after the start of the school year ( Declaration no. 510/13 February 1991  1991   and and Petition  Petition no. 1593/1 May 1991 1991). ). In May 1991, priests in Buzau complained to the Ministry of Education that a number of school principals did not allocate timeslots and classrooms to religion clas classe ses, s, an and d alle allege ged d that that th thee pr prin inci cipa palls in inte terp rpre rete ted d er erro rone neou ousl sly y th thee te term rmss ‘‘facultative’’ and ‘‘optional’’ in the collaboration protocol to mean that students could choose not to take religion at all. In the town of Ramnicu Sarat, priests reported that religion classes were scheduled either too early in the morning, when students and teachers had trouble getting to school, or too late in the afternoon, when students were eager to leave the school, a fact giving students reasons to skip class or opt out of religion altogether. Another reason for concern was the fact that so some me scho schools ols ha had d no clas classro sroom omss wh where ere reli religi gion on cl clas asse sess coul could d ta take ke pl plac ace, e, an and d attend att endanc ancee was low bec becaus ausee tea teache chers rs mad madee stu studen dents ts awa aware re tha thatt rel religio igion n was not mandatory. A report on religious education in the public schools located on the territory of the Bishopric of Buzau mentioned that ‘‘in some schools priests were

 

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received with a cold shoulder and even hostility, while in other schools only after 2e 3 weeks of insistence [on their part] were religion classes allowed to start,’’ and that principals of schools in urban areas mounted resistance, whereas schools in rural areas created no problems. The report blamed the Ministry for not ordering town schools to introduce religion in the curriculum on a par with traditional subjects like 1991). ). math and history (Report (Report no. 244/25 January 1991 It was only in mid-1995 that Parliament adopted a new Education Law providing for religious education. The delay was due not so much to the controversy around religi rel igious ous edu educat cation ion as to the end endles lesss deb debate atess sur surrou roundin nding g educ educati ation on in min minori ority ty languages which was also part of the law. Parliamentary debate transcripts preceding the law’s adoption reveal that legislators struggled with a number of issues related to religious education. According to the Parliamentary Statutes, the draft bill was sent for discussion to two standing commission commissions, s, including the commis commission sion on educat education, ion, before being debated in the lower Chamber of Deputies and the upper Senate in separate sessions. The Senate discussed the bill on 13 June 1995 in the presence of then Minister of  Educ Ed ucati ation on Li Livi viu u Ma Maio iorr (rep (repres resen entin ting g the the So Soci cial al De Demo mocr crat ats), s), wi with th mu much ch of th thee discussion centering on Article 9, which recognized religion as a school subject. First, Gheorghe Gheorg he Dum Dumitra itrascu scu,, who sat on the par parlia liamen mentary tary comm commiss ission ion on edu educat cation ion pr prop opos osed ed that that Ar Arti ticl clee 9 read: read: ‘‘Ma ‘‘Manda ndato tory ry sc schoo hooll curr curricu icula la in incl clud udee re reli ligi gion on as a school subject. The study of religion is mandatory in primary school and optional in secondary school, the optional subject being ethics. The study of religion is also optional, depending on the religion and denomination of each student.’’ Maior agreed with the proposal with one exception: he wanted the elimination of  any alternative to religion, since, in his view, the presence of an alternative created confusion among students and teachers, and religious denominations did not like alternatives. Maior added that religion dealt with ethical issues, and as such it was poin po intl tles esss to pr prop opos osee ethi ethics cs as an alte altern rnat ative ive to re reli ligi gion on,, an and d expl explai aine ned d th that at in mandatory school curricula for grades 1 e8 there were no optional subjects, and the Ministry was unwilling to grant religion a different status. Maior’s new proposal read: ‘‘Mandatory school curricula include religion as a school subject. The study of  religion is mandatory in primary school and optional in secondary school. The study of religion is also optional, depending on the religion and denomination of each student.’’ To this proposal, Emil Tocaci asked the minister to consider the word ‘‘ ‘‘fa facu cult ltat ative ive’’ ’’ in inst stea ead d of ‘‘op ‘‘opti tion onal al,’ ,’’’ beca becaus usee ‘‘op ‘‘optio tiona nal’ l’’’ im impl plie ied d an op opti tion on or alternative that needed to be specified. After the minister embraced the proposal, several senators argued in favor of the mandatory character of religious education (Monitorul oficial al Romaniei 23 June 1995 1995,, pp. 18, 24e25). The legislative framework

The Education Law no. 84 of 31 July 1995 is an important document dealing with all forms of education in Romania and the first post-communist law to legalize the teac teachi hing ng of reli religi gion on in pu publ blic ic scho school ols. s. On Only ly Ar Arti ticl cles es 9, 11 an and d 12 pe pert rtai aine ned d to religious education. The law made religion classes mandatory in primary schools

 

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(grades 1e4), optional in secondary schools (grades 5e8), and facultative in high schools (grades 9e12) and vocational schools (Article 9.1). With the consent of their parents or legal guardians, students could choose to study religion in a particular denomination (Article 9.2). The law banned religious proselytism in public schools to avoid subordinating education to the purposes and doctrines promoted by political parties and other societal groups (Article 11.3). The organization and content of  education could not be structured according to exclusive and discriminatory criteria in regard to ideology, politics, religion, or ethnicity, but Article 12 provided some ex exce cept ption ionss to this this ru rule le:: ed educ ucat atio ional nal inst instit ituti ution onss cr crea eated ted be beca caus usee of re reli ligi giou ouss or linguistic needs were not considered exclusive and discriminatory, as instruction in su such ch in inst stit itut utio ions ns co corr rresp espon onde ded d to the the ch choi oice ce of th thee st stud uden ents’ ts’ pa pare rent ntss or le lega gall guardians. The day Parliament adopted the law a record number of 57 deputies asked the Constitutional Court to examine the constitutionality of Article 9.1. In their petition, deputies claimed that by making the study of religion mandatory in primary schools, the the law law ra ran n co coun unte terr to th thee 19 1991 91 Co Cons nsti titu tuttio ion, n, wh whic ich h gu guar aran ante teed ed ‘‘th ‘‘thee fr free ee development develo pment of human personalit personality’’ y’’ (Article 1.3) and freedom of conscience (Article 29), provided that ‘‘any person has the right to freely dispose of herself’’ (Article 26.2), and obl 26.2), oblige iged d pub public lic aut author horiti ities es to ‘‘e ‘‘ensu nsure re the con condit dition ionss nece necessa ssary ry for the youth’s free participation in the country’s political, social, economic, cultural and 1995). ). Before sportive life’’ (Article 45.5) (Monitorul (Monitorul Oficial al Romaniei 31 July 1995 ru ruli ling ng on the the peti petiti tion on,, the the Co Cour urtt aske asked d for for cl clar arifi ifica catio tions ns fr from om th thee Mi Mini nist stry ry of  Education and Parliament, which replied that, in their view, the controversial Article 9.1 was constitutional. Based on provisions of the Romanian Constitution and the international law, the Court nuanced its position and deemed constitutional only one specific reading of  Article 9, not readily apparent. The Constitutional Court’s Decision no. 72 of 18 July 1995 stated that the Romanian Constituti Constitution on provi provided ded that ‘‘in state schools religious education is organized and guaranteed by law’’ (Article 32.7), that ‘‘nobody can be constrained to adopt an opinion or adhere to a religious belief that are contrary to the person’s beliefs’’ (Article 29.1), and that ‘‘parents and [legal] guardians have the right and responsibility to ensure, according to their own convictions, the education of their minor children’’ (Article 29.6). The Court cited Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, reading that ‘‘everyone has the right to freedom of  thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or be beli lief ef,, an and d free freedo dom, m, eith either er alone alone or in comm commun unity ity wi with th ot othe hers rs an and d in pu publi blicc or pr priv ivat ate, e, to ma mani nife fest st his his reli religi gion on or be beli lief ef in te teac achi hing ng,, prac practi tice ce,, wo wors rshi hip p an and d observance.’’ Article 18.2 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, provided that ‘‘no one shall be subject to coercion which would impair his freedom to have or to adopt a religi religion on or belief of his choice.’’ Article 13.3 of the International International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, according to which ‘‘the States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to have respect for the liberty of parents and, when applicable, legal guardians to choose for their children schools, other than those established by the public authorities, which conform to such minimum educational

 

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standards as may be laid down or approved by the State and to ensure the religious and moral education of their children in conformity with their own convictions.’’ Arti Ar ticl clee 9 of the the Eu Euro rope pean an Co Conv nven enti tion on for for th thee Pr Prot otec ecti tion on of Hu Huma man n Ri Righ ghts ts,, supported a similar view. The Court insisted that the provisions of Article 9.1 of the Education Law should be interpreted in strict conformity with Article 29 of the Constitution, Consti tution, in the sense that ‘‘nobody can be constr constrained ained to adopt an opini opinion on or to adhe ad here re to a reli religi giou ouss beli belief ef that that are are con contr trar ary y to th thee pe pers rson on’s ’s be beli lief efs’ s’’’ an and d th that at ‘‘parents and [legal] guardians have the right and responsibility to ensure, according to their own convictions, the education of their minor children.’’ For the Court, any other interpretation was unconstitutional. Thus, for the Court, the provisions of Article 9.1 allowing ‘‘students, with the co cons nsen entt of thei theirr pa pare rent ntss or lega legall gu guar ardi dians ans,, to choos choosee to st stud udy y re reli ligi gion on an and d th thee denomination’’ was constitutional, since the right to choose allowed the possibility of  either having or not having a religious option. The choice made with the consent of  the parents or legal guardians was an expression of parental authority and ensured the right of the child’s legal representati representatives ves to make decisions decisions,, accord according ing to their own conv co nvic icti tion ons, s, on thei theirr mi mino norr ch chil ildr dren en’s ’s ed educ ucat atio ion. n. Fo Foll llow owin ing g th thee Co Cour urt, t, th thee introduction of religion as a ‘‘mandatory subject’’ of study in primary schools was unconstitutional, unless it allowed the student not to study religion at all. The Court in inte terp rpre reted ted the the wo word rd ‘‘ma ‘‘mand ndat atory ory’’ ’’ in the the sens sensee th that at re reli ligi gion on sh shou ould ld be pr pres esen entt mandatorily as a subject of study in primary schools, but the choice to study or not to study it was optional. In other words, primary schools should be prepared to offer religion as a subject of study, but students, with the consent of their parents or legal guardians, may choose not to study it. The ruling baffled human rights organizations like the Association for the Defense of Hu Huma man n Ri Righ ghts ts in Ro Roma mani nia adthe Hel Helsink sinkii Com Commit mittee tee (AP (APADO ADOR-C R-CH), H), whi which ch expect exp ected ed the Court to expl explici icitly tly str strike ike down all interp interpret retati ations ons of Article Article 9.1 as unconstitutio unconst itutional nal rather than propos proposee a compro compromise mise between the Educat Education ion Law and the constitutional guarantees for freedom of conscience. According to human rights (1995),, the ruling equated ‘‘mandatory’’ with the right to activist, Renate   Weber (1995) have religion on the curriculum, an interpretation that was unjustified judicially and betrayed a compromise between constitutional guarantees and the pressure exerted on the Court by the Orthodox Church. Indeed, in December 1996 the Synod sent to the Senate an initiat initiative ive supported by 1,049,853 citizens asking for the modifica modification tion of  Article 9 to read that ‘‘the primary, secondary, high school and vocational school curricula include religion as a basic subject of study. Participation in religion classes is done in accordance with [each student’s] religious affiliation.’’ The revised article de deni nied ed stud student entss the the righ rightt no nott to enro enroll ll in re reli ligi gion on cl clas asse ses, s, bu butt th thee Mi Mini nist ster er of  Educ Ed ucat atio ion n rema remain ined ed sile silent nt on that that issu issuee an and d on only ly no note ted d th that at no subj subjec ectt wa wass recognized as ‘‘basic.’’ APAD AP ADOR OR-C -CH H insi insist sted ed that that in prac practi tice ce fe few w Ro Roma mani nian anss we were re aw awar aree of th thee Constitutional Court ruling and few knew that their children had the option of not having religion in school. Pressure from the churches, teachers and fellow students, and the schools’ explain to the children their rights liston religion as an op opti tion onal al an and dreluctance facu facult ltati ative veto su subj bjec ectt ens ensur ured ed th that at st stud udent ents s no nottand ke keen en re reli ligi gion on

 

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remained enrolled in religion classes. The situation was complicated by the fact that, as explained earlier, children declaring their religious affiliation had to choose an officially recognized denomination, meaning that students embracing unrecognized faiths were denied the right to pursue religious education. Romania Rom anian n hum human an rig rights hts gro groups ups cri critici ticizin zing g Art Article icle 9.1 con contin tinued ued to lobby lobby the government to amend the law in order to make it clear that students could take no religion at all, if they and their parents so desired. With new elections around the co corn rner er,, the the So Socia ciall De Demo mocr crat at gov gover ernm nmen entt wa wass un unwil willi ling ng to br brin ing g chan change gess to th thee Educ Ed ucat atio ion n La Law w that that wo woul uld d ma make ke it un unpo popu pula larr wi with th th thee po powe werf rful ul re reli ligi giou ouss denominations, commanding support from large segments of the electorate. It was only on ly afte afterr the the De Demo mocr crat atic ic Co Conv nven enti tion on of Ro Roma mani nia a wo won n th thee No Nove vemb mber er 19 1996 96 parliamentary elections, and Christian Democrat, Emil Constantinescu, replaced Ion Ilie Il iesc scu u as the the Ro Roma mani nian an Pre Presi side dent nt,, that that the the ne new w go gove vern rnmen mentt issu issued ed Em Emer erge genc ncy y Ordinance no. 36/1997, which amended Article 9 of the Education Law to read that: (1) Religion is part of the school curriculum in primary, secondary, high, and professional schools. (2) The student, with the consent of the parents or legal guardian, chooses to study religion in a particular denomination. The student may ma y choo choose se no nott to en enro roll ll in reli religi gion on clas classe sess if pa pare rent ntss or th thee st stud uden ent’ t’ss le lega gall guardian request this in writing. In the latter case, the grade point average is co comp mput uted ed wi with thout out reli religi gion on grad grades es.. Th Thee co comp mputa utati tion on me meth thod od is simi similar lar fo forr students who, because of objective reasons, do not have the possibility to attend religion classes (Monitorul (Monitorul Oficial al Romaniei 10 December 1999). 1999). In its new version, the article recognized the students’ right to take no religion classes, but placed the burden on the students to let the school know their wishes by submitting written requests for exemption. Critics noted that the new version better met the churches’ demands for a more comprehensive coverage of study of religion in schools. While formally giving students the option not to study religion, the new arti articl clee ob obse serv rved ed the the lett letter er bu butt no nott the the spir spirit it of th thee Ro Roman mania ian n Co Cons nsti titu tuti tion on an and d international legislation protecting freedom of conscience because it made the study of religion the default option and the process of choosing not to study it more cumbersome by requesting a written notice from parents. Out of convenience, some parents might not submit such exemption requests, and parents in rural areas might be deterred to behave differently from other parents and let their children study religion out of peer pressure, or because they were intimidated by the priest, the  unpublished manuscript, p. 59). teachers or the community (Andreescu (Andreescu unpublished Defenders argued that the new article rightly predicted that exemption requests will be rather few. If students wishing to take religion classes had to submit written requests the school system would be unnecessarily burdened with paper work. Other observers noted that the ordinance was a way for the major coalition partner, the Christian Democratic Peasant Party, to repay the Orthodox Church for its support in mo mobi biliz lizin ing g the the elec electo tora rate te ag agai ainst nst the the So Soci cial al De Demo mocra crats ts.. Th Thee pr pree-co commu mmuni nist st Peas Pe asan antt Pa Part rty y ac acqu quir ired ed a Ch Chri rist stia ian n De Demo mocr crat at fla flavo vorr in th thee 19 1980 80ss, wh when en it clandestinely to the Christian Democrat International, butexplaining after its 1989 reorganizationadhered had problems fleshing out its Christian identity and the

 

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role of Christian Democracy in a predominantly Orthodox country. As a commentato tatorr no note ted, d, ‘‘ex ‘‘exce cept pt for for elec electo tora rall rhet rhetor oric ic (i (in n th thee fin final al de deba bate te on te tele levi visi sion on Consta Con stantin ntinesc escu u ask asked ed inc incumbe umbent nt Ilie Iliescu scu,, ‘Do you bel believ ievee in God God,, Mr. Ili Iliesc escu?’) u?’),, only the enforcement of religious instruction in public school curricula showed the 1998). ). When asked party’s dedication to Christian Democracy’’ (Mungiu-Pippidi, (Mungiu-Pippidi, 1998 how this fitted in with Romania’s application to the European Union, which was co comm mmit itted ted to the the sepa separa rati tion on of chur church ch an and d st stat ate, e, th thee new Libe Libera rall Mi Mini niste sterr of  Educ Ed ucati ation on,, An Andr drei ei Ma Marg rga, a, an answ swer ered ed va vagu guel ely y th that at Ro Roman mania ia’s ’s ov over erwhe whelm lmin ingl gly y Orthodox population had to be considered. Emerge Eme rgency ncy ord ordina inance ncess are ado adopte pted d wit without hout Par Parlia liamen mentt deba debatin ting g the them m ind indivi ividual dually. ly. Usually, most of the discussion surrounding ordinances is carried out in the legislative standing commissions, with the full chambers allotting little time for discussing them. In the case of Emerge Emergency ncy Ordinance no. 36/1997, the Chamber of Deputies struggled struggled with the constitutionality of the revised Article 9. In its session of 5 November 1998, Alex Al exan andr dru u Br Brez ezni nice cean anu u saw saw pa para ragr grap aphs hs 1 an and d 2 of th thee mo modi difie fied d Ar Arti ticl clee 9 as contradictory contra dictory.. While paragr paragraph aph 1 made religion part of the school curriculum at preuniversity univer sity levels, implicitly giving it a mandatory character, paragrap paragraph h 2 spoke of the students’ choice not to enroll in religion classes, thus giving them the option not to attend such classes. Brezniceanu unsuccessfully tried to amend the article to read that ‘‘in pre-university schools, the study of religion is guaranteed at all levels by the school cu curr rric iculu ulum. m.’’ ’’ Gh Gheo eorg rghe he An Andr drei ei aske asked d for for high high scho schools ols an and d vo voca cati tiona onall sc scho hool olss no nott to be required to offer religion. In his view, ‘‘thousands of high school students declared themselves outside of any religious denomination’’ to avoid taking religion classes usua usuall lly y sche schedu dule led d at the the be begi ginn nnin ing g or the the en end d of th thee sc scho hool ol da day, y, th ther eree wa wass a shor shorta tage ge of  properly trained teachers able to answer intelligently the more sophisticated questions of high school students, and the students’ workload was already heavy enough. The proposal was defeated. Before the vote, Dan Martian criticized the ordinance for maki ma king ng reli religi gion on ma mand ndat ator ory y at the the prepre-un univ iver ersi sity ty le leve vell an and d th thus us igno ignori ring ng th thee Constitutional Court ruling, which specified that only a very precise interpretation of Article 9 of the Education Law was constitutional. In reply, Virgil Petrescu claimed that that the the or ordi dina nance nce foll follow owed ed the the pr proc ocedu edure re laid laid do down wn by th thee Co Cons nsti titut tutio ion: n: af afte terr ment me ntio ionin ning g a ru rule le,, it spec specifi ified ed the the exce except ption ionss to th thee ru rule le.. In Pe Petr tres escu cu’s ’s view view,, pa para ragr grap aph h1 of the the revi revised sed Ar Arti ticle cle 9 intro introdu duced ced the the ru rule le,, wh whil ilee par parag agra raph ph 2 in intro trodu duce ced d th thee exceptions to the rule (Monitorul ( Monitorul oficial al Romaniei, 14 November 1998, 1998 , pp. 15e17). The 1999 version of the Education Law was unable to eliminate confusion. It recognized religion as part of the ‘‘common curriculum,’’ a formulation that could make religion mandatory, since only mandatory courses are common to all preuniversity levels, but also an optional and facultative subject the student could opt out of. While formally all pre-university students had the choice of not pursuing religi rel igious ous edu educat cation ion in pub public lic sch school ools, s, in pra practi ctice ce tha thatt cho choice ice cou could ld not be tak taken en advantage of. In its internet documents, the Orthodox Patriarchate presents religious education as mandatory, in spite of the constitutional guarantees for freedom of  co cons nsci cien ence, ce, the the Co Cons nsti titut tutio iona nall Co Cour urt’ t’ss De Deci cisi sion on 72 72/1 /1995 995 and th thee hu huma man n righ rights ts co conv nven entio tions nsatRo Roman mania ia ad adher hered ed level to. to. Th The e site si te st state atess th that at ‘‘th ‘‘thee subje su bject ct Reli ligi gion on is mandatory the pre-university and organically integrated into theRe education

 

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legislation and all current Ministry of Education orders and decisions’’ (Predarea ( Predarea religiei in invatamantul public). public). Sorin David Otelariu, an Orthodox priest and a high school religion teacher maintaining a website on religious education in Romanian public schools, believes that the Emergency Ordinance no. 36/1997 allowed religion to gain a ‘‘somewhat mandatory status,’’ but failed to help students make the right choice in choosing the denomination in which to study religion. According to him, studen stu dents ts sho should uld not be all allowe owed d to choo choose se deno denomin minati ations ons ‘‘su ‘‘subje bjeccti tively,’’ vely,’’ but the 2 choice should be determined ‘‘objectively’’ by baptismal certificates. Journa Jou rnalist listss hav havee rep reporte orted d ins instanc tances es whe where re the pra practic cticee of tea teachi ching ng rel religi igion on in schoolss ran counter to the constitutio school constitutionally nally guaranteed freedom of consci conscience. ence. Under pressure from local churches, schools in the city of Cluj-Napoca scheduled religion cl clas asses ses am amon ong g othe otherr ma manda ndato tory ry clas classes ses du duri ring ng th thee sc schoo hooll da day, y, an and d ga gave ve up th thee practice of offering religion either at the beginning or at the end of the school day. Whereas the old schedule encouraged students with an interest in religion to skip class for the convenience of having more spare time, the new timetable kept students taking no religion classes prisoners of the school for that hour (Stanciulescu, (Stanciulescu, 2002 2002). ). Survey polls conducted in the 2002e2003 school year among high schools in Buzau revealed that on average less than 20 percent of students enrolled in religion classes, but that as much as 90 percent of students did not know that religion was facultative e that is, it can be dropped, without the student being asked to opt for another subject instead. When told that religion was not compulsory, only 14 percent of  2002 2). Th These ese low stud st uden ents ts stil stilll op opte ted d for for reli religi gion on as a su subje bject ct of st stud udy y (Moise, Moise, 200 percentages do not reflect the high levels of interest in religion classes churches have consistently put forth. Other press reports reveal that some Orthodox religion teachers adopt a position toward other denominations that is far from ecumenical. In some schools, students were asked to cross themselves in front of Orthodox icons placed permanently (not  just during the religion class) in the classrooms. In Buzau, an Orthodox religion teacher told grade 1e4 students that if they did not wear crucifixes the devil would inflict evil on them, another teacher drew the devil on the blackboard to scare the students, students of rural schools were compelled not only to attend religion classes but also to go to the local Orthodox church and buy candles, and one report even claimed that a girl was so scared by the teacher priest’s story about burning in hell that that sh shee ended ended up ha havi ving ng nigh nightma tmare ress an and d bei being ng ps psyc ycho holo logic gical ally ly tr trau auma matiz tized ed (Andreescu   unpublished manuscript, p. 62, Monitorul oficial al Romaniei 23 June 1995, p. 20). A religion teacher at the School no. 1 of Buzau town denigrated other le lega gall lly y re recog cogni nize zed d reli religi giou ouss de deno nomi mina natio tions ns,, an and d to told ld st stud udent entss th that at if th they ey ever ever entered an Adventist church they would then be run over by a tractor. At another sc scho hool ol in the the same same town town,, the the reli religi gion on teac teache herr aske asked d st stud uden ents ts to re refe ferr to no nonnOrthodox denominations as sects, and claimed that the ‘‘Jehovah’s Witnesses is one of the most dangerous sects, promoting religious fanaticism’’ (Evenimentul   zilei 4

2

Otelariu’s is not an official Romanian Orthodox Church website, as he told us. The website’s address is http://www.invatamantul-religios.go.ro .

 

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October 2004). 2004). In 2003, a school in an Arges village unveiled a classroom dedicated to religion classes which resembled a chapel with wall paintings of biblical scenes, martyrs and saints, alongside portraits of the local bishop, the school principal and the mayor, who is also the village Orthodox priest. The priest was draped in the Romanian national flag. He defended the traditional Orthodox character of the paint2003). ). ings, and the inclusion of the three portraits (Evenimentul  Zilei 6 September 2003 Anot An othe herr reli religi gion on teac teache herr told told stud studen ents ts in grad gradee 5 th that at Go God d lo love ved d on only ly th thee Orthodox. After objecting to such teaching and arguing that God loved all children, the two non-Orthodox students in the class were ostracized during the break, with Orthodox students refusing to play with them on grounds that they were ‘‘dirty.’’ The Orthodox priest teaching religion religion at the primar primary y school in Joseni village (Buzau) punished a child in grade 4 by ordering him to stand up for the entire one-hour-long cl clas asss be beca caus usee he con confe fess ssed ed to ha have ve wa watch tched ed a mov movie ie br brou ough ghtt to th thee vill villag agee by a Protestant group. According to Andreescu, to  Andreescu, the  the attitude toward education of some reli re ligi gion on teac teache hers rs we went nt ag agai ainst nst ‘‘mo ‘‘moder dern n educ educat ation ion pr prin incip ciple less th that at envi envisi sion on th thee student as a responsible person endowed with reason and democratic values.’’ He bl blam amed ed the the stat statee for for ‘‘fa ‘‘fail ilin ing g to me meet et it itss ob obli ligat gatio ion n to gu guar aran ante teee cond condit ition ionss fo forr children’s education and their completely free affirmation of freedom of conscience.’’ Becausee of the man Becaus many y con conces cession sionss the they y mad madee to the chu church rches, es, ‘‘s ‘‘stat tatee ins institu titutio tions ns supported the infringement of principles without which we cannot discuss European integration’’ integr ation’’ (Andreescu   unpublished manuscript, p. 62). Indeed, the Ministry of  Education seems unwilling to stand up to the Orthodox religion teachers. When Mois Mo isee co comp mpla lain ined ed of the the ab abus uses es co comm mmit itte ted d by th thes esee te teac ache hers rs,, th thee Mi Mini nist stry ry re repr pres esen enta tati tive ve laug laughe hed d an and d dism dismis isse sed d the the re repo port rtss as me mere re ‘‘ex ‘‘exag agge gera rati tion ons’ s’’’ (Evenimentul zilei, (Evenimentul 2004).  zilei, 4 October 2004).

Religious Relig ious educati education on textbo textbooks oks

We ha had d the the op oppo port rtun unit ity y to stud study y Or Orth thod odox ox an and d Ro Roma man n Ca Cath thol olic ic re reli ligi gion on textbooks textboo ks used in Romania Romanian n pre-un pre-universit iversity y public schools. While under communism all public schools used unique textbooks for each subject, since 1989 the Ministry of  Education has allowed teachers to choose between alternative textbooks written by different authors and published by different presses, provided that they followed the appr ap prov oved ed cur curri ricu cula la.. Te Text xtbo books oks are are dist distri ribu bute ted d fo forr fr free ee to all all st stud uden ents ts at pr preeuniversity levels, and this is probably why they can hardly be found in bookstores. The fol follow lowing ing dis discus cussio sion n is bas based ed on sev seven en Ort Orthodo hodox x and two Rom Roman an Cat Cathol holic ic textboo tex tbooks, ks, and the offic officiall ially y appr approve oved d cur curric ricula ula for rel religi igious ous edu educat cation ion.. We had access to the Roman Catholic textbooks for grades 1 and 2, and to all pre-university Orthodox textbooks except those for grades 3, 6, 7, 8 and 12. All Orthodox religion textbooks we consulted have the approval of the Ministry of Ed Educ ucat atio ion, n, a ma mand ndat ator ory y cond condit ition ion for for text textbo books oks fo forr all all su subj bjec ects ts.. Wi With th on onee exception, all textbooks were ‘‘printed with the blessing of His Beatitude Teoctist, Patriarch of therepresenting Romanian Orthodox Church,’’ a formula equivalent to the Catholic ‘‘imprimatur’’ an endorsement of the textbook. The curriculum for the

 

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Orthod Orth odox ox reli religi gion on clas classe sess incl includ udes es elem elemen ents ts of th thee Ol Old d an and d Ne New w Te Test stam amen ent, t, Christian ethics, liturgy, ministry and mission for grades 1-4. Each grade presents these general areas in gradually more complex terms, building on the knowledge became understanding students acquire in previous grades. Students in secondary schools become familiar with the history of the early Church and the history of the Romanian Romani an Orthodox Church up to the presen presentt day. Cateches Catechesis is is introd introduced uced in grade 2 and continued up to grade 10. High school students in grade 9 review issues related to Chr Christi istian an eth ethics ics,, liturg liturgy, y, spi spiritu rituali ality ty and mis missio sion, n, but als also o lea learn rn abo about ut oth other er religi rel igions ons (Is (Islam lam,, Hin Hinduis duism, m, Bud Buddhi dhism, sm, Jud Judais aism), m), whi while le tho those se in gra grades des 10 to 12 study elements of Orthodox dogma and Christian art. These students also reflect on ‘‘Christianity and the Problems of the Youth,’’ including music, drugs, mass-media, sexuality, superstitions, reincarnation, Asian religious practices, Unidentified Flying Objects, and sectarian aggressiveness. In addition, grades 10 and 11 are exposed to ‘‘ ‘‘Or Orth thod odox oxy y an and d Na Nati tiona onall Cu Cultu lture re,’ ,’’’ a br broad oad th them emee in incl clud udin ing g le less sson onss on th thee Romanian religious folk art, first Romanian manuscripts, Orthodox Metropolitans and their contribution to nation building and the unification of the three Romanian pr prov ovin ince ces, s, Wal Walla lach chia ia,, Mo Mold ldov ova a and Tra Trans nsyl ylva vani nia. a. So Some me te text xtbo book okss re resp spec ectt th thee approved curricula more strictly than others. For example, out of two second grade textbooks consulted, the one approved only by the Ministry followed the curriculum strictly, while the one approved by both the Patriarchate and the Ministry followed the Orthodox liturgical cycle, with Christmas and Easter as highlights (Neacsu ( Neacsu and Dragos,, n.d.; Demian Dragos n.d.;  Demian and Sauca, 2002 2002). ). Approved by both the Ministry and the Patriarchate, the curriculum includes elements that are potentially problematic from the viewpoint of core democratic principles like the separation of church and state, and the state’s need to be evenhand ha nded ed towar toward d all all de deno nomi mina natio tions ns.. It co coul uld d be argu argued ed th that at th thee in incl clus usio ion n of cate catech ches esis is in religion classes directs public resources (teacher’s salaries and classrooms) toward activities activi ties that should be carried out by the Orthodo Orthodox x Church on Sundays Sundays,, an exerc exercise ise the church has yet to consider seriously. It could also be argued that catechesis was seemingly introduced not so much to provide students with additional information regarding the Or Ortho thodo dox x fait faith h bu butt in the the ho hope pe of tu turn rning ing th them em in into to co comm mmit itted ted Or Ortho thodo dox x believers.3 Th Thee ‘‘Or ‘‘Ortho thodo doxy xy an and d Na Nati tiona onall Cu Cult ltur ure’’ e’’ se sect ction ion co coul uld d be pr probl oblem emat atic ic if no nott ac ackn know owle ledg dgin ing g the the ro role le of othe otherr chur church ches es,, mo most st no notab tably ly th thee Gr Gree eek k Ca Cath thol olic ic Ch Chur urch, ch, in the the em eman ancip cipat atio ion n of Tr Tran ansy sylva lvani nian an Ro Roman mania ians ns an and d th thee pr prov ovin ince ce’s ’s un unifi ifica catio tion n wi with th th thee Romanian Kingdom in 1918. Let us bring some concrete examples, although not before evaluating the Orthodox textbooks in terms of their general characteristics.

3

Ironically, related issues were raised during parliamentary debates around the 1995 Education Law. Maiorr told senators that reli Maio religiou giouss proselyt proselytism ism was widespr widespread ead in Roma Romania, nia, with many newcom newcomers, ers, especially eastern new religious movements, trying to recruit members from among pre-university students and organizing recruitment drives on school premises. The Minister of Education worried that religion classes could be misused by new religions for proselytizing purposes. This concern seems unwarranted, since only the 14 officially recognized religious denominations were allowed to offer religious education in public schools (Monitorul (Monitorul oficial al Romaniei, 8 June 1995 1995). ).

 

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In terms of subject depth, the Orthodox religion textbooks provide a level of detail that that se seem emss un unne nece cess ssary ary for for the the av aver erag agee stud student ent wh who o do does es no nott pl plan an to enro enroll ll in theological schools later. In terms of comprehensiveness, the textbooks, especially the most advanced ones destined for high schools, cover almost the same material that is covered covere d in semina seminaries ries and theolo theological gical insti institutes. tutes. This is charac characteristi teristicc of pre-univers pre-university ity textbooks for all subjects, not only Orthodox religion, and a constant concern for parents, who believe that the Romanian school curriculum in general is heavy, too much being covered in almost every subject and too many subjects being studied (Monitorul oficial al Romaniei 23 June 1995, p. 26). Senator, Angela Mihaela Balan, voic vo iced ed thes thesee co conc ncer erns ns on 21 Ma May y 20 2001 01 wh when en she she de dema mand nded ed th thee th then en So Soci cial al De Demo mocr crat atic ic Minister of Education, Ecaterina Andronescu, to revise the school curriculum, and rhetori rhe torical cally ly ask asked ed whe whethe therr eve every ry Rom Romania anian n stu studen dentt must must hav havee an adva advance nced d kno knowle wledge dge of religion. The senator received no convincing reply, and the religion curriculum remained unchanged (Monitorul (Monitorul oficial al Romaniei 31 May 2001, 2001 , p. 24). In addition, hi high gher er le leve vell textb textboo ooks ks repe repeat at in grea greate terr de deta tail il to topi pics cs st stud udie ied d ea earl rlie ierr in sc scho hool ol,, a characteristic of all subjects studied in more than a year ( Sauca, 2002 2002a). a). Unlike other subjects, Orthodox religion makes little effort to update the language of it itss text textboo books ks e wh whic ich h ha hass be been en used used in theo theolo logi gica call sc scho hool olss sinc sincee th thee 17th cen centur tury y and is burdened by archaic words and formulas used neither in the literary nor in the colloquial Romanian e and make it more accessi accessible ble to children children.. Textbooks for grade gradess 2e8 in incl clud udee ex exces cessi sive vely ly long long less lesson ons, s, ac acco comp mpani anied ed by pr prima imary ry te text xt re read adin ings gs st star arti ting ng in grade 5. Most readings are from the Bible, but some are commentaries on the Bible ep epis isod odee di disc scuss ussed ed in clas classs (com (comme ment ntar aries ies by chur church ch fa fath ther erss or cont contemp empor orar ary y Romanian Orthodox theologians, and even liturgical texts) (Dascalu (Dascalu and Orzetic, 1998)). For   Andreescu,   the 1998 the Or Orth thod odox ox reli religi gion on te text xtbo book okss co cont ntai ain n se sexi xist st an and d authoritarian elements, both because they quote passages from the Old Testament where women are listed among men’s possessions alongside animals and land, and be beca caus usee a grad gradee 1 less lesson on sp spea eaks ks of Go God d ha hars rshly hly pu puni nish shin ing g chil childre dren n wh who o ab abus usee anim animal als. s. The ‘‘moral-religious training’’ should be the first to embrace modern educational mode mo dels ls stre stress ssing ing rewa reward rd inst instea ead d of pu puni nishm shmen ent, t, bu butt th thee Roman Romania ian n educ educat atio ion n syst system em in general has not completely eradicated children abuse and physical punishment. More Mo re im impo port rtan antl tly, y, ma many ny text textbo book okss blend blend Or Orth thod odoxy oxy an and d na nati tion onali alism sm,, an and d alternate lessons about Jesus with lessons about the lives of Romanian saints and political rulers. The Orthodox Church is presented as the most important religion of  the Romanians, key to their ethnic identity, nation and state. The country’s major literary figure, the 19th century poet and political commentator Mihail Eminescu, is quoted as saying that the Orthodox Church is ‘‘the spiritual mother of the Romanian people peo ple,’’ ,’’ Kin Kings gs Con Consta stanti ntin n Bran Brancov covean eanu u and Ste Stefan fan the Gre Great at are pre presen sented ted as Orth Or thodo odox x sain saints ts,, an and d the the grad gradee 9 lesso lesson n on ‘‘Lo ‘‘Love ve of th thee na nati tion on an and d cou count ntry ry’’ ’’ mentions that the ‘‘Romanian law [is] belief in God and love of the country’’ ( Sauca, 2002b;;   Opris, 2002b Opris, 200 2002b 2b). ). In grad gradee 12 12,, stud studen ents ts are are fa fami mili liar ariz ized ed wi with th Ro Roma mani nian an Chri Ch risti stian an thin thinke kers, rs, som somee of wh whom om we were re inte interr-wa warr fig figur ures es su such ch as Na Naee Io Ione nesc scu, u, Mircea Eliade, Nichifor Crainic, Vasile Bancila and Petre Tutea, but no mention is made ofg their collaboration or sympathy for fascist Guard movement. Noth No thin ing is said sa id ab abou outt the thewith co comp mpro romi mise sess th the e the Or Orth thod odox ox Iron Ch Chur urch ch ma made de du duri ring ng

 

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communist times or the fact that it accepted property of the Greek Catholic Church, 2002a). ). which was banned in the late 1940s (Opris, (Opris, 2002a Thee text Th textbo book okss ado adopt pt a crit critic ical al po posit sitio ion n to towa ward rd th thee new re reli ligi gion onss th that at fo foun und d adherents in the country after the collapse of the communist regime. Echoing the offici offi cial al po posi siti tion on of the the Or Orth thod odox ox Ch Chur urch ch,, wh whic ich h be beli liev eves es th that at ne new w re reli ligi giou ouss movements have lured Orthodox faithful with false promises of short-term financial assistance, the textbook for grade 9 presents proselytism as ‘‘a form of manifesting intolerance toward the religious beliefs of one’s fellow humans,’’ mentions that the Orthodox Church condemns it, but not that proselytism is not legally banned in Romania (p. 29). Its definition of proselytism, ‘‘the attempt to change one’s religious beliefs through various means: material objects, moral pressure,’’ differs markedly from the definition provided by the Romanian Dictionary of Neologisms, which views proselytism as ‘‘zeal to make proselytes; ardent devotion for a newly-adopted 1973,, p. 883). The textbook sees only the free preaching belief’’ belief ’’ (Marcu and Maneca, 1973 of the word as acceptable, as it does not involve material gifts or moral pressure. While Roman Catholic textbooks are written in a more accessible language and us usee ever everyd yday ay ex exam ampl ples es and stor storie iess inste instead ad of bi bibl blic ical al st stor ories ies wi with th wh whic ich h yo youn ung g students do not connect easily, they seem to be speaking to the teacher more than the students. The textbook for grade 1 contains 3-page lessons that are inaccessible to children who barely start to learn the alphabet. In terms of the content, the textbook for grade 1 focuses on God the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, whereas that for grade 2 presents Jesus and Mary, provides background on God as the creator of the world, and is more appropriate for the age group it targets, including numerous images. The textbook for grade 1 has the ‘‘imprimatur’’ of Archbishop Ioan Robu, the head of the Roman Catholic Church in Romania, but not the textbook for grade 2, although it was sold in the bookstore of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of  Bucharest (Dumea, (Dumea, 1991; Lucaci et al., 1994). 1994 ). More importantly, neither textbook bears the official approval of the Ministry of Education.

Darwinist theory and Christian values

Church Chur ch in invo volve lveme ment nt in edu educa cati tion on did did no nott st stop op th ther ere. e. Ca Call llss fo forr a re revi visio sion n of  textbooks textbo oks in conson consonance ance with Christian values have been heard at times. In 1990, the Grou Gr oup p of Re Refle flect ctio ion n on Ch Chur urch ch Re Rene newal wal aske asked d fo forr a ‘‘de ‘‘de-M -Mar arxiz xizat atio ion’’ n’’ of pre pre-university textbooks so as to adequately reflect the contribution of Orthodoxy to Romanian culture (Rompres (Rompres 15 August 1990 1990). ). While the Group failed to offer details, it presumably referred to textbooks for traditional subjects like history, philosophy, biol bi olog ogy y an and d Ro Roma mani nian an lite litera ratu ture re.. Th Thre reee ye year arss late later, r, Me Metr trop opol olit itan an An Anto toni niee Plamadeala of Transylvania called on Parliament to adopt educational programs and literature based on fundamental Christian values and ideals. His position was echoed in 1998 by Greek Catholic priest and Christian Democratic senator Ioan Mois Mo isin in,, wh who o as aske ked d th thee Mi Mini nist stry ry of Ed Educ ucat atio ion n to se sett up a co comm mmis issi sion on of  ‘‘k ‘‘knowl edgeab eable’ le’’diction ’ Ort Orthodo hodox x and Cath Catholi olics cs toationi rev revise ise phi philoso losophy andr bio biolog logy y tex textboo tbooks kst to nowledg avo avoid id con contra tradict ions s wit with h rel religi igious ous cre creati onism. sm. The phy sen senato ator com complai plained ned tha that

 

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students were told by their religion teacher that humans are God’s creation and by the philosophy and biology teachers of Darwinist persuasion that humans descend from apes. The proposal also envisioned the formation of a Council of Public Morality, directly subordinate to the Romanian Presidency and formed by church and teachers’ representatives, which would supervise public education (Evenimentul zilei (Evenimentul  zilei 18 March 1998). 1998 ). Neither Parliament nor the Ministry seriously considered the proposals.

Orthodox symbols in universities

Up to 1945, the Faculty of Orthodox Theology was part of the University of  Bucharest, the country’s most prestigious higher education establishment, but the communist anti-religious campaign turned it into an independent institute offering four-year bachelor in theology degrees. Admission was strictly monitored by the Communist Party, and graduates had a single career choice, priesthood. After 1990, the Ins Instit titute ute was rei reinco ncorpor rporate ated d int into o the Uni Univers versity ity of Buc Buchare harest, st, tho though ugh man many y university administrators and faculty felt it did not rise to university standards of  excellence. excell ence. The Insti Institute, tute, directly controlled by Orthodo Orthodox x Church leaders, responded to these criticisms by diversifying its programs, hiring younger faculty, some with doctor doc toral al deg degree reess fro from m Wes Wester tern n uni univer versiti sities, es, and mak making ing admi admissi ssion on and gra gradin ding g criter cri teria ia mor moree tra transpa nsparen rent. t. The numb number er of cor corrup ruptio tion n cas cases es imp implica licatin ting g the theolo ology gy professors constantly diminished in the last 15years. Since 1990, some Orthodox students enrolled at the University of Bucharest have launched a massive concerted campaign to turn the university Orthodox. Classrooms were used to host student debates on religious issues, student residences, offices and cl clas assr sroo ooms ms we were re bles blessed sed by Or Ortho thodo dox x pr prie iest sts, s, an and d ca cand ndle less an and d Or Orth thod odox ox ic icon onss be beca came me a permanent fixture of classrooms. A spring 1998 incident highlighted the deep divide be betw twee een n Or Orth thod odox ox beli believ ever erss an and d mo more re secu secular lariz ized ed so soci cieta etall grou groups ps,, an and d rais raised ed questions questi ons about the limits of relig religious ious activity in Romania Romanian n univer universities. sities. The dispute ensued after four philosophy and law students asked the university senate to ban reli re ligi giou ouss ac acti tivi vity ty from from the the ca camp mpus us an and d reje reject ct a pr prop oposa osall of th thee As Assoc socia iati tion on of  Orthodox Students to build a new church on the grounds of the Faculty of Law (Re Revi vist sta a 22 22,, 24e30 Ma Marc rch h 19 1998 98). ). Ot Othe herr st stud uden ents ts de deno noun unce ced d th thee ‘‘ex ‘‘exce cess ssiv ivee politicization of the academia and the imposition of an ideological monopoly’’ by the Orthodox Church, ‘‘the proliferation of extreme right groups’’ and the ‘‘toleration of and the support given to fundamentalism’’ by university administrators, calling students to resist these tendencies (Andreescu (Andreescu unpublishe  unpublished d manusc manuscript, ript, p. 65). The senate initially passed the required resolution but then rescinded its decision in response to a threat that the names of those voting against building the new church woul wo uld d be reve reveale aled. d. Fo Forr a we week ek the the un univ iver ersit sity y wa wass cov cover ered ed wi with th po poste sters rs su suppo pport rtin ing g bo both th sides of the issue. Patriar Patriarch ch Teoctist and the Orthodox protester protesterss proclaimed that the communist-era religious persecution had returned, but the students opposed to the proj projec ectt saw saw the the co cons nstr truc ucti tion on of a wo wors rshi hip p plac placee on camp campus us as a th thre reat at to a pl plur ural alis istt an and d tolerant The latter group also a 1997 decision ofth the Stud Studen ents’ ts’academic Le Leagu aguee toethos. intr introd oduc ucee Or Orth thodo odox x icons icons inopposed cl clas assr sroo ooms ms as in infri fring ngin ing g on the e righ riLaw ghts ts

 

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of non-Orthodox students. On 9 April 1998 the senate banned religious symbols (including icons) from campus, and set up a committee to enforce the decision. The committee proved unable to make good on its promises. Even in 2004 there were icons on campus. The academic year continues to start with an Orthodox mass to which all faculty and students are invited to participate. During a roundt roundtable able organized by the respected BucharestBucharest-based based Group of Social Dialogu Dia logue, e, whi which ch gat gather herss som somee of the cou countr ntry’s y’s pro promine minent nt int intell ellectu ectuals als,, Prof Profess essor or Mircea Flonta revealed that a December 1995 proposal envisaged the inclusion in the academic charter of a provision saying that the University of Bucharest was based on the principles of Christian ethics. When the proposal met a cold response because it could hamper the activity of non-Christian professors, the Association of  Orthodox Students asked for the recognition of an Orthodox patron saint for the university. The move, according to Flonta, revealed that the Association viewed the leading Romanian university as a semi-confessional institution. Another round-table  argued that ‘‘by introducin introducing g Orthod Orthodox ox and Catholi Catholicc participant, Gabriel Andreescu, Gabriel  Andreescu, argued symbols in university or school, one forces the students to study in a religiouslydefined atmosphere, a thing which runs counter to their religious freedom’’ (Revista ( Revista 22 23e29 April 1998). 1998). Construction Construction of the church was halted more because of lack of  ne nece cess ssar ary y fund fundin ing g than than a real realiz izati ation on on the the pa part rt of th thee un univ iver ersit sity y se sena nate te th that at Romanian higher education should remain secular. In 2004 another Romanian university faced pressure from the Orthodox Church leaders seeking to build an Orthodox chapel on campus. The University Stefan the Great in Suceava categorically refused to allow construction to start, and petitioned the courts against decisions of Social Democrat government and municipal council ceding to the Archbishopric of Suceava 150 square meters located right next to the university convocation hall in one of the town’s parks. The university vice-president Miha Mi haii Iacob Iacobes escu cu cha chall llen enge ged d clai claims ms that that the the cons constr truc ucti tion on ma mark rked ed th thee 50 5000-ye year ar anniversary annive rsary of the death of Moldovan king Stefan the Great, and argued instead that it was the result of political pressure and the Social Democrats’ desire to woo the Orthodo Ort hodox x Chu Church rch in sea search rch for add additi itiona onall ele elector ctoral al sup support port (Rom Romania ania lib libera era 29 March 2004). 2004). The Orthodox Church draws much of its support from the province of  Moldova, where Suceava is located. Not all universities steered clear of religious influence. The University of Oradea, located in Transylvania, boasts a centuries-old wooden church placed right in the middle of its campus, and a new chapel inside the main ma in bu buil ildi ding ng that that ho hous uses es mo most st of the the clas classr sroo ooms ms.. Bo Both th wo wors rshi hip p pl plac aces es are are Orthodox, as is the university rector. Conclusion

Financial constraints and lack of adequately trained teachers have meant that primary schools have offered religion classes mostly taught by Orthodox priests. While this shortcoming ran counter to the non-Orthodox parents’ right to provide their children with education consonant with their beliefs, it allowed the Orthodox church to make itsvocational doctrine, history, views knownconstraints, to a larger audience. High schools and schools and faceworld the same practical but high

 

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school students tend to choose more often to declare themselves non-religious to avoid taking the weekly religion class, even if this means no religious instruction at all. This has been their preferred choice since September 1997, when religion classes were we re fir first st off offere ered d in high high schoo schools ls.. Whi While le the the st stud udy y of Orth Orthod odox oxy y fa fail iled ed to sp spar ark k intere int erest st amo among ng you young ng mem members bers of the cou countr ntry’s y’s dom domina inant nt rel religi igious ous comm communi unity, ty, Protestant and Catholic religion classes have been popular with ethnic Hungarian and German studen students ts of Transy Transylvania. lvania. Churche Churchess in Romania successfull successfully y pushed for legislation making religious education in public schools the default option. The way churches understand to teach morality and help to repair the Romanians’ moral fiber af afte terr de deca cade dess of co comm mmun unist ist at athe heism ism ofte often n go goes es ag agai ainst nst mo mode dern rn pr prin inci ciple pless of  education and guarantees for freedom of conscience. Because of this excess of zeal, students may end up rejecting religious values. Romania’s high levels of corruption apparently show that religious morality has yet to make a difference in that country. Acknowledgements

 and Justina Sora for making materials available to We thank Gabriel Andreescu Gabriel  Andreescu and us. This study was conducted with the generous support of a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada standard research grant. References Andreescu, G., Biserica Orthodoxa Romana ca actor al integrarii europene. unpublished manuscript. Barsan, V. (Ed.), 1997. Educatie Pentru Europa. Pythagora, Bucharest. Barzea, C., 1996. Education for Democratic Citizenship. Council of Europe, Strasbourg. Dascalu, N., Orzetic, M., 1998. Religie. Manual Pentru Clasa a V-a. Aramis, Bucharest. Declaration no. 510/13 February 1991. Demian T., Sauca, I., 2002. Manual de Religie. Clasa a II-a. Editura Didactica si Pedagogica, Bucharest. Directia Dire ctia I a Departam Departament entului ului Securitat Securitatii ii Statului, Statului,Dece December mber1980 1980.. Rapo Raport rt privind privind stadiul stadiul munc muncii ii info informa rmativtivoperative in mediul elementelor din invatamantul teologic. ACNSAS, Fond D, file no. 69, 2, 65 e66. Dumea, C., 1991. Manual de Religie. Clasa I. Arhiepiscopia Romano-Catolica, Bucharest. Evenimentul Zilei, 18 March 1998. Bucharest. Available at   http://www.expres.ro http://www.expres.ro.. Evenimentul Zilei, 6 September 2003. Bucharest. Available at   http://www.expres.ro. http://www.expres.ro. Evenimentul Zilei, 4 October 2004. Bucharest. Available at   http://www.expres.ro http://www.expres.ro.. Hufner, K. (Ed.), 1995. Higher Education Reform Process in Central and Eastern Europe. Peter Lang, Frankfurt. Kaase, M., Sparschuh, V. (Eds.), 2000. Three Social Science Disciplines in Central and Eastern Europe: Handbook on Economics, Political Science and Sociology (1989e2001). Social Science Information Center, Berlin. Low-Beer, A., 1995. The Reform of History Teaching in Schools in European Countries in Democratic Transition. Council of Europe, Strasbourg. Lucaci, I., Miclaus, G., Fodor, C., 1994. Manual de Religie. Clasa a II-a. Editura Presa Buna, Iasi. Marcu, F., Maneca, C., 1973. Dictionar de Neologisme (Dictionary of Neologisms). Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste Romania, Bucharest. Memo no. 3808/10, September 1990. Mihailescu, I., Vlasceanu, L., 1994. Higher education structures in Romania. Higher Education in Europe 19, 79e93. Moise, E., 2002. Interpretarea Bibliei, sursa a discriminarilor de gen in practica religioasa crestina din Romania. Revista Romana pentru Drepturile Omului 23, 86 e96.

 

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