Protest of the Holy Synod of the Serbian Orthodox Church about the abolition of religious course
December 25, 2015. The Holy Synod of the Church of Serbia expressed its protest for the sudden decision of the Minister of Education of Serbia Mr Srdjan Verbić to abolish the religious course from the elementary and secondary school, as the official website of the Serbian Orthodox Church reports.
The Holy Synod reminds to the Minister of Education that he has to serve Serbian people and to take into account that the majority of Serbians 95% are Orthodox Christians. The religious education is very important and Serbians were deprived of it during the totalitarian regime.
The Serbian hierarchs underlined that Mr.Verbić, as well as his ideological predecessors of fifteen years ago, explained only ideological reasons and motivations for the abolition of religious education from schools. Apparently, he does not belong to the majority of Serbia, who broke the bond with the totalitarian legacy.
The Holy Synod considers that Mr. Verbić can provoke great damage to the civic education because the students who attend religious course learn to apply human values, human solidarity and respect for human rights and freedoms. Religious course and civic education differ in terminology, but their contents are related.