School prayer
A school prayer is a common prayer of school children of a school class or a school before the beginning (or at the end) of the lesson . In Germany , school prayers are made possible in denominational and some state schools. In certain countries, school prayer is still a common daily practice today. In secular states , school prayer is uncommon.
history
The school system in Europe has been supported by the churches since the Middle Ages . Both religious education and school prayer were a natural part of school lessons. The question of the (correct) school prayer arose for the first time with the Reformation . According to the principle of Cuius regio, eius religio (whose territory, whose religion) the school system was divided into Catholic and Protestant schools. Even if the forms of school prayer differed confessionally, no one questioned the meaningfulness or necessity of a school prayer.
With the emergence of religious freedom with the age of the Enlightenment , there was initially the freedom to set up denominational schools, which maintained the tradition of school prayer.
At the end of the 18th century, the simultaneous school prevailed. Even if this was now cross-denominational, it was based on the common Christian faith. Furthermore ( ecumenical ) school prayers were spoken and the school prayers were not questioned.
With the November Revolution, the principle of the separation of church and state first prevailed in Germany. Participation in school prayer became voluntary. Despite this formal voluntariness, students who refused to attend school prayer were at risk of social isolation. In 1965 the Hessian State Court therefore declared school prayers to be inadmissible. A constitutional complaint against this decision by someone not involved in the proceedings was rejected by the Federal Constitutional Court in 1968 as inadmissible. In 1979 the Federal Constitutional Court decided:
“In principle, school prayer is constitutionally unobjectionable if a student or his or her parents object to the prayer being held; their fundamental right to negative freedom of religion is not violated if they can freely and without constraints decide whether to participate in prayer. "
Current situation in Germany
On the occasion of the so-called headscarf dispute and the public discussion about crosses in classrooms (see e.g. crucifix resolution , Aygül Özkan ) and other public institutions (e.g. courts), school prayer was also discussed.
The subject of “school prayer” (actually: “private prayer in the school”) has received new attention through a judgment of the Higher Administrative Court : the 3rd Senate of the Higher Administrative Court of Berlin-Brandenburg decided on May 27, 2010 that a Berlin school is entitled to a Prohibiting Muslim students from demonstrative prayers during breaks in class. The student Yunus M. sued for this right and won the trial in the first instance at the Berlin Administrative Court . The meeting of different religions at the Diesterweg-Gymnasium in the Berlin district of Gesundbrunnen harbors considerable potential for conflict that endangers school peace . The conflicts (according to the presiding judge) would intensify if the practice of Muslim prayer were allowed. The judgment only applies to the individual case; but a signaling effect is ascribed to it.
Although prayer is covered by the fundamental right of religious freedom , it should be restricted here. If religious cultic acts were allowed, school peace and the protection of the basic rights of classmates could not be adequately guaranteed. The ritual Islamic compulsory prayer is perceptible to the outside - unlike the silent prayer of the individual. It is plausible that the school provided a room. If this were also requested in other cases, it would go beyond the organizational possibilities of the school (in view of the multitude of religious denominations); the student also has no constitutional right to it.
The representatives of the Berlin Senate (who had sued the first-instance judgment) emphasized at the hearing that the prayer is a “ collective rite with a political character that is supposed to influence others”, that it is demonstrative and missionary. Students would be marginalized or put under pressure. An Islamic scholar commissioned by the Senate emphasized that Muslims could easily combine their midday prayer with a later prayer.
The losing at OVG Berlin-Brandenburg student Yunus M. has, however revision in the Federal Administrative Court placed what he legal aid was granted. On November 30, 2011, the Federal Administrative Court rejected the appeal. Yunus M. could still go before the Federal Constitutional Court.
Other countries
United States
In the United States, freedom of religion is protected by the 1st Amendment to the United States Constitution. The so-called "establishment clause", which protects against the establishment of a state religion , was introduced in 1985 in the Wallace vs. Jaffree interpreted by the Supreme Court to the effect that school prayers are generally permitted.
Web links
- Martin Spiewak : judgment of fear in the prayer controversy . Zeit Online , May 27, 2010; comment
Individual evidence
- ↑ State Court of Hesse, decision of October 27, 1965, Az. P. St. 388.
- ↑ BVerfG, decision of November 6, 1968, Az. 1 BvR 727/65, BVerfGE 24, 289 - Hessian school prayer.
- ↑ BVerfG, decision of October 16, 1979, Az. 1 BvR 647/70 and 7/74, BVerfGE 52, 223 - School prayer.
- ↑ OVG Berlin-Brandenburg, judgment of May 27, 2010 , Az. OVG 3 B 29.09, full text.
- ↑ VG Berlin, judgment of September 29, 2009 , Az. 3 A 984.07, full text.
- ↑ The dispute over prayer rooms . rbb-online.
- ↑ BVerwG, decision of May 27, 2010. ( 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. Az.OVG 3 B 29.09, full text.
- ↑ BVerwG, judgment of November 30, 2011. ( Memento of the original of January 18, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Az. 6 C 20.10, full text.
- ↑ sueddeutsche.de, May 27, 2010
- ^ Wallace vs. Jaffree 1985
