Valentin Abgottspon

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Valentin Abgottspon, 2012

Valentin Abgottspon (born September 25, 1979 in Visp ) is a Swiss teacher , free thinker and activist. He received nationwide attention as part of a crucifix affair and is one of the most famous free thinkers in the country.

Life

Valentin Abgottspon grew up in a liberal Catholic household. He attended school in Stalden and then the College Brig at which he 1999 Matur completed. He studied German and philosophy at the University of Freiburg for six years . In 2011 Abgottspon was nominated for the Prix ​​Courage . In 2014 Abgottspon and the Secular Valais Initiative Committee , of which he is President, launched a cantonal popular initiative with the aim of enshrining the strict separation of church and state in the cantonal constitution . However, the collection of signatures was stopped the following year because too few signatures had been collected. Abgottspon co-founded the Valais freethinkers section in 2010 and became its president. He is also vice-president of the Swiss Freethinkers Association . He is a member of the Swiss Pirate Party , for which he ran for the Grand Council of the Canton of Bern in 2018 .

Abgottspon is married and has a daughter and a son. He works as a ritual companion and designer.

Crucifix affair

After Abgottspon became a teacher at the orientation school in Stalden, he began to be increasingly bothered by the strong presence of the Catholic Church in everyday school life. He therefore removed the crucifix hanging in his classroom and refused to prepare his students for the “tasks as a person and a Christian”, as stipulated in the Valais Education Act, on the grounds that this contravened the state's duty of neutrality. When Abgottspon was publicly criticized after the founding of the Valais Section of Freethinkers, the authorities demanded that the cross be re-attached and accused Abgottspon of using the school as a platform for an ideological campaign.

In October 2010 Abgottspon was dismissed from the regional school in Stalden without notice. He then expressed the opinion that this decision was based on his refusal to hang a crucifix in his classroom again. The school disagreed and declared the dismissal, among other things, because of a lack of respect for the superiors as well as the lack of a level-appropriate diploma and a broken relationship of trust, so that cooperation was no longer possible.

In August 2011, the Valais State Council sided with the school, while the umbrella organization of Swiss teachers sided with Abgottspons. This submitted an administrative court complaint to the Valais cantonal court . This was called Abgottspon's complaint on the grounds that only particularly serious misconduct could lead to dismissal without notice without warning. In addition, Abgottspon's right to a fair hearing had been violated. However, the court decision did not entitle Abgottspon to claim re-employment. The law professor Markus Schefer also saw Abgottspon in an expert opinion on the law and supported his statements about the relationship between church and school teaching.

Web links

Commons : Valentin Abgottspon  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Simon Hehli: Combat atheists under the microscope . In: NZZ . November 2, 2017. Retrieved November 30, 2018 .
  2. ↑ a b c d Andrea Kucera: Who messed with the crucifix . In: NZZ. December 16, 2014, accessed November 30, 2018 .
  3. ↑ Former. Kollegium Spiritus Sanctus Brig, accessed November 30, 2018 .
  4. ↑ a b c Sven Broder: Valentin Abgottspon . In: Observer . July 22, 2011, accessed November 30, 2018 .
  5. ↑ a b Separation of church and state is undesirable in Valais . In: Tages-Anzeiger . May 19, 2015, accessed November 30, 2018 .
  6. ↑ Elections 2018 - Grand Council & Government Council. Pirate Party of the Canton of Bern, accessed on November 30, 2018 .
  7. ↑ Valentin Abgottspon - The free speaker. Valentin Abgottspon, accessed November 30, 2018 .
  8. ↑ a b c d e Court approves teachers in crucifix dispute . In: NZZ. November 15, 2012, accessed November 30, 2018 .
  9. ↑ Jessica Francis: Teachers' Association stands behind dismissed Valais . In: Blick.ch . October 11, 2010, accessed November 30, 2018 .
  10. ↑ Jürg Ackermann: Professor agrees that freethinkers are right . In: St. Galler Tagblatt . January 26, 2011, accessed November 30, 2018 .
personal data
SURNAME Abgottspon, Valentin
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss teacher, free thinker and activist
DATE OF BIRTH September 25, 1979
PLACE OF BIRTH Visp