Authorities divided over mandatory religion class exemption

Greece’s Education Ministry and privacy watchdog are at odds over the terms allowing parents to get their children exempt from the compulsory religion course at state-run schools.

The former is planning to send a circular to school administrations ahead of the start of the new academic year in September specifying that pupils can skip these classes on the grounds of “religious conscience” – as recently ruled by the Council of State, the country’s highest administrative court – only if their parents can prove that they are not Orthodox Christians.

The latter, meanwhile, argues that pupils should be exempt on the grounds of “conscience” more generally, not only “religious conscience,” and that Greek Orthodox children should also be eligible.

The Union of Greek Theologists has dismissed the authority’s recommendation as violating the constitution.