Religious instruction in Germany

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The religious education in Germany within the meaning of the Basic Law school religious instruction in public schools. In addition, religious communities are free to offer religious instruction outside of school .

Legal bases

Religious instruction is the only subject covered by the Basic Law as a regular subject for public schools ( Article 7, Paragraph 3 of the Basic Law).

The exception are non-denominational schools for which no religious instruction is provided. The Basic Law requires different types of schools that were already provided for in the Weimar Constitution (WRV). According to this, schools were normally community schools in which Protestant and Catholic pupils were taught together and only separately in religious instruction (Art. 146, Paragraph 1 WRV). Students of other religions were not planned at that time. Denominational schools are intended for members of a specific denomination (Art. 147 Para. 2 WRV). Non-denominational schools, on the other hand, are characterized by the fact that they do not give any religious instruction (Art. 149 Para. 1 WRV). According to the Federal Constitutional Court, which of these types of schools is introduced is "left to the democratic majority decision of the state legislature" (BVerfGE 41, 88 (107)).

Religious instruction as a "common matter"

According to the Basic Law, religious education is under state supervision. Like any other lesson, it is committed to democratic principles. The achievements made by the students in religious education are graded. These grades are relevant for transfer. If students de-register during the school year, a grade can still be given, stating the duration of participation. As with any regular classroom instruction, religious education is to be taught and financed by the school authority with its own teachers.

The state is bound to ideological neutrality, it guarantees the freedom of every religious practice. Therefore, he cannot decide what content the religious instruction should have and what doctrines are "correct". The state is therefore dependent on cooperation with the religious communities. Religious instruction is thus a "common matter" ( res mixta ) of the state and religious communities.

Therefore, the religious communities are responsible for the content of their religious instruction without prejudice to state supervisory law. They derive the content for religious education from their statements of faith. These are neither neutral nor objective. However, you must not unlawfully restrict the freedom of others.

Religious education is generally taught by state teachers who:

  1. have both state exams,
  2. are sworn in to the constitution and
  3. have the approval of the respective religious community.

In addition, the state can - in coordination with the religious communities - also commission people who have not been trained as a teacher to give religious instruction in its schools.

The religious communities have the right to inspect the lessons to check whether they are in accordance with their principles. In the event of serious violations of your doctrines of belief, you can withdraw the teacher's vocation or missio . The teacher is then no longer entitled to give religious instruction.

The state also has the right to check whether religious instruction meets state school requirements.

See also: religion teacher

Providing religious instruction

Article 7, Paragraph 3, Clause 1 of the Basic Law ensures the continuity of religious instruction as a regular subject only for denominational schools; this does not apply to non-denominational schools, such as state public schools. From this, religious communities have a legal right to receive religious instruction only in denominational schools under certain other conditions. It is controversial whether individual students have a legal right to have religious instruction of their denomination offered.

The content of religious instruction in the denominational schools is based on the requirements of the respective religious community . The fact that religious education is a regular subject in most federal states is incompatible with Art. 7 (3) GG. That is why the administrative courts impose certain requirements on the religious communities that want to give religious instruction. Even with religious societies under public law , these are not always available, although they are checked at the time of awarding. In order to protect the religious freedom of teachers, nobody can be “obliged to give religious instruction against their will” ( Article 7, Paragraph 3, Sentence 3, Basic Law).

Participation in religious education

Pupils have - derived from the Basic Law - a right to participate in religious instruction of their denomination if it is offered and the participation does not contradict the will of the religious community. In the provinces, where religious instruction is a regular subject for which there confessional belonging compulsory education in accordance with Art. 7 para. 3 of the Basic Law also participate obligatory religious instruction, without any notification would be required. According to Art. 140 GG in conjunction with Art. 136 Paragraph 4 WRV, however, no one may be forced to participate in religious exercises. As a consequence of the freedom of religion and conscience, the legal guardians (usually the parents) can decide on the participation of the child, Article 7, Paragraph 2 of the Basic Law, and deregister the child from religious instruction. From the age of ten, the child can be heard if it is to be brought up in a different creed than before. From the age of twelve, this decision requires the consent of the child. From full religious maturity at the age of 14, if the student has his fundamental right to the inviolability of "[...] freedom of belief , conscience and freedom of religious and ideological creed [...]" according to Article 4, Paragraph 1 of the Basic Law itself can exercise, he also decides himself about the religious affiliation ( § 5 sentence 1 KErzG ). In Bavaria and Saarland, pupils belonging to the denomination can only deregister themselves from religious instruction after the age of 18 (according to Article 7, Paragraph 2 of the Basic Law, "[t] he legal guardians [...] have the right to determine whether the child should participate in religious instruction" ). The obligation to participate in religious education does not apply when leaving the church or when converting to a denomination or religion for which no religious education is offered.

Participation in religious education classes can only be refused for reasons of conscience; the school is not permitted to review these reasons. Pupils who take part in religious education and are graded as unsatisfactory or unsatisfactory must accept not being transferred for these reasons. In some federal states (e.g. North Rhine-Westphalia), timely deregistration before the certificate means that the grade is not relevant for promotion. The more precise requirements for deregistering from religious education are regulated in the respective country (school) law.

Denominational schools may require all pupils to take part in religious education. If a student rejects this, the school has the right not to teach him.

In principle, pupils can also take part in religious instruction of a denomination to which they do not belong, but not against the will of the religious community responsible for this. Members of the major Christian denominations are endeavoring to provide joint or ecumenical Christian religious instruction that cancels this distinction.

Pupils who are canceled from religious education and are not yet of legal age are subject to school supervision. Schools therefore endeavor to offer alternative lessons.

De-registration from religious education

All parents, regardless of their religion or belief, have the option of exempting their children from taking part in religious education without giving any reason. The constitutional basis is Article 7, Paragraph 2 of the Basic Law: "The legal guardians have the right to decide on the child's participation in religious instruction."

In the North Rhine-Westphalian School Act, Section 31, Paragraph 6 states: “A pupil is exempt from participating in religious education on the basis of a declaration by the parents or - if the pupil is of religious age - on the basis of his or her own declaration. The declaration must be sent in writing to the school principal. The parents must be informed of the exemption.
3. The exemption from religious instruction based on the basic right to religious freedom cannot be tied to specific dates. If the declaration is withdrawn, there is an obligation to attend religious instruction.
The school's duty to supervise also extends to pupils who are canceled from religious instruction and to free periods (cf. No. 1 VV to Section 57 (1) SchulG - BASS 12-08 No. 1) .... "

The Lower Saxony Schools Act (NSchG) stipulates in Section 124 (2): “The parents or legal guardians decide on participation in religious education. Schoolchildren have this right after they have reached the age of 14. The school management must be informed in writing that they have not participated in religious instruction. "

Integration into the Basic Law

Legally relevant articles of the GG

  • Basic Law Article 3 (3) [equality before the law; here: prohibition of discrimination on the basis of belief]
"Nobody may be disadvantaged or preferred because of their gender, their origin, their race, their language, their homeland and origin, their beliefs, their religious or political views."
  • Basic Law Article 4 (1) [Freedom of belief, conscience and belief]
"Freedom of belief, conscience and freedom of religious and ideological creed are inviolable."
  • Basic Law Article 7 Paragraphs 1 to 3 [School System]
"(1) The entire school system is under the supervision of the state."
"(2) The legal guardians have the right to decide on the participation of the child in religious instruction."
“(3) Religious instruction is a regular subject in public schools with the exception of non-denominational schools. Without prejudice to state supervisory law, religious education is given in accordance with the principles of the religious communities. No teacher may be obliged to give religious instruction against his will. "
  • Basic Law Article 140 in conjunction with Article 136 Weimar Constitution [individual religious freedom]
"Nobody may be compelled to perform a church act or ceremony or to participate in religious exercises or to use a religious form of oath."
  • Basic Law Article 140 in conjunction with Article 137 of the Weimar Constitution [religious societies]
"There is no state church."
"Article 7, Paragraph 3, Clause 1 does not apply in a country in which another state law regulation existed on January 1, 1949."

Separation of state and church

The separation of state and church is laid down in the Basic Law ; it is incorporated into the Basic Law from Article 137, Paragraph 1 of the Weimar Imperial Constitution : “There is no state church.” The provision had to do with the upheaval in the constitutional process of 1919 BC a. the task of ending the so-called sovereign church government of the churches established since the Reformation with the sovereign as the highest bishop ( summus episcopus , hence the designation of this system as " summus episcopus "). This also explains the formulation, which does not directly indicate a requirement to separate church and state. The interpretation is based on the historical meaning and declares an institutional intertwining of state and church, an identification of the one with the other, to be inadmissible. However, it is questionable how radical this separation must be. This is the controversial question of the scope of the separation requirement.

According to one view, it is a "separation at the root": State and churches may not meet at all within an institution, unless cooperation is expressly permitted by the Basic Law (such as in religious education by Article 7 (3) Basic Law ). According to this, religious education appears as an exception to a principle that is fundamental to state organization.

According to the other view, such a strict, secular separation cannot be found in the Basic Law. The state does not have to prevent all religious activity in its institutions. Rather, it enables its citizens, by allowing religious activity, to make use of their religious freedom in the state as well. Applied to religious education, this means that if the state subjects students to the obligation to attend its schools and to be educated and trained by them, then by offering religious education it also enables them to do what may be important according to their personal religious and ideological orientation Include religious components in their education. This view is based on the child's right to religion, which can also lead to the right to religious instruction.

Principle of equal treatment

The principle of equal treatment requires all religions practiced in Germany to be given the opportunity to organize religious instruction. The requirement that a minimum number of participants is reached and that religious instruction does not contradict the educational goals of the school is compatible with the principle of equality.

So it is not necessary that every religion represented at the school has its own lesson, but rather a minimum number of participants that varies from state to state. The insufficient number of participants is sometimes compensated by merging several years or even several schools. This problem of the insufficient number of participants was mainly exacerbated by the religious pluralization, as various religious communities such as Orthodox churches or religious splinter groups were unable to organize lessons within the school simply because of the small number of their adherents. Other religious groups such as Jehovah's Witnesses also reject this form of cooperation with the state on principle. Children for whom religious education cannot be arranged in school for these reasons have to attend ethics classes instead. (Exceptions exist in the federal states in which religious instruction is not a compulsory subject, e.g. in Berlin , Bremen and Brandenburg .) If religious instruction is also open to students of other religions / denominations, this can also be attended instead of ethics lessons become.

With the increasing number of Muslims, concepts for Islamic religious instruction are being worked on in many places. However, quite a few fundamental questions are raised. On the one hand, there is often no contact person for the state who can authentically determine the content to be taught in accordance with Article 7 (3) of the Basic Law. Islam has no membership organization like the churches, so that the higher-level associations can only represent a small number of Muslims. Secondly, some Islamic associations are observed by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution because of an at best unclear attitude to the free-democratic basic order and it is considered inappropriate to involve these associations in education and training in state schools at the same time. (See also below → Islam .)

Special provisions in various federal states

Formation by state law

Establishing religious instruction is a matter for the Länder. The federal constitutional requirements leave the states leeway for design. This has mainly happened in the state school laws, partly also in the state constitutions. Are also common state church contracts , where cooperation with the religious communities is regulated.

Baden-Württemberg

If there is a religious minority of fewer than eight students, the classroom will be made available when religious instruction is given.

Cancellation from religious instruction must be submitted in writing to the headmaster, personally by a minor who is religiously responsible. When submitting the personal declaration of the religiously mature pupil, the legal guardians are to be invited. De-registration from religious education is only possible at the beginning of a school half-year. (From the School Act for Baden-Württemberg from Section 96)

At the end of 2007, additional training in Islamic religious instruction will begin at three universities of education in Baden-Württemberg, with the aim of ensuring that the children “receive reasonable, clean, scientifically proven, religious education lessons”. The new courses are mainly organized and supported by professors for Catholic theology at the participating state universities and should not lead to the displacement of the Koran schools offered in many places.

Bavaria

Religious instruction is a regular subject (compulsory subject) at elementary schools, secondary schools, grammar schools, special schools, vocational schools, advanced vocational schools, business schools, technical colleges, vocational high schools, at other schools in accordance with the school regulations. This also applies accordingly to Jewish religious instruction for Jewish students. It is issued separately according to confession in accordance with the principles of the church or religious community concerned (Art. 46 Para. 1 BayEUG).

Self-de-registration from religious instruction is only possible for pupils after they have reached the age of 18 (Art. 46 Para. 4 S. 2 BayEUG). However, this does not affect the nationwide possibility of leaving the church at the age of 14 without the consent of the parents, which means that there is no longer any obligation to participate in religious education.

Berlin

In Berlin , according to Section 13 of the Berlin Schools Act of June 26, 1948, religious instruction is a matter for the religious and ideological communities ( Berlin school model ). According to the decision of the Federal Administrative Court (BVerwGE 110, 326), the Bremen clause applies to Berlin , which provides that Article 7 (3) of the Basic Law does not apply in a country in which a different regulation was in effect on January 1, 1949. The elective subject religion, the grading of which is not relevant for promotion, is 90 percent financed by the State of Berlin and issued by people who are qualified for a teaching post and an examination in religious studies or by people who have completed a specialist degree at a university or a comparable training to have. In addition to Christian (Protestant and Catholic) and Jewish religious instruction, life science lessons have been offered in all grades at Berlin schools since 1984 as a voluntary, ideological and non-religious subject, the organization and ideology of which is supported by the Humanist Association of Germany (HVD) and should not be confused with the ideologically neutral LER lessons in Brandenburg . With a share of around 25 percent of the student body, Protestant religious education is still the “main provider” of a value subject in Berlin that is voluntarily attended by students.

On March 23, 2006, the Berlin House of Representatives, with the votes of the SPD and PDS as well as part of the Greens, decided that ethics will gradually become part of the compulsory education for all secondary school students from the 2006/2007 school year, beginning with the 7th grade . Since the school year 2010/2011, this resolution has been fully implemented for grades 7 to 10, but in the absence of trained ethics teachers, also by class teachers or other instructed teachers. Religious instruction can also be attended voluntarily, as before, but since the introduction of compulsory ethics instruction, the number of participants in religious instruction in the affected class levels has decreased significantly.

After the rejection of a constitutional complaint and the decision by the Federal Constitutional Court on March 15, 2007 , according to which compulsory ethics classes do not infringe parents or students in their fundamental rights (1 BvR 2780/06), a referendum was held on April 26, 2009 on the introduction of the compulsory elective ethics / Religion . With a low turnout (less than 30 percent) and a narrow majority, the Berliners decided against a bill that aimed to make religion an elective subject on an equal footing with ethics , so that the status quo is maintained.

But despite the referendum, which was voted negative in the interests of the Pro-Reli applicants, the situation of the still active Protestant catechists, as the most affected part of the religion-teaching teaching staff, has eased somewhat. In Berlin schools, for example, there is an increasing number of collaborations with ethics teachers who report a need for “experts” in matters of religion. In addition, the number of evangelical catechists is falling purely due to age: while before reunification there were more than 1,000 for West Berlin alone , in 2004 it was 648 to almost 565 permanent positions for the whole of Berlin and only 592 to 493 for the 2009/10 school year Positions. (Last status for the 2013/14 school year: almost 455 posts) In parallel, between 2004 and 2010, the number of teachers in the state school service who give Protestant religious instruction decreased from 137 to 67. (Last status for the 2013/14 school year: 8, 96 posts). In the same period, the number of participants in Protestant religious education in Berlin fell from a good 89,000 to almost 82,000 students, which, however, only reduced their share of the also falling total number of students from 26.3 percent to 25.5 percent. (Last status for the school year 2014/15 with 78,771 participants with 23.90 percent) The almost constant share of the also falling total number of students is also remarkable, since of the 839 in the school year 2013/14 only 541 schools were able to offer Protestant religious instruction . Even taking into account the extreme demographic change in Berlin and the associated school closings, it is now more and more often that Protestant religious instruction can be given in Berlin schools, although it would be desired there.

Brandenburg

In Brandenburg , religious instruction takes place under the sole responsibility of the religious communities. School rooms can be used; however, it is not part of the school curriculum and is therefore not a “regular subject” within the meaning of Article 7 paragraph 3 of the Basic Law.

At the beginning of the 1990s, a three-year model experiment in the subject of lifestyle-ethics-religion was carried out in 44 schools, which was rated as successful by the SPD state government. With a total of two hours per week available, the lessons were distributed over the entire school year and divided into an integration phase and a differentiation phase. The integration phase included religious and ideological neutral lessons in lifestyle, ethics, religious studies / religious studies. In the differentiation phase , religious instruction should be offered as a regular subject in accordance with the provisions of the Basic Law “in accordance with the principles of the religious communities”. The Catholic Church did not participate in the model from the start, the Evangelical Church later dropped out.

Since the subject could no longer include religious instruction, but only religious studies parts, it was renamed "lifestyle Ethics Religions customer ". Since then, the subject has been taught - as stipulated in Section 11 (3) of the Brandenburg Schools Act - "without denial, religiously and ideologically neutral". A performance evaluation through grades has only been taking place since 2005. All pupils were obliged to take part in LER (Lifestyle, Ethics and Religious Studies), but were able to apply for an exemption from LER “for important reasons” according to a transitional provision in the School Act.

The constitutionality of this arrangement from 1996 was controversial as it was unclear whether the “ Bremen Clause ” would apply to Brandenburg. Only if it was applicable did the country not have to introduce religious education as a regular subject. Although a different regulation actually applied in 1949 in the post-war state of Brandenburg, which was founded in 1947, this old Brandenburg was dissolved by the GDR in 1952 and only re-established in 1990. Various parties have appealed to the Federal Constitutional Court (BVerfG) on this issue. Instead of a decision, the Federal Constitutional Court submitted a settlement proposal. After the complainants responded to the proposal, the BVerfG declared the proceedings to be over by decision of October 31, 2002. As a result, religious education was also legally integrated into the lesson table and participation in religious education is an expressly stated reason for deregistering from LER. The state pays the cost of religious education.

Since the 2007/2008 school year, humanistic life lessons have also been offered in schools in Brandenburg. The Brandenburg Constitutional Court paved the way for this in December 2005. It declared that it was incompatible with the constitution that the state school law granted the churches and religious communities the right to confessional instruction alone. Today, life skills can be taught in all school types and levels in accordance with Section 9, Paragraphs 2 and 8 of the Brandenburg Schools Act.

Bremen

In Bremen , non-denominational Christian lessons in biblical history have been given since 1947. Article 32 of the state constitution stipulates: “The general public schools are community schools with non-denominational teaching in Biblical history on a generally Christian basis”.

In contrast to most federal states, this subject is not given under the responsibility of the church. In Art. 141 (“ Bremen Clause ”) the Basic Law expressly allows this deviation from Art. 7 GG.

This "Christian religious studies" is a regular subject for all students, including non-Christian students, under state school supervision with grading relevant to promotion. It is possible to deregister, and some schools now offer alternatives such as ethics or philosophy. The alternative subject is regulated in Section 7 of the Bremen Schools Act. A model test is currently running at a school to set up an Islamic Studies.

Hamburg

There is no non-denominational public school in Hamburg . Several circumstances have led to the extraordinary establishment of religious instruction in Hamburg for everyone with evangelical responsibility . This is formally a denomination-bound religious instruction according to Article 7 GG and may therefore only be given by teachers who belong to a church with an evangelical denomination. However, it is addressed to all students of all beliefs. Lessons in Hamburg differ in that they also follow an interreligious approach in terms of content. This offer by the Protestant Church has become so important in Hamburg not least because the Catholic Church, as a diaspora community, has so far only been able to offer religious instruction at its own schools. Catholic pupils in public schools have always been dependent on Protestant religious instruction. But even if Hamburg has a large variety of religious orientations and communities, the city as a whole is very secularly oriented. Despite the interreligious and dialogical orientation of religious instruction, there is a slight emphasis on Christian topics.

The framework plans for religious education in Protestant responsibility are drawn up by a mixed school / church commission (sometimes also: joint school / church commission). This was established in 1964 and recognized by the joint declaration of the school authorities of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg and the Evangelical Lutheran regional churches on Hamburg's territory on the organization of religious education on December 10, 1964. The mixed school / church commission originally had equal representation with representatives of the city and occupied by the regional churches of that time. In the meantime, on the church side, in addition to those of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Northern Germany, there is also one representative each from the Evangelical Reformed Church and the Working Group of Christian Churches in Hamburg.

The Catholic Church does not participate in the traditional mixed school / church commission. According to Article 5 of the Treaty between the Holy See and the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg of November 29, 2005, Catholic denominational religious instruction is now also guaranteed. To implement this, the city also concluded an administrative agreement with the Archdiocese of Hamburg in 2011 , which, in No. 11, provides for the establishment of a special mixed commission for Catholic religious instruction.

In grades 1 and 2, religious education takes place within the German and specialist classes. These classes are intended as a separate subject for grades 3–6 and 8–13, based on the assumption that students in grades 7 and 8 attend church confirmation classes instead. There are no alternative lessons in grades 1-6; Children who do not take part in religious education spend the time in religious education under supervision in common rooms. Since the 2005/2006 school year, religious education has been censored from grade 5 onwards, at the request of the majority of religious teachers. From year 9 onwards, ethics or philosophy are offered as an alternative, which, like religion, is then censored as relevant for promotion. Due to a lack of teachers with the appropriate qualifications, however, many Hamburg schools do not offer religious instruction at all.

Excerpt from Section 7 Religious Education , Hamburg Schools Act HmbSchG of April 16, 1997, last amended on March 9, 2010:

(1) Religious instruction is a regular subject. It is issued in accordance with the principles of the religious communities in a spirit of respect and tolerance for other creeds and world views.

(3) The custodians decide on participation in religious instruction, and the pupils after they have reached the age of 14.

(4) As far as provided in the timetable, the pupils are offered an elective alternative to religious instruction in the areas of ethics and philosophy.

As of autumn 2014, lessons at two model schools will no longer be organized as religious instruction under Protestant responsibility , but as religious instruction under shared responsibility . This means that religious instruction with special learning content and topics takes into account the demands of all religious communities and is no longer taught exclusively by Protestant teachers, but also by Muslim, Alevi and Jewish religion teachers. The model test, which is unique in Germany, is limited to two schools and is designed to last two years.

Lower Saxony

Pupils who do not take part in religious education are obliged to take part in the teaching values ​​and norms . The school must set up these classes if at least twelve students are required to attend. In the sixth form can take values and norms and philosophy are elected.

In 1993, values ​​and norms were merged with the subject of religious studies . It is therefore supported by three related sciences: religious studies, social sciences and philosophy. It is the only subject that is defined in the Lower Saxony School Act and in which these related sciences are emphasized: “In the subject of values ​​and norms, knowledge of religious studies, an understanding of the values ​​and norms effective in society and access to philosophical, ideological and to convey religious questions. ” (NSchG § 128 Abs. 2) The subject Values ​​and Norms is to be set up as an Abitur examination subject as soon as the uniform examination requirements for values ​​and norms are available. (§ 190).

In Lower Saxony there is the possibility of having cross-denominational religious instruction (Protestant / Roman Catholic) given by Protestant or Catholic religion teachers on request. Use is made of this in many schools. For example, at the vocational schools almost only cross-denominational religious instruction is given. Lower Saxony also gives Christian-Orthodox religious instruction where the appropriate number of students makes this possible; The church contact is the Commission of the Orthodox Church in Germany (KOKiD).

North Rhine-Westphalia

In North Rhine-Westphalia , students from lower secondary level, if they do not take part in religious instruction, take part in the substitute subject " Practical Philosophy ", if this is available. In the upper secondary level , the alternative subject to religion is simply called " philosophy ". Primary school students who do not take part in religious education have supervised free periods, as there is no substitute subject for primary schools in North Rhine-Westphalia. There is no legal basis for teaching ethics in primary schools.

From the 2018/19 school year, Catholic and Protestant children should be able to attend religious classes together due to the declining proportion of baptized children in primary school and secondary level 1. The basis is an agreement between the three Protestant regional churches and the Catholic dioceses with the exception of the Archdiocese of Cologne.

Primary school students are taught, in part, by people appointed by the Church. Also parish officials and community catechists members teaching in secondary education.

You can unsubscribe at any time; if the student is of religious age , also by the student himself. However, this right does not apply to denominational schools, not even to public denominational schools, which make up one third of all schools in the state's primary school area.

In 1999 the subject “Islamic instruction” was introduced in NRW as a model experiment. In 2005 the subject was renamed "Islamkunde", the aim remained the same: to convey to Muslim children their cultural origins and to promote their integration. At the end of February 2011, the North Rhine-Westphalian School Minister Sylvia Löhrmann and the Muslim communities represented in the Coordination Council of Muslims , the Islamic Council for the Federal Republic of Germany (IRD), the Turkish-Islamic Union of the Institute for Religion (DİTİB), the Association of Islamic Cultural Centers (VIKZ) and Central Council of Muslims in Germany (ZMD) agreed on the introduction of denomination-oriented Islamic religious instruction in accordance with Article 7, Paragraph 3 of the Basic Law . Critics considered the proposed advisory board model to be impractical.

For the new school year 2012/13, Islamic religious instruction began in primary schools. A curriculum has been available since December 2013. In the 2013/14 school year, the subject will be offered at 52 primary and 40 secondary schools. 64 teachers teach a total of 6500 Muslim students (in total there are 2944 primary schools in North Rhine-Westphalia with around 101,000 students of the Muslim faith). The first teachers trained in Germany are not expected to have completed their studies until 2019, as the "Islamic Religious Studies" course has only been offered at the University of Münster since the 2012/13 winter semester. Many career changers teach the subject.

On March 13, 2015, declared the Federal Constitutional Court that the Education Act for North Rhine-Westphalia uncommitted privilege of "representation of Christian and occidental educational and cultural values or traditions" unconstitutional; it is an inadmissible disadvantage of others for religious reasons. There is no viable justification for preferring Christianity or Judaism .

Saarland

In Saarland, schoolchildren can only cancel their religious education themselves at the age of 18 (§ 10 and 14 sentence 2 SL-SchoG). The state constitution determines in Art. 29 Paragraph 2:

Parents can refuse their children's participation in religious education. The children must not suffer any disadvantage from this. This rejection can also be done by the young people themselves when they have reached the age of 18.

However, this does not affect the possibility of leaving the church at the age of 14 without the consent of the parents, which means that there is no longer any obligation to participate in religious education.

History of Religious Education in Germany

Middle Ages / beginning of modern times

Just as theology was at the center of every course of study in the first university academies, the first monastery schools were primarily concerned with bringing biblical texts closer and interpreting them. Reading and writing as well as the Latin language were taught for this alone, since the Latin Vulgate was the only valid Bible text from the 9th century at the latest.

In the German language, instruction in the Bible was only promoted thanks to the invention of printing and the spread of the Luther Bible . The Small Catechism , first put together by Martin Luther in order to keep the incomplete knowledge of his fellow priests to a minimum, later also formed the basis for evangelical confirmation lessons for children, which in turn can be regarded as another forerunner of today's school system.

Christian religious instruction usually meant, analogous to the catechism, until well into the middle of the 20th century, above all, getting to know and memorizing relevant passages from the Bible, prayers and sacraments for the respective denomination.

1918 to 1933 / Weimar Republic

After the November Revolution and the proclamation of the Republic (November 9, 1918) it was fundamentally questionable whether religious communities should still be provided with public funds and whether religious instruction should be taught at a state school. For the first time, it was possible to organize religious instruction not only in a traditional church-denominational way, but also in a non-denominational way.

The school reformers were divided into two camps: Wilhelm Paulsen , the leading representative of Hamburg's reform pedagogue, saw the abolition of the subject as the only way to prevent the church from exerting influence in schools. Reform pedagogues such as Hugo Gaudig argued against this point of view: The religious element is an essential part of the life horizon of young people. Leading religious educators, such as B. Otto Eberhard , also supported the reform pedagogical idea of ​​the work school , but advocated religious instruction for theological reasons: Young people who grow up in a Christian world should also be taught the norms of Christian ethics and love. He argued in favor of denominational religious instruction.

Other protagonists of this dispute at the political level were Adolph Hoffmann (USPD), who saw himself as an avowed atheist and demanded the "liberation of the school from all ecclesiastical tutelage" and the separation of church and state, Konrad Haenisch (SPD), who fundamentally advocated society-strengthening and The moral value of religion and belief was emphasized by Edmund Kaufmann ( Center Party ) and Gottfried Traub (DNVP), who vehemently advocated the continued denomination of elementary schools (Catholic and Protestant).

Since none of the groups in the Constituent at the political level because of the existing majorities National Assembly in Weimar won out, was referring to the Weimar school compromise and the continued existence of religious education in school on mediation proposal of Friedrich Naumann ( DDP and Prussian church official) of the type 149 RV, the content of which was also decisive for the formulation of Article 7 of the Basic Law. Religious instruction was denominational and was not allowed to be neutral religious studies in the sense of a socialist position.

1933 to 1945 / Nazi dictatorship

On July 20, 1933 between Pope Pius XI. and the German Reich , the Reich Concordat closed. In Articles 21 to 24, Catholic religious instruction was agreed as a regular subject, with particular emphasis being placed on education in patriotic, civic and social sense of duty based on the spirit of the Christian faith and moral law. The higher church authorities are given the opportunity, in agreement with the school authorities, to check whether the students receive religious instruction in accordance with the teachings and requirements of the church. When employing Catholic religion teachers, the bishop agrees with the state government. The retention and establishment of new Catholic denominational schools is guaranteed. Catholic elementary schools are established in all communities in which parents or legal guardians apply if the number of pupils makes an orderly school operation feasible, taking into account the local school organization. Only those teachers are employed at all Catholic elementary schools who belong to the Catholic Church and who guarantee to meet the special requirements of the Catholic Denominational School. In the general vocational training of teachers, institutions are created that guarantee the training of Catholic teachers according to the Catholic denominational school.

The school regulations of the Reich Concordat were not implemented in the Nazi state and were often violated.

1945 to 1990

Federal Republic of Germany: During the establishment of the state, the constitutions in several countries provided for the Christian community school as the only type of school (constitution of the state of Baden of May 22, 1947, state constitution of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen of October 21, 1947, constitution for Württemberg-Baden of October 28 , 1947) . November 1946).

Hamburg ran its schools exclusively as community schools. His school authority expressly opposed the introduction of the denominational school to the Parliamentary Council. In its constitution of December 11, 1946, Hessen laid down principles that contained a guarantee of the community school, in which the religious and ideological principles according to which the legal guardians want to have their children raised are not violated. In their constitution, the states of Bavaria, Rhineland-Palatinate and Württemberg-Hohenzollern ordered the confessional design of the school system in a way that is compatible with the principles of the Reich Concordat (Constitution of the Free State of Bavaria of December 2, 1946, Constitution for Rhineland-Palatinate from May 18, 1947, constitution of Württemberg-Hohenzollern of May 20, 1947).

In West Germany , the Basic Law passed in 1949 made religious education a regular subject in all non-denominational schools, except in the countries in which "on January 1, 1949 a different state law existed" (Art. 141 GG, "Bremen Clause"). In addition, instruction could be given outside of school by the parishes or religious communities. The states of Bremen and Berlin therefore did not (and do not plan) any denominational religious instruction as a regular subject; the Bremen clause says that the conditions prevailing in Berlin and Bremen from before 1949 can continue after 1949.

In the course of the 1960s the number of denominational schools dwindled and the non-denominational school became the norm in the Catholic states of Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia, but religious instruction remained in all federal states with the exception of Bremen and Berlin received as a regular school subject.

German Democratic Republic: The first constitution of the GDR from 1949 granted religious communities the right to give religious instruction in the rooms of public schools. Religious instruction was no longer mentioned in the GDR constitution of 1968. That is why the churches and other religious communities taught in their own rooms outside of school hours.

After 1990

Due to the German reunification in 1990, Article 7 of the Basic Law applies to the whole of Germany, but only subject to the “Bremen Clause”, the scope of which is disputed.

Confessions in Religious Education

Buddhism

Since 2003, the Berlin School Senate has offered Buddhist religious instruction at three public schools across grades and schools in Berlin.

The Buddhist Society Berlin e. V. is responsible for the organization of this lesson. The different Buddhist schools and traditions are represented in the classroom. The DBU is responsible for training Buddhist religion teachers .

Christianity

Evangelical and Roman Catholic

The denominations or confessions of the Protestant and Roman Catholic churches belonging to Christianity are traditionally the main providers of religious instruction at German schools and also have numerous established study and training institutes for religious teachers . In addition to offering public schools, the two churches also manage numerous denominational schools themselves, in which participation in religious education is mandatory even in federal states such as Berlin. The scope of the religious instruction offered according to the respective denomination is usually in the same proportion as the number of their followers are represented in the federal states. So e.g. B. in Bavaria the majority of the population of the Roman Catholic Church, while in Hamburg the members of the Protestant Church predominate. If one of the churches is in the diaspora or a minority, usually not only the students of a single class but of an entire class level are grouped together. If that is not possible either, the pupils can take part in religious instruction of the other denomination or in substitute instruction (ethics or philosophy).

The religious instruction for which the Protestant or Roman Catholic Church is responsible is usually given in denominational form and justified as follows:

According to the EKD memorandum “Identity and Understanding”, religious instruction in its Protestant orientation is theologically and ecclesiastically responsible, but it is not an instrument for securing the church's existence, but is based on the educational mandate of the school. Children and young people should be able to orientate themselves religiously freely and independently; their development, orientation and educational needs are thus the constitutive starting point of religious instruction.

On the Catholic side, since the resolution of the Würzburg Synod , the legitimacy of religious instruction in schools has also been justified by its contribution to the educational mission of the school. It is intended to familiarize young people with the spiritual traditions that have shaped our cultural situation, help them to find their identity and ultimately support them in resisting social pressure to adapt and false claims to absoluteness.

The two churches essentially address the question of the timeliness of denominational religious instruction in public schools by underlining the serving or subsidiary character of religious instruction and thus considering its usefulness and quality within the framework of the school's educational mandate as proven.

However, for some time now, denominational religious education has not only met with less and less understanding among the public, but also among religious educators, who point out that ecumenical understanding has meanwhile advanced very far and is therefore at least a denominational-cooperative - if not ecumenical - Religious education is required.

That such ecumenical-Christian religious instruction is possible is shown e.g. B. the school experiment ÖKOLL (ecumenical and denominational teaching and learning) from the Karlsruhe University of Education in Baden-Württemberg.

Free Church

Students who come from a free church background usually take part in Protestant religious instruction. Teachers who belong to a free church also give Protestant religious instruction in many schools. The prerequisite for this is an agreement with the respective Protestant regional church and the vocation by the corresponding free church. A fundamental agreement between the Evangelical Church in Germany and the Association of Evangelical Free Churches has existed since 1979. The association of Evangelical Free Churches ( Baptists ) and the Evangelical Church of Westphalia were in charge of this agreement .

Since January 1, 2001, Section 4 of the Common Vocation Code has regulated the service of free church religion teachers ; she has u. a. the following wording:

“The church power of attorney can also be given to teachers who belong to Protestant free churches, provided that the regional churches involved have concluded agreements with these members on the provision of Protestant religious instruction by their members. This also applies in the case of membership of a Protestant free church with which there is no agreement, if it belongs to the working group of Christian churches. "

In December 2003, the Association of Evangelical Free Churches and the Evangelical Church in Berlin-Brandenburg concluded an agreement on the church's commissioning to provide Protestant religious instruction.

Orthodox

As early as 1985 , the state of North Rhine-Westphalia had introduced regular Orthodox religious instruction, which at that time only applied to Greek children, but has since been extended to all Orthodox students under the responsibility of the Commission of the Orthodox Church in Germany . In the meantime, Lower Saxony has also introduced regular German-language religious instruction for Christian Orthodox children at state schools; the KOKiD acts as a church partner, ancient oriental children can take part in these classes on a voluntary basis. In some other federal states (Bavaria, Hesse, Baden-Wuerttemberg), corresponding plans are being drawn up, or religion (similar to Islamic children) is offered as part of supplementary lessons in their mother tongue, although in practice this offer is often only for Greek-speaking children exists. Since 2003 there has also been a KOKiD department for Orthodox religious instruction; it is currently headed by the chairman of the commission, Metropolitan Augoustinos; Country coordinators for Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Hessen, Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia are responsible for the implementation or introduction of Orthodox religious instruction in the individual federal states on behalf of the Commission of the Orthodox Church in Germany / Association of Dioceses.

Islam

“Islamic religious instruction” has been given in North Rhine-Westphalia since 2012 and in Lower Saxony since 2013. He is subject to the state school supervision ; the language of instruction is German. In the eastern German states of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia and Saxony, there is no Islamic class.

The religious studies “Islamic instruction” must be distinguished from “Islamic religious instruction”. There are offers in "Islamic instruction" in many countries of the Federal Republic. She is z. Partly integrated in the " mother tongue supplementary lessons ". So far, these lessons have mostly been offered in the Turkish language or in the original language of the Koran (Arabic); Muslims who spoke other languages ​​were therefore mostly unable to participate.

The establishment of "Islamic religious instruction" within the meaning of Article 7 Paragraph 3 of the Basic Law encounters difficulties in the Federal Republic of Germany and the federal states responsible for it, as they do not have to determine the content of a religious instruction of their own accord, but instead, as a res mixta , authorized one accordingly Need contact person. Although there are some associations in Germany in which mosque associations are organized, these associations, which are supported by only a few members, are dedicated to cultural maintenance (many also run "Islamic cultural associations" in their name) and thus also to the operation of prayer rooms / mosques . They cannot and do not want to be a representation of Muslims as such, as this contradicts the religious traditions that have been cultivated by Muslims up to now. Associations and Islamic movements such as Millî Görüş, on the other hand, are viewed critically with regard to their loyalty to the constitution.

In addition to the low level of organization, the denominational ( Sunnis , Shiites , Alevis , Ahmadiyya ) and ethnic (Turks, Albanians, Arabs, Iranians, Pakistanis etc.) and linguistic diversity of Muslims oppose uniform Islamic instruction in Germany. This also makes it more difficult to find the contact persons required by the ministries of culture in the individual federal states who should represent a significant number of Muslim believers within a country - analogous to the German Bishops' Conference , the Evangelical Church in Germany or the Central Council of Jews in Germany . From the 2011/2012 winter semester, the University of Tübingen will have a training facility for Islamic religion teachers and imams, the Center for Islamic Theology .

Regulations of some federal states

  • In Bavaria, "Islamic instruction" has been given since 1986 by officials from the Turkish state who are paid by the Ministry of Culture. In addition, Islamic religious instruction was developed in Erlangen in cooperation with the local Islamic community. This “Erlangen model” is to be extended to all of Bavaria (as of 2009) as part of a nationwide trial.
  • In Berlin, "Islamic confessional instruction" is offered in accordance with Article 141 of the Basic Law and is given outside of schools by the Islamic Federation Berlin , a regional association belonging to the Islamic Council for the Federal Republic of Germany . The Islamic Federation (IFB) is (as of 2009) viewed critically by observers, as it is assumed to have close ties to the Islamic community of Millî Görüş . Millî Görüs (IGMG) is considered extremist and is monitored by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution. The Islamic Federation distanced itself from the Pro Reli referendum after it became clear that a success of the referendum would weaken its role.
  • The subject “Islamic Religion” has been offered in Lower Saxony since the 2013/2014 school year. An advisory board established by the Islamic associations DITIB and Schura Niedersachsen acts as the point of contact for the state .
  • In the 2012/13 school year, North Rhine-Westphalia was the first federal state to introduce Islamic religious instruction as a standard subject at public schools. For the introduction and implementation of the lessons, an advisory board was set up in accordance with the relevant transitional provision in the Education Act of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia (Section 132a), the eight members of which are appointed half by Islamic organizations and half by the Ministry (partly in agreement with the Islamic organizations) . The regulation came into force on August 1, 2012. Prior to that, since 1999, the subject of Islamic studies had been granted as part of pilot projects, but this officially does not constitute religious instruction. In addition, “Islamic instruction in the context of mother tongue teaching” was offered. Since the winter semester 2004/2005, the first nationwide chair for the religion of Islam has existed in North Rhine-Westphalia at the “Center for Religious Studies (CRS)” of the Westphalian Wilhelms University in Münster . In 2019, the CDU / FDP state government plans to limit the influence of the four large Islamic associations on Islamic teaching and to give smaller and more liberal Islamic associations a greater say.
  • In Hesse, the DITIB and the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat have applied as Muslim partners for Islamic classes. In April 2020, the DITIB was rejected by the Hessian state government as a partner for teaching Islam.

Judaism

In Germany, Jewish religious education is taught in schools owned by Jews and in public schools and the like. a. offered or planned in the following federal states:

  • Baden-Württemberg
  • Bavaria
  • Berlin: The Jüdische Oberschule , a general, state-recognized private school with a Jewish profile, offers classes in religion and the Bible.
  • Hesse
  • Hamburg: State-recognized private school of the Jewish community Joseph-Carlebach-Schule ( district school, pre-school - 13th grade)
  • Lower Saxony
  • North Rhine-Westphalia

Cooperations

If offered in parallel in schools, there has been an increasing number of teaching collaborations between the respective religion teachers of the various denominations and faiths for a long time . According to the Christian understanding of the different denominations, not least from the point of view of ecumenism .

In particular, before the introduction and increased frequency of teaching offers such as ethics lessons , the two "main providers" of Christian religious instruction under Protestant or Roman Catholic sponsorship often also dealt extensively with content and questions on general religious studies and ethics - since their introduction they have always been developing more frequent cooperation between teachers who give religious instruction and a non-religious value subject. This corresponds u. a. also in Berlin a requirement of his state school law (see § 12, 6), according to which in ethics lessons "individual subject areas should be designed by schools in cooperation with providers of religion and ideology lessons".

Financing of religious education

Religious instruction in schools is provided with 26,000 full-time equivalent religion teacher positions. The pay of the state religion teachers and the remuneration of the church are made from general tax money. The annual costs are estimated at around 1.6 billion euros. In addition, there are training and further education costs as well as pension costs.

Acceptance by politicians

A representative survey conducted by the University of Jena in 2010 among state, federal and European parliamentarians came to the result that a majority of MPs outside the CDU / CSU were against religious instruction as a nationwide compulsory subject; as a result it was formulated that the strength of the CDU / CSU was primarily responsible for maintaining religious instruction. In order to abolish religious education, which could be derived from these results (which can also be read as a mere support for the “Bremen Clause”), Article 7, Paragraph 3 of the Basic Law would have to be changed.

Ethics class

Ethics classes were conceived in the mid-1970s as a replacement subject for religion classes . In the meantime, it has the status of an elective or even a compulsory subject in some federal states .

literature

  • Thomas Bauer, Lamya Kaddor and Katja Strobel (eds.): Islamic religious instruction: background, problems, perspectives . Lit-Verlag, Münster 2004.
  • Christoph Börchers: Where does religious competence arise? The competence-oriented religious education between denominational ties and cultural debate. In: Journal for Theology and Congregation (ZThG) 16/2011, 90-109.
  • Carsten Frerk : Violet book church finances. How the state finances the churches . Aschaffenburg 2010. ISBN 978-3-86569-039-5 .
  • Lucas Graßal: How to teach religion (s)? Religious Education in German Religious Education Concepts in the Light of John Hick's Pluralistic Religious Education. EB-Verlag, Berlin 2013.
  • Roland Kollmann : Religious instruction under difficult conditions , Essen 1988
  • Roland Kollmann: Religious instruction at special schools , Würzburg 1990
  • Rainer Lachmann, Bernd Schröder (Ed.): History of Protestant religious instruction in Germany. A study book, Neukirchener Verlag, Neukirchen-Vluyn 2007. ISBN 3-7887-2155-3 .
  • Hanne Leewe, Reiner Andreas Neuschäfer: Time-Spaces for Religion. Fifteen years of religious instruction in Thuringia , IKS Garamond, Jena 2006. ISBN 3-938203-39-0 .
  • Thomas Meckel: religious instruction in law. Perspectives of Catholic Church Law and German State Church Law. Paderborn - Munich - Vienna - Zurich 2011. ISBN 978-3-506-77198-8 .
  • Markus Ogorek: Validity and continuation of the constitutional guarantee of state religious instruction in the new federal states , writings on state church law, ed. by Axel Frhr. von Campenhausen, 2004. ISBN 3-631-53052-8 .
  • Udo Tworuschka : The History of Non-Christian Religions in Christian Religious Education . A demolition, Cologne-Vienna 1983
  • On the current situation of religious education. In: Secretariat of the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Culture of the Federal States : On the situation of Protestant religious instruction in the old Federal States (including Berlin), excerpts, 1992.
  • Tilman Hannemann: Religious instruction, sensory education, nature awareness. Wilhelm Christian Müller's contributions to the bourgeois understanding of religion . In: Christian Kämpf (Ed.): Wilhelm Christian Müller. Contributions to the music and cultural history of Bremen around 1800 . Bremen 2016, pp. 98–118, ISBN 978-3-944552-88-0 .
  • Elisa Klapheck, Bruno Landthaler, Rosa Rappoport: Germany needs Jewish religious education. Berlin / Leipzig: Hentrich & Hentrich 2019. ISBN 978-3-95565-342-2 .

Web links

Islamic religion class

Buddhist religious instruction

Ethics class

Religion and life studies

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ (evang .: vocation, cath .: missio canonica)
  2. ↑ There is still no decision by the highest court. Different views can be found in legal literature: negative, for example, Jeand'Heur / Korioth, marg. 311; Peroth / Schlink, marginal no. 670; Sachs-Schmitt = Kammler, Art. 7 Rn. 44; Renck, NVwZ 1992, 1171; affirmative, however, Maunz / Dürig, 18th EL Art. 7 marginal no. 47; AK judge, Art. 7 Rn. 55; v.Mangoldt / Klein / Starck-Robbers, Vol. 1 Art. 7 Para. 123; Mückel, AöR 122, 513 (521); De Wall, NVwZ 1997, 465 (466), viellechner, Jura 2007, 298 (305)
  3. ↑ a b c § 5 Law on Religious Raising of Children
  4. ↑ Section 124 (2) of the Lower Saxony School Act (NSchG) in the version of March 3, 1998, last amended by Article 1 of the Act of June 19, 2013 (Nds. GVBl. P. 165). Published online in the Lower Saxony Regulations Information System (VORIS) , accessed on October 2, 2014
  5. ^ School Act for Baden-Württemberg
  6. ↑ Germany: Islamic religious instruction . ( Memento of September 26, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Vatican Radio , August 20, 2007
  7. ↑ Art. 2 of the contract between the Free State of Bavaria and the Regional Association of Israelite Religious Communities in Bavaria and the Israelite Religious Community in Munich and Upper Bavaria from November 10, 2015. Announcement of January 29, 2016, GVBl. P. 16 (PDF; 2 MB)
  8. ↑ See also catechist in Berlin on the granting of religious instruction
  9. ↑ hpd.de Humanistic press service for life science lessons in Berlin
  10. ↑ ekbo.de on the falling number of participants in religious education in lower secondary level in Berlin schools ( Memento from April 16, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
  11. ↑ 1 BvR 2780/06
  12. ↑ a b Statistical Report 2006 of the ekbo  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. from 2004 on the number of RE participants (p. 67) and number of religious teachers (p. 71)@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.ekbo.de  
  13. ↑ a b Statistical report 2009 of the ekbo from 2007 on the number of RE participants (p. 80) and number of religious teachers (p. 83)
  14. ↑ a b c Statistics of Protestant religious instruction in the EKBO ( Memento of the original from October 22, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. with figures for the 2013/14 school year, accessed on October 18, 2014 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.ekbo.de
  15. ↑ Senate Department for Education, Youth and Science: Voluntary religious and ideological lessons at Berlin schools in the 2014/15 school year. ( Memento from December 8, 2014 in the web archive archive.today ) In: berlin.de/sen , press release from December 3, 2014
  16. ↑ taz of December 16, 2005
  17. ↑ Information from the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport in Brandenburg ( Memento from February 8, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
  18. ^ Text of the joint declaration. In: kirchenrecht-nordkirche.de .
  19. ↑ Answer of the Senate to a major inquiry , Bürgerschafts-Drucksache 18/3348, page 3.
  20. ^ State law - Justice - Portal Hamburg. Retrieved October 3, 2019 .
  21. ↑ See the administrative agreement on Roman Catholicism concluded between the authorities for schools and vocational training on the one hand and the Archdiocese of Hamburg on the other . Religious instruction in the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (PDF; 147 kB) - V3 / 184-03.04 / 07 - from June 27, 2011 (MBlSchul HA 2011, 38).
  22. ↑ Further information on religious instruction in Hamburg at the Pedagogical-Theological Institute in Hamburg. ( Memento from August 12, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) In: lbs.hh.schule.de
  23. ↑ Religious instruction : Churches agree on cooperation. In Focus online , September 1, 2017
  24. ↑ a b Islam on the timetable. In: Rheinische Post , September 12, 2012
  25. ↑ Joint declaration by NRW School Minister Sylvia Löhrmann with the communities organized in the KRM on Islamic religious instruction (declaration in full text)
  26. ↑ On the wrong track to German "Staats-Islam". In: Zeit-online , accessed on October 5, 2011
  27. ↑ Jurists warn that Islamic religious instruction could be unconstitutional. In: WAZ
  28. ↑ Press release from the state government of North Rhine-Westphalia: Curriculum for Islamic religious instruction in primary schools comes into force. In: nrw.de , December 8, 2013, accessed on August 31, 2014.
  29. ↑ That is changing at the schools in North Rhine-Westphalia. In: bild.de , August 15, 2014, accessed on August 31, 2014
  30. ↑ In NRW primary schools, the number of students per class drops to 23. In: waz.de , August 15, 2014, accessed on August 31, 2014
  31. ↑ Ministry of Education NRW: Statistics TELEGRAM 2013/14 (PDF) May 14, 2014 (accessed on 31 August 2014).
  32. ↑ Reinle, Dominik: Islamic classes in North Rhine-Westphalia: Start without curriculum and religion teacher. In: wdr.de , August 22, 2012, accessed on August 22, 2012.
  33. ^ Karlsruhe overturns Christian privilege in the school law. In: Welt online , March 13, 2015
  34. ↑ K. Kronhagel: Religious Instruction and Reform Education, Münster 2004, (Diss. 2003 in Hamburg), ISBN 3-8309-1371-0
  35. ↑ Identity and understanding. Location and perspectives of religious education in the plurality. A memorandum of the Evangelical Church in Germany . Gütersloh 1994, p. 11 f.
  36. ↑ ekd.de
  37. ↑ See religious instruction in schools. In: L.Bertsch u. a. (Ed.): Joint synod of the dioceses in the Federal Republic of Germany. Freiburg 1976, 123-152 (No. 2.3.4.)
  38. ↑ See Josef Senft: The subsidiary character of religious education. on-line
  39. ^ 10 theses of the Council of the Evangelical Church in Germany. Hanover 2006. ekd.de (PDF)
  40. ↑ The forming power of religious education. On the denomination of Catholic religious instruction. Edited by the Secretariat of the German Bishops' Conference, 5th edition, Bonn 2009
  41. ↑ Cf. Norbert Mette : The religious instruction in the school. A solid basis for the further development of this teaching subject. on-line
  42. ↑ On the ÖKOLL school experiment (ecumenical and denominational teaching and learning) at the Karlsruhe University of Education. In: ph-karlsruhe.de
  43. ↑ See Official Journal of the Evangelical Church Berlin-Brandenburg-Silesian Upper Lusatia = KABl. 2004, 10
  44. ↑ see also www.schulministerium.nrw.de and the law on the introduction of Islamic religious instruction as a regular subject (7th law amending school law)
  45. ↑ Welt.de: The Islam associations should be disempowered
  46. ↑ Islamkunde as a patchwork quilt. In: taz.de , April 29, 2009
  47. ↑ see also zeit.de July 30, 2018 / Judith Luig: A like Allah
  48. ↑ Berlin remains godless. In: taz.de , April 28, 2009
  49. ↑ Jörg Lau : The defeat of Pro Reli - a victory for Milli Görüs. In: Zeit Online , April 28, 2009
  50. ^ Lower Saxony Ministry of Culture , January 27, 2012
  51. ↑ 7th School Law Amendment Act of December 22, 2011 ( GV. NRW. P. 728 ).
  52. ^ Ministry for Generations, Family, Women and Integration of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia ( Memento from April 15, 2009 in the Internet Archive ), I. Küpeli: Islamkunde in NRW and the positions of the political parties .
  53. ^ University of Münster - Center for Religious Studies (CRS). Retrieved June 17, 2019 .
  54. ↑ Welt.de: The Islamic associations are to be disempowered
  55. ↑ Two possible partners: Islam lessons are getting closer. ( Memento from January 12, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) In: hr-online , January 10, 2010
  56. ↑ Hessenschau.de:Hessen ends Ditib cooperation in Islamic religious instruction, accessed on April 28, 2020
  57. ^ "The Jewish community life [...] The communities offer their own religious instruction, kindergarten, youth and senior care as well as intensive integration and social work to maintain the Jewish identity. Regular Jewish religious instruction is offered in Baden-Württemberg. ” Http://www.baden-wuerttemberg.de/de/Die_Israelitischen_Religionsgemeinschaften/85827.html
  58. ↑ ikg-m.de
  59. ↑ berlin-judentum.de
  60. ↑ lt-net.de
  61. ↑ nrw.de
  62. ↑ ekd.de (PDF; 3 pages) The German Bishops' Conference and the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD): On the cooperation between Evangelical and Catholic religious instruction .
  63. ↑ Confessional cooperation in religious instruction at general schools. Agreement between the German Bishops' Conference and the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD): On the cooperation of Protestant and Catholic religious instruction. Agreement between the Evangelical Church in Baden, the Evangelical Church in Württemberg, the Archdiocese of Freiburg and the Diocese of Rottenburg-Stuttgart from March 1, 2005, amendment to the binding framework from August 1, 2009.
  64. ↑ akd-ekbo.de ( Memento from November 10, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Offer of the Berlin-based “Office for Church Services” for a training course on the topic of cooperation between ethics and religious instruction
  65. ↑ bildungsserver.berlin-brandenburg.de "Fachbrief Nr. 2 - Ethik", a) Cooperation between religious or ideological instruction and ethics , from p. 2–3, Senate Department for Education, Science and Research January 2009
  66. ↑ religionsunterricht-online.de ( Memento from January 14, 2016 in the Internet Archive ; PDF; 1/1 pages) For example: Thematic plan of the departments ethics and religion at the Herder Gymnasium in Berlin. The "subjects ethics and religion teach individual topics in cooperation and discuss them."
  67. ↑ books.google.de
  68. ↑ Details and calculations in Carsten Frerk : Violettbuch Kirchenfinanzen. How the state finances the churches . Aschaffenburg 2010. ISBN 978-3-86569-039-5 . P. 147 ff.
  69. ↑ sfb580.uni-jena.de "JenParl: Jenaer parliamentarian survey 2010" via search field "religious education" you can get the results of the federal states surveyed