Court in Poland: Less religious education is unconstitutional

In Poland, the dispute over halving religious education lessons in schools is escalating. On Thursday, the Constitutional Court declared the government's reduction of religious education from two to one lesson per week to be unconstitutional. In response, Education Minister Barbara Nowacka emphasised in the evening that she did not recognise the court's ruling.

The minister pointed out that parliament denied the Constitutional Court its legitimacy in March 2024; since then, its decisions have been considered invalid. Under the previous right-wing conservative government, judges had been illegally appointed who were in favour of the latter.

In an interview with the news portal "Onet", Nowacka described the ruling as an "attempt to destabilise the education system". "A group posing as a court is undermining the government's actions together with bishops," said the politician from Prime Minister Donald Tusk's Citizens' Coalition.

"Arbitrarily designed"

The minister's decree to reduce religious education in public schools was declared incompatible with the Education Act and the Constitution by the Constitutional Court. "The Minister of Education has arbitrarily shaped the content of the contested ordinance," the judges declared. The head of department was obliged to act in agreement with representatives of churches and other religious communities. However, she had ignored their objections.

The spokesperson of the Polish Bishops' Conference announced further legal action due to the "unlawful behaviour of the ministry" - "also with international institutions". It is to be hoped that the schools will not comply with the regulations cancelled by the Constitutional Court. The court had previously declared changes to religious education to be invalid. "The Bishops' Conference is calling on the Ministry of National Education to comply with the law," said spokesperson Leszek Gesiak.

According to the controversial regulation, religion is only to be taught for one lesson a week from next school year, in the first or last lesson. The subject has only been back in Polish schools since 1990. Participation is voluntary; parents can therefore withdraw their children from religious education. In 1961, the then communist rulers in Warsaw banned all religious education in all educational institutions. (KNA)