Sofia Nikitaki, KU Leuven Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies
Keywords: nonreligion, religious education, cross-cultural research, qualitative research, Belgium, Greece, Norway
While literature regarding the inclusion of nonreligious worldviews into religious education (RE) curricula is growing, the experiences of nonreligious individuals regarding RE are not often the topic of discussion. This contribution shortly presents how 64 nonreligious adults from different European contexts described their past experiences of RE, by presenting part of the outcomes of a larger qualitative study with nonreligious individuals in Flanders (Belgium), Greece, and Norway. The research participants were all Millennial (born 1981-1998), described themselves as nonreligious, and had attended their primary and secondary education in the countries explored.
RE in Flanders, Greece, and Norway
Before proceeding, some educational specifics in these three contexts should be briefly outlined. Unlike Greece and Norway, where attending a public school is most common, the Belgian/Flemish education system is divided into two networks: government-aided public education (‘officieel onderwijs’) and government-aided private education (‘vrij onderwijs’), with the latter including a very large network of Catholic schools. As a result, a significant number of the Belgian participants were enrolled in a Catholic school, at least during some point during their childhood. This often limited their option to follow non-confessional RE1. However, since switching between different types of school is common, many interviewees had attended both confessional and non-confessional RE classes during their school years.
For the Norwegian participants, the situation was also complicated because of constant changes in the Norwegian RE curriculum during the years that interviewees had attended school (Jarmer, 2022: 781). In 1997, Norway moved from a parallel model with a choice between attending ‘confessional’ or ‘non-confessional’ RE – similar to the one currently existing in Belgian public schools – to introducing an integrative RE model with the course ‘Christianity, Religion, and Ethics’ (Kristendoms- religions- og livssynskunnskap/KRL) (Andreassen, 2014). Consequently, some Norwegian participants attended school when they could choose between the two courses, some experienced the change to integrative RE during their school years, while a few began attending school after the integrative curriculum was implemented.
In contrast to Belgium and Norway, where RE has greatly changed during the past three decades to reflect religious pluralism2, RE in Greek public schools remains catechetical in nature. Overall, RE in Greece greatly prioritizes Orthodox Christianity, with law 1566/1985 describing the development of citizens “driven by loyalty towards their country and the fundamental principles of the orthodox Christian tradition” as one of the aims of primary and secondary public school education. Consequently, and in addition to the confessional nature of RE, the Greek public school environment is also Orthodox-centred, with daily morning prayer, a yearly school blessing, occasional church visits, and Christian iconography displayed in every classroom. Furthermore, the Greek research participants never had the choice of following non-confessional RE because this option was not – and still is not – available in Greek public schools.
Nonreligious Recollections of RE
When recalling their relation with religion while growing up – and no matter whether they described coming from religious, nonreligious, or culturally/nominally religious family backgrounds – participants in all contexts often mentioned RE as a common childhood contact point with religion. Despite this shared contact point, a clear distinction emerged between, on the one hand, the experiences of Belgian and Norwegian participants and, on the other, the experiences of the Greek interviewees.
In particular, Belgian and Norwegian participants expressed a wide variety of reactions to the RE they followed as children. Recollections ranged from indifference and boredom to considering it a course that interested them and broadened their horizons3. Overall, when discussing their experiences of learning about religion and worldviews in school, the vast majority of Belgian and Norwegian interviewees recalled RE as being ‘just another course’ in their school curriculum, one which was relatively easy, often interesting, and mostly informative and pluralistic in nature. None of the interviewees described their general school environment as ‘religious,’ even Belgian participants who attended Catholic schools.
In contrast, Greek participants expressed a great amount of frustration and disappointment with how RE was taught during their primary and secondary education. Descriptions were largely similar as well as overwhelmingly negative, with RE repeatedly described as Orthodox ‘catechism,’ ‘propaganda,’ and ‘brainwashing.’ The disappointment many expressed however, was not only tied to the confessional content of RE but also to the prevalence of Orthodoxy more generally in the Greek public-school environment. School practices such as morning prayer, church visits for receiving communion, and displaying Orthodox iconography were viewed unfavourably and described in very negative tones. Participants cited both personal negative experiences (e.g. feeling ‘forced’ to pray in school) and general reasons (e.g. the preferential treatment of Orthodox Christianity in public education institutions) for disliking such practices. The prevalence of the Orthodox Church in the broader Greek context was also often cited when speaking about RE, with many negatively mentioning the power and involvement of the Orthodox Church in Greek politics and society.
Some Thoughts on the Relationality of it All
Comparing the recollections of participants revealed a stark contrast, tightly connected to the educational and cultural particularities of each context. This study highlights the necessity of taking contextual background into account when discussing nonreligious experiences. Despite being a common contact point with religion during childhood for all interviewees, contextual particularities of RE made for substantial differences in how participants described their past relationships with religion – including how they described their upbringing.
The noticeable difference between reactions of the Greek participants – who had no alternative but to follow catechetical RE in a school environment that promotes Orthodoxy – and Belgian and Norwegian participants – who described their education as more ‘pluralist’ or ‘open’ regarding religion – was made extremely clear. The Greek education system stands out when it comes to negative criticism. Reflecting on these results, it does make sense to ask: Can a person growing up in Greece really have a nonreligious childhood if they have to attend – and undergo RE – in a Greek public school?
Another possible question could be: Would Greek interviewees have expressed the same views if their experiences of RE and school environment were similar to the ones of Belgian and Norwegian participants? The most probable answer is that they would not, as they would not have perceived RE as undergoing a form of catechism or experienced school as an environment that favours Orthodox Christianity. To use an experience cited by some of the Greek participants as an example, anxiously hiding in the back of the school assembly on a daily basis in order to avoid being called to recite the morning prayer does have an effect on how people understand, experience, and live (non)religion both in their past and in their present. And these are experiences that are worth considering if we aim to attain a well-rounded understanding of religion, nonreligion, and everything in between.
- Unlike government-aided public schools, which are required to offer RE in all recognised worldviews including “non-confessional ethics,” government-aided private schools are not required to offer all courses but have the freedom to do so if decided. Being the largest group of government-aided private education, Catholic schools usually offer only one religion, specifically Roman Catholicism (Loobuyck and Franken, 2011: 17-19). ↩︎
- Even though the RE curricula in Belgium and Norway prioritized the teaching of Christianity at some point in the past, both countries have largely moved beyond that during the 1990s. For example, the Belgian Roman Catholic curriculum opted to pay more attention “to the reality of religious diversity, (the dialogue with) non-Christian traditions and inter-religious learning,” (Loobuyck and Franken, 2011: 23) while the Norwegian curriculum changed consistently over time to reflect “society’s growing cultural and religious diversity” as well as human rights (Andreassen, 2014: 138). ↩︎
- As mentioned, some participants from both countries had switched between confessional and non-confessional RE during their time in school; however, the cultural specifics of each context in combination with the limited sample only allowed for looking at the participants’ general experiences of RE and not for a comparison between recollections of different RE types. ↩︎
Sofia Nikitaki is a postdoctoral researcher at the KU Leuven Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies. Her PhD research, “Living A Nonreligious Life: A Qualitative Empirical Exploration of Nonreligion in Belgium, Greece, and Norway” (2023), focused on an in-depth cross-cultural examination of nonreligion and nonreligious individuals in different European contexts. Sofia is also affiliated with the Secular Studies Association Brussels (SSAB) as well as a part of the international board of the European Society for Women in Theological Research (ESWTR). When not exploring (non)religion and secularity, Sofia enjoys doing (street)art, where she is known under the alias Guilt-free OCD.
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