The government is likely to ignore the ruling as it regards the court as an unlawful body in its current form.
The government is likely to ignore the ruling as it regards the court as an unlawful body in its current form.
But half of people still want religion classes to take place in public schools.
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“Without knowledge of Christianity, it will be difficult for young people to understand the modern world.”
Andrzej Duda’s remarks come amid efforts by the government to reduce and reorganise Catholic catechism classes in public schools.
The measures were due to go into effect at the start of the new school year next week.
Caroline Zielinski
With hundreds of thousands of followers, they are connecting to younger audiences by blending modern technology with ancient scripture.
But a large majority still identify both as believers (87%) and as belonging to Poland’s dominant Roman Catholic faith (89%).
Katarzyna Skiba
A small but growing number of Poles are reviving and reimagining ancient beliefs.
It is “unfair towards students attending religious classes”, says the Catholic church.
“The mission of the state is not to spread faith and salvation,” says the culture minister.
Access to religion classes in public school is a human right, argued the Catholic church’s central body in Poland.
The new education minister wants to see the number of state-funded catechism classes halved to one hour a week.
His lawyers hailed the ruling as “a milestone towards protecting religious freedom” against “large corporations that impose left-wing ideology on employees”.
Wrocław, Poland’s third-largest city, spends millions of zloty a year on religion classes even though now only a minority of pupils attend them.