The Parliamentary Committee on Education, Science and Culture will not send a petition to the Government of Montenegro on the introduction of religious education into the education system for the purpose of giving an opinion and further procedure.
The deputies voted not to adopt the Committee's conclusion.
"This procedural conclusion did not pass either, so I will consult with the secretariat on how to inform the Government of Montenegro about this petition or the Secretary General will do it," said Committee President Nikola Rovčanin.
Five MPs from the ruling majority voted in favor of the conclusion, while five from the opposition abstained.
The course of the session
At today's meeting, where an e-petition requesting the introduction of religious education as an elective subject in primary and secondary schools was considered, Committee President Nikola Rovčanin said that secularism does not imply atheism.
He said that, except for France and Slovenia, all European countries have religious education in some form as a subject in schools, somewhere it is optional, somewhere it is mandatory... In Croatia, as he stated, it is an elective subject attended by 85 percent of students.
He said that the petition was supported by more than 6.000 citizens.
"We received a petition signed by over 6.000 citizens, as well as a letter from non-governmental organizations, but let them direct that letter to Western countries - in most of those countries, religious education exists in some form," said committee member Dragan Bojović.
He pointed out that secularism does not mean militant opposition to faith and religion.
"...nor does it mean suspending religion and religious communities, without discrimination, providing everyone with freedom of religion or freedom of non-belief," said Bojović.
"We have this somewhat combative attitude towards faith and religion, it's a legacy of communism - the EU model we aspire to is different from that and allows for various forms of religious education. The fight for human rights began with the fight for freedom of religion. We shouldn't make a fuss about every issue, and call this clerical-fascist - if that's the case, then go tell Western countries that they are clerical-fascist," he added.
Board member Vaso Obradović said that he thinks that things that are normal are being overdramatized.
"The modern education system should include religious education as an elective school subject, because it would be quite natural, because in the race for human rights we have forgotten our traditional line... all our values stem from religious issues," said Obradović.
He said that there are many arguments for introducing religious education as an elective subject - the first is the right to religious education, the second is that children have the right to learn about their culture and identity, develop moral and ethical values, but also the pedagogical and educational role that this elective subject would have.
"By presenting it as an elective subject, we are not imposing an obligation on children, but rather giving them the opportunity to choose religious education as one of the offered subjects," Obradović emphasized.
Zoja Bojanić Lalović said that so many statements by non-governmental organizations cannot be perceived as dramatic.
"By expressing our opinions in this way and under these circumstances, we are continuously violating the Constitution, and this is the pinnacle of violating the Constitution because we cannot put religious education and human rights on the same level."
She asked the other members if they wanted religious instruction or education about religions.
"You are presenting the practice of European countries, and the difference is in the subjects that aim to develop tolerance of multiculturalism and acceptance of diversity. This is education about religions, not religious instruction," said Bojanić Lalović, adding that education must be secular, multicultural and focused on the development of students, in order to form critical thinking in them, and that is why we have the subject History of Religion.
"We have the view that people who believe are ignorant," Obradović said in a reply to Bojanić Lalović, adding that the introduction of religious education in schools is not "the collapse of the education system, but rather an adjustment of the education system."
Bojanić Lalović said that there is no professional or social justification for introducing this subject, but only a political justification for it.
"Who would be the lecturers? Have you read examples of religious education books in schools in Western countries," the MP asked Obradović.
Obradović responded that no one wants to turn educational institutions into religious institutions.
"I have never belittled the educational program for the subject of history of religion. Religious education as an elective subject would allow children who are already interested in religious education to gain a deeper insight into the subject," he said, emphasizing that he clearly advocates for separating the secular and religious.
"People in various uniforms will not appear there now, we are just providing the opportunity for children to receive additional education through this subject," said Obradović.
Rovčanin reiterated that the Committee does not make decisions, but rather reviews the petition and, in accordance with the procedure, sends it to the Government for an opinion.
Dane Marković from PES assessed that “there was no need to discuss this”. “… Nor to present our ideas. The answer is simple: religious education has its own methodology, and science has its own. They can live under the same roof, but not practice and study each other. Priests do not perform chemical experiments, so there is no need in schools to talk about the creation of the earth, in the way different religions see it. I understand the explanation of my colleague Rovčanin, we did that. The minister presented her position”, said Marković.
DPS MP Aleksandra Despotović emphasized that "dogma and religious education limit the development of critical thinking."
"Science and religious education cannot be under the same roof. Schools are public spaces, where subjects based on scientific research are studied. No one disputes anyone's personal sense of faith, no one's rights are denied. We do not create discord among children. I cannot accept that science and dogma should be under the same roof," she said.
Independent MP Radinka Ćinćur said that for her, "the petition from the civil sector is an alarm bell that loudly warns us what we need to do."
"Do we need common-sense individuals or believing obedient ones? We need to create cosmopolitans, not return to the Middle Ages. Religious education is present where religious organizations want a strong influence on society," she said.
She called on the faculties from Nikšić to take a clear position on this issue.
PES MP Branka Marković assessed that "this topic should be moved from parliamentary discussions to the professional and scientific field, taking into account the specificity of Montenegrin society."
MP GP URA Filip Adžič said that we should not introduce new divisions.
"We should be honest and say that we have the history of religion as an elective subject in schools, which provides information on this in an appropriate manner. I would not like us to abuse the deepest human feelings and profit politically, using the youngest for that," Adžić emphasized.
DPS MP Aleksandra Vuković Kuč said that she believes that "this topic should have been on the Committee's agenda."
"And I'm glad that most of my colleagues are of the opinion that religious education has no place in schools, because no international legal act guarantees this issue," she concluded.
Civil society organizations and civic activists today submitted to the Parliamentary Committee for Education, Science, Culture and Sports an updated list of signatories of the initiative against the introduction of religious education into the education system.
They said that a total of 114 non-governmental organizations and nine civic activists "stood up in defense of secular public education in Montenegro."
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