By Andrej Nikolaidis, CdM columnist
The Committee on Education, Science, Culture and Sports of the Parliament of Montenegro rejected the initiative to introduce “religious education” in schools. Here: https://www.cdm.me/drustvo/pratite-sjednicu-odbora-o-uvodenju-vjeronauke-u-skole/
The Committee head – Democrat MP – Nikola Rovcanin said that “The initiative to introduce religious education is not incompatible with a secular state”.
Clearly. The Inquisition is not incompatible with interfaith tolerance. Burning witches is not incompatible with enlightenment and emancipation of women. The burning of Giordano Bruno and the trial of Galileo are not incompatible with red respect for science. When you kill non-believers and burn cities in the name of your God, it does not mean that you are not practicing the religion of love. When you take someone’s head off with a sword, it is not incompatible with Jesus’ command to respond to a slap by turning the other cheek.
Although the Church Khmer Democrats and the Democratic Front did their best, the Committee rejected the initiative. Well done to the Committee. Well done to everyone who voted against. Well done to Minister Jaksic Stojanovic, who had the courage to announce that religious education is not required in schools. These are works that should be appreciated. Because in this kind of Montenegro, as we all know, it is easier to go headlong into populism and religious backwardness. It is better for everyone’s career not to hold a grudge against the Serbian Orthodox Church.
Well done to Bane Nenezic, who had an excellent presentation at the Committee and highlighted an important point: when you separate children at school and send each one to different classrooms reserved for only one religion – you return them divided and taught what makes them different from “those of other faiths”.
Religious education is a deceptive term. The science of faith is possible, but faith as a science is not. There is not a single scientific proof that supports faith, nor does faith need such a thing – because faith believes and scientific evidence is redundant to faith. Science rests on doubt and faith on – behold, miracles: faith. “Religious education” would mean – doubt in faith. It is clear that the initiators of the introduction of religious doctrine – not religious education – in schools did not think of a subject in which enlightened teachers would teach children to doubt the religion that is imposed on them as “theirs”.
So: what we are talking about is the doctrine of faith. So: a religious doctrine. And a doctrine is not the same as science. The sciences are numerous. There is, for example, the doctrine that the Earth is a flat plate. Science says otherwise. There is a doctrine of racial supremacy. Science says otherwise. There is a doctrine that states that the world is ruled by shape-changing reptiles, but that doctrine is still not believed by a sufficient number of people for the Committee of the Parliament of Montenegro to discuss its introduction into schools. Although, to sarcastically paraphrase Mr. Rovcanin, the doctrine of lizards-rulers of the world is not incompatible with enlightenment and rationality.
It is possible to study the history of faith. The history of faith is a science. But, behold, it already exists in Montenegrin schools. This is not what they were looking for under “religious education”.
Nothing is over: far from it. Have you seen The Terminator? Then you know the line “I’ll be back”.
This was said by the religious doctrine yesterday, after it was dismissed from the Committee.
Although there is a way to end everything as early as today. It’s simple: advocates of religious education just need to believe that their proposal has passed and that religious doctrine is spreading in schools.
(Columnists’ opinions and views are not necessarily those of the CdM editorial staff)
