The Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation believes that the study of religion is already sufficiently present in the curriculum through elective subjects, and that there is no need to introduce religious studies into the curriculums of public educational institutions. This was communicated to CdM by the Ministry, headed by Andjela Jaksic-Stojanovic.
Metropolitan of Montenegro and the Littoral Joanikije recently declared that “it’s time to return religious education to schools.”
On this occasion, the Ministry explained to CdM that Article 5 of the General Law on Education stipulates that in public institutions, education is of a secular nature, which means that religious activities are not allowed in educational institutions, except in institutions that are licensed as religious schools.
“As far as public educational institutions are concerned, students who wish to do so can study the History of Religion elective in the 9th grade of elementary school, as well as in high schools”, the Ministry’s officials explain.
They note that in elementary school students acquire knowledge within four main topics: Basic concepts and notions of religion and pre-monotheistic beliefs; Judaism; Christianity; Islam, while high school students, in addition to the above, also study the following topics: Beliefs and rituals in Europe until the penetration of Christianity, Religious systems of ancient civilizations, Religion and the modern world, etc.
“The position of the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation is that the study of religion is already sufficiently represented in the curriculum through the aforementioned electives, and therefore there is no need to introduce the subject of Religious Studies into the curriculums of public educational institutions”, the Ministry emphasized.
