Velizar Enchev to FACT: Religious education can be a shield, but also a Trojan horse

"Virtues and Ethics" will be the new educational subject in school, and "Religion" - only optional. This is what the final plan of the Ministry of Education looks like, presented by Minister Krasimir Valchev, after the initial idea for mandatory education in "Virtues and Religions" was dropped. What does this bring us? Velizar Enchev - Ambassador of Bulgaria to the Republic of Croatia (1997-2002), university lecturer, doctor of International Law and International Relations, spoke to FACT.

- Mr. Enchev, the subject "Religion" will not be mandatory in our schools. This should reassure us, or not exactly. What is hidden, what do you think is visible behind studying the subject only on demand?
- Behind the supposedly innocent idea of religious education are structural risks that Bulgaria - with its historical, ethno-religious and geopolitical heritage - cannot afford to ignore. In Kardzhali, Razgrad, Targovishte and Silistra, where the Muslim community is strongly organized and has a strong religious identity, the introduction of the subject "Religion" will almost automatically lead to mass enrollment of children from Muslim families in the relevant program.

- And where will Christianity in the rest of the country, which is larger, go?
- Orthodox Christian families in the rest of the country are largely secularized or religiously uninvolved - a trend that was formed back in the communist era. As a result, instead of a unified model of spirituality, we will get deep religious segregation, institutionalized by the state itself.

- And what about Europe, isn't that the same example we are given?
- The European experience is a lesson in naivety. In Germany, France, Sweden and Great Britain, the experience of teaching religion or multicultural religious education has led to one conclusion - when religion is not studied as cultural history and philosophy, but as a creed - it becomes a tool for identification opposition. In Germany, Muslim organizations insist on “Islamic creed“ in schools and refuse to submit to state educational standards. In Sweden and France, isolation of Muslim children in “their“ classes is observed, in which multicultural utopia leads to parallel societies. In Britain, state schools with an Islamic profile have become hotbeds of radicalism, including the refusal to teach Darwin or sex education. If a working balance between religious education and civic integration is not found in rich and powerful countries, what is left for socially weak, poor and demographically disappearing Bulgaria?

- And what will we see - institutionalized Islamization under the umbrella of the liberal model, is that what it turns out to be…
- The danger is not that children will learn about God, but that the state will provide a terrain and legitimacy for Islamist activity, often financed by external players. And while the Orthodox Church has difficulty recruiting personnel and textbooks, Islamic structures are already prepared – with people, networks, translations and foreign support. Bulgaria should not deceive itself – Internationally, education is the softest form of institutional influence and identity conquest.

- Is there a solution - religious education or history of religions?
- If we want to talk about religion in school, this can be done in the light of cultural history, philosophy and civic education - equally for everyone, without the possibility of separation by religion. Otherwise, we will bring children not into class, but into a political minefield, which may explode in years with enormous force. Bulgaria is a country with a fragile ethnic and religious fabric. Its attention to religious education should not be guided by liberal templates and foreign models, but by a sober analysis of demographic realities. If we do not think strategically today, tomorrow we will have generations with a different language, a different culture and a different loyalty - loyalty not to Bulgaria, but to religious centers outside its borders. Here is a comparative analysis of religious education in schools in key European countries and the United States, with a focus on legal status, teaching model, problems with Islam, and trends in secularism:
Germany
Status: Religious education is mandatory under the Constitution (Art. 7 of the Basic Law), but participation is not mandatory for students - they or their parents can opt out.
Model: Organized by denomination (Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, and in some cases - Islamic).
Islam: After long efforts, in some states (e.g. North Rhine-Westphalia, Hesse) there is an Islamic religious education taught in German, but under state control.
Problem: lack of a unified representative body for Islam, disagreements between Sunni, Shiite, Turkish and Arab groups.
Trend: Debate on whether to replace it with a unified discipline “Ethics“ due to religious and cultural fragmentation.

France
Status: Strict secularism (law of 1905). Religion is not taught in state schools, except as part of history, literature or philosophy. France is an example of complete separation of church and state. This model is called French secularism – a strict registration regime for religious communities has been introduced; schools have been declared a social space without religion; a number of issues related to the religious sphere are resolved with the active participation of society.
Exception: In Alsace and Lorraine (a special status from the time of German rule), religion is taught in schools.
Islam: The state controls Islamic structures, introducing regulations for the activities of mosques and religious schools.
Trend: Many cases of radicalization in private Islamic schools have led to their closure.

Great Britain
Status: The law requires "daily collective worship of a Christian character" in state schools, but in practice this is rarely applied.
Model: There is compulsory religious education, but multi-confessional and objective – introduction to different religions.
Islam: There are state-subsidized Islamic schools, which are often criticized for insufficient integration, sexism and conservatism.
Trend: Public pressure to introduce a single secular subject “Religions and Worldviews“.

Sweden
Status: All students study a mandatory secular subject “Religions and Ethics“, without religious instruction.
Islam: Sweden finances private religious schools (including Muslim ones) if they follow the state curriculum.
Problems: Islamic schools are in contact with conservative groups and are under the financial influence of Saudi Arabia.
Trend: In 2023 the government decided not to approve new private religious schools, and to strictly monitor existing ones.

Austria
Status: Religious education is compulsory, but optional - Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox, Islamic.
Islam:Since 1982, there has been a state-recognized Islamic religion, taught by teachers approved by the Islamic Community in Austria.
Problems:Radical ideas in the teaching material and links to foreign networks. Therefore, in 2020 Austria has banned political Islam and introduced controls on the content of religious sermons.

Netherlands
Status: Religious schools are allowed to be funded by the state if they follow the compulsory curriculum.
Islam:There are dozens of Muslim schools. Some have been closed due to “undemocratic and anti-European content“.
Trend:There is growing public pressure to stop funding any religious schools.

USA
Status:A strict separation of church and state. Religious instruction is not taught in public schools, but religion is permitted as a cultural and historical subject.
Private schools:Can be religious in nature – Catholic, Protestant, Jewish and Islamic, with full autonomy.
Islam: There are over 200 private Islamic schools, some of which are under investigation for “links to Salafi networks and influence of foreign countries“.
Trend: Some states are tightening control over the content of religious education in private schools, especially with regard to anti-democratic teachings.

- And what conclusions can we draw about Bulgaria?
- Almost nowhere in Europe is there a stable and safe model of Islamic religious education in public schools. European experience shows that Islam as an educational system is difficult to be compatible with universal democratic standards, and attempts to bring it under state control often fail. In countries with strong institutions, this leads to cultural segregation, in countries with weak institutions - to radicalization and parallel societies.
Wherever there is confessional education, Islamic institutions become the subject of investigation and political pressure. In countries with weak institutions (such as Bulgaria), the acceptance of a confessional model can lead to irreversible religious segregation.
The introduction of religious education in Bulgarian schools, especially in a confessional form, hides a serious strategic risk - instead of uniting, it can divide, by institutionalizing the ethno-religious border between Christians and Muslims at an early school age.
And if we look at the worrying ethnic and religious processes in neighboring Balkan countries - such as Kosovo, the Republic of North Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, religion in our secular schools can make them a minefield. The secular historical-cultural approach (“Religions and Ethics“, “Philosophy and Culture“) is relatively stable and safe. Thus, education can be a shield, but also a Trojan horse.
And let us say this unpleasant forecast out loud - in the so-called mixed regions in our country, the introduction of the school subject “Religion“ will give rise to two parallel processes - mass enrollment of Muslim children in the religious course, while among Christian children the interest in this program will be much, much weaker. In fact, what is it that requires our state in the 21st century to stimulate religious segregation?