Religious and Citizenship Education in Belgium/Flanders: Suggestions for the Future Leni Franken University of Antwerp, Belgium
Abstract In Belgium (Flanders), citizenship education is one of the cross-curricular achievements, ut it is not scheduled as a separate school su!ect" Alternatively, citizenship education is integrated in diverse school su!ects and particularly in the religious education classes" #owever, with this didactical approach, two prolems arise" First, First, attention to lieral, democratic values is not always given in a su$cient, convincing way and is often dependent on the teacher sta%&s e%orts and goodwill" 'econd and more important , religious education in Belgium is organized y the independent religious instances of the recognized religions and not y the state" As a result, religious education teachers are often responsile for citizenship education, without supervision of the state" ot surprisingly, the aims of citizenship education are not always reached and Flanders scores elow the *uropean average with regard to citizenship education" In order to improve this situation, this article recommends a new, oligatory, non-confessional su!ect aout (and not into) religion, where attention is given to religious diversity, ethics, philosophy and citizenship education" For pragmatic reasons, an immediate introduction of this su!ect would e impossile, ut a gradual and profound change is recommended"
ntroduction In Belgium (Flanders), citizenship education is not organized as a separate su!ect, ut since +, it is o$cially one of the cross-curricular cross-curricular achievements" In practice, however, this achievement is hardly reached, and the way citizenship education is organized is therefore disputale" In addition, the organization of religious education (.*) in Flanders is not adapted to the religiously diversi/ed society of today and, sometimes, the content of .* is 0uite opposite to the 1nowledge, s1ills and aims that should e achieved within citizenship education" In order to overcome these prolems, I propose the introduction of a new, oligatory, nonconfessional su!ect aout (and not into) religion and citizenship" 2he introduction of this this su!ect seems the most most promising way to cope cope with recent sociological changes (depillarization, secularization and increasing religious diversity), and with the asence of ade0uate citizenship education in Flanders today" today"
RE in Belgium/Flanders Organization of RE Belgium has a particular political system, in which regionalism and federalism are comined (Farrell and 3an 4angenhove, 56678 #ooghe, +9)"
'ince the state-reform of +::+, Belgium has three ;ommunities (
allonia and the .egion of Brussels ;apital)" 2he .egions have !urisdiction over ?space-ounded& matters, such as regional economy, agriculture, environment, infrastructure and transport, while the ;ommunities are responsile for ?person-related& matters, such as health care, social policy, culture, the use of language and education" ;onse0uently, each ;ommunity o%ers education in its own language and has its own @inister and decrees aout education" In addition, Belgium has a peculiar church-state regime that is ased on religious freedom and active state support for religions" 2oday, the Belgian 'tate o$cially recognizes and susidizes si religions the ;atholic, rotestant-*vangelical, Anglican, Crthodo, Dewish and Islamic religions as well as the community of humanist freethin1ers" 'alaries and pensions are paid for ministers of these worldviews, and they may designate ?chaplains& in prison and army" Furthermore, recognized worldviews are entitled to free pulic radio and television roadcasting time" 2his system of ?enevolent neutrality& which is grounded in the Belgian constitution is also visile in the organization of .*" For this issue, article 5E of the constitution is particularly relevant Art" 5E of the Belgian ;onstitution G +" *ducation is free8 HJ 2he schools organized y the pulic authorities o%er, until the end of compulsory education, the choice etween the teaching of one of the recognized religions and n on-confessional moral teaching" HJ G 9" All pupils of school age have the right to moral or religious education at the ;ommunity&s epense"
Article 5E is the result of the so-called schoolpact of +7:, which was a political compromise etween lierals and socialists, on the one hand, and ;atholics, on the other hand" According to this article, pulic schools must o%er a choice etween instruction in one of the recognized religions and in non-confessional ethics during compulsory education" In G9, the ;onstitution adds that all pupils of school age have the right to a moral or religious upringing at the ;ommunity&s epense, which implies that the ;ommunity must pay confessional .* in non-pulic (confessional) schools as well" All the religious su!ects are autonomously organized and controlled y the religious instances, which means that they are responsile for the training, delegation and inspection of .* teachers, and the development of the .* syllauses" Furthermore, the ;onstitution states that education is free"
2his does not only mean that parents can choose a school for their children, ut it also entails that (non-) religious communities are free to set up their own schools with state support if they meet the re0uired criteria aout the 0uality of education" alloon schools are non-pulic, ;atholic schools, which is an almost uni0ue situation in *urope" 'ince 566:, all schools pulic and nonpulic have een funded y the Flemish ;ommunity on an e0ual asis, ecept for some o!ective di%erences which are more epensive in pulic schools (transport for pupils and the organization of confessional .*)" In Flanders, the decrees concerning education re0uire that all schools have to o%er at least 5 hours of .* in their curriculum" on-pulic schools are free to o%er one or more recognized religions, non-confessional ethics andMor a su!ect called ?cultural views&" Because most private schools are ;atholic, they almost all o%er .oman ;atholicism as a compulsory su!ect" 2he pulic schools, on the other hand have to o%er education in all the recognized worldviews" As a result, pupils in these schools can choose etween .oman ;atholicism, rotestantism, Islam, Dudaism, Crthodo ;hristianity, Anglicanism and non-confessional ethics" *cept for Anglicanism, the same su!ects are organized in the French- and =ermanspea1ing ;ommunities"
Current problems with RE in Flanders Practical problems.
2ogether with some other countries (e"g" Austria), Belgium is one of the few *uropean countries giving the opportunity to diverse min ority religions to organize confessional .* in pulic schools (otz and 'chin1ele, 566L +++E5)" #owever, notwithstanding this policy of active support for .*, many prolems arise within this system, which is still the result of the aforementioned historical (and archaic) compromise etween ;atholics and lierals" First, there is the arti/cial distinction etween recognized and non-recognized religions and worldviews" 2he ;onstitution only re0uires that education in recognized religions and in nonconfessional ethics is o%ered in pulic schools" Although, for eample, Dehovah >itnesses and Buddhists form larger religious minorities than the adherents of the Anglican ;hurch, only the latter worldview is recognized and can organize .* in pulic schools"
;onse0uently, the system cannot ful/ll the constitutional right to religious upringing for adherents of non-recognized religions and worldviews in an active way" Additionally, some religious groups (e"g" rotestants and @uslims) are very heterogeneous, which ma1es it very di$cult to organize uniform confessional courses in these particular religions" As a result, it is not a rarity that, for eample, rotestants refuse to ta1e rotestant .* ecause they re!ect the contents of their ?own& .* syllaus" 2his rings us to another di$culty within the Flemish .* system the 0uestion of eemption" In principle, and along the lines of the Schoolpact , non-confessional ethics had to e a neutral su!ect, ut de facto, it has never een neutral, and it has always had an atheisticMhumanist content particularly in Flanders, where the Union of Associations of #umanistic Freethin1ers (U33, Unie Vrizinnige Verenigingen) has een responsile for the organization of the su!ect non-confessional ethics since +9"
;onse0uently, the system will ecome even more comple and prolematic from the practical and /nancial point of view" A /nal prolem is that it is sometimes di$cult to /nd re0uired teachers and inspectors, ecause not all the recognized religions have an ade0uate teacher-training programme" 2he training for Islamic teachers, for instance, is insu$cient and this has unacceptale conse0uences for the 0uality of Islamic .*" articularly in the cities, where many students ta1e Islam,+ school principals complain aout this underdeveloped pedagogical and theological training of Islamic teachers, ut also aout their poor language s1ills" As a result of the autonomy of the religious instances involved with the religious courses, school principals cannot interfere here" ot surprisingly, some politicians plea for the schooling of Islam teachers conform the values of our democratic, lieral society and in line with the asic scienti/c and theologian achievements"5 #owever, given the separation of church and state, the freedom of religion and the freedom of association, this is not an easy tas1" Sociological problems.
@ore important than the practical prolems mentioned aove is the change of the religious landscape" First, Belgium ecame more and more depillarized, whereas the schoolpact was a typical compromise of a pillarized society"9 'ince the +L6s, many organizations with a previously religious (;atholic) character have evolved to ecome more or less secular organizations, which are open for people who d o not share that particular religious elief (anymore)" ;atholic hospitals, schools, syndicates, political parties and youth movements still eist, ut the ?;& (of ;atholic) has ecome less important and the same is true for other ideologically ased organizations" ;atholic, socialist and lieral pillars do not eist as ideologically isolated ranches of the Belgian society any longer, although they are still present as ?concerns& (#uyse, +:)" articularly in education, the ;atholic ?concern&, representing the ma!ority of schools and pupils in Flanders, is still very powerful" #owever, due to secularization and increasing religious diversity, the ;atholic identity of many catholic schools is evolving" In this contet, it is not a surprise that, for eample, the head of the Brothers of ;harity, AndrN 'toc1man, pleas for ?authentic& ;atholic schools again" 2his rings us to a second change in the religious landscape the tendency of secularization in BelgiumMFlanders, comined with a massive decline of institutionalized religion"
*ven though many Belgian citizens still suscrie some ;hristian values and call themselves ;atholic or ;hristian, more and more people no longer identify themselves with the .oman ;atholic ;hurch and the numer of active church-memers has decreased enormously" owadays, most ?;atholics& only go to church for important rituals (aptism, religious marriage and funeral) and even those rites de passage are often not celerated in church anymore" At the same time, elief in =od has decreased and more and more Belgian citizens call themselves atheists or agnostics (itnesses, independent rotestants, Buddhists, #indus, @ormons, 'i1hs, 'eventh
Challenges for RE 2he changes in the religious landscape challenge the BelgianMFlemish .* system oth in a practical and in a more sustantial way" First, the religious ac1ground of the pupils can no longer e compared with that of earlier generations"
As a result of these choices, the classroom of .oman ;atholic .* (in pulic and in nonpulic (;atholic) schools) is increasingly populated with children who do not elieve nor practise any religion" 2his is not surprising if we 1now that more than :5K of all the pupils in secondary Flemish schools are enrolled in .oman ;atholic .* (3laamse =emeenschap (Flemish ;ommunity) 56+656++) E which is, given the tendencies of secularization and religious pluralism, a very large amount" It is thus not a surprise that there have een some attempts to cope with this new situation" First, there was the new curriculum of .oman ;atholicism" Because the previous curriculum did not /t in the reality of secularism and diversity, it was transformed in +" 'ince then, more attention is given to the reality of religious diversity, (the discourse with) non-;hristian traditions and inter-religious learning and dialogue" #owever, education still has a confessional character, the teachers are appointed y the ;atholic community and the other traditions are always seen through and confronted with the ?own& ;atholic tradition" 2his 1ind of ?deconfessionalization& has led to a parado on the one hand, the religious plurality is ta1en seriously and pupils get information aout non-;hristian religions, ut on the other hand, this information is always approached from within and confronted with the ;atholic tradition, which is presented as the ?vocational and inspiring path& (Boeve, 5666 9E)" It has een ac1nowledged that the new pedagogical perspective as1s for a middle path etween a clinical and a confessional approach, ut ;hristianity still has a ?priority position& as a point of reference (.oeen, 5666 L6)" As a result, we could say that ;atholic .* now is neither confessional, nor impartial, ut something hyrid" 2his is an unclear situation and not satisfying neither for the defenders of confessional .*, nor for the defenders of non-confessional .*" 'econd, there are, particularly in pulic schools, some initiatives to stimulate cooperation etween teachers and pupils of diverse worldviews and in 56+5, the di%erent recognized instances responsile for .* in Flanders signed a !oined declaration aout their engagement to stimulate inter-religious competencies and dialogue" All the recognized worldviews agreed that pupils should learn more aout the other worldviews and that there should e more inter-religious cooperation etween the teachers of the di%erent worldviews" #owever, the declaration is rather vague aout what willMshould happen in reality" #ow much time should the .* teacher spend on education aout religion and inter-religious dialogueP >hat will happen in ;atholic schools where there is only one .* teacher that is, the teacher of .oman ;atholicismP >ho will control and organize the supervisionP
onwards, attention will e given to 1nowledge of other worldviews and to inter-religious dialogue in the last 5 years of secondary schooling in pulic schools of the Flemish ;ommunity" #owever, the practical implementation of this su!ect (e"g" who should teach it, who should e responsile for teacher-training, syllauses and inspection, how many courses or teaching hours should e scheduled) and the conformity of this proposal with the constitutional article 5E remain open 0uestions" Besides, the proposal will in fact remain the status !uo with its aforementioned prolems religious instances will still e responsile for the syllauses, inspection and teacher training, pupils in pulic schools will still e divided according to their worldview (even though they will get common ?inter-religious& education as well), and eemptions in pulic schools will remain possile" otwithstanding these attempts of change, the organization of .* has not changed sustantially since +7:" .eligious plurality, depillarization and secularization are important challenges for .* ('1eie, +7, 5665), ut in BelgiumMFlanders, the status 0uo with regard to .* remains" If, however, .* is part of the approved school curriculum, it has not only to increase the religious 1nowledge of the own tradition, ut it also has to stimulate dialogue, tolerance and mutual understanding in a contet of inter-religious education and diversity (;ouncil of *urope, 5668 Crganization for 'ecurity and ;o-operation in *urope (C';*), 566)" If we agree that .* should stimulate the capacities for dialogue, mutual understanding, respect and religious tolerance something we can hardly neglect in our time , a system in which pupils have confessional .* in separate classes (pulic schools) or in which pupils of di%erent religious ac1ground have to ta1e ?semi-confessional& .oman ;atholic .* (non-pulicM;atholic schools) is not the most appropriate way to cope with these tas1s"
Citizenship education in Flanders Organization of citizenship education hen citizenship education is concerned, schools are thus not evaluated with regard to the realized aims, ut only with regard to the e%orts made to realize them" In order to integrate citizenship education as a cross-curricular achievement in the school curriculum, there are di%erent possiilities"
First, schools can (inspired y their pedagogical pro!ect) set up common, cross-curricular pro!ects in which attention is given to citizenship education" ;ommon eamples are pro!ects aout human rights, the environment or racism" 'econd, citizenship education can, as a general aim or /nal achievement, e integrated in other regular and ?neutral& su!ects (i"e" compulsory su!ects of whom the content is controlled y the state, e"g" history or languages)" Finally, citizenship education can e integrated in the religious su!ects" #owever, all these ways of integrating citizenship education cope with di%erent prolems"
Current problems with citizenship education in Flanders According to a survey of #ooghe and ith an overloaded compulsory curriculum, there is little chance of the development of citizenship education as a cross-curricular theme" Finally, the strategy of integrating citizenship education in the .* su!ects a strategy many schools choose in practice is also prolematic for several reasons" First, .* in Flanders (and in the other parts of Belgium) is not organized and controlled y the state, ut y the di%erent recognized religious authorities and the non-confessional humanists" ;onse0uently, .* in BelgiumMFlanders is, as a su!ect into and not about religions or nonconfessional ethics, not a ?neutral& su!ect, and it is 0uestionale whether such a su!ect is entitled to integrate civic education in i ts ?non-neutral& or confessional discourse" In addition, the content of some religious su!ects in Flanders is 0uite opposite to the 1nowledge, s1ills and aims that should e achieved within citizenship education" 2o give an eample, one of the aims of citizenship education is that pupils can thin1 in a critical, reQeive way, and in order to realize this, the est o!ective, scienti/c 1nowledge at hand should e taught"
#owever, some teachers in religion tell their pupils that evolution theory is a true theory and that ithin ;atholic secondary schools, which form a large ma!ority in Flanders, .* (.oman ;atholicism) is indeed a compulsory su!ect" In pulic schools, however, pupils are not oliged to participate in any of the religious su!ects o%ered and eemption for .* is possile" 2his possiility of eemption is important if we ta1e citizenship education seriously if citizenship education is of general interest, it is not an option to integrate it in a su!ect that is in fact not compulsory"
Citizenship education in Flanders" #nternational Ci$ic and Citizenship Education Stud% ith regard to their attitude toward immigrants, political interests and participation and feelings of patriotism, the situation of Flemish students is even worse (
In sum, Flanders has a very low score with regard to di%erent indicators of social responsiility and citizenship" >hen we ta1e the result of this in0uiry into account, we cannot ut conclude that the actual organization of citizenship education in Flanders is insu$cient and that a new, alternative approach is needed" 2he introduction of the general school aims in + shows that the Flemish =overnment ta1es citizenship education seriously" @oreover, with the introduction and formulation of these aims, the Flemish =overnment con/rms that citizenship education is necessary in order to reach what 2im Densen (566:, 56++) calls &llgemeine 'ildung the self-development toward reQeive individuals and the formation of responsile citizens" #owever, as the International ;ivic and ;itizenship *ducation 'tudy (I;;') proved, Flemish students score very low on citizenship education and, hence, an improvement of the actual system seems necessary" If we also ta1e into consideration the fact that the organization of .* in Flanders is not ade0uate any longer and that the lac1 of non-stereotypical, o!ective religious 1nowledge of pupils proaly leads to intolerant attitudes and di$culties i n respecting other eliefs, practices and rituals, a reformation of the actual system of .* seems also necessary"
Religion and citizenship as part of !Allgemeine Bildung" Cver the last decades, the idea of .* as an integrative, non-confessional and pluralistic school su!ect and the relationship etween religious and citizenship education has received positive attention in literature (e"g" Alerts, 5668 Dac1son, 5669, 566E8 Densen, 566:, 56++8 @iedema, 56+58 @iedema and Bertram-2roost, 566:)" In addition, the United ations *ducational, 'cienti/c and ;ultural Crganization (U*';C), the *uropean ;ommission (.*<;o pro!ect), the C';* (566) and the ;ouncil of *urope (566) support initiatives to stimulate religious dialogue, interreligious education and the study of religious and secular diversity" 2hese initiatives are seen as essential elements in the struggle against pre!udices and in support of more respect and toleration (Dac1son, 566:8 'chreiner, 566+)" In some countries (e"g" orway, 'weden,
aout di%erent worldviews, there is a close and almost evident lin1 etween religious and citizenship education" #owever, there is only a lin1 etween religious and citizenship education if .* is organized in a pluralist, integrative and non-confessional way" As @ei!er (56++) notes, ?a religious education that contriutes to citizenship education for a pluralist democracy itself has to e pluralist& (p" 5+5)" 2herefore, I propose the introduction of a separate, integrative, compulsory, nonconfessional and pluralist su!ect aout religion and citizenship in all Flemish schools" ;ompared to the current organization of .* in Flanders, such a su!ect has many advantages" First, pupils in pulic schools will no longer e separated according to their worldviews, ut they will get the opportunity to learn from and interact with each other and to as1 0uestions aout their own and other worldviews" In addition, the proposed su!ect seems to e a good option to enlarge the religious 1nowledge of young people and to stimulate an open attitude of tolerance" @any citizens lac1 correct and n on-stereotypical 1nowledge of religions, which can lead toward intolerant attitudes and di$culties to respect other eliefs, practices and rituals (cf" low score on I;;' in0uiry with regard to attitudes to immigrants and ethnic minorities)" 2herefore, one of the purposes of the new su!ect aout religion and citizenship is to inform pupils aout religious and nonreligious worldviews, to reduce the pre!udices against (adherents of) other religions (learning about religion) and to develop a respectful and tolerant attitude toward cultural and religious di%erences (learning from religion)" In addition, the actual tension etween citizenship and .* can e solved within the new su!ect, attention to religions will e given, ut only in an o!ective, critical and pluralistic manner" 2his implies, among others, that this su!ect should e organized and controlled y the Flemish =overnment and not y the recognized worldviews" ;onse0uently, the teaching of facts that are opposite to some asic lieral values andMor to the est scienti/c 1nowledge at hand will elong to the past" If, within the proposed su!ect, attention is also given to political 1nowledge (i"e" cognitive 1nowledge aout, for eample, the environment, democracy, the Belgian political institutions and its comple federal system, human rights and solidarity),7 the aims of citizenship education will proaly e etter achieved than in the actual system"
#he future of religious and citizenship education in Flanders 2he organization of religious and citizenship education in Flanders struggles with many prolems, and this is proaly one of the reasons why Flemish pupils score low on the I;;' survey" &n impro$ement of the s%stem seems necessar%( and hereto( we can distinguish se$eral stages.
#n a )rst stage( schools can start with some pilot proects in which education aout religion and citizenship education are part of the eisting .* su!ects"
In order to guarantee impartial and 0ualitative lessons, .* teachers should e trained to learn essential educational s1ills and to otain the re0uired 1nowledge" At this point, it is important that the state and not the religious instances controls this part of the .* lessons and /es the /nal achievements of this particular part" 2his is di%erent from the actual system in which the state is not involved with the content of .* lessons at all" #owever, in order to guarantee a minimum level of improvement when it comes to citizenship education and impartial 1nowledge aout di%erent religious traditions, state interference is necessary and the religious instances should show more openness for state involvement" For practical reasons, it would e appropriate to wor1 with modules in this /rst stage for eample, two modules of (separate) education into religion controlled and organized y the religious instances, and one module of citizenship education and integrative education about religion, organized and controlled y the state" Cviously, pupils should not get eemption for the non-confessional module, while eemption for confessional .* in pulic schools will remain" #n a second stage, +hour should e scheduled for compulsory education aout religion and citizenship education taught y new .* teachers or y the actual .* teachers with the re0uired didactical s1ills and + hour should e scheduled for confessional .* (for which eemption is possile)"
2his system, which has already een proposed y several Belgian politicians, has the advantage that it ma1es a clear di%erence etween confessional .* on the one hand, and nonconfessional .* and citizenship education on the other hand" >ith the goodwill of the political parties and the religious instances, such a system can e implemented 0uite soon and without a constitutional amendment an adaptation of the decrees concerning .* will e su$cient" @oreover, when .* teachers have otained the re0uired educational s1ills within the /rst stage, the implementation of this second stage would in fact e 0uite easy" #n a third stage, a new compulsory su!ect of 5 hours a wee1, in which education aout and from religion, and citizenship education are integrated, should e introduced"
2his new su!ect can e implemented as a substitute for the eisting .* courses (for this ?/nal& option, which I prefer on the long term, a constitutional amendment is re0uired),L or the su!ect can e introduced as a new, regular su!ect, while the eisting .* su!ects ecome optional" 2his means that pulic schools will still o%er education in the recognized religions and in non-confessional ethics, ut only at pupils*+parents* re!uest " =iven the possiility of eemption, this is in fact already the case in Flanders"
Besides and more important , all pulic schools should o%er ?religion and citizenship education& as a separate, non-confessional and compulsory su!ect" For non-pulic schools, who are not ound to the ;onstitutional oligation to organize confessional .*, the possiility to organize (optional) state supported confessional .* will remain" In addition, these schools should also organize the new su!ect aout religion and citizenship as a compulsory su!ect" >ithin most of the systems mentioned aove, the actual confessional .* su!ects will remain as the main part of .* (/rst stage), as a su!ect of +hour a wee1 (second stage) or as an optional su!ect (third stage)" Cnly when the constitution is amended (/nal stage), .* can ecome fully separated from the religious institutions" #owever, given the constitutional oligations and the inQuence of (religious) sta1eholders, this system will not e implemented soon, and for pragmatic reasons, it might e etter to improve the actual system gradually" onetheless, if we choose for such an improvement, the state should not only e responsile for the non-confessional part of .*, ut there should also e more state control into the confessional .* su!ects, so that their content is not opposite to the fundamentals of our lieral democracy and to the aims of civic education"
ot withstanding the separation of church and state (which is not an asolute separation in Belgium), the state should have more authority to control the confessional .* classes and to interfere when fundamental didacticMeducational aims are not reached or even opposed"
Conclusion 2he introduction of a new su!ect in which citizenship education and education aout religion are integrated re0uires many e%orts and willingness from politicians, educational sta%, and religious sta1eholders" #owever, given the low score of Flemish pupils with regard to citizenship education and given the actual prolems with the organization of religions education, it is necessary to improve the actual system as soon as we can" >hen teachers have the re0uired educational s1ills to teach aout religion in an impartial, informal way, the integration of religious and citizenship education in one single, separate su!ect will e a surplus in our contemporary society, where many social and political conQicts are the result of incorrect 1nowledge, pre!udices, and misunderstanding of the religious convictions and practices of our co-citizens" As .oert Dac1son (566E 7) notes, ?all schools should promote social !ustice (including religious tolerance), 1nowledge aout religions, the development of the pupils& s1ills of criticism and independent thin1ing, and also the dialogue and interaction etween pupils of di%erent ac1grounds&"
2he introduction of a su!ect in which education aout religion and citizenship education are integrated can e an important ?tool& to realize this" >hen such a su!ect is well organized, it is apparent that the concept of citizenship education will have more chances to succeed than in the actual situation in Belgium, where citizenship education is only considered as a cross-curricular achievement that is not really evaluated" If the BelgianM Flemish =overnment ta1es seriously the responsiility for citizenship education, it could, without any preference for a particular worldview or religion, ta1e on the political-pedagogical responsiility to stimulate the policy of and practice in schools of fostering religious edi/cation as part of an integral citizenship and religious education de/nitively comined in schools as religious citizenship education" (@iedema, 56+5 +66)
>e cannot ut hope that the BelgianMFlemish =overnment ta1es these words into consideration and does some e%ort to reform the organization of religious and citizenship education, so that oth su!ects can (re)gain their value within a lieral, democratic, education system"
Funding 2his research received no speci/c grant from any funding agency in the pulic, commercial or not-forpro/t sectors"
$otes +"
5"
9"
E"
7"
L"
In the region of Brussels ;apital, for instance, E"7K of the pupils in primary pulic schools and EE"K of the pupils in secondary pulic schools were enrolled in Islam in 56+956+E" Islam has thus ecome the largest su!ect in pulic schools in Brussels, and this percentage will proaly increase in the net years" 2he previous Flemish @inister of *ducation (ascal 'met), for eample, stimulated a new, interuniversity training enaling students with a achelor&s degree to get a master&s degree in artsMworld religions, with a specialization in Islamic theology and religion" 2his new programme will prepare students for a !o as Islam-consultant, ut also for a !o as Islam teacher" #owever, the programme is not re!uired yet in order to ecome an Islamic .* teacher (httpMMwww"pascalsmet"eMarticlesMonderwi!sM 1u-leuven-start-56+E-met-optieislamitische-theolo)" ?illarization& refers to denominationalMpolitical segregation in social organizations, media, trade unions and schools" 2his 1ind of segregation in social life was typi cal for the 4ow ;ountries" 2he process of depillarization started in the +6s ut is not yet /nished" =iven the fact that almost all secondary non-pulic schools are ;atholic and that they represent E"7K of all Flemish secondary schools, E"7K of all pupils in non-pulic schools ta1e .oman ;atholicism" In addition, 96K of the pupils in secondary pulic schools ta1e .oman ;atholicism a percentage that counts for "7K of all the pupils" 2his rings us to a sum of :5K of all pup ils ta1ing .oman ;atholicism in secondary Flemish schools" In primary schools, we oserve similar tendencies" 2his can still e done in group pro!ects ecause this didactical approach seems etter to cope with political 1nowledge than classical lessons aout political institutions (cf" #ooghe and ithin a
"
lieral democracy, confessional .* is permitted b% ustice, ut it is not re!uired b% ustice" 2herefore, the state should not e obliged y the constitution to support this 1ind of .* with collective ta money" >hether pulic schools should organize confessional .* or not, and whether the state should /nance this 1ind of .* or not should e a matter of democratic delieration, and should not e /ed in a constitutional or e0uivalent law" A comparale system is already implemented in Surich, where Religions,unde (education aout religion) is a compulsory su!ect and pupils are free to ta1e religi-ser Unterricht optionally (Fran1 and Bochinger, 566: 5+6)"
