New course reignites religiouscontroversy in schools

27 September 2004

MADRID – School children will learn a new subject called ‘religious fact’, the education minister said Monday.

María Jesús San Segundo  said the course, to be taught in secondary schools, will be a mixture of history and philosophy.

The new course will replace a religious course and will be called ‘religion for the citizen’.

There will be no religious element to the course – or pupils will not have to believe in what they are learning.

San Segundo said these are the main changes which the government plans to make to the controversial Quality Law, which relates to how religion is taught in schools.

Many do not want to have to attend religious instruction lessons at school.

But the former conservative Popular Party government introduced the Quality Law in order to make it compulsory for students to pass a religious examination in order to enter Spanish universities.

The present Socialist administration also wants to encourage the teaching of mathematics and English in schools in small groups.

[Copyright EFE with Expatica]

Subject: Spanish news