Children's ombudswoman on religion in schools

Children's ombudswoman Tamara Plamadeala disagrees with the idea of holding a referendum to introduce a mandatory course on Orthodoxy in schools, as the Moldovan Metropolitan Church has proposed, and suggests consulting the children instead. “We cannot accept that decisions concerning children are made by someone else without even asking the opinion of the children. I think it would be better to conduct an opinion poll and consult children first, and then decide whether this course should be introduced or not”, said Tamara Plamadeala in a public statement issued today. “Even if religion courses are introduced in schools, the provision of Art.35 of the Constitution will not be violated in any way since this will be a course just like any other and will not grow into religious education, therefore, the constitutional provision stating that public education is secular will not be infringed. Regardless of the outcome, the decision should not, by any form, contradict the legal provisions and, what is more important, it should not undermine the best interests of the child”, said the ombudswoman. According to the statement, preliminary surveying showed that 90 percent of children would consent to religion courses provided they were taught by priests. Last weekend, thousands of demonstrators gathered outside the Nativity Cathedral in Chisinau to demand a referendum on the issue, as prominent civil society figures criticized the intention as an attempt on the constitutional principle of secularism.