Godless Culture Magazine 36
Publisher: Atheist Association of Finland
E-mail: info@ateismi.fi
Verkkojulkaisun vastaava toimittaja fil. maist. Erkki Hartikainen
Editor of the net magazine: Erkki Hartikainen, MA
Tämä on viimeksi päivitetty 31.3.2009.
Last uppdate 3/31/2009
Tärkeät asiat:
Important things:
14 kirjaa suomeksi
14 books in Finnish
Elämänkatsomustieto
Life View (in Finnish)
Sanasto
Sanasto
Peruskoulu
et1-2 et3 et4 et5 et6 et7 et8 et9
Lukio
et10 et11 et12 et13 et14
Elämänkatsomiustieto, kotisivu
etkirjat
Dictionary of Atheism
Sisällysluettelo Contents
- Next Volume (37): New theory of gravitatio
- Free Speech Slammed in Finland as Politician is Brought up on Blasphemy Charges
- Outrage at UN Human Rights Council resolution on defamation of religions
- YK:n ihmisoikeusneuvosto teki uskontojen kritisoimisesta ihmisoikeusrikkomuksen
- Ajatelma
- Daavidin tähden rinnastaminen sarjakuvassa natsien hakaristiin
- Jumalanpilkkaajia voi ilmiantaa nimettömänä
- Timo Soini on katolinen
- Halla-aho sai syytteen
- 3.6.2008 kirjoitettu teksti
- Halla-ahon syytemääräys
- Väärässä järjestyksessä keksitty
- Onko painovoima olemassa?
- Blasphemy Protest Cancelled
- Obama Walks Religious Tightrope Spanning Faithful, Nonbelievers
- Dear Friends
- Afghan Court Backs Prison Term for Blasphemy
- ATHEISTS URGE OBAMA TO CONDEMN UN ANTI-BLASPHEMY SCHEME
- Tanzania 'witch-naming' under way
- Science Minister and evolution
- The Happiness Project
- Atheist Bus Campaign Gets into Gear in Germany
- Freethinkers Bus Campaing in Finland
- Passport photograph of girl's bare shoulders rejected 'as it may offend'
- NEW ORLEANS POLITICS
- Population of France is almost 10 percent Muslim.
- Pääkirjoitus
- Moskovan patriarkaatti tukee paavin kondomilausuntoja
- Eroa kirkosta heti!
- Kirkollisveroista
- Yhteisöverot kirkoille yli sata miljoonaa
- Wallin haluaa nostaa kirkon osuutta yhteisöverosta
- Suomen Humanistiliitolle muhkea valtionapu
- Religious Education in Europe 2003-
- Religious Education in Finland
- Religious Education in Sweden
- Religious Education in Norway
- Religious Education in Denmark
- Religious Education in Estonia
- Religious Education in Latvia
- Religious Education in Germany
- Religious Education in England and Wales
- Religious Education France
- Religious Education in Italy
- Religious Education in Spain
- Religious Education in Netherlands
- Religious Education in Belgium [Flanders]
- Religious education (RE) in Austria
- Religious Education in Hungary
- USKONNONOPETUS EUROOPAN KOULUOPETUKSESSA 1994
- Lesboja yritetään "parantaa" raiskauksin Etelä-Afrikassa
- KompoZer
- Muut lehdet
- Kristittyjen määrä kasvaa
- Opetusministeri Henna Virkkunen on pihalla kuin lumiukko
- Suomalaisten käsitykset uskonnollisten oppien totuudesta
- Brasilian hallitus ja katolinen kirkko kiistelevät 9-vuotiaan abortista
- Suomesta viedään tyttöjä Afrikkaan ympärileikattavaksi?
- Professori: Wikipedian varjopuolet mittavat
- Yleisöltä
- Kuukauden kysymys
- Pisteytysvihje elämänkatsomustietoon
- Jumaluustieteen kysymyksiä
- Fysiikan kysymyksiä
- Onko alkuräjähdys mahdollinen
- "Läski on Suomen pahin vihollinen
- Joogakielto sai Indonesian muslimit kiistelemään
- Venäjällä valittiin uudet lahjusten saajat
- Yleinen mielipide
- Iltasatu
- Vainajille horoskooppi
- Maantiedon kysymyksiä
- Filosofian kysymyksiä
- Miten vastustat mustia käyttöesineitä
- Ihmisoikeudet ja imurointirobotti
- Peruskäsitteiden määrittelyä
- Ateismin määritelmä
- Ateistin määrittelemä
- Agnostikon eli jumalaongelmaisen määritelmä
- Uskonnon määritelmä
Next Volume (37): New theory of gravitation
Free Speech Slammed in Finland as Politician is Brought up on Blasphemy Charges
By Eeyore | March 27, 2009About once a week something so draconian and illiberal happens I have to double check it and pinch myself to make sure this isn’t some tin foil hat thing. This is one of those terrifying and perhaps historically defining moments for classical civilization. A Finish politician is brought to court for blasphemy of Islam IN Finland. If it can happen in Finland, home of anon.petit.fi it can and will happen wherever you happen to live. Read this and be concerned.
From Tundra Tabloids:
Jussi Halla-aho to stand trial for blasphemy against Allah
Believe it or not, Finland still has blasphemy laws on the books, but there have been repeated attempts to rescind Section 10 of chapter 17 of the Finnish penal code. All attempts however, at removing the anti-modern statute from the law books have proved unsuccessful, with the latest attempt failing in 1998.
Helsinki city councilman, Jussi Halla-aho was charged with blasphemy and incitement of an ethnic-group in the Helsinki district court today, and ordered to stand trial for publishing on his blog that Islam’s prophet was a pedophile. According to the Deputy Prosecuting Attorney, Jorme Kalske:
“Halla-aho had uploaded to the Internet and submitted writings to the general public, in which Islam and its sacred institutions were combined with pedophilia, and in which was also presented the robbery of pedestrians and the ooting of tax revenue was a certain national group or a specific genetic characteristic.
The charges were presented in the Helsinki District Court. Halla-aho denies the charges”
Courtesy of the blogger Vasarahammer, here is Helsinki City Councilman, Jussi Halla-aho’s post that the Finnish state wants him prosecuted for. It is addressed to Mika Illman, the Finnish state prosecuting attorney, in response of the Finnish state’s prosecution of Seppo Lehto last year.
A couple of baits for Mika Illman
State prosecutor Mika Illman’s winning streak continued a few days ago, when a specialist of rude humor Seppo Lehto was sentenced for two years and four months imprisonment and to pay tens of thousands of euros in damages for several accounts of gross defamation, incitement against an ethnic group and for religious worship (TT: blasphemy). The issue has been discussed around the internet so much that I probably don’t have to repeat the self-evident facts:
a) Filth blogs created by Lehto fulfill all possible criteria for “gross defamation” but
b) Nobody has ever been sentenced for two years and four months for these kind of crimes. I don’t blame Mika Illman, he is obviously a man worthy of his last name, who does what he thinks he is supposed to do, but those district courts that have lamely given Mika everything he dares to ask have a reason to be ashamed of themselves.
c) Illman’s selection of plaintiffs and recipients of damages consisted only of his fellow prosecutors and members of parliament, and not, for example, Teemu Lahtinen, to whom Lehto’s filth blogs possibly caused real damage during the last parliamentary election. The thinking in which public figures deserve more protection than regular citizens has so far been alien to the democratic state and rule of law.
Let’s stop talking about defamations. Lehto was also convicted of disturbing religious worship. According to the district court Lehto violated muslims’ religious worship by defaming the prophet Muhammad. Professor Jaakko Hämeen-Anttila has confirmed the interpretation according to which Muhammad is a revered figure in Islamic faith.
According to state prosecutor Mika Illman and Tampere district court insulting the prophet Muhammad is illegal, because Muhammad is revered by muslims.
(On the other hand professor Hämeen-Anttila could certainly confirm that in Christianity Jesus and God are holy figures. Of course, this doesn’t prevent anybody to defame Jesus or God freely in the way he or she chooses.)
Next I intend to throw Mika a bait:
Prophet Muhammad was a pedophile and islam revers pedophilia as a religion. Islam is a religion of pedophilia. Pedophilia is Allah’s will.
Are these statements illegal? They certainly insult muslim’s religious feelings. Let’s approach the issue logically:
As a 50 year-old man Muhammad was engaged to six or seven year old Aisha. Their marriage was “consummated” when Aisha was nine years old. It is possible to think that they were living in another age and Muhammad’s deeds must not be judged according to today’s standards, but as we have learned during the last few years, schoolbooks from the 50’s were racist when they spoke about ”negroes” (even if ”negro” was not a racist term at the time by anybody’s standards), it’s equally justified to call a child rapist who lived 1400 years ago a child rapist .´
What has to be done so that the bolded statements were not true? You must insist that
a) … Quran is not literally true (i.e Muhammad did not have sexual relations with a nine year old girl). This will not do, since according to Islamic doctrine and muslims’ opinion Quran is a literal word of Allah. Consummation and Aisha’s age cannot be denied without insulting muslims.
b) …Muhammad’s actions were not always acceptable. This will not do either, since according to muslims (and Tampere district court) criticizing Muhammad is the same as criticizing Allah and therefore blasphemy. The penalty is death. Muslim’s believe that Muhammad’s actions were the will of Allah. Because Muhammad had sexual relations with a child, that was Allah’s will as well.
As we see, all the argumentative ways to disprove the bolded statements have been theologically exhausted. The fact that Muhammad was a pedophile and Allah supported pedophilia can only be denied either by denying the literal truthfulness of Quran or Muhammad’s status as a messenger of Allah whose actions are according to the will of Allah.
Therefore I repeat my claim:
Prophet Muhammad was a pedophile and islam revers pedophilia as a religion. Islam is a religion of pedophilia. Pedophilia is Allah’s will.
The next bait reads:
Robbing bypassers and living at taxpayers’ expense as a parasite is a national, possibly genetic characteristic of Somalis.
Is this claim inappropriate? My fellow blogger Kekke filed a complaint to the Media Council for the editorial that appeared in newspaper Kaleva, in which killing people while intoxicated was described as a national, possibly genetic characteristic of Finns. Media Council dismissed the complaint. According to Council secretary Nina Porra:
”The writer probably refers to studies, in which heavy drinking has been observed to be a specific feature in Finnish drinking culture. It has also been observed that there is a correlation between intoxication and violence. The genetic backround of the problem is not handled as a fact, but the writer gives his own opinion.”
Naturally, the decisions made by Media Council are not legally binding so inquisitor Illman doesn’t have to take notice. But on the other hand, “incitement against ethnic group” is a felony and because Illman (whom the matter belongs to) has not reacted to the Kaleva article, it can be concluded that negative ethnic and genetic stereotypes can be published as long as they are not handled as facts.
We can’t think that there are different rules for different people in Finland, can we?
Naturally, not all Somalis commit robberies or live at taxpayers’ expense, but not all Finns kill while intoxicated either.
Somalis who constitute 0.2 per cent of Finland’s total population commit 12 per cent of robberies reported to the Police. One in ten Somalis living in Finland has a job. Committing robberies and living at taxpayers’ expense are a lot more common among Somalis related to their share of the population than killing while intoxicated among the ethnic Finns. Therefore, I present my assumption (that I do not regard as fact):
Robbing bypassers and living at taxpayers’ expense as a parasite is a national, possibly genetic characteristic of Somalis.
With this, I wish Mika a nice day.
Outrage at UN Human Rights Council resolution on defamation of religions
United Nations 27.03.2009In the resolution it adopted yesterday on the defamation of religions, the United Nations Human Rights Council has yet again demonstrated its inability to defend the values enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Reporters Without Borders said.
“The Council had just dealt a severe blow to the freedom of expression it is supposed to defend,” the press freedom organisation said. “By approving a resolution that seeks to suppress criticism of Islam, this UN body has once again shown that it is incapable of defending human rights effectively.
“This resolution is outrageous. On the grounds of combating discrimination, it assails the news media for the ‘targeting of religious symbols’ and ‘sacred persons,’ especially those of Islam. In other words, the UN is asking the media to stop criticising Islam in the name of combating incitement to religious hatred. This is unacceptable to all those who feel strongly about the defence of free expression.”
Reporters Without Borders added : “The UN is on a slippery slope that poses a danger for freedom of opinion. All the freedoms must be defended with equal strength. It is not acceptable for the UN to take such an extreme stand in defence of one freedom at the expense of another. It goes against all of the UN’s fundamental principles.”
Submitted by Pakistan on behalf of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference and concerning implementation of the Durban conference on racism’s programme of action, the resolution was approved at yesterday’s UN Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva by 23 votes in favour, 11 against (European Union, Canada and Chile) and 13 abstentions.
The resolution urges UN member countries to adopt measures to combat “acts of hatred, discrimination, intimidation and coercion resulting from the defamation of any religion” and deplores “the use of printed, audio-visual and electronic media, including the Internet” to target religious symbols and sacred persons. It voices concern about the failure of certain countries to combat discriminatory practices and stresses the need to combat defamation of all religions, in particular, Islam and Muslims.
A Durban II conference will be held on 20-24 April in Geneva.
YK:n ihmisoikeusneuvosto teki uskontojen kritisoimisesta ihmisoikeusrikkomuksen
Ma, 30/03/2009 - 04:42 — UutistoimitusYK:n ihmisoikeusneuvosto hyväksyi viime torstaina äänin 23-11 Pakistanin tekemän ja muiden muslimivaltioiden kannattaman päätöslauselman, jossa vaaditaan kaikkia maailman valtioita säätämään lakeja, joilla estetään uskontojen kritisoiminen. "Uskontojen halventaminen on vakava solvaus inhimillistä arvokkuutta kohtaan, ja se johtaa uskontoja tunnustavien vapauden kaventumiseen sekä yllyttää uskonnolliseen väkivaltaan", päätöslauselmassa todetaan.
13 maata ihmisoikeusneuvostossa istuvasta 47:stä maasta pidättäytyi äänestämästä. Päätöksen puolesta äänestivät muslimimaiden rinnalla Valko-Venäjä ja Venezuela; sitä puolestaan vastustivat Kanada, kaikki EU-maat, Sveitsi, Ukraina ja Chile. Islam oli päätöslauselmassa ainoa nimeltä mainittu kritiikiltä suojelua tarvitseva uskonto, mikä sai hinduenemmistöisen Intian äänestämään tyhjää. Yhdysvallat ei osallistunut äänestykseen, koska se ei ole ihmisoikeusneuvoston jäsen.
Muslimivaltiot ovat vaatineet uskontojen, ja erityisesti islamin, suojaamista kritiikiltä mediassa ja muussa julkisessa elämässä. Ne ovat nostaneet esimerkiksi sopimattomasta sananvapauden käytöstä profeetta Muhammadia kuvaavat pilapiirrokset. Päätöslauselmassa todetaankin suoraan, että "islam yhdistetään usein ja väärin ihmisoikeusrikkomuksiin ja terrorismiin." Lain kriitikot puolestaan luonnehtivat päätöslauselmaa "orwellilaiseksi tekstiksi, joka vääristää ihmisoikeuksien, sananvapauden ja uskonnonvapauden käsitteitä".
Iranin, Saudi-Arabian, Egyptin ja Pakistanin kaltaisten maiden uskotaan hakevan päätöksestä oikeutusta omalle lainsäädännölleen, jolla tukahdutetaan uskonnonvapautta ja kriminalisoidaan kääntyminen islamista muihin uskontoihin. Seuraavaksi tulilinjalle voivat joutua länsimaissa toimivat kirjoittajat ja lehtimiehet, joita voidaan syyttää "uskontojen ja niiden kannattajien ja pyhien hahmojen laskelmoidusta stereotypisoinnista".
Reporters Without Borders -järjestö luonnehtii päätöstä törkeäksi. "Syrjinnän vastaisen kamppailun verukkeella päätöslauselma hyökkää uutismediaa vastaan syyttäen sitä 'uskonnollisten symbolien' ja 'pyhien henkilöiden' - erityisesti islamilaisten sellaisten - kritisoinnista. Toisin sanoen YK pyytää mediaa lopettamaan islamin kritisoinnin, koska sellainen muka synnyttää uskonnollista vihaa. Kukaan sananvapautta aidosti puolustava henkilö ei voi hyväksyä tällaisia vaatimuksia", järjestö toteaa.
Järjestön mukaan YK on lähtenyt mielipiteenvapauden kannalta vaaralliselle tielle ottaessaan näin äärimmäisen kannan puolustaakseen yhtä vapautta toisen vapauden kustannuksella. "Tämä on vastoin kaikkia YK:n perusperiaatteita", Reporters Without Borders sanoo. Päätöslauselmassa mainitaan erikseen, että se koskee niin painettua sanaa kuin myös audiovisuaalista ja sähköistä viestintää, Internet mukaanluettuna.
Ajatelma
Monikultturismi on rasismia poliittisen korrektiuden valekaavussa. Sen mukaan ihmisen etnisyys/rotu määrää hänen identiteettinsä sekä arvon ihmisenä, ja että kaikki kulttuurit ovat samanarvoisia huolimatta erilaisista moraalinäkemyksistä tai siitä miten ne kohtelevat ihmisiä. - Ayn RandDaavidin tähden rinnastaminen sarjakuvassa natsien hakaristiin
Eduskunnan puhemiehelle
KK 8/2009 vp - Bjarne Kallis /kdKaikki eduskunnassa edustettuina olevat puolueet ovat allekirjoittaneet eurooppalaisen rasismin vastaisen peruskirjan. "Peruskirjan mukaan puolueet sitoutuvat olemaan edistämättä ennakkoluuloja ja vihamielisyyttä millään tasolla. Peruskirjan allekirjoittaneet puolueet sitoutuvat myös varmistamaan, että kaikki puolueen piirissä tai sen hyväksi toimivat tuntevat sitoumuksen periaatteet."
Vihreä Lanka on oman määrittelynsä mukaan "journalistisin kriteerein toimitettu yhteiskunnallinen uutis- ja ajankohtaislehti, joka perustuu vihreän liikkeen aatteelliselle pohjalle." 16.1.2009 julkaistussa sarjakuvassa kaksi hahmoa seisoo Israelin lipun edessä. Toinen hahmoista sanoo: "Tämä kuusisakarainen symboli on ruvennut muistuttamaan…", ja kuvan siirtyessä lähikuvaan hakarististä hän jatkaa: "tätä toista nelisakaraista symbolia." Tämän jälkeen hahmo pohtii, etteivät symbolit vain olisi serkuksia. Vaikka kolmikuvaisen sarjakuvan ensimmäisessä kuvassa mukana onkin Israelin lippu, keskustelu käydään sen jälkeen kahdesta symbolista. Toinen symboli on kansallissosialistien symboli, toinen juutalaisten symboli.
Pääongelma on se, että sarjakuva loukkaa koko juutalaista kansanryhmää. Kaikkia juutalaisia pidetään sarjakuvassa kollektiivisesti vastuussa Israelin valtion tekemisistä.
Toisen maailmansodan aikaisista kuuden miljoonan juutalaisen kuolemaan johtaneista tapahtumista ei kenelläkään ole epäselvyyttä. Asioiden päälaelleen kääntäminen saattaa olla joissain tilanteissa nasevaa ja osuvaa, mutta tässä ei ole kyse sellaisesta tilanteesta. Jos jotakin kansanryhmää kritisoidaan julkisesti niin, että tämä voidaan ymmärtää syytökseksi kansanmurhasta, ei asiaa voi jättää huomiotta, oli esitystapa millainen tahansa.
Edellä olevan perusteella ja eduskunnan työjärjestyksen 27 §:ään viitaten esitän asianomaisen ministerin vastattavaksi seuraavan kysymyksen:
Mihin toimenpiteisiin tulee ryhtyä, että perusteluissa mainittu kokonaisten kansanryhmien loukkaaminen lehdistössä saadaan loppumaan?
Helsingissä 4 päivänä helmikuuta 2009
Bjarne Kallis /kd
Jumalanpilkkaajia voi ilmiantaa nimettömänä
Lauantain 28.3 Helsinginsanomissa sivulla A5 on uutinen, jonka mukaan netin käyttäjät voivat pian antaa nimettömiä vihjeitä poliisille nettirasismista, uskonrauhan rikkomisesta ja kunnianloukkauksesta.Kyseisen nettivihjepalvelun suunnittelu alkoi Kauhajoen kouluammuskelujen jälkeen.
Kommentti
Kuka ilmiantaisi Raamatun julkaisijan (Suomen evankelis-luterilaisen kirkon)?Timo Soini on katolinen
Kysykää häneltä, mitä mieltä hän on Rooman paavin abortti-, kondomi- jne. puheista.Halla-aho sai syytteen
Heikki SaukkomaaApulaisvaltakunnansyyttäjä Jorma Kalske on nostanut tänään syytteen kaupunginvaltuutettu Jussi Halla-ahoa (ps.) vastaan uskonrauhan rikkomisesta ja kiihottamisesta kansanryhmää vastaan.
Halla-ahon katsottiin syyllistyneen rikoksiin Helsingissä 3.6.2008, koska hän oli laatinut ja toimittanut internetissä yleisön saataville kirjoituksen, jossa islam ja sen pyhät instituutiot yhdistettiin pedofiliaan.
Kirjoituksessa esitetiin myös, että ohikulkijoiden ryöstely ja verovaroilla loisiminen on erään kansanryhmän kansallinen tai geneettinen erityispiirre.
Halla-aho on kiistänyt syyllistyneensä rikoksiin. Halla-aho valittiin Helsingin kaupunginvaltuustoon viime syksyn kunnallisvaaleissa perussuomalaisten listalta. Hän on koulutukseltaan filosofian tohtori.
3.6.2008 kirjoitettu teksti
Halla-ahon syytemääräys
Väärässä järjestyksessä keksitty
Erkki Hartikainen 26.4.2009Painovoimateoriat ja muut vuorovaikutusteoriat on keksitty väärässä järjestyksessä.
Viimeistään ennen vuotta 1906 olisi pitänyt esittää kunnollisia vuorovaikutusteorioita.
Nyt kävi niin. että Albert Einstein pääsi maineensa ja luonteensa perusteella taikomaan jäniksiä hatusta.
Jotta lukijat osaisivat varautua seuraavassa numerossa esitettävään painovoimateoriaan, voin antaa sen verran vihjettä, ettei painovoimateoria ole sama kuin suuresti kunnioittamani keksijän Tuomo Suntolan esittämä painovoimateoria.
Tänä vuonna ja viime vuonna esitetyistä uusista painovoimateorioista huhtikuun numerossa esitettävä teoria eroaa siinä suhteessa, että siitä on pesty Einsteinin jänikset pois yhtä tehokkaasti kuin Tuomo Suntolan teoriassa.
Mitään vertailuja selitettäviin ilmiöihin ei ole tehty, vaan teoria sisältää sopivan määrän tuntemattomia parametrejä sopiakseen miksi tahansa vuorovaikutusteoriaksi. Kuten olen alempana sanonut, minulla ei ole mitään mahdollisuuksia käyttää yksityiskohtaista tietoa.
Onko painovoima olemassa?
Erkki Hartikainen 24.3.2008Eilen Yleisradion Prisma -ohjelmasarjassa esitettiin jossittelua painovoimasta.
Edesmennyt suomalainen painovoimatutkija Paul E. Kustaanheimo sanoi minulle hyvin kauan sitten, että Albert Einsteinin mukaan painovoimaa ei ole olemassa vaan aika-avaruus on kaareutunut.
Ohjelman nuori mies toisteli aika-avaruuden kaareutumista mutta väitti painovoiman olevan olemassa.
Paul E. Kustaanheimo kuului niihin ihmisiin, jotka itse ymmärsivät sen, mitä puhuivat, vaikka yleisö saattoi varsin yksimielisesti olla ymmärtämättä. Joskus 1960 - luvun alussa hän aloitti differentiaali- ja integraalilaskenta III:n luennot kirjoittamalla taululle joukon kaavoja ja todeten "Tämä on tensorirengas".
Albert Einstein epäilemättä ansaitsi Nobelin palkintonsa valosähköisen ilmiön keksimisestä, mutta geometriaa hän ymmärsi heikosti, ja muut joutuivat opettamaan hänelle tensorianalyysiä.
Suomalaisista varhaisista Einsteinin yleisen suhteellisuusteorian kannattajista Rolf Nevanlinna ymmärsi geometriaa. Rolf Nevanlinnan käsitys sellaisena kuin hän esitti sen minulle, oli, että painovoiman vaikutuksesta mutkille kulkevan valon takia on hänen mielestään yksinkertaisinta käyttää käyräviivaista aika-avaruuskoordinaatistoa jossa suoraviivaisten koordinaatistojen suoria viivoja vastaavat valon piirtämät käyrät.
Kalervo Laurikaisen luentoja kuunnellut luokkatoverini väitti 1960 -luvulla, että suoraa ei voi muuten käyttääkään kuin olettamalla valon kulkuradan tyhjiössä suoraksi. Esitin vastaesimerkin, ja siihen hän ei sanonut mitään.
Koordinaatistot ovat inhimillisiä keksintöjä, ja samaa ilmiötä kuvattaessa on mahdollista käyttää hyvinkin monenlaisia koordinaatistoja.
Jos jotain (kuten perinteistä geometriaa) voidaan esittää ilman koordinaatistoja, hyvä niin. Inhimillisistä valinnoista mahdollisimman vähän riippuvien mallien käyttäminen on suotavaa.
Kun tekniikan tohtori Tuomo Suntola esitti oman suhteellisuusteoriansa, Albert Einsteinin kannattajat väittivät, ettei näin yksinkertainen esitys kelpaa!
Yksinkertaisuutta on siis käytetty sekä Einsteinin puolesta että Suntolaa vastaan.
Viime aikoina on esitetty, että perinteisten mallien laskelmien mukaan sellaista ainetta ja energiaa (ns. pimeää ainetta ja pimeäää energiaa), jotka eivät vaikuta muuten kuin painovoimana, on paljon enemmän kuin sitä ainetta, jota fysiikka tutkii.
Koska on hienoa olla suuria neroja häpäisemättä hieman eri mieltä heidän kanssaan (kuten ohjelman nuori mies), pimeälle aineelle ja pimeälle energialle on löytynyt hyvin suuri määrä erilaisia selittäjiä kuten englanninkielistä Internetiä selaamalla voi havaita.
Jotkut rohkeimmat (jotka tiede kyllä panee aikanaan matalaksi) ovat väittäneet, että pimeä aine ja energia ovat virheitä nykyisissä painovoimateorioissa.
Minä en osallistu tähän keskusteluun muuten kuin suuta soittamalla, minulla ei ole enää eläkeläisenä ohjelmistoja, joilla voisin käsitellä moniulotteista aineistoa, eikä minulla ole varaa ostaa pääsyä maksullisiin "refereetutkimuksiin" Internetissä.
Kun nyt satun muistamaan, esitän seuraavan kysymyksen:
Missä kulkee massan ja energian raja? Onko mahdollista, että massaa esiintyy energiana ja energiaa massana myös toisin kuin Einstein väitti?
Blasphemy Protest Cancelled
VICTORY AS UN & INTERNATIONAL BODIES REJECT “BLASPHEMY” LIMITS ON FREE SPEECH!ATHEIST GROUPS HAILS PROGRESS, CANCELS DEMO
RESOLUTIONS that would have banned “defamation of religion” were rejected by international bodies this week, prompting an Atheist group to all off plans to demonstrate at the United Nations building.
The so-called “blasphemy” resolution introduced by Pakistan and supported by some Middle East regimes called upon governments to combat critical, insulting or defamatory statements about religion, specifically the Islamic faith. The measure lacked sufficient votes in the UN General Assembly to become a binding resolution; and the proposal will not be on the agenda at the Durban II conference slated for Geneva next month.
Dr. Ed Buckner, President of American Atheists said that he was encouraged by these developments.
“The ‘blasphemy’ resolutions were aimed at regulating personal opinions and expression, and had nothing to do with acts of violence against ethnic or religious groups,” said Buckner. “Religious creeds and movements should not enjoy special rights or protections, especially where freedom of speech is concerned.”
Dave Silverman, Communications Director for American Atheists cautioned that the “blasphemy” proposal is not dead.
“Religious groups and some faith-based states will continue to push this type of resolution,” said Silverman. “Secular and even moderate religious organizations need to continually monitor this effort, and speak out vocally in defense of freedom of conscience and free expression.”
Mr. Silverman said that a demonstration planned for this Saturday (March 28) outside the UN building in New York has been canceled.
“If this proposal is resurrected again,” said Silverman, “we’ll be ready to speak out and defend our freedom from religion!”
(AMERICAN ATHEISTS is a nationwide movement that defends civil rights for nonbelievers; works for the total separation of church and state; and addresses issues of First Amendment public policy.”
Obama Walks Religious Tightrope Spanning Faithful, Nonbelievers
By LAURA MECKLERMARCH 24, 2009
WASHINGTON -- In the early days of his administration, President Barack Obama has developed an unusual pattern as he talks about religion: He regularly puts nonbelievers on the same footing as religious Americans.
[Obama's Mission: Serving Faithful and Nonbelievers Alike]
It is a rare gesture for a U.S. political leader. But what makes Mr. Obama's outreach especially remarkable is that it is accompanied by public displays of faith that sometimes go beyond even those of his religiously oriented predecessor in the White House.
The outreach toward both ends of the religious spectrum makes for a complicated balancing act, one that runs the risk of alienating one group, the other, or possibly both.
Mr. Obama speaks easily about his own faith. White House events, even those without a religious theme, often begin with a prayer. And the president said he would expand President George W. Bush's outreach to faith-based organizations.
At the same time, he has taken a series of policy steps that are troubling to religious conservatives, and pledged that decisions in his administration would be governed by science. He reversed Bush policies on funding for international family-planning groups and stem-cell research, and he has moved to rescind regulations that allow health-care workers to opt out of duties that offend their beliefs.
But even when taking these stands, which would be expected of a Democratic president, he often makes a point to say that he understands the other side.
That stance could win him respect from both sides, but it will be difficult to pull off. "Showing respect and being inclusive will only take the president so far," said John C. Green, senior fellow at the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.
If Mr. Obama makes too many policy decisions that run counter to religious conservatives, Mr. Green predicted that they won't support him, no matter how much they appreciate the outreach.
At the same time, he said, nonreligious Americans could become irritated with outward expressions of religious faith.
Mr. Obama acknowledged nonbelievers on the campaign trail last year, and, notably, in his inaugural address, where he said: "We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus, and nonbelievers."
"This was...probably the first time a president in a formal inaugural address acknowledged the possibility that there could be Americans who don't believe in God," said Ed Buckner, president of American Atheists, a group with more than 3,000 members.
While nonbelievers welcomed Mr. Obama's recognition, the move could make some people uneasy. Americans are less comfortable with atheists than they are with many other minority groups, according to a 2006 University of Minnesota study. Nearly half of those surveyed said they would disapprove if their child wanted to marry an atheist, versus a third who said the same of a Muslim. People were more accepting of homosexuals, conservative Christians, immigrants, Hispanics and Jews.
A 2008 American Religious Identification Survey, conducted by Trinity College in Hartford, Conn., found that 15% of Americans are unaffiliated with any religion, up from 8.2% in 1990. In 2008, only 0.7% identified themselves as atheists and 0.9% said they are agnostic.
Bishop E.W. Jackson Sr. of Exodus Faith Ministries in Chesapeake, Va., a nondenominational church, finds Mr. Obama's acceptance of nonbelievers offensive. "I believe every American should worship however they wish," he said, "however to deny that the country is fundamentally Christian in its culture and its heritage is just not true."
But other religious leaders see nothing wrong with Mr. Obama's overtures to nonbelievers.
"We are a very pluralistic nation," says Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, which deals with policy issues. "I don't think there's anything negative about his doing it."
Mr. Obama isn't the first president to acknowledge nonbelievers. When running for re-election, Bill Clinton spoke of the U.S. having more religious freedom than any other country in the world, "including the freedom not to believe." At the 2006 National Prayer Breakfast, George W. Bush recognized those with "no faith at all" among Americans of varying religions.
But Mr. Obama's frequent mentions of nonbelievers stand out, said Michael Lindsay, a Rice University sociologist who studies religion and culture. In some ways, says Mr. Lindsay, it represents the continuation of a pattern in American public discourse. "The last 50 years has been a gradual evolving notion of what constitutes religious diversity," he said. First, he said, Jews were included. Later, after immigration increased from Asia in the 1960s, politicians began mentioning Buddhism and Hinduism. But rarely have atheists been included, he said.
David Axelrod, a senior adviser to the president, said that Mr. Obama personally inserted the nonbeliever references into his inaugural speech. "He is a person of deep faith and also a person who has a profound belief in the Constitution and the nature of this country," Mr. Axelrod said in an interview.
Part of the explanation for Mr. Obama's references also may lie with his own story. He wasn't raised religious and only became a Christian as an adult, when working with churches as an organizer in Chicago.
"I had a father who was born a Muslim but became an atheist; and grandparents who were nonpracticing Methodists and Baptists; and a mother who was skeptical of organized religion, even though she was the kindest, most spiritual person I've ever known," he said at National Prayer Breakfast in February. "She was the one who taught me as a child to love and to understand and to do unto others as I would want done."
Write to Laura Meckler at laura.meckler@wsj.com
Dear Friends
In conjunction with Freedom House, UN Watch and the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, we are seeking your support for the statement below urging all states to reject UN resolutions "combating defamation of religion" - a concept which has no validity in international law. The statement is self explanatory.If you are in agreement with the statement, I would be grateful if you would kindly endorse this statement on behalf of your organisation by replying in the affirmative to this email. Please indicate in your reply the full name of your organisation (which need not be accredited ton the UN).
We plan to circulate the statement early next week to delegations at the Human Rights Council prior to the Council vote on the defamation of religion resolution. The deadline for replies is 4pm CET (10am EST) on 24 March.
With kind regards
Roy W Brown
IHEU Main Representative, UN Geneva
Joint NGO Statement on Danger of U.N. “Defamation of Religions” Campaign
We, the undersigned non-governmental organizations,
Deeply concerned by the pervasive and mounting campaign by the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) to produce U.N. resolutions, declarations, and world conferences that propagate the concept of “defamation of religions,” a concept having no basis in domestic or international law, and which would alter the very meaning of human rights, which protect individuals from harm, but not beliefs from critical inquiry;
Deeply concerned by the attempt to misuse the U.N. to legitimize anti-blasphemy laws, thereby restricting freedom of religion, freedom of expression, and freedom of the press;
Deeply concerned that “defamation of religions” resolutions may be used in certain countries to silence and intimidate human rights activists, religious dissenters, and other independent voices;
Alarmed by the resolution on “defamation of religions” recently tabled at the current 10th session of the UN Human Rights Council;
Alarmed by the draft resolution on freedom of expression circulated by Egypt, whose amendments seek to restrict, not promote, protections for free speech;
Alarmed by the recently-announced initiative of the U.N. “Ad Hoc Committee on Complementary Standards” to amend the International Convention for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) by adding a protocol on “defamation of religions”;
Alarmed by provisions in the latest draft outcome document of the Durban Review Conference that, through coded language and veiled references, endorse and encourage these subversive and anti-democratic initiatives;
1. Call upon all governments to oppose the “defamation of religions” resolution currently tabled at the UN Human Rights Council, and the objectionable provisions of the freedom of expression resolution;
2. Call upon all governments to resist the efforts of the “Ad Hoc Committee on Complementary Standards” to alter the ICERD;
3. Call upon all governments not to accept or legitimize a Durban Review Conference outcome that directly or indirectly supports the “defamation of religions” campaign at the expense of basic freedoms and individual human rights.
1. UN Watch
2. International Humanist and Ethical Union
3. Freedom House
4. The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty
Afghan Court Backs Prison Term for Blasphemy
Rafiq Maqbool/Associated PressParwiz Kambakhsh, an Afghan student journalist, in court in May 2008 on blasphemy charges.
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By ABDUL WAHEED WAFA and CARLOTTA GALL
Published: March 11, 2009
KABUL, Afghanistan — The Supreme Court in Afghanistan has upheld a 20-year prison sentence for an Afghan university student journalist accused of blasphemy. The case has alarmed news media and rights organizations in the country and abroad.
The student’s family and lawyers said Wednesday that they had learned only recently about the court decision, which was made in secret on Feb. 12, and they called the procedure illegal.
The student, Parwiz Kambakhsh, 24, from northern Afghanistan, was arrested in 2007 and sentenced to death for blasphemy after accusations that he had written and distributed an article about the role of women in Islam. Mr. Kambakhsh has denied having written the article and said he had downloaded it from the Internet. His family and lawyers say he has been denied a fair trial.
In 2008, an appeals court in Kabul commuted the death sentence to 20 years’ imprisonment, a decision that was upheld by a tribunal of the Supreme Court last month.
“Unfortunately the Supreme Court has confirmed the 20-year prison sentence for my brother,” said Yaqoub Ibrahimi, who is Mr. Kambakhsh’s brother. “We did not expect it at all.”
The decision came to light only when the attorney general’s office issued orders to the northern province of Balkh to enforce the decision, Afzal Nooristani, a defense lawyer for Mr. Kambakhsh, said in a telephone interview.
“I was not allowed to talk with the judges and officials, which is a complete violation of law,” he said.
Judges at the Supreme Court were reluctant to comment on the case, except to say that Ghulam Nabi Nawaie, the lead judge of the tribunal that made the decision, was in India for medical treatment.
Enayatullah Kamal, the deputy attorney general, confirmed that his office had been notified of the decision, but he said Mr. Kambakhsh still had the right to appeal the tribunal’s decision.
The case has been watched keenly by the independent Afghan news media, which have felt growing pressure from government, political and religious circles. Journalists and news organizations flourished in the early post-Taliban years under President Hamid Karzai, but have increasingly suffered from threats and attacks from the Taliban and pressure from the government and religious conservatives.
An Afghan journalist, Javed Ahmad, 23, who worked for the Canadian broadcaster CTV, was gunned down Tuesday evening in the center of the southern city of Kandahar, the second killing of an Afghan journalist in southern Afghanistan in nine months. Abdul Samad Rohani, a journalist in Helmand Province, was shot dead last year, in a killing thought to be connected to his investigation of police involvement in the drug trade.
Three other well-established journalists have left Kandahar in recent months after receiving threats from Taliban insurgents over their coverage of events.
Another journalist, Ghows Zalmai, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for blasphemy after publishing a Dari translation of the Koran that hard-line clerics disputed, said Human Rights Watch, based in New York.
Western diplomats and human rights organizations have expressed concern that despite Mr. Karzai’s assurances of press freedom and freedom of speech, journalists and civilians are under an increasing threat from both insurgents and conservative religious clerics allied with the government. Mr. Karzai, his critics say, is reluctant to move against the clerics in an election year.
Mr. Kambakhsh’s brother and the lawyer, Mr. Nooristani, said they were dismayed because they had seen the Supreme Court as their last resort. Mr. Kambakhsh was originally sentenced after a trial lasting only minutes in which he was not allowed to defend himself. In the appeals court, an important student witness against him retracted his statement, but was ignored.
“This is the tragic level of justice in Afghanistan today,” Mr. Ibrahimi, the brother, said in a statement. “It is just a make-believe system of justice and humanitarianism. The reality is that the Afghan government and judiciary, although supported by the U.S., the U.N., the E.U. and other democracies worldwide, is morally bankrupt.”
Human Rights Watch urged the Afghan president to pardon Mr. Kambakhsh. “The Supreme Court represented the last hope that Parwiz Kambakhsh would receive a fair hearing, but once again justice was denied,” said Brad Adams, the organization’s Asia director. “Kambakhsh has committed no crime.”
Abdul Waheed Wafa reported from Kabul, Afghanistan, and Carlotta Gall from Islamabad, Pakistan. Taimoor Shah contributed reporting from Kandahar, Afghanistan.
ATHEISTS URGE OBAMA TO CONDEMN UN ANTI-BLASPHEMY SCHEME
An Atheist public policy group today urged President Obama to speak out against a non-binding United Nations resolution penalizing "defamation of religion" and to encourage moderate Islamic societies to guarantee freedom of conscience and expression.The measure is widely seen as an effort to insulate Islamic regimes from ideological criticism, and permit theocratic states to curtail rights for women, journalists and political dissidents. The matter is scheduled for further discussion at next month's World Conference Against Racism to be held in Geneva.
"We urge President Obama and his administration to speak out unequivocally and firmly against any effort to curtail free expression,and provide special treatment against criticism of any and all religions," said Ed Buckner, President of American Atheists. "The main effect of such a policy would be to endanger civil liberties, and, in fact, exacerbate religious differences. And any attempt to make this a binding resolution deserves nothing but contempt and opposition from Americans."
Buckner also urged the Obama administration to not boycott the April World Conference as Germany , Israel, Italy and Canada have done. "This just surrenders the ideological battle field to extremists. Engagement, not boycott, is called for."
Dave Silverman, Communications Director for American Atheists noted that the driving force behind the resolution is Pakistan, which currently has fifty of its citizens in prison for the crime of "blasphemy." Some of these victims of government-clerical sanction are Muslims, Atheists and Christians. Mr. Silverman added that the legal penalty for blasphemy is death."
"That's ironic because Pakistan -- one of the countries possessing nuclear weapons -- is under siege by Muslim extremists aligned with al
Qaeda and the Taliban. Pakistan should be promoting freedom of expression and secularism as an antidote to religious fanaticism."
AMERICAN ATHEISTS will demonstrate outside the United Nations against the blasphemy resolution on Saturday, March 28, 2009
AMERICAN ATHEISTS is a nationwide movement that defends civil rights for Atheists; works for the total separation of church and state; and addresses issues of First Amendment public policy.
American Atheists, Inc.
Tanzania 'witch-naming' under way
BBC-NEWSThousands of people in Tanzania have been taking part in an exercise aimed at identifying those behind the killing of albinos for ritual purposes.
The process - in which people fill in forms anonymously, naming those they suspect of involvement - was ordered by President Jakaya Kikwete.
But some fear the nationwide exercise, which has begun in the Lake Zone area, could be used for personal vendettas.
Witchdoctors reportedly buy albino body parts to make "magic" potions.
Since late 2007, 45 albinos have been slaughtered in Tanzania.
Forty-four of the killings have taken place in the Lake Zone district.
Police believe the killers are selling their victims' limbs, hair, skin and genitals to traditional medicine practitioners who make potions promising to make people wealthy.
Superstitious miners and fishermen in the region hoping to get rich quick have been accused of fuelling the demand.
President Kikwete has said the murders have brought shame on the country and urged the public not to fear retribution for naming the culprits.
But correspondents say it is not clear how effective the exercise will be in a society which believes in witchcraft and where confidence in the legal system is wearing thin.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon last month decried the albino killings during his official visit to the country.
The government issued a ban on all traditional healers in January in an effort to stop the killings and several have been arrested since then on suspicion of flouting the order.
Science Minister and evolution
ANNE MCILROYFrom Tuesday's Globe and Mail
March 17, 2009 at 2:00 AM EDT
Canada's science minister, the man at the centre of the controversy over federal funding cuts to researchers, won't say if he believes in evolution.
“I'm not going to answer that question. I am a Christian, and I don't think anybody asking a question about my religion is appropriate,” Gary Goodyear, the federal Minister of State for Science and Technology, said in an interview with The Globe and Mail.
A funding crunch, exacerbated by cuts in the January budget, has left many senior researchers across the county scrambling to find the money to continue their experiments.
Some have expressed concern that Mr. Goodyear, a chiropractor from Cambridge, Ont., is suspicious of science, perhaps because he is a creationist.
Gary Goodyear, Minister of State for Science and Technology, says he is ‘passionate’ about his portfolio. Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
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Gary Goodyear, Minister of State for Science and Technology, says he is ‘passionate’ about his portfolio. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)
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From the archives
The Globe and MailWhen asked about those rumours, Mr. Goodyear said such conversations are not worth having.
“Obviously, I have a background that supports the fact I have read the science on muscle physiology and neural chemistry,” said the minister, who took chemistry and physics courses as an undergraduate at the University of Waterloo.
“I do believe that just because you can't see it under a microscope doesn't mean it doesn't exist. It could mean we don't have a powerful enough microscope yet. So I'm not fussy on this business that we already know everything. … I think we need to recognize that we don't know.”
Asked to clarify if he was talking about the role of a creator, Mr. Goodyear said that the interview was getting off topic.
Brian Alters, founder and director of the Evolution Education Research Centre at McGill University in Montreal, was shocked by the minister's comments.
Evolution is a scientific fact, Dr. Alters said, and the foundation of modern biology, genetics and paleontology. It is taught at universities and accepted by many of the world's major religions, he said.
The Happiness Project
Atheist Bus Campaign Gets into Gear in Germany
Spiegel"There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life." The brightly colored ads were part of a provocative campaign on British buses. Spain reacted with its own string of atheist slogans, and now a German group is following suit.
Those waiting by at bus stops in Berlin, Munich or Cologne later this year may be in for a surprise. In place of ordinary commercial ads, commuters will be greeted by hard-hitting atheist slogans. That at least is the plan of a new German atheism campaign, the latest European group to use buses as a vehicle for its provocative views.
Organizers are taking a leaf out of the book of Spanish and English groups that have run similar campaigns. Right now the German organizers are trying to raise money to embellish seven buses with their ads.
Atheists pledging a euro or more to the campaign can vote on a selection of slogans, some loosely based on the British signs. Phillip Möller, one of the campaign organizers, says the German group has collected €3,500 in the first four days of fundraising. They need €16,000 euros more to fund the project.
Möller, one of the six founders, doesn't see himself as any sort of missionary. "We just want to inform people," he said. "In an enlightened society you should be able to say something like that without being punished."
And many Germans do not subscribe to any particular religion, or even believe in God. Around a third of the population, according to official data -- in a country where official church membership is tithed through the tax office -- claim no religion. A survey carried out in 2005 showed that 22 percent of all Germans say they believe in God. Self-proclaimed atheists and agnostics accounted for 23 percent of the population. "We want to finally give these people a voice," said Möller.
Debate in the United Kingdom flared with the start of the world's first atheist campaign earlier this year. Around 200 buses caused a furore with their unconventional ads. Journalist and comedy writer Ariane Sherine unwittingly started the campaign last year with a blog on the website of the British newspaper The Guardian. She described her outrage after seeing a red London bus carrying a Bible quote, and details of a Web site. Non-Christians, the Web site pronounced, would burn in hell for all eternity.
Sherine wrote that atheists could each donate five pounds to counter the religious ad. The project was boosted by evolutionary biologist and public atheist Richard Dawkins, author of The God Delusion. It struck a chord, and donations totalled five times more than originally expected.
Similar bus campaigns are now planned in Italy, Australia and Canada.
Freethinkers Bus Campaing in Finland
Freethinkers and humanists in Finland announced today that they are starting a bus ad -campaing just like the one they did in UK and several other countries.The slogan in picture is practically a straight translation of the original UK slogan of "There is probably no God - So stop worrying and start enjoying your life".
Three atheistic associations in Finland are not participating the campaign.
Passport photograph of girl's bare shoulders rejected 'as it may offend'
By Paul Stokes, Telegraph.co.ukLast Updated: 15 Aug 2006
A five-year-old girl's passport application was rejected because her photograph showed her bare shoulders.
Hannah Edwards's mother, Jane, was told that the exposed skin might be considered offensive in a Muslim country.
The photograph was taken at a photo-booth at a local post office for a family trip to the south of France.
Because of the way the camera was set up, the picture came out showing Hannah's shoulders.
The family had it signed and presented it at a post office with the completed form but were told that it would not be accepted by the Passport Office.
A woman behind the counter informed them that she was aware of at least two other cases where applications had been rejected because a person's shoulders were not covered.
NEW ORLEANS POLITICS
RTA gives ad its blessing
Population of France is almost 10 percent Muslim.
(CBS) For almost half a century, Europe has depended on imported labor to do the kind of menial jobs its own people don't want to do -- so much so that, today, the population of France is almost 10 percent Muslim.They are the descendants of Algerian, Moroccan and Tunisian workers who came from France's ex-colonies.
Now, many of them live in neglected public housing projects, ruled by violent gangs and increasingly susceptible to Islamic fundamentalism. Correspondent Christiane Amanpour reports. When people talk about ghettos in France, they're talking about high-rise complexes that have been built far away from the city center to house African and Arab immigrants.
Just saying you live in the neighborhood is enough to get your job application thrown in the garbage. And the unemployment amongst young people is four times the national average.
With little hope of making it outside the projects, many of these young men try to dominate their own neighborhoods, resorting to violence, especially against young women.
They rule gangland style, combined with the male-dominated traditions of the Arab countries they came from. It's gotten so bad that, today, most of the young women only feel safe if they are covered up, or if they stay at home. Girls who want to look just like other French girls are considered provocative, asking for trouble.
Samira Bellil wasn't asking for trouble, but trouble came to her. She's the granddaughter of Algerian immigrants and she's written a book about surviving the hell of the Paris ghettos.
"I was gang raped by three people I knew, and I couldn't say anything, because in my culture, your family is dishonored if you lose your virginity,” says Bellil. “So I kept quiet, and the rapes continued. The next time, I was pulled off a commuter train and no one lifted a finger to help me. …Everybody turned their head away. They were all looking out the window.”
When Bellil's family discovered that she had been raped, they weren't sympathetic. They threw her out onto the streets. But she's since discovered that what happened to her was not the only case.
“There was a trial in Lille where a 13-year-old girl was gang raped by 80 men. Sometimes, it’s 80, or 50 or 10. It’s absolutely terrible,” says Bellil. “In the case of Argenteuil, it was horrible. A young woman was raped in a school. Of course, everybody knew, but they're so afraid of these young men that they prefer to close their eyes. That's the price of peace in the ghettos.”
When the verdicts came down in this case, the courthouse turned into a madhouse. Eighteen teenagers were convicted of raping a 15-year-old girl over a two-month period. But what really shocked France was how the mothers of those boys reacted.
“You call this justice, seven years in prison for some oral sex,” says one mother. “It's the girl who should be behind bars.”
Aboubacar was one of those convicted, not of raping the girl, but of knowing about it, and doing nothing to stop it. “When you live in a neighborhood that's so dark and tough, you can’t mess with others' business, unless you want to put your life on the line,” says Aboubacar.
He received a suspended sentence, and now he's using his rap music to spread the message that violence is wrong.
“We were gangsters. If someone was robbing a house, I had to follow the group, otherwise they'd say I wasn't a man,” says Aboubacar. “Men are stronger than women. Men are more respected than women. So if I don't have many brothers, my sister can be attacked. But if I come from a big family, people will lower their eyes when they pass my sister. That's part of the law.” Nadir Doudane grew up in the same projects. Now, he works as a youth counselor trying to encourage more normal relations between the boys and girls.
What is it about the projects that is at the root of this violence?
“I think it’s because of the tradition that make the boys think that the girls should be treated this way and not that way,” says Doudane. “It’s not France here.”
What really scares Doudane is that Islamic fundamentalists are taking advantage of these frustrations. “It’s tough. What the fundamentalists are saying to the young kids, ‘We will help you find a job. We will help you be proud of who you are.’ That's why it's a big success here.”
On downtown Paris streets, racy ads are still the rule. But in the projects, the fundamentalist voices are growing stronger. They are now targeting the disaffected youth in the ghettos. Many of the mosques there are filled with fundamentalist preaching.
This is what an influential imam of one French mosque recently said about how men can treat their wives: “If a woman cheats on her husband, her husband can beat her, as long as he doesn't hit her nose, her eyes, her ears. That's part of our religion.”
The French government promptly deported this imam back to his native Algeria. Bouziane is the fifth Muslim cleric thrown out of France this year, for preaching such an intolerant form of Islam.
But this clash of cultures is threatening to divide France, between those who want to keep the country secular, and those who protested against the government’s ban on wearing Islamic headscarves in public schools. It's also dividing many immigrant families, like that of a young woman we’ll call Sonia. She doesn't want to be identified, because she's cut off all contact with her family. She was born in France, but her parents are from Tunisia.
Sonia's father tried to send her to Tunisia for an arranged marriage, after he found out that her boss had raped her. In her father's eyes, Sonia had dishonored her whole family.
“My father told me it was my fault, that what happened to me,” says Sonia. “I provoked him to do what he did to me. I couldn’t change his mind.”
And there are many others like Sonia. At least 70,000 young women have come under pressure to accept arranged marriages, according to France's Commission for Integration
“It's necessary to explain to parents and to young people that we are in France,” says Zair Kedadouche, of Arab descent, who sits on that commission. “The relation between Islam and the relation between a woman and men, it’s very hypocritical. Even in I'm Muslim, but I know it’s very hypocritical.”
Equally hypocritical, he says, is the French government, which champions equality, but has effectively disenfranchised its own Muslim community -- the biggest in Europe.
“We are 10 percent of the French population, and we have no members of parliament…We have 37,000 mayors. In France we have no mayor [of Arab descent],” says Kedadouche. “It’s very strange. … We can compare the situation of black people in the beginning of the ‘60s in America and now in France.”
Why, then, does there seem to be so much violence in the ghettos, in the slums and project areas, where most of the immigrants have to live?
“It's not because we are Arabic that we are delinquent. It’s because we are poor, and we live in very bad conditions,” says Kedadouche. But nothing prepared France for what happened to a 17-year-old French Muslim girl named Sohane Benziane. Her case really woke up the country to the nightmare that has been festering so long in these projects.
Sohane was burned alive in the basement of an apartment complex by a gang leader who had told her that he didn't want to see her on his turf. After her murder, her sister, Kahina, dedicated a memorial at the site of her killing.
And just in case there was any doubt about where loyalties lie in these projects, when the young man accused of killing Sohane returned with police to show how he had doused her with gasoline, the highrise he had controlled broke out in cries of support.
That just infuriated Samira Bellil enough to help lead a national movement against this violence. “Before, they would rape us. Now, they're burning us alive. Sohane can't speak anymore, so I'm gonna do the talking,” says Bellil.
“Ni putes ni soumises,” is a provocative slogan that, roughly translated, means “We're neither whores nor doormats.” It's a movement that sprang out of the ghettos, made up of mostly immigrant women who are now fighting back against the gang rapes and violence that plague their neighborhoods.
Bellil is in the forefront of that fight, leading demonstrations and lobbying to set up shelters to help protect these women.
In an extraordinary gesture, the French government honored Bellil’s achievements, and those of 13 other women from the projects, by hanging their portraits outside the country's parliament, recognizing that France's ethnic fabric is changing.
“My life is not the same life today,” says Bellil. “Before, it was terrible, it was terrible. But I fight very hard to be what I am now today. And I win, and for me, it's wonderful, and now I smile.”
©MMIV CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Pääkirjoitus
Ortotoksinen uskonto on fundamentalismia
Erkki Hartikainen 1.3.2009Suomen ortodoksisen (=oikeaoppisen) kirkon peruskoulun opetussuunnitelma löytyy helpoimmin alla olevasta linkistä.
http://www.ortoweb.fi/ortops2004.htm
Sanoja "suvaitsevuus" tai "suvaitsevaisuus" haet turhaan ortodoksien peruskoulun opetussuunnitelmasta.
Ortodoksisen uskonnon lukion opetussuunnitelman löydät helpoimmin napauttamalla tästä.
Jotta ortodoksisen uskonnon opetuksen luonne tulisi heti selväksi, olen kopioinut opetushallituksen sivuilta lukion ortodoksisen uskonnon kurssin 1 (UO1)
TAVOITTEET
Kurssin tavoitteena on, että opiskelija tuntee kirkon synnyn ja kehityksen sekä kirkon nykyisyyttä muovanneet tekijät
- Ymmärtää oman kirkkonsa muotoutumisen historian kulussa
- tuntee ortodoksisia paikalliskirkkoja sekä niiden historiallista ja kulttuurista merkitystä
- näkee oman uskonnollisen perinteensä osana historiallista ketjua.
KESKEISET SISÄLLÖT
- varhaiskirkko
- Bysantin aika – oppi ja hallinto määräytyvät
- idän ja lännen kirkon ero
- idän kirkon kehitys
- Venäjän kirkko ja muut ortodoksiset paikalliskirkot
- orientaaliset kirkot
- lännen kirkot
Kuten kaikesta yllä esitetystä voidaan todeta, ortodoksinen uskonto on aivan samassa mielessä fundamentalismia kuin islam.
Sikäli kuin ortodoksien uskontoa opetetaan edes jossain määrin Bysantin historiallisten tapahtumien mukaan, ortodoksien suorittamat vääräuskoisten vainot on kerrottava.
Erityisesti nestoriolaisten vainot edistivät islamin nousua, ja tämä oli koitua ortodoksien tuhoksi. Kumma kyllä Lähi-idässä on edeĺleen nestoriolaisia.
Ainoa tuntemani henkilö, joka ennusti ortodoksien nousun Venäjällä, oli intialainen historian maisteri, edesmennyt rationalistihohtaja Joseph Edamaruku (Hän oli Sanal Edamarukun isä).
Joseph Edamaruku oli kotoisin Keralan osavaltiosta, joka on katoliskristittyenemmistöinen.
Kun olin vielä nuori, eräs teologian kandidaatin tutkinnon suorittanut ortodoksi sanoi minulle, että odotahan, kun pitkien puukkojen yö tulee.
Onneksi en ole silloin enää muutenkaan elossa.
Ortodoksien valtionavut
Pitäisikö Suomen Ateistiyhdistys ry:n järjestää olutiltoja
Erkki Hartikainen 10.3.2009Ei pitäisi. Pakanakilta ry järjesti niitä 1960 -luvun lopulla ja 1970 -luvun alussa, mutta sitten yhdistys kuoli pois ja lakkautettiin yhdistyksen kokouksen päätöksellä aivan virallisesti.
Syynä oli se, että meitä tuli vuosikokoukseen enää kaksi, tämän kirjoittaja ja nykyisin Espanjassa talvensa viettävä sosiaalineuvos Veikko Päiviö, vaikka kokouspaikkana oli peräti Pauligin huvila.
Ei auttanut mitään, vaikka Pakanakillan helvetillisissä jytkyissä Wiipurilaisessa osakunnassa esiintyi M. A. Numminen orkestereineen, kuulutti Juha Virkkunen ja osakunta oli niin täynnä väkeä, että jos poliisi olisi tiennyt...
Ei auttanut, vaikka Aimo Massinen teki Ilta-Sanomiin sivun jutun, Kuluttajain lehti (nykyisin Me) teki usean sivun jutun ja Helsingin tuomiokirkon oveen naulatut teesit pääsivät Helsingin Sanomain pääuutissivulle kuvalla varustettuna.
Ei auttanut, vaikka Raimo Toivinen ja Juhani Pösö käännyttivät apulaispoliisimestari Edward Urjan joukot pois Esplanadipuistossa, jossa yhdistys Helsingin kaupungin kiinteistölautakunnan päätöksen vastaisesti piti mielenosoitusta.
Ei auttanut, että vastustettiin erästä myöhemmin kallioon louhittua kirkkoa ja nimettiin se Piruntorjuntabunkkeriksi.
Ei auttanut sekään, että Elisabeth Rehn muutti Pakanakillan tilaisuudessa käsitystään Jeesuksen olemassaolosta.
Ei auttanut, että yhdistys oli oikeasti poliittisesti sitoutumaton ja sen toimintaan otti osaa mm. Jukka Aikala.
Niin katoaa mainen maine ja kunnia...
Miten saada elinkeinoelämältä eläkevirka?
Erkki Hartikainen14.3.2009
Poliittiset johtajat tuovat silloin tällöin esiin konservatiivien varastossa olevia vähäosaisten ihmisten elämää huonontavia ehdotuksia päästäkseen suuryritysten hyväpalkkaisiin eläkevirkoihin.
Kun Esko Ahokin on päässyt köyhiä kurittamalla peräti Nokiaan, pitäisihän Matti Vanhasen päästä vähintään yhtä hyvälle palkalle.
Ajat ovat muuttuneet niin, ettei elinkeinoelämä voi suoraan rahalla tukea asuntovelkaista pääministeriä.
Ehdotus eläkkeelle pyrkivien kurittamisesta oli hyvä yritys, mutta Vanhaselta odotetaan vielä lisätoimia, jotta eläkevirka irtoaisi.
Yhteiskunta voi tietysti panna yhteiskunnan palveluksessa olevat lääkärit kuriin ja rajoittaa eläkkeelle pääsyä tällä tavoin. Olen melko usein kertonut tarinan entisen työpaikkani työtuolista. Lääkäri sanoi minulle suoraan, että minulle on kielletty antamasta uutta selkävaivaiselle sopivaa työtuolia.
Teknikkka ja Talous -lehdessä joku oli oikein oivaltanut, että ikääntyneiden töntekijäin töissä pitämiselle on vain kaksi estettä: Työnantajat eivät halua pitää heitä töissä eivätkä työntekijät enää halua olla töissä.
Sama lehti sekosi pahasti ehdottaessaan työuran pitentämistä alkupäästä. Opiskelijain valmistuminen pitäisi lehden mukaan saada pudotettua 25 vuoteen. Miten sitä voidaan pudottaa, kun opiskelijain on pakko tehdä kahta työtä, opiskella ja elättää itsensä työnteolla?
Miten työuraa voitaisiin jatkaa tästä päästä, kun työnteko jo haittaa vakavasti ihmisten opiskelua?
Miksi hallitus ei sano suoraan, että köyhien kello ja kerho on torilla eikä yliopistoissa?
Yksittäisten virkahenkilöiden aiheuttamat tuhot
Erkki Hartikainen 2.3.2009.....
Voivatko ateistit perustaa Suomessa uskontokunnan
Erkki Hartikainen 22.3.2009Eivät voi. Opetusministeriön alainen evankelis-luterilainen lautakunta (kansanomaisesti sanottuna inkvisistio) valvoo sitä, mitä järjestöjä päästetään uskontokuntien rekisteriin.
Valvonnan tarkoitus on estää evankelis-luterilaisille epämieluisia järjestöjä pääsemästä uskonnoille varattujen etuoikeuksien piiriin.
Moskovan patriarkaatti tukee paavin kondomilausuntoja
Kotimaa, Heikki Rusama20.03.2009
Vsevolod Tšaplin
Afrikan vierailulla olevan paavi Benediktus XVI:n mukaan aidsia vastaan ei voida taistella kondomeja jakamalla.
Moskovan patriarkaatin kirkollisten ulkosuhteiden osaston varajohtaja, rovasti Vsevolod Tšaplinin mukaan aids voitetaan koulutuksella ja oikeamielisellä elämällä.
- Jos ihminen elää synnillistä ja tarkoituksetonta elämää, käyttää huumeita ja on säädytön, joku sairaus lopulta tappaa hänet. Kondomi tai lääkkeet eivät häntä pelasta, Tšaplinin sanoi Moskovassa 20.3. Asiasta kertoi uutistoimisto Interfax.
Eroa
kirkosta
heti!
Tulonsaajien luku, tulot verot ja kirkollisverot v. 2007
Seuraavan tilastokeskuksesta peräisin olevan laskelman avulla voit pohtia, mitä saataisiin aikaan, jos kirkollisveron tuotto käytettäisiin johonkin hyvään tarkoitukseen.http://www.eroakirkosta.fi
| Luku | Milj. euroa | |
| Tulonsaajia | 4 442 757 | |
| Valtionveronalaiset tulot | 4 442 757 | 106 591,9 |
| Valtionveronalaiset tulot ml. Verovapaat osingot ja korot | 4 442 757 | 108 407,9 |
| Ansiotulot yhteensä | 4 369 826 | 97 220,4 |
| Palkkatulot yhteensä | 2 776 753 | 68 362,3 |
| Eläketulot | 1 404 891 | 19 211,5 |
| Työttömyysturvaetuudet | 511 482 | 2 428,4 |
| Muut sosiaaliturvaetuudet | 721 422 | 1 997,1 |
| Muut ansiotulot | 262 071 | 823,9 |
| Maatalouden tulot | 120 014 | 1 084,6 |
| Tulot elinkeinotoiminnasta | 136 470 | 2 684,9 |
| Tulot yhtymästä | 119 111 | 1 454,7 |
| Pääomatulot yhteensä | 1 387 838 | 9 371,4 |
| Osingot, brutto | 936 720 | 3 271,4 |
| Osingot, veronalainen osuus | 621 056 | 1 378,3 |
| Osuuspääoman korot, brutto | 1 535 031 | 76,4 |
| Osuuspääoman korot, veronalainen osuus | 7 462 | 12,1 |
| Luovutusvoitot | 382 090 | 5 166,2 |
| Vuokratulot | 235 318 | 1 061,0 |
| Muut pääomatulot | 749 718 | 1 861,1 |
| Verotettavat ansiotulot | 4 264 621 | 89 442,6 |
| Verotettavat pääomatulot | 1 001 068 | 8 498,5 |
| Kunnallisverotuksessa verotettavat tulot | 3 868 765 | 78 642,6 |
| Valtionverot yhteensä | 2 704 351 | 8 499,0 |
| Tuloveron osuus ansiotulon verosta | 2 317 931 | 6 474,0 |
| Tuloveron osuus pääomatulon verosta | 983 735 | 2 330,5 |
| Kunnallisvero | 3 842 020 | 14 209,8 |
| Kirkollisvero | 3 143 985 | 826,7 |
| Päivärahamaksu | 2 971 032 | 540,2 |
| Sairaanhoitomaksu | 3 838 355 | 1 007,7 |
| Metsänhoitomaksu | 214 553 | 20,1 |
| Verot ja veroluonteiset maksut yhteensä | 4 150 995 | 25 103,4 |
| Ansiotulovähennys ennakonpidätyksenä | 651 758 | 110,8 |
| Työntekijän työeläke- ja työttömyysvakuutusmaksu | 2 533 154 | 3 308,1 |
Kirkollisveroista
Uusi Suomi 2.3.2009 KirkollisveropakolainenPalkansaajat maksoivat kirkollisveroa v. 2007 keskimäärin n. 312 euroa,
eläkeläiset n. 184 euroa ja kaikki yleensä kunnallisveroa maksavat keskimäärin n. 268 euroa.Kirkollisvero määräytyy kunnallisveron alaisen tulon perusteella. Kesken kalenterivuotta eronneet joutuvat maksamaan kirkollisveronsa koko vuodelta. Joulukuussa eropalvelussa ja maistraateissa on ruuhkaa.
Älä jää siihen, vaan eroa kirkosta hyvissä ajoin. Kirkosta eroaminen on oikeaa yhteisvastuuta. Se tehostaa talouden toimintaa ja auttaa sekä eroajaa itseään että muita suomalaisia.
Talouslamalla on suotuisa vaikutus kirkostaeroamiseen. Ei ole mukavaa, kun oma yritys menee nurin tai saa potkut töistä.
Mutta onko joku kuullut, että seurakunnissa olisi käyty yt-neuvotteluja tai irtisanottu ketään "tuotannollisin ja taloudellisin" perustein? Riitoja siellä kyllä riittää potkuperusteiksi, mutta se on toinen tarina se.
Yhteisöverot kirkoille yli sata miljoonaa
(Luvut: Verohallinto)Yhteisöt maksavat kirkoille yhteisöveron jako-osuuksina jopa yli sata miljoonaa vuodessa. Me veronmaksajat maksamme sen riippumatta siitä, kuulummenko kirkkoihin vai emme.
Seurakuntien jako-osuus yhteisöverosta (%) sekä evankelis-luterilaisille seurakunnille sekä Suomen ortodoksiselle kirkolla tilitetyt yhteisöverot vuosina 2000-2008 (euroa)
| Vuosi |
Jako- osuus |
Evankelis- luterilaiset |
Orto- doksit |
| % |
€ |
€ |
|
| 2000 |
1,63 |
125
864
870 |
100 773 |
| 2001 |
1,63 |
106 887 170 | 85 578 |
| 2002 |
1,70 |
98
254
974 |
78 667 |
| 2003 |
1,70 |
86 414 215 | 69 187 |
| 2004 |
1,70 |
96 060 962 | 76 910 |
| 2005 |
1,94 |
102 379 099 | 81 969 |
| 2006 |
1,94 |
109 408 144 |
87 597 |
| 2007 |
1,75 |
118 277 989 | 94 698 |
| 2008 |
121 161 210 | 97 007 |
Wallin haluaa nostaa kirkon osuutta yhteisöverosta
21.3.2009STT
Stefan Wallin
Kemiö. Rkp:n puheenjohtaja, ministeri Stefan Wallin haluaa korottaa kirkon osuutta yhteisöverosta yhdellä prosenttiyksiköllä nykyisestä 1,75 prosentista. Korotus toisi kirkolle 40 miljoonaa lisäeuroa.
Hallitus käsittelee veroasioita kehysriihessään ensi viikolla. Wallinin mielestä kuntien yhteisövero-osuutta pitää nostaa, mutta myös kirkko tarvitsee lisää rahaa.
Wallin perustelee ehdotustaan kirkon tärkeillä tehtävillä, kuten hautaustoimella ja arvorakennusten hoitamisella.
Suomen Humanistiliitolle muhkea valtionapu
Religious
Education in Europe 2003-
Situation and current trend in schools
Elza Kuyk, Roger Jensen, David Lankshear, Elisabeth Löh Manna, Peter Schreiner (eds.)
Oslo : IKO Publishing House, 2007. - 245 S.
ISBN 978-82-7112-793-0
Preis: 24,50 €
For many years the Intereuropean Commission on Church and School has sought to help professional educators and others find out more about the situation of Religious Education (RE) in European countries.
This has been achieved through publications containing information about this school subject and by increasing the exchange among experts and developing comparative work.
This has provided the background for a broader and more detailed overview of the position of RE in the different European countries which is contained in this new publication.
lt is designed to form an introduction to the topic and to be a first point of reference for those specialists on Religious Education in their own countries who wish to understand what is happening in parts of Europe other than their own.
lt will also help those involved more generally in education to understand the importance of Religious Education within the school systems in Europe.
Content:
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom: England and Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland.Religious Education in Finland
State: Parliamentary democratic system.Population: 5.2 million.
Religion: 84,2% Lutherans, 1,1% Orthodox, 0,4% Muslims, 1,1 % Others (Jews etc.), 13,5% no religious affiliation.
Recently the Orthodox Church has begun to grow. It has now over 60,000 members. The Catholic Church has a membership of around 8,000. The Protestant denominations, for example Baptists, Methodists, the Salvation Army and Adventists total membership remains under 1% of the population. Number of Jews is about 1,000.
Education: Pre-school teaching is provided in schools and day care centres. Pre-school teaching starts a year before children go to the comprehensive school. The aim of pre-school teaching is to improve children's capacity and skills for school and learning. Participation in pre-school teaching is voluntary. However, entering the pre-school education is child’s subjective right.
Children start compulsory school at the age of 7. It is also possible to start school one year earlier or later based on a medical psychologist ´s or physician's statement. Finland has nine years of compulsory schooling. Local authorities primarily run comprehensive schools. The government contributes to the financing of all schools. Nine years of basic education can be continued in two major ways either in vocational training or in upper secondary level. Both vocational and upper secondary studies make it possible to continue one’s studies in the polytechnic school or at the University (www.oph.fi)
Legal and Historical basis
Religious education is rendered in the own religion of the majority which in Finnish context means Lutheran religious education. RE in Finland is non-confessional and an RE teacher does not need to be a member of the Lutheran or any church. The teacher needs to have a qualified training for RE which usually requires an university diploma (Master´s degree).A non-Lutheran pupil can also take part in Lutheran RE if their guardians so request. Schools must also give instruction in religions other than Lutheran faith (such as islam, baha´i etc.) if there is a minimum of three pupils representing the faith in the school. The religion in question must be registered in Finland and the students´ family must belong to the religion. All RE must have a curriculum which needs to be accepted by the National Board of Education. However, some Christian minority groups are taking part in Lutheran RE lessons in spite of the option mentioned above but on the other hand if one’s own instruction is available, the pupil has no right to opt out from it.
The status of the Orthodox instruction differs from other religious minorities. If there are at least 3 Orthodox children in municipality schools instruction is automatically provided and parents request is not needed.
The concept "according to one’s own religion" is rather new since before year 2003 RE was defined denominational. However, during the last two decades the Finnish Lutheran denominational RE has been understood as non-confessional in spiritual or religious meaning. The term confessional indicates the content of education. The major content was knowledge about one’s own religion. In this meaning religious education differs from religious practice. So basically one’s own religion is an updated version of the recent good practice.
Religious education is compulsory both in comprehensive schools (7-16 years) and in senior/upper secondary schools (16-18/19 years). Over the past 30 years the interpretation of the term "confessional" has been problematic since there is a change in the meaning when connected to religion. For example, if the content in primary level is Bible stories it could be evaluated in many ways as confessional. This has led to discussion on whether the pedagogies in RE should be developed in a way that encourage pupil’s own reflection and nourish an open atmosphere.
The final push to reject the word “confessional” from RE was the new Act for Religious Freedom (2003). The previous law term established freedom from religion, but the current law is made on the basis of a positive right: freedom for religion. The confessional and denominational concepts were ambiguous and causing problems. The simple way was to legislate current good practice.
The main aim of the Lutheran education in Finland is to make the students more aware of their own religious culture. Students ´own developmental status is always taken as a guideline in teaching. RE helps students to understand the meaning of religion to individuals, and to see how religion influences society and culture. The objective is a broad general education in religion and on personal level.
Religious Education in the School System
A. The Subject(s)
Those pupils who are not members of any congregation or religious group are provided instruction in secular ethics where different worldviews and ethics are studied. In Finland there are 11 different curricula for the RE. All of them are labelled RE but officially a prefix gives expression on which curricula is in case. Because RE is related to one’s own religion every RE version has it’s own name, for example Orthodox RE.RE is compulsory in the basic education (ages 7-15/16) and also in upper secondary school (ages 15/16 - 18/19). In vocational education there is no instruction in RE. In upper secondary school there are three obligatory courses in RE: Course I: Introduction to religion as a phenomenon, dimensions of religion and The Bible. Course II: The History of the Christian Faith. Course III: Christian Ethics. A pupil can choose more courses if s/he wants to. There are at least two extra courses available: world religions and religion in Finland. The student has an opportunity to major in Religion in the National Student´s Matriculation Exam. This means that in order to pass the Student´s Matriculation Exam the student must show adequate skills in RE (in addition to other subjects).
B. The approach to teaching RE
In RE, the religious dimension is approached from the standpoint of the pupil's growth. RE is seen as a broad cultural and social phenomenon. Instruction in religion emphasizes religious knowledge and readiness to encounter new religions and worldviews.RE offers basic knowledge, skills, and experiences for building an identity and a worldview. The instruction encourages encountering the religious and ethical dimension in one's own life and the life of the community.
In primary education the objectives of the instruction are to:
- familiarize the pupil with his or her own religion
- familiarize the pupil with the Finnish spiritual tradition
- introduce the pupil to other religions
- help the pupil to understand the cultural and human significance of religions
- educate the pupil in ethical living and help him or her understand the ethical dimension of religion.
The first objective is relatively easy to achieve in Finland. Since 84% of the Finns are Lutherans the major part of RE teaching is Lutheran. The focus in teaching is to understand the freedom of religion as a positive right. This emphasis has become more dominant especially among the smaller religion groups.
The major aim of the Lutheran instruction is to introduce the religious culture to the pupils in as many ways as possible. The methods in teaching always take the student ´s developmental stage into consideration. It is thought that RE helps the students to understand the meaning of religion to individuals, and to see the influence religions exert in society and culture. The objective is to construct broad general knowledge of religion and apply it on a personal level.
During the first five years of elementary school the core task of instruction (in the Lutheran religion) is to offer materials for the construction of the pupil's worldview. RE introduces the surrounding religious world to the students via giving information and personal experiences. RE familiarizes the students with the Bible and encourages them to exercise responsibility and ethical judgement.
The majority of Finnish schools are public and there are only few private schools. In general, Finnish schools are not based on religion or supported by the religion. However, there are a few (less than 15) Christian schools in Finland. There are also some other faith related schools. For children, school and educational equipment (books, pens etc.) are free of charge.
The schools can develop individual profiles by focusing on some special area, such as languages, mathematics and sciences, sports, music or arts. In Finland, 99.7 % of the age group complete compulsory education.
RE curricula are made in The National Board of Education. It is made in various working groups, which have also had denominational representatives. Every school and municipality area should have their own adaptation of the national curriculum. Usually professional teachers make the adaptations based on their classroom perspective. Municipality is legally responsible for the syllabus. Municipal authorities have the right to make general local syllabi if they choose to do so. Schools are not allowed to alter those syllabi.
The commercial publication companies publish books for RE (as they publish books for other subjects such as mathematics and languages). Books are based on the national curriculum, but some freedom of content exists, however. Schools have the right to choose which book they want to use. This makes school books also commercial products, one book costing approximately 20 euros.
C. Teachers
During the first six school-years, the primary school teacher teaches all or most of the subjects and usually gives education in religion, too. Education in the junior high is usually in the form of subject teaching, where there are different teachers for each subject. One for mathematics, one for English language, one for RE etc. Basic education also includes pupil counselling and, if necessary, special education. Teacher education in Finland takes place at universities. The majority of subject teachers in RE are Masters of Theology who have specialized in teaching.Schools are part of the society and local authorities pay the salary (the average starting salary of a teacher is approximately 2300€/month).
D. Public Examination
In Finland there are no inspectors. The local principal is responsible for the quality of teaching. In difficult situations The National Board of Education can give consultative advice. In 2003, the National Board of Education made criteria for the good learning practice at the fifth grade concerning Lutheran RE. The aim is that the pupils will know the key things about the Bible and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. The pupils should also know how to use what they have learned to acquire more knowledge. The pupils should be able to perceive religion as a cultural phenomenon. They should understand the nature of religious language usage and recognise religious symbols, concepts, and metaphors.At upper secondary level RE can be part of the Student Matriculation Exam.
E. Private Sector and regional differences
In Finland private sector is not remarkable and it is following national curriculum in RE issues. RE is taught according to the national curriculum all over Finland, there are no regional exceptions.Current developments and challenges
The status of RE teaching in Finland is recently established. New national curricula were published in 2004 and schools have made their syllabi after that. The parliament has made clear decision about RE. At one point there was political discussion in which the aim was to unite all RE under the same subject. Parliament made vote and the result was 75% against one RE model and pro the one’s own religion -model. New Act for the Religious Freedom is made in positive aspects. Everyone should have the right to religion.Multicultural development could be remarkable in Finland in the future. In contemporary Finland the multi-faith schools have concentrated around the largest cities, especially in the areas of (capital) Helsinki. If there are many more faith traditions who want to have their own curricula in schools the costs of RE will become higher than nowadays. It might put pressure on RE integration. However, the parliament’s opinion is clear: right to own religion and right to receive RE is essential. Money is not driving over it.
In Finland the standard of teaching is high among the subject teachers of RE. The challenge of teacher training is in the standard of teaching among primary school teachers. It could be said that the academic training program is not giving good enough methods for RE teaching in the primary school level.
Religious Education in Sweden
The non-confessional subject Religionskunskap was created to the curriculum of 1969 and replaced the older and confessional Kristendomskunskap which traces its origin back to the start of the elementary school in 1842 and even to the ecclesiastical inspections in the parish back to 1650. We know very much about peoples skills in reading long time ago in Sweden because the parents were obliged to teach their children read the Bible, the book of hymns and the catechesis of Luther (by heart) and the vicar visited every homestead to ask and inspect and make notes about the reading-skills. Therefore we know that in 1680 80% of the adult Swedes could read – almost the same figure as in 1980. This stress on reading is a fruit from the protestant tree. If you compare readingskills in Sweden and in France in the 19th century you will find a difference 80 – 20%. Anyhow the parent were not good teachers enough, therefore in 1842 the Swedish Folkskola, elementary school was created, but not in full activity, reaching every child until 1900, because the farmers would not let the children leave the work in fields and barns. So historically there are many connections between the Lutheran State church and education of people and school-development in Sweden. In the elementary school there were just a few subjects; reading, writing, maths, handicraft and cathecesis. From the beginning the elementary school was seen as a part of the baptismal/confirmation education of the church. In 1919 the cathecesis was replaced by stories from the Bible. In the 1951 a law of freedom of religion was decided. In 1958 the last connections between the Lutheran state-church and school was cut off. From the 1960:s “foreign religions” was more comprehensive presented in schoolbooks. So we are back in 1969.The subject religionskunskap has often been put in question since then, either from religious people asking for more christanity and faith or from secular people who want no religion neither education in faith at all in school. Our organisation for teachers of Religionskunskap (FLR) was created in 1969 to develop and defend the new subject in school – to make clear that it is not confessional education we have in school, but also clarify that religions are essential to human life, culture and history and must have a place also in the Swedish curriculum.
Since 2000 The Swedish Church is no more a state-church but a free Lutheran church, even if there still are some connections to the state. During the last four decades Sweden has changed into a multiethnic, multicultural and multireligious society. Both these changes are important in order to understand the role of religion in school, especially the subject Religionskunskap. Om the one hand you can say that religious education is now a task for the churches and other religious groups themselves, on the other hand you can say – as we do- that it is an essential skill for people living in a “multisociety” to have knowledge and experience of different religions and cultures. The democracy needs it.
Recently the government and the department of education has presented an new curriculum for the Gymnasium (upper secondary school or senior high school). The Swedish gymnasium is a very comprehensive educational corpus which contains 18 national programs and a lot of regional-, local- and special-programs with both theoretical and vocational educations. Almost every pupil from higher secondary school continues to the gymnasium. Every program has a duration of three years and it must contain a nucleus of some indispensable subjects. Religionskunskap is one of these “nucleus-subjects”, a cours of 50 lessons called Religionskunskap A. But from time to time it is put in question if Religionskunskap is indispensable. In the new curriculum religionskunskap A is still there but the more advanced course Religionskunskap B has got a more weak position in favour for a new subject called “Hållbar utveckling” – “Sustainable development”. Nobody knows anything about this subject yet, or what skills the teachers teaching it must have, but it has to do with environment and pollution, that is clear.
On the local arena you can see another new subject arising and it is rather popular among teachers as well as pupils. Many higher secondary schools and gymnasiums offer a locally created subject called “Livskunskap” – Knowledge of Life. It contains courses about sexuality, gender, ethics in practice and so on, and Livskunskap has no connection to religions or education about religions.
Religious Education in Norway
Report from Norway 2003.Primary and Lower Secondary School
The subject in primary school is Christianity and General Religious and Moral Education (KRL), a compulsory subject first introduced in 1997, replacing a choice of three, namely Christianity, Moral Education or choosing not to do the subject at all. It was revised in August 2002, where the main points are that the name was altered, the number of topics dealt with in the teaching was reduced and that the working methods are to be more practical.KRL is a non-confessional compulsory subject, where about 55% of the time is to be spent on Christianity, 25% on other religions and secular world views, and the remaining 20 % on ethics and philosophy. The reason given for giving Christianity more than half the time, is that Christianity has played and still plays an important part in Norwegian society. It is necessary to note that it is not only the Lutheran variety that is to be presented, but the whole range of Christian denominations.
According to the regulations the Ministry of Education has set up, the subject is “a regular school subject. The responsibility for bringing up the children when it comes to religion and morals reside with each home. The education given in the school shall be objective, critical and pluralistic with no missionary preaching. The KRL subject shall provide knowledge about various religions and morals views, shall not teach any particular faith, and shall contribute to mutual respect and tolerance.”
The regulations for the subject allow exemptions from the parts the home regards as practice of another faith. In these cases the pupil will be exempted from the activity in question, but not from learning about the topic in other ways.
On behalf of The Ministry of Education and Research, The Research Council of Norway did an evaluation of the subject. The results were published at a conference in May 2003 where all subjects were examined after the school reform in 1997. Results from this conference is available in English (at least at the time of writing this, June 2003) on the internet site.
Religious Education in Denmark
Report in EnglishThe Association of Danish Teachers of RE in Upper Secondary Education: Annual Report 2009
Upper Secondary Education
The 3-year 6th form college (Gymnasium)
A major structural reform of the education system of the 16-19-year-olds (sixth form college level, gymnasium) and of the 2-year Higher Preparatory Examination Course (HF) was implemented from 2005. During the last 3 years there have been adjustments and slight changes every year, so the last 3 years have been a period full of new and different experiences.
RE is a compulsory subject, and is taught in either the second or third year of the student's education. All students have RE for a year, but the students can also choose to study RE as an optional subject for another year at a higher level.
RE has to participate in interdisciplinary projects where a number of subjects work together in analysing a specific topic, e.g. The Renaissance or The difference between Faith and Knowledge.
In RE the students have to study the following compulsory subject areas: Christianity, Islam and one other major world religion (Hinduism, Buddhism or Judaism) and central phenomena, terminology and methods of Religious Studies. The teaching of Christianity constitutes at least one third of the curriculum and teaching of Islam is also compulsory. In addition there are supplementary subjects and areas to study. The teachers and students must choose one of the following subjects: ethics, philosophy of Religion, a subject in Religious Studies (e.g. rituals, sociology of religion, psychology of religion, new religious movements etc.) or one more religion (it does not have to be one of the above mentioned religions).
The teaching of RE is based on the study of a combination of normative texts and modern interpretations of these. An important aspect of RE is to provide academic tools and methods of religious studies in order to enable students to understand and interpret the religious texts seen from inside (emic) and outside (etic).
The approach to RE is non-confessional and concludes with an oral exam the purpose of which is to test the students’ knowledge and understanding of particular religions taking as the starting point an analysis of a text and by applying the “tools of the trade”.
2-year Higher Preparatory Examination Course (HF)
For the last 3 years RE has been placed in “the Culture and Social Science Group” of subjects, which consist of History, Religion and Social Science. The 3 subjects work closely together for two years. The subjects have periods of separate teaching and periods where the three subjects work together in projects usually 4 to 5 projects in the course of the two years. There is one joint examination at the end of the second year.Examples of project titles: India Today; The Change From Nordic Religion to Christianity in Denmark; Religions Role in the Presidential Elections in the USA; Analysis of the Danish Society Today; Civil religion.
During the two years the students have to study the following compulsory subject areas: Christianity, Islam, one additional religion, central phenomena, terminology and methods of religion, ethics and philosophy and the religions cultural, social and political influence in the past and today.
The students can also choose to study RE as a subject at a higher level.
Religious Education in Estonia
Context
RE and its status in Estonia is marked by sharp discussions and by the fact that according to last census from year 2000 only 29% of the Estonian population identified themselves as believers (14% Lutherans and 13% Orthodox). After 50 years under the occupation of the Soviet totalitarian and atheistic regime - which forbade RE in every form, there is an uneasy agreement in society about the need for some kind of RE. There exists much doubt and prejudice towards RE, as towards religion in general. This has its roots in the active atheistic propaganda of the past and in the lack of adequate knowledge. Whereas society in general agrees, that some knowledge about world religions and the basic terms as well as ethics could be useful, there is also a general question, how to guarantee absolute neutrality of the subject, which is believed to be necessary to avoid religious propaganda.There is a concern than an RE teacher, who is a believer of some sort themselves, would be unable to stay neutral in the classroom. One of the concerns, opposing the reorganisation of RE, goes back to some negative experiences of the first days of RE after the re-gaining of independence. At the time when schools became open to RE in the late 80-ies, many eager people without pedagogical experience and professional skills rushed to teach RE. Sometimes RE turned into confessional instruction and those individual failures have been exaggerated and generalised. Because of the marginal position of religion in society, personal contacts with religious people can be limited to actively proselytising congregations, and new religious movements, confirming the prejudices about the aggressiveness of the religious world view.
Legal framework
The most general law regulating education in Estonia is the Education Act, which was passed in 1992. There RE is described as an, "optional and non-confessional subject". The principles, and some general topics of religious studies, are set out in the curriculum approved by the Ministry of Education. According to the Education Act RE is compulsory for the school if fifteen pupils wish to be taught. In the primary classes parents should decide about the participation of their children in RE lessons; at the gymnasium level pupils should decide this independently. There is no alternative subject to RE for the pupils who don’t attend the RE classes to gain knowledge or become informed about world religions and ethics. For RE teachers, both theological as well pedagogical training is compulsory.The real situation is much more complicated because the schools do not have any obligations for the matter. For example, it is not regulated how to know if there are some interested persons – the schools do not have obligations to introduce the subject to the pupils and the parents or even to ask, if anybody would be interested to have RE. A lot of confusion is connected also to the different use and common interpretation of the name of the subject. ‘Usuõpetus’ and ‘Usundiõpetus’ are often understood as narrow Christian Instruction. More neutral ‘Religiooniõpetus’ is not officially mentioned in legislative documents. Till now all the proposals in Parliament which have tried to solve those problems, have been rejected.
There have been debates to reorganise the voluntary religious education into compulsory education to give a non-confessional overview of Christianity and other world religions and to help pupils to understand the impact of different religions on the world’s culture and, perhaps most importantly, to prepare them for the life in the pluralistic and multicultural world. There has been a proposal for one compulsory core-course per 3-years school stage and in addition two optional courses.
In real school life, it is often headteachers who decide whether RE will be taught in their schools or not. Thus, the state of RE often depends on their personal attitudes and initiative.
Until the spring of 2006 in one of Estonia's most highly regarded schools (Hugo Treffner Gymnasium in Tartu) there was for 9 years non confessional RE, centred on the explaining of world religions and religious terms, compulsory for pupils who had chosen the branch of humanities. On the spring of 2006 the Chancellor of Justice filed a demand to change the RE to an optional subject as in compulsory form as this was a contradiction to the statement in Education Act, which states that RE must be optional subject (not specifying the exact content of the subject). No subject (disregarding the name) can be compulsory which deals mostly with religious thematics. The ground for this decision was the conviction that “totally neutral, pluralistic and analytical teaching” of this subject is in today's Estonia is unachievable and so it carries in itself the danger to affect the children religiously. This is the reason why it is not possible to let the board of the school to decide these matters. Despite the opposition of the board and pupils the compulsory RE in Hugo Treffner Gymnasium was abolished.
Today in Schools
Even the Ministry of Education does not know in how many schools RE is taught. According to some statistics RE is taught in about 60 schools from 600. It is hard to get the entire picture about the spread of RE in our schools because the subject is often taught under different names and in different forms. In some schools a subject, named differently, is an compulsory subject at least for one year, in other schools a student can choose between different subjects. But mostly it is not organised. There is however from 2002 a proposed syllabus for RE for schools which is, at this time, still under discussion.Contents
According to the proposed syllabus, Religious Education in Estonia focuses in primary school on Bible stories, in secondary school on the history of world religions and comparative religion studies.Aims of RE
- Provision of knowledge about different religions, world-views and cultures is a means towards religious literacy that in turn offers a key to understanding cultural heritage.
- Development of an open identity, i.e. that pupils know their own culture and also get to know others, so as to create the bases for mutual understanding and tolerance.
- Development of religious literacy as a precondition to dialogue in order to help overcome national and religious conflicts.
- Acknowledgement and evaluation of spiritual values.
- Development of critical attitudes towards mass culture and consumerism.
- Development of social and ecological awareness and responsibility.
- Support pupils’ moral development.
- Development of the skills necessary for acknowledged and responsible choices.
Basic principles and targets of RE
- Respect towards Human rights and freedom of religion
- RE could not be used to proselytise
- Anthropological concept: Homo Spiritualis
- Religious literacy as a means to understand world cultural heritage
- More attention to Christianity + non-confessional model of RE
- Readiness for dialogue and cooperation in pluralistic society
- Support for moral development
- Organic part of National Curriculum
- Possibility to use 20% of time to syllabus design by pupils
Structure of the Syllabus
- Grandparents’ heritage
- Culture and traditions
- New Testament stories
- Old Testament stories
- Ethics
- Human ethics and 10 commandments
- Bible and culture
- Religions in Estonia
- World Religions
- Major religions, overview
- Ethical Issues
- Religion and Culture
- Human and Religion
- Philosophy, anthropology, phenomenology of religion
- Bible studies
- Church History
Teachers
RE teacher training was begun in 1989/1999 by the Theological Institute of the Lutheran Church. Important help was provided by the Finnish Lutheran Church. When the first graduates completed their studies in the re-opened Faculty of Theology in Tartu University in 1995, it became possible to start also with an RE teacher training program at the University. RE teacher training programs were also developed in denominational theological Seminars. At this time there are more than 250 persons qualified as a RE teacher, and of whom approximately 40 are active as RE teachers in schools. First materials for teaching were translated from Finnish, the first Estonian textbooks for RE appeared at the end of 1990s.Tasks
Problems around the developments of RE in Estonia in all their complexity are a serious challenge. How to find bases for the subject, how to find some starting points, how to choose learning contents, how to set up aims for studies, how to overcome prejudges regarding the subject etc, etc...In other words – there is a strong need for a clear and well grounded concept of contemporary RE, which is suitable for the schools in a very secularised society like Estonia and which is engaging in order to motivate pupils to participate in the classes of the optional subject (the school timetable is very intensive already).
Religious Education in Latvia
About Latvia
Latvia is a parliamentary democracy. The Prime Minister, as chief executive, and the Cabinet are responsible for government policy. The President, as Head of State, is elected by the Parliament (Saeima). Latvia is a multicultural society. People with different ethnic, cultural and religious backgrounds confer each other in everyday life and share their experience.In the modern world it is impossible to find a country where the population is comprised of only one ethnic, linguistic and religious entity. Latvia is no exception. Latvia is inhabited by people of many different backgrounds: Latvians (58.2%), Russians (29.2%), Byelorussians (4%), Ukrainians (2.6%) and others.
In Latvia there are three dominant religions: Catholicism, Lutheranism, and Orthodox Christianity. On May 2002, the Justice Ministry had registered more than 1,000 congregations. This includes: Lutheran (309), Roman Catholic (251), Orthodox (114), Baptist (89), Old Believer Orthodox (67), Seventh-Day Adventist (46), Jehovah's Witnesses (10), Methodists (12), Jewish (7), Buddhist (4), Muslim (7), Hare Krishna (10), Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (3), and more than 100 others. Other religous groups include Baptists, Pentecostals, and Evangelical Protestants.
In contemporary Latvia, a variety of religious traditions and worldviews have taken their position in the everyday life of Latvians. Education for the diversity is a necessary way of building a sustainable future. The challenge for Latvia is how to educate accountable citizens who will embrace diversity as a value in order to find various ways to locate themselves in multiple relationships. Consequently, education has to place a greater emphasis on navigating difference and revealing teachers’ patterns of relatedness towards oneself, others, and the world. The issue in Latvia is how can educators find a creative and sustainable balance between dominant values and diversity in an emerging multicultural society.
The status of Religion and Religious Organizations
The Constitution provides for freedom of religion, and the Government generally respects this right in practice. There is no state religion; however, the Government distinguishes between "traditional" (Lutheran, Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Old Believers, Baptists, and Jewish) and "new" religions. It is stated in the Law on Religious Organizations (1995) that students in public schools can choose to study confessional Christian faith.In the amendments of the Law on Religious Organizations (1996) it is stated that the state finances school in teaching Christian faith. In the Law of Education it is stated that the students can choose to study Christian faith or ethics in public schools in Latvia or both subjects simultaneously. Since 1999, the representatives of 4 traditional confessions have designed the non-confessional educational program for Christian faith for forms 1- 4 In 2003 the study of Christian faith/Ethics is compulsory in form 1.
Religious Education in Germany
Introduction
This report gives information about developments and the main items of the debate about Religious Education in the public (government) school in Germany. This has to be seen in a wider framework of an educational debate which was highly influenced by the results of two international comparative studies: The OECD (Office for Economic Cooperation and Development) Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) a survey of the knowledge and skills of 15-year-olds (reading, mathematical and scientific literacy) and the International Reading Literacy Study, PIRLS, measuring competency in reading (and other areas) at the end of elementary school. The German result in PISA was much worse than expected although the elementary pupils did quite well. The debate about a more efficient education system has raised the question about agreed standards for all subjects. This is also a debate now in Religious Education.The general situation of RE (Protestant) was summarized in an official report of the Conference of Ministers of Culture and education in March 2003 (regular report) RE is seen as an ordinary well established school subject in the federal education system. Very few pupils take their right to withdraw from RE. The Conference of responsible ministers has decided that there will be common standards for final exams in upper secondary school from autumn 2004 on. The concrete regulations will be worked out in a joint committee of the state and the religious communities.
Two public polls in 2003 confirmed the positive image of RE in society. In the first poll 82% said YES to RE in public schools and 65% confirmed the involvement of the religious communities and the churches. In the second poll 2/3 agreed to RE as a regular subject in public school and just 7% wished to remove RE from the curriculum.
Denominational Co-operation. There were nearly no new developments during the last year in this respect. Also the first Ecumenical ‘Kirchentag’ with more than 200,000 participants took place in Berlin this did not foster more ecumenical co-operation in RE. Examples can be found on regional levels where the Catholic church is in a minority situation (Lower Saxony and other areas) or where an academic project is established (Baden-Wuerttemberg).
Interreligious Learning. This is a well accepted task for RE on the level of curriculum and methods. However it is an obligatory part of teacher training in just some of the re-gional states (Bundeslaender). And also in the practice in the classroom interreligious learning is influenced by hesitations and fear of the teacher, stereotypes and a lack of qualified teachers from non-Christian religions.
The Comenius-Institut will publish a handbook on Interreligious Learning in 2005 to support this important area for RE.
Islamic Religious Education. There is a general agreement that the implementation of an Islamic RE is a great need especially in areas with a high number of Muslim populations. However little progress can be reported in this area. In Lower Saxony a project has started this school term of German speaking Islamic RE in primary school. In Bavaria there are plans to introduce Islamic RE in Erlangen. More should be done by the ministers of education to propose a more effective solution on the basis of the existing legal situation.
Buddhist Religious Education. In Berlin the Buddhist Community received permission to introduce Buddhist Religious Education in some schools as a voluntary subject.
In nearly all Bundesländer there is the expected situation of a shortage of RE teachers in the near future, as it was reported in 2003. Some regional Protestant Churches have started campaigns for Religious Education (“Those who have not a clue about religion finally believe in everything”). These activities refer to the value of Religious Education as part of general education and the overall mission of the school.
The EKD (Protestant Church of Germany) has published an official document (Denk-schrift) on education and the Protestant perspective about education in a Knowledge- and Learning society (Maße des Menschlichen – Dimensions of the Human). In the statement it is argued for a comprehensive, multi-dimensional vie on education, where religious education is a decisive element of. Concerning the aspect of globalisation the need of inter-cultural and interreligious education is clearly underlined.
Religious Education in England and Wales
Background
Religious Education in England is taught in all schools as part of the compulsory curriculum for children from 5 to 16. It is also compulsory for pupils from ages 16 to 18 thought is is often not taught to this age group. There is a recommendation that 5% of curriculum time is given over to Religious Education but as this is not compulsory the actual amount of time is often less than this. Unlike all other subjects there is no National Curriculum for RE. The RE curriculum is determined in a number of ways:- For state schools the RE curriculum is determined by a Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education (SACRE). There is one SACRE for each education authority This curriculum is then compulsory for all state schools in the Local Education Authority (LEA). A SACRE may decide to adopt the curriculum from another LEA.
- For schools with a religious foundation (mostly Christian but a growing number of other religious groups). The religious community is more heavily involved with the writing of the curriculum.
- Independent schools are allowed to choose any of the RE curriculum that are available from the SACREs.
The legal requirements for the teaching of RE ensure than up to the age of 14 pupils will encounter teaching in all the 6 major world religions as well as ethics, philosophy and morals. From 14 to 16 most pupils now sit an examination course for the General Certificate in Secondary Education (GCSE). This can either be a full course (10% of curriculum time) or a Half Course (5% of curriculum time).
Report from the Government Inspection body (OFSTED) - June 2007
Key findings
- Pupils’ achievement in RE in primary schools improved over the period between 2001/02 and 2005/06. In 2004/05, achievement was good or better in 46% of schools and satisfactory in about 50% of schools. More recent survey visits confirm this picture. Inadequate achievement in RE in primary schools is rare.
- Pupils’ achievement at Key Stage 3 is very inconsistent. In 2004/05 it was good or better in 61% of schools and satisfactory in 31% of schools. More recent survey visits have found achievements in RE to be good or better in only four out of 10 schools and satisfactory in about half of schools.
- There has been a substantial improvement in full course GCSE- and A-level results over the past five years, but short course GCSE results have remained static, with around half of the pupils entered achieving A* to C grades.
- Leadership and management of RE have improved. In 2004/05, they were good or better in 46% of primary schools compared with 39% in 2001/02. In secondary schools, they were good or better in 68% of schools compared with 59% in 2001/02. Self-evaluation in RE has improved substantially.
- More schools meet the statutory requirements for RE at Key Stage 4, in part because more pupils follow accredited courses in RE at GCSE. Compliance post-16 remains very limited and the arguments for retaining statutory requirements at this stage are difficult to sustain.
- Aspects of teaching, assessment, curriculum and leadership and management are not good enough in many secondary schools. Too much teaching at Key Stage 3 is unchallenging. Serious weaknesses remain widespread in the way that levels of attainment are used in planning and assessment.
- The impact of the National Strategies on RE in primary schools has been largely positive. However, whole-school development rarely focuses on RE. The subject depends heavily on the expertise and enthusiasm of individual teachers, and pupils’ achievement is therefore inconsistent. In secondary schools, weaknesses in planning the RE curriculum frequently undermine the effects of fresh thinking about teaching and learning which the strategies have brought.
- There are not enough accredited courses to meet the needs of students between 14 and 19 years across the ability range. The provision for students in further education to take accredited courses in RE is inadequate.
- Training in RE is not always matched closely enough to teachers’ needs, especially for curriculum planning and assessment at Key Stage 3. Although teachers are positive about the training that they receive, schools rarely evaluate its impact.
- Primary initial teacher training (ITT) courses provide very little training about teaching RE; later professional development does not compensate for this. Primary teachers’ lack of secure subject knowledge is a key factor limiting the amount of good and outstanding teaching in RE.
- While recent changes in funding for secondary ITT in RE have had a positive impact, recruitment still does not meet the demand for specialist teachers of RE. Although many aspects of secondary ITT in RE are good, weaknesses in planning and assessment in some of the schools in which trainees are placed are reflected in the trainees’ progress.
- The Framework has widespread support. Recent national initiatives to improve RE have the potential to raise standards and improve provision but the subject’s statutory basis constrains developments (please see ’Religious education and the law’ on page 4). The use of two attainment targets creates difficulties for planning and assessment.
- Many agreed syllabuses, including some recent ones, are not having a significant impact on improving standards and the quality of provision. Nearly half of the secondary schools visited in 2006/07 had not implemented their most recently published agreed syllabus effectively. Primary schools were more successful in implementing their agreed syllabus rigorously and systematically.
- SACREs provide valuable support for RE and community cohesion when they are managed and resourced properly. However, many local authorities do not ensure that SACREs have sufficient capacity to fulfil these responsibilities effectively.
- The curriculum and teaching in RE do not place sufficient emphasis on exploring the changing political and social significance of religion in the modern world. As a result, the subject’s potential to contribute to community cohesion, education for diversity and citizenship is not being fully realised.
Recommendations
The following recommendations are made to bring about improvements to religious education.- Department for Education and Skills (DFES) [now DCSF] should:
- review whether:
- the current statutory arrangements for RE, including those for post-16 provision, are effective
- the Framework could become the statutory basis for locally agreed syllabuses, allowing for some local determination of specific content to reflect local circumstances
- the Framework could become the basis for the inclusion of RE within the National Curriculum
- consider ways in which SACREs might be enabled to play a stronger role in promoting the priorities of community cohesion and educating for diversity.
- The Qualifications and Curriculum
- Authority (QCA) should:
- develop
further guidance to support the effective use of the Framework in
constructing agreed
syllabuses
- provide further opportunities for SACREs to share good practice
- extend the range of accredited courses for RE to ensure that the needs of all students are met
- secure greater continuity and progression in RE for the 11 to 19 years age group by aligning the assessment criteria for accredited courses with the attainment targets and levels in the Framework
- ensure that accredited courses place greater emphasis on enabling pupils to understand the changing social significance of religion in the modern world
- when reviewing the Framework, consider whether the two attainment targets for RE are an effective basis for planning and assessment.
- Local authorities, in partnership with their SACREs, need to:
- consider ways in which SACREs can be better supported to enable them to fulfil their responsibilities effectively
- use the Framework rigorously in reviewing their agreed syllabus, and thoroughly assess the impact of their existing syllabus on standards and the quality of planning and assessment
- consider how the work of SACREs might support further the promotion of community cohesion and educating for diversity.
- Secondary Schools should:
- improve the quality of curriculum planning and assessment, particularly at Key Stage 3
- use their locally agreed syllabus more systematically and effectively to improve provision for RE.
- Primary School should:
- improve the quality of teachers’ RE subject knowledge
- focus on RE in the course of whole-school development work, where appropriate.
- All Schools should:
- ensure that RE contributes strongly to pupils’ understanding of the changing role of religion, diversity and community cohesion.
- Providers of ITT should:
- strengthen the arrangements for selecting and training RE subject mentors to ensure that trainees receive high quality training.
Specific Issues in 2008-9
Examination entries - There has been a growing number of examination entries and now the majority of pupils will sit an examination in RE at the end of their school career. This has risen from 200,000 entries in 1999 to 473,000 in 2008 a rise of 137%New Initiative for teachers of Religious Education - The national strategy for Key Stage 3 (11-14 years) continues to affect all teaching and learning with new approaches. Religious Education is being challenged along with all Humanities to improve the engagement of pupils and include thinking skills in the classroom.
For details of this - click here. In Primary schools teachers are being encouraged to be more creative. A document called 'Every Child Matters' is the latest of the government approach and the development of a more cross curricular approach could benefit RE.
Teacher vacancies - The financial payment of the university fees £2500 [about €4000] and a £6,000 [about €8000] training bursary in their training year have boosted numbers applying for training to be RE teachers which is healthy this year.
New Secondary Curriculum in RE - There is a new curriculum being developed for teachers of all subjects. This includes teachers of RE and they are being encouraged to be more involved with other subjects and in innovative approaches to teaching and learning. A website on the new curriculum and some case studies can be accessed via the NATRE website.
Gifted and Talented student - There is guidance for RE teachers who teach pupils who are gifted and talented. It contains a set of issues for consideration, an example of a policy for teaching such pupils and examples of activities. It can be found on http://www.nc.uk.net/gt
A National Framework for Religious Education - Most subjects in England follow a National Curriculum (http://www.nc.uk.net) and a national framework for Religious Education has been published (http://qca.org.uk/3262.html) and this is now informing the re-drafting of the local syllabuses.
While it is not a legal requirement this document is being used to inform the development of the subject, about 30 Standing Advisory Committees on RE (SACREs) have now published new syllabuses in accordance with this framework.
Teaching of RE 16-19 - Questions are being asked about the teaching of RE to students aged 16-19, which is compulsory, given both the lack of practice and also the age of the students. What is the reason and purpose of RE at this age?
People are becoming interested in how Interfaith dialogue impacts on the classroom.
Issues for the future
The legal framwork for the teaching of RE was last updated in 1994. At this time Religious Education (RE) and Collective Worship (CW) were both included in the same framework. This is now being reviewed and RE and CW are being separated. It is expected that these new guidelines will be in place in 2009.Whilst there is good news at the university level The continuing shortage of trained and qualified RE teachers at both primary and secondary stages continues to hold back the quality of teaching and learning.
Only 60% of secondary school teachers have any sort of qualification in RE and most primary teachers have only had a few days at their training institution. The Culham Institute (an EFTRE member organisation) has set up a project with Trust funding to address the issue of the recruitment and retention of RE teachers.
The use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in RE is under-developed compared to other parts of the curriculum. Some excellent resource has been provided at the ICT advice site (http://schools.becta.org.uk) and some examples of RE on the web cab be found at MMI web (http://www.mmiweb.org.uk/links/links.html)
The development of "faith schools" mostly still Christian (Anglican and Roman Catholic) but with the first Hindu school which opended in 2008 asks questions about the nature and purpose of faith in schools and if segregation even mild segregation is a positive thing. This has caused some controversy in the last months of 2006 with questions being asked about inclusion and separation of the pupils in a multi-faith society.
A million pounds (£1 million = €1.2 million) has been allocated to RE in order to develop the profiles of the subject in schools. This funding will pay for:
- The updating of the legal framework (see above)
- Funding for the National Assoication of Teachers of RE (NATRE) to undertake a number of projects
- Production of an RE handbook for Continuing Professional Development
- A research project looking at how resources are used in UK schools
Religious Education France
I. The public school
The French constitution starts, in Article 1, by stating that "France is an indivisible, lay, democratic and social republic". Since June 2002, the process started in 1998 by the government Jospin/Chirac) has been continuing: lessons in citizenship and the of history of the church were introduced in sixth grade, entered of the studies secondaires( aged 11 years) as well as in second class (aged 16 years) before the baccalaureat. These courses are given by history or philosophy, holder professors not of Religious Education.
II The private school
Private teaching (with catholic majority), schools have to observe this rule since professors are paid by the state. But, because of the réducation of the number of religious in the private schools, dioceses permitted the recruitment of assistant in pastorale, provided with mission letter.Those are associated of the head of establishment (' chef' in title of the pastorale) with which they have to work in close cooperation. I.e. the school has a project of establishment, with a programme and of planning: The assistant in pastorale is there to allow the application of the project, with the professors, and some parents for the pastorales day co-ordination are the school are under the aegis of a congregation.
The latter names religious assistants or lay professors to teach religious culture. Course hours are remunerated as traditional courses. Professors have the same statute as the others. The congregation holds the responsibility for the mission letter.
The programme is then defined by the professors, the head of establishment and the religious. Today, the question remains open: the "official" institution of religious crops courses in the coming years in the "private" school is a challenge that some dare to point out. The morals and "crops" courses remain a question raised to the public school within a lay state.
III. A promising future
The current government, with majority of right wing politicians, takes up again in heart this subject and the question RE appeared in first line. The way is engaged: representatives of all type (research workers, teaching inspectors, professors) study the file with a view to preparing a draft law instituting RE in the school, genuine "REVOLUTION" for France, even if "religion and secularity are words which still feel powders it" declared himself REGIS Debray.In November 2002, Xavier Darcos, minister delegated to school teaching began the debate during a conference on the teaching of the religious fact in Paris, by reading the message of the President of the Republic: "Strengthen the knowledge of the religions, improve the teaching of the religious fact in all the matters concerned, to the college and to the college, following these events in the history, in arts, in the culture of each one, all that will consolidate the spirit of tolerance among our young fellow-citizens by giving them the means of respecting itself better ones the others"
REGIS Debray, author of a report on the subject (published in February 2002) echoed it "It is not a question to put God in the school. He does not have even to act of teaching of religious culture because the religion forms part of culture very short ". On the other hand, it is on what must be taught, and especially how manage it that numerous questions arise still.
The conference retained a minimum idea: elementary knowledge of the three monothéists religions is essential. "Work, the images and the texts" must be left the. Thereby even, it is essential about to speak in all disciplines, beyond the history course alone in order to "give of the direction".
Another central question, that of how do so! How find the words right to define myth and religion, when the latter answers so much definitions! How speak about the sects? How define sacred? the transcendance?
The participants in the conference agreed on the major task of coming from the quite new European Institute of the sciences of the religions. Even the Association of the Mayors of present France at the time of the conference, recognises that "the apprenticeship of tolerance and secularity involve the fight against fundamental ignorance today and in particular against religious illiteracy".
Here are the major issues of RE in France for this 2003, in himself amusing of the taking into account of the question at highest political level, while awaiting the application of the legal désision!
Religious Education in Italy
The teaching of catholic religion in Italy today
A brief history
The teaching of catholic religion in Italian schools today refers to the Concordat as it happens in all the countries with a catholic majority. From 1859 to 1929 the teaching of the catholic religion is a “space”, given by the State to the catholic church, with an emphasis on catechism; this “space” was allowed first, then resumed, finally recognized by the Concordat.In 1923 thanks to the Gentile reform the teaching of the catholic religion in the primary school was made compulsory. With the Lateran Pacts in 1929 a class of catholic religion was also introduced into secondary and high schools as “ a basis and completion of state education”.
The constitution of the Italian Republic, dated 1948, acknowledges the 1929 Lateran Pacts, article 7, so the teaching of the catholic religion was ensured in schools up to 1984.
The 1984 new agreement between the Holy Seat and the Italian Republic gives way to a wider religious culture – “ The Italian Republic acknowledges the value of the religious culture and of the principles of Catholicism which are part of the historic legacy of the Italian people; it will maintain, within the mission of the Italian school, the teaching of the catholic religion in the state schools at every level, except for universities”.
There have also been two successive agreements between the Ministry of Education and the Italian bishop conference which have dealt with some more technical aspects.
The teaching of catholic religion in Italy today
Law 121, dated 25th march 1985, is a divide between the teaching of religious education as catechism and the teaching of the subject as cultural value in the education process of students. The following are the reasons for which the teaching of catholic religion in the Italian school system has been introduced:- The value of the religious culture
- The principles of Catholicism are a historic legacy of the Italian people ( article 9.1 law 121\1985).
The Concordat revision has given way to a double faced re qualification of the religion teachers; a university level background and the skill in devising the teaching of the catholic religion at school.
The new Concordat agreement has made legitimate the teaching of the catholic religion, has inserted it among the school objectives, it has given a cultural, formative dignity equal to other subjects, to let students learn and command their knowledge and skills; it has also recognized the teaching of the catholic religion as more authoritative. The new curricula of the catholic religion, later elaborated, have better explained the role of the catholic religion among the school objectives.
In fact it is said that “ it promotes , as well as other subjects, the development of the student personality, adds to a higher level of critical skills and knowledge, encourages an evaluation of the students’ experiences and contributes to find significance to their life , helps them to communicate their basic values, even starting a dialogue with different beliefs and cultures”.
As the teaching of the catholic religion became more authoritative the teachers themselves got a greater awareness of their profession arising the necessity to have a legal status equal to other teachers.
Between 1985 and 1990 there was a strong attack on the teaching of the catholic religion as well as an attempt to put out of the school time table both the teacher and the subject. At the same time the Italian high courts states the legitimacy of the cultural equality of the teaching of the catholic religion with respect to other subjects.
In 1990 there was a long controversy as the teacher of the catholic religion should have been allowed the right to express a vote at the final exam session. Different sentences by Italian courts stated however that “ the teachers of catholic religion maintain a decision making character which is part of the majority”; for this reason the vote of the teacher of the catholic religion is valid to determine the student’s failure or pass.
This is the context which sees the birth of Snadir in 1993.Snadir ( National Indipendent Union of the teachers of religious education) is conscious that the teacher of catholic religion is a school worker with his own duties but also with his own rights, not differently from other school workers. The most important result of this union has been the recognition of the legal status for the teachers of religion; from temporary workers to full time status teachers.
Between 1944 and 2004 a lot of bills were presented before Parliament in order to define the legal status of the teachers of the catholic religion. After so many meetings, contacts, parliament debates in 2003 a law, n° 186, regarding the legal status of the teachers of catholic religion was approved; one year later the first “concorso” for the admission of the teachers to their new status took place.
Before 2004 all teachers were appointed following a nomination by the bishop’s see to the school principal who usually confirmed it. The appointment was on a yearly basis and the teachers of catholic religion didn’t have their own legal status as other teachers had.
The 186 law, dated 18 July 2003, has allowed the appointment of about fifteen thousand teachers ( out of 25 thousand) who are part of the school staff endowment. Since the enforcement of this law it is the responsibility of the regional general school office, in agreement with the bishop’s office, to appoint the teachers of catholic religion for the 70 per cent of the assignments as it happens for all other teachers.
The remaining 30 per cent is within the responsibility of the bishop’s see upon the school principal confirmation. The bishop authority however can repeal the teacher’s qualification for some serious reasons, such as didactic incapacity or\and ethic behaviour unfit for the teaching. The “ concorso “ took place in march 2004 and teachers who had a consecutive four years career with at least 12 hours of weekly teaching could participate. Enrolment has taken three steps, the last one being on 30 July 2007.
There is still something to be done; first of all we must find a position for those who didn’t pass the examination or couldn’t be admitted and are part today of the 30 per cent quota with yearly assignments; our union is deeply involved in finding a solution for them
Programs
The revision of the Concordat and the publication of the new programs for the primary school in the middle of the 80’ ha introduced a process of secularization in the school system; this resembles the same process in the Italian society which has changed its habits and ideas since 1968. In the programs of 1985 the teaching of catholic religion is seen in its historical aspect; it was a change of perspective typical of the students of those years who were struggling for a different society.We can say that with the 1985 programs the teaching of catholic religion has undergone a change from strictly religious teaching to a means for a better understanding of the social – historical events. The new programs read that “ the teacher of catholic religion helps the acquirement of a religious culture for the making of man and citizenship and for the knowledge of the principles of Catholicism which is part of the historical heritage of our country”.
The teaching of catholic religion gives means and assets to the students in order to understand the world they live in; it helps the search of truth and meaning of life, it contributes to the building up of a moral conscience and offers principles for responsible choices when confronted to the religious problem.
The teachers of catholic religion have their own programs as other teachers have; they are public and approved by the school authorities. Thanks to the school reform signed by the minister Letizia Moratti, specific objectives, school books refer to, have been introduced for the primary school and the junior school.
Agreements with other religious non catholic communities
The State has guaranteed non catholic religious communities “ the right to answer requests coming from students, families or school communities, with reference to religious events and their significance”.Such teaching can be either introduced alternatively to the teaching of the catholic religion or presented to all students. Up to now six religious confessions have implemented this agreement with the state. They are La Tavola Valdese, L’Unione delle chiese Avventiste del settimo giorno, le assemblee di Dio in Italia, L’Unione delle Comunità israelitiche italiane, l’Unione cristiana evangelica battista d’Italia,la chiesa evangelica luterana in Italia.
The Union of Israel Communities ensures the study of hebraism. The agreements with the Italian Bhuddist Union and the Jehova’s Witnesses are expected to become law shortly , having been signed in march 2000.
A problem for the Italian school system; the “alternative” class
The question related to students who do not want to follow classes of catholic religion is still to be solved. The renewal of the Concordat states that the teaching of the catholic religion is assured by the State but it MUST be chosen by the student or by his parents at the beginning of every school year.Students have four alternatives if they choose not to follow classes of catholic religion: didactic activities, individual study with the assistance of teachers, free study activity without assistance of teachers, going home earlier.
Official school programs do not give detailed suggestions as to activities to be done instead of the teaching of catholic religion. The alternative lesson, however, can’t be part of the curriculum as “differences could take place in the didactic process of the whole class”.
In many cases schools don’t offer valid alternatives so that most students choose to get out of school missing the opportunity of having a cultural subject which should be offered.
Final words
The approval of the legal status of the teachers of catholic religion represents only the first step towards their full equality to other school teachers. We expect further campaigns not only in Italy but in Europe too and we hope that we will be together with other unions of teachers of catholic religion in Eu.Nowadays Snadir is deeply involved in a campaign in order to ensure that the government, the ministry of education, members of parliament will give proper answers about their future as school workers. The teaching of religion must keep on retaining its cultural qualification as part of a school project which shares intercultural, inter religious, ecumenical values , all over Europe.
Religious Education in Spain
INTRODUCTION
The right to receive religious instruction, as a basic aspect of integral education is a result of this constitutional right of persons people by which the public powers are bound to guarantee education in its religious dimension.According to the Spanish Constitution, the aim of education will be the full development of the human personality. “ Public powers guarantee the right of parents for their children to receive the religious and moral education that is in accordance with their own convictions”.
Religious and moral education, integrated into the school curriculum, helps in the educational objective of forming responsible, aware, critically-thinking, free persons; it provides pupils with elements on which to base their own personal autonomy; it capacitates them to respect and relate to other systems of belief that our present in our pluralistic society; it encourages a balance between the spiritual, psychological and cultural development of pupils, in their own historical context and environment; it helps them to understand the cultural and artistic heritage of Spain; it allows them to know the contents of the Christian Religious Culture.
Meanwhile are attending with concern at campaigns of harassment against the subject of religion at school and its teachers on the part of groups that do not give importance to the religious culture and the possibility of knowing different religions at school, not respecting the effective legislation.
It is a fact that 80% of parents ask for their children to receive instruction in the Catholic religion each year. It is necessary for religious education, as a parent’s right, to be included as an essential subject, that centres are obliged to offer and that is voluntary for pupils, as stipulated by law, so that the fact that a pupil receives this teaching or not, does not represent any academic discrimination in school activities.
We continue demanding a School Agreement for Religious Education which satisfies everyone’s requirements and which resolves the conflicts once and for all. We ask for a new administrative control of religious education that can count on the consensus of all the sectors involved.
- In 2006 the Organic Law of Education (L.O.E) has been approved, in whose steps APPRECE has talked with all the implied parts, contributing with constructive solutions and of consensus, as in what concerns the academic consideration of the subject as the labour improvements of the teachers of religion. Religious education in Spain, in fulfillment of the jurisprudence of the Supreme Court should stay, as minimum, like is nowadays, though the aspiration is that the curriculum is improved for those that do not choose for the religious denominational education, putting on the same level both subjects in the academic full value. Nowadays pupils who study religion are subjected to an unequal academic load. While these pupils take on a serious subject that requires studying, those that do not opt for religion are offered activities with no academic value in the best of cases, or, in many other cases, merely playtime activities or revising.
- Approved the LOE, we are sorry about the lost opportunity of having solved definitively with a formula of consensus the presence of the education of religions at public school. We trust that the regulation developments was a result of agreements that respect the constitutional laws and the wide existing jurisprudence.
- Guaranteed the teaching of religion at public school, which is aconfesional and has to be kept neutral, we hope its consideration as a fundamental area is respected, since it´s agreed between the Spanish State and the Holy See and has been ratified by judgments of the Supreme Court, in wich the knowledges, the procedures and the attitudes are evaluable and computable to all the academic effects, because they are also recognized to the curriculum that the Government propose for those who not choose for the religious denominational education.
- Our Association has presented offers on the Education of the Religions, which, in general, have been valued well because they respect the International Agreements, the European and Spanish Constitution, the Agreement signed between the Church and the State, the agreements with other religious confessions and that guarantee the right that the parents have to choose or not this matter, reinforcing the voluntary election, without creating organizational problems in the schools. We trust that the people in charge of the normative development of the LOE consider our formula.
- We can state our satisfaction with the approval of the amendment on religious education teachers. It is to be hoped, for the good of one and all, and with the consensus of all the interested parties - the Administration, religious entities and teachers’ representatives, that this new statue for religious education teachers will be correctly developed in the Royal Decrees that apply this Law. We wish that, for the good of all, with the consensus of all the implied parts - Administration, Religious Entities and representatives of the Teachers – the development of this new statute successes in the agreements by the religious confessions, in the Royal Decrees, in the Autonomic developments and Collective Agreement. It´s necessary to achieve a stability of the professionals of these educations, with the consensus of all the implied parts. It should reach a social and political agreement increasingly widely that could provide the wished stability of the educational system.
Religious Education in Netherlands
Background
The Dutch educational system is hard to explain to foreigners.
The background lies in Dutch history of the 19th and 20th century. The character of the system is dual. There are schools run by the public-authorities (the responsible board is a government or municipal body) and there are schools of a private nature, mostly founded on a religious (e.g. Roman Catholic, Protestant or Muslim) or on a pedagogical (e.g. Dalton of Montessori) principle. Both types of school must be recognized and approved of by the Dutch Department of Education. Mostly both types of schools are financed by the government.
Late developments show that the public authority schools are being transformed to an organization governed no longer by a public authority but by a private committee without losing the public character.
Within these diverse types of schools there are three levels of education:
- First there are primary schools for children aged 4 to 12 years.
- Secondary school can be based on general educational principles (needed for the following type of education) or on a training for a profession. The general secondary school takes 5 or 6 years. The professional secondary school has 3 or 4 years of a lower degree and 4 years of a secondary degree.
- University can follow both types of secondary schools. Like secondary education university (higher education) has two types. The general scientific education has a bachelor level of three years and a master of one or two years. The professional university has a bachelor of four years and sometimes a master of one or two years.
Some secondary schools and most universities are not based on a religious belief.
Religious Education in the curriculum
Religious education (RE) is linked to the Dutch educational system. In all primary schools part of the curriculum is knowledge of religious and ideological beliefs. The aim is to give knowledge of the different beliefs, not to convert. Primary schools of a private nature next to the compulsory RE are allowed to teach their own religious beliefs as a compulsory part of the curriculum. Public authority schools, by request of parents of children, are obliged to give an opportunity to give religious education, which is not compulsory to any pupil.In secondary schools RE is taught in very different ways. It is sometimes not a compulsory subject. (Of late some secondary school teach RE as part of the examination curriculum). RE is often knowledge of world religions, ethical choices and systems, psychology and philosophy of religion, sometimes knowledge of the Bible or Koran, church or religious history and dogmatics.
At University there sometimes are courses of RE subjects of voluntary nature.
Qualifications of teachers
In primary school the teacher of RE is mostly not a theologian but a teacher with general educational skills and training. In secondary schools most teachers of RE are theologians. At university experts give their courses. All teachers have a university degree.New in 2008
In Public primary schools there is now a subject called teaching (our) religion. This subject is not obligatory. Teachers are appointed by a church or by an ecumenical board of churches to teach the mostly Protestant religion. Muslims can appoint a Muslim teacher and Humanists can appoint a Humanist teacher.Parents make make a choice for their children based on their preference. The appointed teachers are, mostly, not qualified to the level of a university degree. In 2008 the government decided to supply a substantial amount of money to train teachers and to build a structure for this kind of teaching. The financial support must be used in the school year 2008-2009.
Religious Education in Belgium [Flanders]
1. The complexity of the Flemish education system
Most schools in Flanders (the Dutch speaking part of Belgium) belong to one of the three main groups of education authorities:
- Private or voluntary schools (vrij onderwijs) which can be denominational or non-denominational; the education authorities are the local bishop, congregations or private organisations (Steiner schools, Freinet or Montesorri –movement); most of these are Catholic schools: ± 70 % of the pupils.
- Official schools, which can be denominational or non-denominational; the education authorities are provinces or cities: ± 15 % of the pupils
- Flemish Community schools (gemeenschapsonderwijs), multi-denominational and non-selective; the education authority is called ARGO: ± 15 % of the pupils.
A group of inspectors of the Department assesses every school once every few years. The reports are not made public. There are no Central Exams.
Each education authority (Catholic, Protestant, Jewish and Islamic) has its own Advisory and Support Service which revises the curricula, organises in-service training for teachers and supports the schools.
The agreement between religious and humanistic authorities on the one side and the department of education on the other side specifies that the inspectors of religious and moral studies are chosen by the confessional and non -confessional authorities and that they will be added to the official inspector staff. Thereforet they have the right to evaluate the practice of the teacher in function of a long term permission and guarantee.
2. The implementation of the new curriculum
Since the beginning of the new schoolyear in September 2005 the curriculum for Roman Catholic Religion (rooms – katholieke godsdienst) is compulsory in Catholic, Community and Official schools. The curriculum made by a team of teachers, inspectors, lecturers of teacher training colleges and the faculty of religious studies of the Catholic University of Louvain received the bless of the council of bishops of Belgium after four years work. We wrote 9.9.1999.The subject for the diary of the teacher is no longer ‘catechese’ but ‘godsdienst’. This changing of a concept has to do with the diversity of the target groups in the class. ‘Catechese’ is also more linked with the church activities to give more ‘spiritual food’ to the believers. For some children with a Christian tradition the approach can be a surplus to or a support for their personal belief.
3. The framework for religion at school
At the moment there are 3 hours of 50 minutes in primary catholic schools and 2 hours of 50 minutes in community and official schools. Since 2003 the Minister of Education has decided that it is no longer allowed that the regular teacher of the class gives the religion course.Only a person with a special certificate in teaching religion may teach religion. The problem is that the inspection has difficulties to find qualified teachers and that some of them have several schools to realise a full time job. Against this ministerial decision there was no strong protest from the ‘ confessional authorities’ however.
4. The topics of the new curriculum
The new curriculum focuses on communication and participation. The in- service course for teachers promotes new communication media (ICT) and how to use art and story books for children in combination with bibliodrama or philosophy for children.There are three stages in primary education based on key words: security (geborgenheid),
solidarity or connection (verbondenheid) and growing in strength ( groeien in kracht). Even the relationship between the pupils is divided into three steps:
- I – We (first stage 6-8 years): the formation of a class
- I – You ( 2nd stage 8 – 10 years): the short term- relations with friendship and conflicts
- I – They ( 3rd stage 10- 12 years): the long term- relations with attention to the welfare of the Third and Fourth World.
- In every stage they have 10 themes and one or two narrative cycles:
- Jesus ( 1st stage)
- Joseph and Moses ( 2nd stage )
- Elijah and Saint Paul (3rd stage).
In the first stage the teacher initiate the children in the festivals from the catholic tradition with special attention to the stories, the second stage concentrates on the symbols with an extra focus on to the festivals in other traditions and in the third stage the ‘spiritual roots’ of these rituals are highlighted.
More than ever you find the component ‘diversity’ linked with world religion in every textbook. We find not only facts, terms but also relations and in some books the ‘ inside perspective’ ( versus outside perspective) so that people ( and in some cases children) of the own confession introduce the users of the book in their own tradition.
5. The new conditions of using textbooks
Individual school directors and in some cases school communities (sometimes contained more than 10 schools) must implement this curriculum by choosing a textbook for their school or for their region. Three - in the beginning four- publishers brought primary teachers and academic staff together to work out a series of handbooks. At that point there was no intervention of the catholic authorities.The only condition to use a new textbook was that the edition contains a label after an evaluation of two commissions. One commission was responsible for the content conforming the catholic doctrine and the another looked for the validity and the innovation of the methodology.
The reason for the installation of these two commissions was an incident in the middle of the nineties where a politician discovered that in one handbook a series of pictures about the relation of parenthood to the development of sexuality was no longer possible in times of sexual abuse (post –Dutroux period) and she asked the archbishop to take a decision.
The difference between primary and secondary is that teachers allow themselves to make their own course book based on the curriculum, their target group and the local context. This a real challenge!
Religious education (RE) in Austria
In Austria Religious Education is a compulsory subject all public schools except in the vocational schools where it is optional. Parents of children under 14 have the right to opt out of RE but this must happen within the first 10 days of the scholastic year. If pupils are over the age of 14 they can opt themselves out of RE.Legally opting out from RE has to be because of grounds of conscience, but in practise it is evident that there are other reasons for not attending the RE lessons: bad time-tables, lack of interest ... Therefore the number of pupils who attend RE lessons has dropped in the last few years. Pupils without any religious confession have to enroll for RE of at the beginning of the school year.
In the last years the number of children without confession has increased dramatically. Some of these pupils without confession do participate in the protestant RE which results sometimes in the fact that a group or even an extra group has to be formed (there have to be at least 5 pupils, or in cases of hardship 3, for a new group).
By act of law every religious community is treated equally. This means that schools offer (Roman) Catholic RE, Protestant RE and in some schools even Orthodox RE and Islamic RE. The autonomy of schools allowing the independent administration of resources has turned out to be a hurdle for RE.
RE is either replaced by other subjects or treated less favourably because RE depends to a certain extent on the "religious climate" at the schools. Influenced by the high rate of pupils who don´t attend RE any more, in some schools an education pilot scheme called "ethics" has been put into place in order to offer them an alternative.
The advantage of this system is that pupils an decide whether to frequent RE or ethics. On the other hand ethics represents a competition to RE. Due to the high costs of this education scheme, "ethics" is not yet offered in many schools. Since 2003 methodist pupils can take part in the Protestant religion lessons.
Within the last years there has been a movement in the development of schools. The school-system got new impulses – especially from the austerity measures of the government.
On the one hand this has led to a less of RE-lessons and a concentration of more pupils from different classes in RE-lessons.
On the other hand a new curriculum was implemented in primary schools and the respective educational aids for RE teachers have been produced. While the reforms of the primary schools have cnow ended, reforms of the secondary schools are becoming concrete.
Therefore the syllabuses have been worked out together. In 2004 the government has decided on a cut of hours. With this decision the discussion about cutbacks of RE lessons has been riased again among the teachers.
A possible result could be that even more grades and classes could be put together in order to save hours. As an innovation in 2006 is the term of opting out from RE has been abbreviated to five days in the beginning of the scholastic year.
Current developments
One of the big problems of RE is still the opt out rate. This problem exists no longer only for the minority religions, but also for the catholic church. Due to the austerity measures less education pilot schemes called “ethics” were implemented in the provinces.Since 2003 Protestant, Orthodox and Catholic teachers organize their religion lessons on a confessional-cooperative basis “as an experiment” in some schools in Vienna and it proves to be promising. Great efforts are made to expand the orthodox lessons because so far only a small part of the pupils have been reached.
In the new scholastic year the teachers training and in service training is going to be reorganized. Therefore in October 2007 the “Pädagogische Hochschulen” open their gates. They replace the former “Pädagogische Akademie and Pädagogisches Institut”.
Among the “Hochschulen” of the state there are also some that are going to be run by the churches. For the first time in Vienna there will be a consolidated collaboration of Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox and Old-Catholic institutes in the field of teacher training for teachers in compulsory schools and in-service training for teachers of compulsory and secondary schools.
Religious Education in Hungary
Introduction
Government Parliamentary democracyPopulation 10.1 Million
Religious Adherence
Roman Catholic 51.9%
Calvinist 15.9%
Lutheran 3.0%
Greek Catholic 2.6%
Other Christian 1.0%
Other or unspecified 11.1%
Unaffiliated 14.5%
Education
General education is compulsory for all children in primary school from the age of 6. After 1990 three kinds of school systems were introduced in the country: (a) 4 years of elementary school + 8 years of secondary school (Gymnasium); (b) 8 years of elementary school + 4 years of secondary school (Gymnasium); (c) 6 years of elementary school + 6 years of secondary school (Gymnasium).After 8 years of schooling it is also possible to go to vocational training schools. If neither the vocational school, nor the Gymnasium is chosen 2 more classes of school (the 9th and 10th forms) have to be attended, because 10 years of schooling are compulsory for everyone.
The state is responsible for public education.
Legal and historical basis of RE
RE is not an ordinary subject in the Hungarian school system. This situation is deeply rooted in the history of the previous half century.After the takeover of the communist party in 1948 churches were gradually pushed out of the official education. They were forced to give up almost all of their schools. Teachers had to abandon their allegiance to the church. Churches were no longer allowed to employ teachers or religious educators. RE as a part of education at schools (as an ordinary and compulsory subject) was cancelled from the school time tables.
Nevertheless the communist dictatorship in Hungary was never as hard as it was in some other countries related to the former Soviet Union. The so called ‘benign dictatorship’ was undoubtedly due to the 1956 uprising, which claimed many lives and its suppression led to large scale emigration of, mostly, young people, but the communist regime could no longer remain as hard-line as it had been before.
The Hungarian constitution provided the freedom of religion in the socialist era as well. But that freedom remained an empty promise and could never be realized until the political changes.
Despite the constitutional basis for living in a country of freedom and democracy Hungarian people suffered from oppression and a lack of freedom of religion during the socialist regime. In comparison with other countries within the former communist block (e.g. the Baltic States) Hungarian people lived in relative freedom.
As a sign of this relative freedom, RE was never totally banned in Hungary. It was “only” opted out of the school system and became entirely a responsibility of the churches. That nominal freedom was realized in optional RE classes held by the pastors in the schools, but RE constantly had to face sharp counter propaganda and the permanent discouragement of both pupils and parents. This way RE was sentenced to slow extinction, which would surely have happened if political change had not come.
The year 1990 brought the liberty of conscience and freedom of religion to everyone. One of the very first laws adopted by the new, democratically elected parliament was the law of freedom of religion. In the same year a law was passed about the cultural, social and medical activities of the churches. This law guarantees for the churches the right to sustain schools, gives a framework for this function and guarantees the right to religious education.
After a controversial debate in the parliament and throughout the society the Hungarian parliament accepted the law on public education in 1993. This law regulates religious education.
Religious Education in the school system
The Subject and the approach to teaching RE
RE is an optional subject in public schools. Hungary is a secular state. Schools have to be neutral in religious and world views issues. But they have to provide space for religious education. Schools are responsible for providing the formal conditions, classroom and basic equipment for RE. Everything beyond these is the task of the churches. They are responsible for the syllabuses, textbooks, content of teaching, training and employment of teachers, supervision, examinations, announcements, registration etc.RE is taught in a confessional way in public schools. The subject is optional and no alternative is offered. Pupils do not have the choice between religion and, for example, ethics. Studying RE is a matter of choice, pupils decide freely if they want to attend the lessons or not. Although the venue of RE classes is the school, practically they take place either before or after the lessons. No marks are given in RE classes and the subject does not appear in the school report.
Churches may teach RE outside of schools as well. If the number of pupils opting for RE in a class or at a school is too small, parishes can collect pupils and teach RE classes in their own church buildings. This kind of RE is also accepted as official religious education and has the same framework and conditions as if it were in school.
In spite of the fact that only 5% of pupils attend church schools, these schools play an important role in Hungarian education, because they are deeply rooted in Hungarian history. Their secularization after the Second World War was a painful loss for Christian people, and their return to church maintenance had a symbolic significance in the days of the political changes in 1989-90.
Church schools have their own regulation concerning religious education. In those schools RE is an ordinary, compulsory subject with two hours/lessons a week. Its pedagogical approach is confessional.
With the exception of some private schools there is only confessional RE in Hungary. Pedagogical committees of the churches are responsible for the syllabuses, textbooks and the pedagogical programme. Each church formulates the purposes of RE on its own, but those purposes have common guidelines, which are the following:
- To make pupils become acquainted with the Christian tradition, its Biblical, dogmatic and ethical contents and its history and present life in order that they get to know their own cultural roots and environment.
- To help pupils to determine their own life stance
- To enlighten pupils about world religions and other world views/ideologies/philosophies of life in order to learn to live in a multicultural world, to understand people ofother faiths and be able for a dialogue with them.
- To provide access to the spiritual resources of pupils’ own religious community to be able to use them in order to enrich life
- To ensure that pupils get experience in their own religious community to become familiar with its values and to benefit from belonging to a faith / religious community. (This purpose has more importance in the RE classes in parishes.)
Teachers
State universities do not have an RE teachers’ training programme. The training of RE teachers is the responsibility of the theological faculties of universities. It has been carried out in co-operation with teacher training faculties since the beginning of the nineties.Students normally have two majors, one of them is religion. The pedagogical part of the studies has to be completed/done with the other subject at the state university and the theological part at the theological faculty. The RE teacher diploma/degree is conditional on passing the pedagogical exams (and getting a diploma/degree) in the other subject.
Due to the Bologna process teacher training is changing now in Hungary. Training in cooperation will be ended with the start of two level training. The bachelor level of the teacher training programme of the theological faculties was accredited in 2005, and the master level accreditation process is to be completed by the beginning of 2006.
The Bologna process will bring a two-phase training, as a structure of three plus two years. An emphasis will be put on academic studies in the first phase along with some teaching practice. A diploma can be given after completing the bachelor level studies, but it cannot be a teacher diploma. This is only given after completing master level, which contains further academic studies with a strong emphasis on (reflected) teaching experience.
According to the present regulations churches alone have responsibility for the supply of teachers or religious educators. A teacher diploma is only required in church schools. For all the other RE classes churches are free to provide any vocational religious educators of their choice.
This situation is certainly a result of the lack of qualified persons in the days of the political changes. Currently more and more RE teachers are graduates from universities and, as a result, the regulation will change. There is a commitment to complete the change by 2010, but there was no progress at the time of writing towards the new regulation.
Ministers are allowed to teach religion at every school and many of them do so. There is no limit on the number of lessons that they can teach. If this situation continues it could cause tensions within the parish or between pastors and teachers.
Only church schools employ full time teachers of religion. All the other educators – including pastors – are paid a fee per lesson by the state. It is a small amount of money, but it is indispensable for some pastors working for a small congregation.
Public examination
For pupils of church schools religion can be chosen as a subject for examination. Pupils of other schools can do the same, but they have to study religion in a church school as a guest student, before they are allowed to take an examination in religion. This is important for students who want to study theology, as passing such an examination is an entry requirement for the course.Current developments and challenges
- What has been achieved in the last 15 years should be mentioned as a development. In 1990 RE in Hungary started from a very poor state, which could be characterized by a lack of curriculum, textbooks, teachers, pedagogical experiences, experts, books etc. Having started from that position people involved in RE somehow have come a long way, but more needs to be done.
- There needs to be curriculum review in the foreseeable future. In particular the aims and approaches within the subject should be checked in order to ensure that they meet the contextual requirements. The present curriculum has a strong emphasis on the basic knowledge of the Christian tradition. Without reducing this knowledge there is a need for extension toward world religions and the development of pupils’ abilities to participate in dialogue with people of other faiths and worldviews.
- RE classes in parishes should have equal rights and importance. More attention should be devoted to the work going on there, especially in two fields: syllabuses and materials on the one hand, and initial training, further training and various courses for religious educators on the other hand.
- RE should be more and more ecumenical in terms of practical co-operation and in pedagogical and theological approaches as well. Significant progress in the field of RE is unimaginable without deep and intensive ecumenical cooperation of all participants of RE.
- After controversial public and parliamentary debates at the beginning of the nineties RE became an optional subject. This position has many disadvantages, despite the efforts of teachers, RE remains separated from other subjects. It can reach mostly pupils of engaged Christian families but it is almost impossible to reach out to wider strata of the society. Currently churches take all the responsibility for RE as a co-sponsorship with the state is impossible. In this situation RE is seems to be an internal matter of churches instead of being a part of schooling and a factor of culture. It has been a permanent challenge for churches and experts involved in RE to make efforts toward an extension of RE to all the schools and make steps toward transforming it into a compulsory subject with an alternative of ethics.
USKONNONOPETUS
EUROOPAN KOULUOPETUKSESSA 1994
Suomi Ruotsi Norja Tanska Islanti Saksa Itävalta Hollanti Belgia Ranska
Englanti ja Wales Skotlanti Italia Kreikka MuutTiedot pohjautuvat Intereuropean Commission on Church and School (ICCS) järjestön 1992 toimittamaan julkaisuun RE in Europe ja joidenkin kirkkojen edustajilta syksyllä -94 saatuihin tarkennettuihin tietoihin.
RUOTSI
Pakollisen ja vapaaehtoisen koulutuksen arvopohjana ja tehtävänä on mm."I överensstämmelse med den etik som förvaltats av kristen tradition och västerlänsk humanism sker detta genom individens fostran till rättskänsla, generositet, tolerans och ansvarstagande." (voimaan 1995)
Peruskoulun uskontotiedon opetussuunnitelman (voimaan 1995) mukaan aineen tavoitteena on, että oppilas
- kehittää ja syventää tietojaan uskonnollisista, eettisistä ja eksistentiaalisista kysymyksistä omista lähtökohdistaan käsin
- syventää tietojaan kristinuskosta ja muista suurista maailmanuskonnoista... sekä ei-uskontoisista katsomuksista
- ymmärtää, miten Raamattu ja kristillinen usko on vaikuttanut ruotsalaiseen yhteiskuntaan
- syvenee ymmärryksessään ja kunnioituksessaan muitten ihmisten uskonnollisia ja eettisiä lähtökohtia kohtaan
- tajuaa perustavien eettisten periaatteiden arvon
Uskonnonopetus on ns. objektiivista uskontotietoa (religionskundskap). Peruskoulussa uskontotieto kuuluu osana ns. yhteiskuntaan orientoiviin aineisiin. Tälle ainealueelle on varattu 885 tuntia. Oppitunnin laskennallinen pituus on 60 minuuttia.
Tämä 885 tuntia jaetaan maantiedon, historian, uskontotiedon ja yhteiskuntaopin kesken. 410 tunnin osalta koulu tekee oppituntivalinnat ja silloin mikäli koulu tahtoo, voidaan ottaa enemmän aikaa yhteiskunnallisia aineita varten. 470 tuntia jää oppilaan valittavaksi olemassa olevista aineista. 5 tunnin käytöstä ei ole tietoa.
Ruotsin ns. lukiokoulussa, joka sisältää niin ammatillisia kuin yleissivistäviä linjoja, opetetaan yleisimmin kolmen vuoden aikana 30 tuntia uskontotietoa. Tämä koskee kaikkia opinto-ohjelmia.
Tämän lisäksi oppilas voi valita syventäviä kursseja valinnaisena. Yhteiskuntatieteellisen opintolinjan valinneilla on pakollisena 60 tuntia uskontotietoa. Myös lukiokoulussa (gymnasieskolan) oppitunnin laskennallinen pituus on 60 minuuttia.
Peruskoulussa uskontotietoa opettavat koulutetut peruskoulun opettajat, jotka ovat erikoistuneet yhteiskuntaorientuneisiin aineisiin. Lukiokoulun opettajat ovat saaneet opettajakoulutuksen ainekoulutuksen.
NORJA
Koululaki 1969 mukaan peruskoulun (grunnskole) eräs tehtävä on antaa oppilaalle kristillistä ja moraalista kasvatusta yhteistyössä kotien kanssa ja sen tulee eristää älyllistä vapautta ja suvaitsevaisuutta.Kirkko- ja kasvatusministeriön päättämässä kansallisessa opetussuunnitelmassa on mainittu uskonto pakollisena oppiaineena.
Opetussuunnitelmassa on todettu, että "oppilaiden tulee saada tietää raamatullisten kertomusten pääsisällöt, tärkeimmät tapahtumat kirkon historiassa ja kristillisen opin perusteet erityisesti ev.lut. tradition mukaan". Eli opetus on tunnustuksellista.
Opetusta muista uskonnosta ja katsomuksista annetaan pääasiallisesti kansalaistiedollisissa aineissa.
Oppilailla, joiden vanhemmat eivät kuulu Norjan ev.lut. kirkkoon, on vanhempien vaatimuksesta oikeus osittain tai kokonaan vapautua uskonnonopetuksesta (n. 4,5 % tällä hetkellä)
Mikäli mahdollista niille oppilaille, jotka on vapautettu uskonnonopetuksesta, tulee tarjota moraalikasvatusta ja tietoja muista uskonnoista.
Uskonnonopettajan täytyy opettaa evankelis-luterilaisen tunnustuksen mukaan. Opettajat, jotka eivät ole Norjan Kirkon jäseniä, eivät voi opettaa tunnustuksellista uskontoa.
Koululaeista on löydettävissä säädös, jonka mukaan Norjan Kirkolla on oikeus vaikuttaa uskonnonopetukseen peruskoulussa. Piispan nimittämällä edustajalla on oikeus olla läsnä paikallisten kouluviranomaisten kokouksissa ja viranomaisten on kuultava hänen mielipiteitään.
Kaikilla luokka-asteilla on kaksi tuntia uskontoa. Lukiossa opetus on tunnustuksetonta.
Norjassa on meneillään uuden kansallisen opetussuunnitelman teko. Myös uskonnonopetus on tässä prosessissa mukana. Viime keväänä asiaa varten asetettu valiokunta suositteli, että peruskoulussa muodostetaan avoin oppiaine nimeltä kristinusko (kristendomsfag), joka lähtökohdiltaan voisi olla yhteinen kaikille oppilaille.
Aineen on kristinuskon ainesten lisäksi sisällettävä opetusaineksia toisista uskonnoista, joita voimassa olevissa ainesuunnitelmissa sisältyvät yhteiskunta- ja ympäristöaineiden yhteyteen. Filosofiaa ja etiikkaa on painotettava enemmän nuorisoasteella kuin nyt M-87 ainesuunnitelmassa tehdään. Ylläolevasta johtuen tuntimäärää on lisättävä.
Laajemmalla kristinuskon oppiaineella on oltava perustansa evankelis-luterilaisessa opissa, koska oppilaat kohtaavat kristinuskon juuri tässä muodossa tämänpäivän norjalaisessa yhteiskunnassa.
Jatko-opintojen osalta valiokunta suosittelee, että uskonto oppiaineena edelleen olisi yleisesti orientoiva aine. Aineen on oltava yhteinen kaikille oppilaille ja määräykset vapautuksen mahdollisuuksista suositellaan kumottavaksi. Valiokunta käsitys on, että uskontoa on oltava jokaisessa opintosuunnassa.
Valiokunnan suosituksista on laajempi esitys Kristillinen Kasvatus-lehden 6/95 numerossa.
TANSKA
Peruskoulussa (1-9lk) uskonto (kristendomskundskab) on pakollinen oppiaine. Vuodelta 1975 peräisin olevan koululainsäädännön mukaan uskontoa opetetaan yksi tunti (45 min) 1-3., 5., 7. tai 8. ja 9., ja kaksi tuntia 4. ja 6. eli 10 vuosiviikkotuntia (1 vuosiviikkotunti 38 oppituntia).Paikalliset kouluviranomaiset voivat lisätä myös opetusohjelmaan aineen nimeltä "Fremmede religioner og andre livsanskuelser". Aine ei kuitenkaan voi korvata muita aineita.
Uskonnonopetuksen tavoitteena on "Kristendomundervisningens centrale kundskabområde er den danske folkekirkes evangelisk-lutherske kristendom".
Oppilaat, jotka eivät kuulu evankelis-luterilaiseen kirkkoon, voivat saada kristinuskontiedosta vapautuksen, jos vanhemmat lupaavat hoitaa uskonnonopetuksen muulla tavoin. Toteutumista ei kontrolloida.
Perustuslakiin sisältyvän yleisen uskonnonvapauden pohjalta myös kirkkoon kuuluvilla on oikeus saada vapautus uskonnonopetuksesta. Tätä oikutta käytetään runsaasti suuremmissa kaupungeissa ja erityisesti 8. ja 9. luokkalaiset ovat innokkaita vapautumaan uskonnonopetuksesta. Tämä on johtanut siihen, että joissakin kouluissa ei käytännössä ole uskonnonopetusta lainkaan, vaikka oppilaista suurin osa on kansankirkon jäseniä.
Uskonnosta voi saada vapautuksen, mutta ei muiden uskontojen ja elämänkatsomusten opetuksesta, jos sellainen on koulussa järjestetty.
Opettaja voivat opettaa uskontoa riippumatta heidän omasta uskonnollisesta järjestäytymisestään. Opettajan muodollinen pätevyys riittää.
Lukiota vastaavassa koulutuksessa viimeisellä luokalla on pakollisena 3 tuntia viikossa uskonnonopetusta. Se on tunnustuksetonta uskontokunnista riippumatonta opetusta koskien maailman uskontoja, kristinuskoa, filosofiaa ja etiikkaa.
Useimmilla uskonnon aineopettajalla on yliopistossa suoritettu tutkinto aineessa.
Paikalliset opetusviranomaiset laativat koulujen opetussuunnitelmat opetusministeriön ohjeiden mukaan. Lukion opetussuunnitelmasta päättää opetusministeriö.
Uusinta uutta Tanskassa on, että siellä julkaistiin vuosi sitten raportti uskonnonopetuksen laadullisesta kehittämisestä tanskalaisessa koulujärjestelmässä.
Johtopäätöksissä se päätyy suosittelemaan uskonnonopetuksesta vapautumisen oikeuden poistamista kansankirkkoon kuuluvilta oppilailta, kehittyneempien opettajakoulutusohjelmien laatimista yhteistyössä yliopistojen kanssa ja kansainvälisten kontaktien lisäämistä uskonnonopetukseen liittyvissä kysymyksissä. Tiedossani ei ole, onko raportin suositukset saaneet vastakaikua.
ISLANTI
Vuoden 1974 peruskoululain tavoitepykälässä on sanottu, että "koulun tulee antaa tietoa kristinuskosta, opettaa etiikkaa ja esitellä muita pääuskontoja".Vuoden 1976 lukusuunnitelmassa uskonnonopetus kävi läpi totaalisen muutoksen. Siinä vähennettiin yksipuolista raamatunhistorian opetusta ja lisättiin uskonopin ja etiikan osuutta sekä painotettiin informaatiota kirkon elämästä paikallisella ja globaalisella tasolla.
Vaikka opetus on 1926 lähtien ollut tunnustuksetonta, suunnitelma painotti evankelis-luterilaisen uskontulkinnan merkitystä yhdessä muiden kristillisten tulkintojen kanssa. Vuonna 1988 suunnitelmaa uudistettiin muodollisesti, mutta siihen ei tehty sisällöllisiä muutoksia.
Islannissa uskonnonopetuksen asema on muodollisesti kunnossa mutta ei käytännössä. Uskonto on ollut jo pitkään alamäessä kouluissa. On katsottu, että uusi koululaki ja lukusuunnitelma ovat kiihdyttäneet tätä kehitystä.
Uskonnonopetukseen suhtaudutaan välinpitämättömästi ja monissa kouluissa ei lukujärjestyksessä ole uskontoa ollenkaan. Asiassa ei ole saatu apua kouluviranomaisista. Oppilaiden vanhemmat eivät välitä. Ei ole myöskään kyetty organisoimaan uskonnonopettajia ajamaan asiaa. Sigurqur Palsson, jonka artikkeliin vuodelta 1989 ylläolevat tiedot perustuvat, toteaa lopuksi, että Islannissa lähestytään aikoja, jolloin kirkon täytyy ottaa jälleen päävastuu uskonnonopetuksesta omilla ehdoillaan ja lopettaa aine koulussa.
SAKSA
Koulujen uskonnonopetuksen asema on määritelty liittotasavallan perustuslaissa sekä liittotasavallan asetuksissa ja koululaeissa. Uskonto on varsinainen koulun oppiaine (ordinary school subjekt) ja sitä opetetaan roomalaiskatolisen kirkon hiippakuntien tai vastaavasti paikallisten protestanttisten kirkkojen (luterilaiset, reformoidut tai unioidut maakirkot) opin mukaan.Tästä seuraa, että peruskouluissa, lukioissa ja ammatillisissa kouluissa opetetaan pakollisena aineena uskontoa sekä katolisen että protestanttisen uskontokunnan mukaan.
Uskonnon aineopettajilla on yliopistollinen tutkinto ja kunta tai valtio maksaa palkan.
Oppilailla on oikeus vapautua uskonnonopetuksesta 14 vuotiaana. Kirjallisen vaatimuksen voivat esittää vanhemmat alle 14 vuotiaiden puolesta tai kirkot, joihin oppilaat kuuluvat. Opettajien on noudatettava virallisesti hyväksyttyjä uskonnon opetussuunnitelmia, mutta heillä on toisaalta oikeus kieltäytyä opettamasta uskontoa.
Vapaakirkkoja varten ei ole omaa lainsäädäntöä. Niiden jäsenet tavallisesti luokitellaan paikallisen protestanttisen maakirkon jäseniksi.
Valtion viranomaiset valvovat, että koulun kasvatus toteutuu määräysten mukaan. Yksityiskoulut tarvitsevat asianomaisten viranomaisten luvan ja niiden opetussuunnitelmien tulee olla yleisen koulun standardien mukaiset. Useimmat yksityiskoulut ovat joko katolisia tai protestanttisia.
Osavaltioiden (Bundesländer) opetusministeriöt hyväksyvät kaikki opetussuunnitelmat, myös uskonnon. Uskonnon osalta opetussuunnitelma tarvitsee myös kyseiseltä kirkolta muodollisen hyväksynnän ja kirkko antaa vokaation uskonnonopettajalle koululaitoksen virkaan.
Uskonnon oppikirjat tarvitsevat viranomaisten luvan ja kirkon hyväksynnän. Niiden tulee vastata viralliia opetussuunnitelmia vähintään 75 prosenttisesti.
Uskonnonopetuksen sisältö niin katolisessa kuin protestanttisessa opetuksessa on: Raamatun tekstejä, elämänkysymyksiä, etiikkaa, kirkon historiaa ja maailman uskontoja erityisesti tulee huomioida juutalaisuus ja islam. Useimmissa osavaltioissa uskontoa on kaksi tuntia viikossa joka asteella.
Saksojen yhdistymisen jälkeen viidessä uudessa osavaltiossa on käynnistynyt kasvatusjärjestelmien yhdenmukaistaminen liittotasavallan lakien mukaiseksi.
Tämä koskee myös uskonnonopetusta. Tehtävä on vaikea ja ottaa aikaa, koska näissä osavaltioissa arviolta 40 % oppilaista eivät ole minkään kirkon jäseniä.
Esim. Brandenburgin osavaltio on ehdottanut muodostettavaksi tunnustuksettoman kaikille oppilaille tarkoitetun oppiaineen, joka koostuu aineksista "Lebensgestaltung, Ethik, Religion".
Liittotasavallan juristit ovat kritisoineet ehdotusta ja myös katoliset ja protestanttiset kirkot ovat vastustaneen yhden osavaltion poikkeamaa.
ENGLANTI JA WALES
Aiemmin uskonnonopetus koostui varsinaisesta uskonnonopetuksesta ja yhteisestä koulujumalanpalveluksesta. Koululakien uudistuksen yhteydessä 1988 uskonnonopetus (RE) muutettiin tarkoittamaan vain opetussuunnitelmaan merkittyjä uskonnon tunteja ja koulujumalanpalveluksella on nykyään oma uskontotunneista erotettu tehtävänsä.Uskonnonopetus on siinä mielessä pakollista, että jokaisen ns. valtion koulun yleiseen opetussuunnitelmaan tulee sisältyä uskonnonopetus.
Paikallisilla kasvatusviranomasilla (local education authority, LEA) on vastuu laatia ja hyväksyä uskonnon opetussuunnitelma, jonka mukaista opetusta tulee antaa jokaisessa alueen koulussa paitsi niissä, joissa on jokin uskonnollinen säätiö takana.
Jos LEA haluaa muutoksia uskonnon opetussuunnitelmaan tai kokonaan uuden sen tulee kutsua koolle paikallisen komitean, jossa on jäseniä muista uskontokunnista, valtakirkosta (Church of England), opettajajäseniä ja edustajia LEA:sta.
Päätöksissään komitean tulee olla yksimielinen. LEA päättää paikallisen tietämyksn pohjalta varsinaisesta opettavasta aineksesta, mutta opetussuunnitelman tulee lain mukaan " heijastella sitä tosiasiaa, että Isossa Britanniassa uskonnollinen traditio on pääasiallisesti kristillistä ja tämä tulee ottaa huomioon opetettaessa muita Isossa Britanniassa esiintyviä pääuskontoja".
Lain mukaan LEA:n on asetettava myös paikallinen pysyvä ohjantaneuvosto (Standing Advisory Council for RE , SACRE). Sen tehtävä on tukea uskonnon opettajia ja pyrkiä kehittämään yhä parempaa jatkokoulutusta.
Vuonna 1991 kasvatuksen ja tieteen osasto määritteli seuraavasti oman käsityksensä uskonnonopetuksen opetussuunnitelmasta ja sisällöstä:
- ei uskontokuntasidonnaista
- ei tule pakottaa oppilaita omaksumaan jotain pakal- lista uskontoa tai uskonnollisia näkemyksiä
- tulee perustua kristillisyydelle ja muille pääus- konnoille
- ei tule rajautua pelkästään informaatioon uskon- noista ja niiden elämästä ja ajattelusta, vaan tulle laajentaa opetusta jokapäiväisen elämän moraalisiin kysymyksiin
- tulee ottaa huomioon kansallinen ja paikallinen tilanne sisältöjä määriteltäessä
Opettajat voivat valita vapaasti käyttämänsä oppikirjat ja muun materiaalin.
Periaatteessa yläasteelta lähtien uskontoa opettavat siihen koulutetut opettajat. Kuitenkin todellisuudessa opetusta antavat 60 prosenttisesti opettajat, joilla ei ole muodollista pätevyyttä.
Uskonnon opetuksen tuntimäärät vaihtelevat. Laki vaatii yhden periodin viikossa, mutta ei määrittele periodin pituutta. Monet koulut eivät tunne koko lakia. Opetussuunnitelman perusteista vastaavien viranomaisten suositus on
5 - 7 vuotiaille 36 tuntia vuodessa
7 - 11 " 44 "
11 - 16 " 40 "
Tämä on n. 5 % kokonaistyöajasta.
SKOTLANTI
1980 koululain mukaan kaikissa kouluissa tulee olla uskonnonopetusta. Vanhemmilla on oikeus ottaa lapsensa pois opetuksesta. Uskonnonopetusta kuten muutakin opetusta valvoo valtion viranomaiset. Kuitenkin kirkolle on jäänyt joitakin etuoikeuksia uskonnonopetuksen järjestämisessä.5 - 11 vuotiaiden opetuksessa suositellaan käytettä- väksi 10 % työajasta uskonto-ja moraaliopetukseen kerran viikossa. 12 - 16 vuotiaiden opetukseen suositus on vastaavasti 5 %. Yleinen ohje tällä asteella on kaksi 40 minuutin jaksoa 40 viikon jaksossa, mutta se on käytössä vain harvoissa kouluissa. Useimmat tyytyvät yhteen 40 minuutin jaksoon. Uskontokuntasidonnaisissa kouluissa on vastaavasti suositusta enemmän tunteja käytettäväksi uskonnon opetukseen.
Opetuksen tulle laajasti liittyä koulussa annettavaan moraaliseen ja sosiaaliseen kasvatukseen. Tarkoitus ei ole edistää vain yhtä uskontoa, vaan on paikallisesti kiinnitettävä huomiota paikkakunnalla vaikuttavien uskontokuntien perinteisiin. Poikkeuksen tekevät täysin valtion ylläpitämät katoliset koulut ja yksi juutalainen ala-asteen koulu.
Esiopetusta ja ala-astetta vastaavissa kouluissa odotetaan, että kaikki opettaja opettavat uskontoa. Ne opettajat, jotka eivät halua opettaa uskontoa, pyrkivät vaihtamaan tunteja muiden opettajien kanssa. Ongelmana on, että eräissä kouluissa opetus tietoisesti lyödään laimin.
Yläastetta vastaavissa kouluissa on yleinen uskon- nonopetus, jota opettavat siihen koulutuksensa saaneet aineenopettajat.
Vanhempien vaatimuksesta oppilaat voidaan vapauttaa uskonnonopetuksesta.
Erilaisten kasvatusviranomaisten vastuulla on tuottaa ja suositella opetussuunnitelmiin liittyvää materiaalia. Näiden toivotaan olevan yhteyksissä neuvoa antavan opetussuunnitelmakomitean ja sen uskonnonopetusosaston kanssa.
Myös Skotlannissa keskustelu käy aika ajoin kuumana uskonnonopetuksen tavoitteista ja sisällöistä. Yleisesti kuitenkin enemmistö haluaa uskonnonopetuksen säilyvän kouluissa, vaikka se ei annakaan kovin aktiivista tukea.
HOLLANTI
Perustuslain mukaan kansalaiset voivat hankkia va- paasti koulutuksen. Tästä seuraa, että yksityisestä aloitteesta yhteisöt ja säätiöt voivat perustaa yksi- tyiskouluja. Tämän lisäksi on valtion ylläpitämiä yleisiä kouluja. Yksityiskouluista noin kolmanneksella on reformoitu tausta, kolmanneksella katolinen ja lopuilla yleisen koulun status. Koulutuksen kriteerit ovat samat kaikille.Tiukasta valtion ja kirkon erottamisesta johtuu, että yleisissä kouluissa ei ole uskonnon opetusta. Yksi- tyiskoulut ovat vapaat järjestämään uskonnon opetusta oman näkemyksensä mukaan. Tästä syystä Hollannissa ei ole mitään yhtenäistä kansallista uskonnon opetussuunnitelmaa. Katolisissa kouluissa on katolista opetusta, protestanttisissa protestanttista. Ongelmia syntyy muihin uskontokuntiin kuuluvien tai uskonnot- tomien kanssa, koska ne eivät välttämättä valitse valtion kouluja.
Uskonnon oppikirjojen osalta vallitsee vapaat mark- kinat. Ei valtio eikä uskonnolliset yhteisöt hyväksy oppikirjoja.
Yksityisissä esi -ja ala-asteen kouluissa (primary schools) uskonnonopetus on integroitu koulun elämään ja sitä antaa oman ryhmän opettaja. Uskontoon voidaan käyttää korkeintaan kolme tuntia viikossa.
Valtion kouluissa vastaavasti uskontokunnilla on kuitenkin oikeus vaatia pidettäväksi muutamia oppitunteja opetusohjelmaan kuuluvina niille, joiden vanhemmat sitä haluavat. Opettajat ovat uskontokuntien palkkalistoilla, mutta saavat avustusta usein myös paikallishallinnolta.
Vuodesta 1986 lähtien kaikissa ala-asteen kouluissa on opetettu ainetta nimeltä "henkiset virtaukset". Sen tehtävä on antaa objektiivista informaatiota erilaisista uskonnoista ja sekulaareista elämänkatsomuksista, jotta oppilaat saisivat valmiuksia kohdata monikulttuurinen yhteiskunta. Aineen suhde uskonnonopetuksen on jatkuvan keskustelun aihe.
Yläasteella ja lukiossa olosuhteet ovat toiset. Val- tion kouluissa ei ole tarjolla minkäänlaista uskon- nonopetusta.
Yksityiskouluissa uskonnonopetusta antavat aineopettajat ja uskonto kuuluu opetusohjelmaan. Oppilailla on hyvin erilainen uskonnollinen ja sosiaalinen tausta ja tämä tulee uskonnonopetuksessa ottaa huomioon. Yhteys uskontokuntiin yleensä puuttuu ja myös yhteys vanhempiin on etäinen. Kehitys uskonnonopetuksessa on menossa siihen suuntaan, että se on avointa, ei uskontokuntasidonnaista, tunnustuksetonta.
Kuitenkin joillakin kouluilla on edelleen vahva kris- tillinen identiteetti. Ne valitsevat tarkasti opetta- jansa ja myös oppilaansa kristillisyyden perusteella.
Oppitunteja koulut voivat käyttää uskontoon oman näkemyksensä mukaan. Suunta on vähenevä. Yleisin määrä on kaksi tuntia viikossa.
Koska ei ole olemassa valtakunnallista opetussuunnitelmaa, koulut ovat varsin vapaita omien opetusohjelmiensa laatimisessa. Katolisille kouluille piispat ovat antaneet yleiset suuntaviivat, mutta protestanttiset koulut ovat täydellisen autonomisia. Monia uusia opetussuunnitelmia ja metodeja on viime vuosina kehitetty uskonnonopetusta varten, mutta kouluista riippuu, ottavatko ne niitä käyttöön.
BELGIA
Belgian kouluverkko muodostuu valtion kouluista ja riippumattomista yksityiskouluista.Vuoden 1958 koulualain mukaan koulujen tulee järjestää pakollista katolista, protestanttista ja juutalaista uskonnonopetusta valtion viranomaisten valvonnassa ja yksi humanismin kurssi, mikäli vanhemmat sitä tahtovat.
Perustuslain mukaan valtion koulujen tulee tarjota mahdollisuus uskontojen ja tunnustuksettoman etiikan opiskeluun.
Viranomaiset vastaavat uskonnonopetuksen järjestämisestä, mutta protestanttiset opettajat nimittää yhtyneitten protestanttisten kirkkojen synodin presidentti. Kirkko vastaa myös opetettavien kurssien sisällöistä ja opettajien koulutuksesta.
ITÄVALTA
Laki uskonnonopetuksesta takaa kaikille uskonnoille uskonnonopetuksen koulussa. Se on pakollista kaikille uskontokuntiin kuuluville niin valtion kouluissa kuin myös yksityisissä kouluissa. Joidenkin maakuntien ammatilliset koulut ovat vapautetut tämän lain noudattamisesta. Näissä oppilaat voivat ottaa uskonnon valinnaisena.Koska uskonto on pakollinen aine, oppilaiden on osallistuttava myös uskonnossa saavutus testeihin, jotka ovat edellytyksenä siirtymisessä seuraavalle luokalle.
Kirkkokuntien viranomaiset ovat vastuussa opetussuunnitelmista ja valtio hyväksyy ne. Siten niillä on sitova lain luonne. Samoin tapahtuu oppikirjojen ja opetuksen valvonta.
Uskonnonopettajat ovat sidottuja opillisesti siihen uskontoon, jota he opettavat. Jos eivät ole, heidät voidaan erottaa. Uskontokunnat nimittävät kaikki uskonnonopettajat. Esim. protestanttisen uskonnon opettajien on allekirjoitettava seuraavanlainen sitoumus:" Tahdon opettaa Raamatun ja kirkkoni tunnustuksen mukaan. Tahdon kunnioittaa kirkkoni lakeja ja osallistua sen elämään".
Vähemmistöuskontokuntia koskee seuraavanlainen säännöstö: Tarvitaan vähintään kymmenen samaan uskontokuntaan kuluvaa oppilasta, jotta saadaan heille kaksi tuntia uskonnonopetusta viikossa. Vähintään kolmelle oppilaalle annetaan yksi tunti viikossa. Mahdollisuus on myös koota oppilaita eri luokilta ja eri kouluista, jotta ehdot täyttyisivät. Tällöin myös opettajien palkat maksaa valtio. Jos opettaja haluaa opettaa vähintään kahdelle oppilaalle, hän saa taloudellista tukea oppilaiden uskontokunnalta.
Uskonnonvapausperiaatteen mukaan vanhemmilla on oikeus ottaa lapsensa pois uskonnonopetuksesta, vaikka olisikin uskontokunnan jäsen. Neljätoistavuotta täytettyään oppilaalla on oikeus itsenäisesti erota opetuksesta.
Oppilaat, jotka eivät kuulu mihinkään uskontokuntaan, voivat vapaaehtoisesti valita sellaisen uskonnonopetuksen kuin he haluavat. Valinnan jälkeen heillä on samat oikeudet ja velvollisuudet kuin muillakin oppilailla.
RANSKA
Nykyään Ranskassa on uskonnonopetuksen osalta kahdenlaisia järjestelyjä. 1905 lähtien, kun valtio ja kirkko erotettiin toisistaan, valtion kouluissa ei ollut uskonnonopetusta. 11 - 16 vuotiaille kirkolla on mahdollisuus pitää yllä koulupappijärjestelmää, mutta sen toteutuminen on useimmiten optionaalista.1905 laki ei koske Elsassin ja Moselin maakuntia, koska ne säädettäessä kuuluivat Saksaan. Niissä noudatetaan edelleen 1800-luvun säädöksiä Kaksi "ranskalaista" lakia kuitenkin vaikuttaa kirkon ja koulun asemaan. Ne takaavat, että vanhemmat voivat kieltää lapsiaan osallistumasta uskontotunneille.
Opetus Elsassissa ja Moselissa
6 - 11 vuotiaisen asteella on uskontoa yksi tunti viikossa liitettynä normaaliin opetussuunnitelmaan. Vanhempien pyynnöstä on mahdollisuus yhteen lisätuntiin viikossa.
Uskontoa opettaa vapaaehtoiset luokanopettajat tai papit tai uskonnonopetuskomission nimittämä aineopettaja (katekeetta)
11 - 16 vuotiaiden asteella uskonnonopetuksen asema on epäselvä. Monenlaiset lait ja säännökset vaikeuttavan opetuksen toteuttamista. Saksan aikaisten lakien mukaan se osa opetussuunnitelmaa, jota aineopettajat opettavat, Ranskan lakien mukaan ei ja uskontoa opettavat enemmän kirkkoon sitoutuneet "katekeetat". Sama tilanne on myös 16 - 18 vuotiaiden osalta.
1958 uskonnonopetus tuli osaksi opetussuunnitelmaa myös ammatillisissa oppilaitoksissa. Niissä sovelletaan samoja säädöksiä kuin 11 - 16 vuotiaiden opetuksessa.
ITALIA
Valtiovalta on määrännyt, että Italian yleisissä kouluissa uskonnonopetus on katolista. Sen tehtävä on tukea koulua ja kirkkoa katolisen uskon juurruttamisessa oppilaisiin. Ainetta voivat opettaa kuurian nimittämät opettajat, maallikot tai papisto.Valtion ja pyhän istuimen välisissä neuvotteluissa ja sopimuksessa on päätetty, että ainoastaan katolista uskoa tulee opettaa Italian kouluissa, koska hallitus tunnustaa sen, että katolisuus edustaa maan perustavanlaatuista uskonnollista kulttuuria.
1991 parlamentissa käytiin kiivas keskustelu uskononopetuksesta. Sen seurauksena opetus on määritelty vapaaehtoiseksi aineeksi ilman pakollista vaihtoehtoa.
Opetusta annettaan 3 - 6 vuotiaille 2 tuntia viikossa, 6 -11 vuotiaille (ala-aste) 2 tuntia viikossa, 11 - 14 vuotiaille (yläaste) 1 tunti viikossa ja 14 - 19 vuotiaille (lukiotaso) 1 tunti viikossa.
Jokaisen uuden kouluasteen alussa oppilas (vanhemmat, jos oppilas on alle 13 vuotias) ilmoittaa, haluaako hän osallistua uskonnonopetukseen vai ei. Jos hän ei halua osallistua, hänen tulee osallistua pakolliseen yhteiskunta-ja ihmisoikeusopetukseen.
Käytännössä kuitenkin ne oppilaat, jotka eivät halua osallistua katoliseen opetukseen, painostetaan lähtemään koulusta. N. 95 % oppilaista valitsee uskonnon. Protestantit, juutalaiset ja uskonnottomat ovat voimakkaasti protestoineet sitä säännöstä vastaan, että uskonnonopetuksen sisältö on pelkästään katolista. He ovat kiinnittäneet huomiota siihen, että vaikka hallitus puhuu moniuskontoisesta kulttuurista, käytännössä katolinen kirkko kontrolloi täysin opetusta. Esim. protestanttisilla oppilailla on mahdollisuus saada omaa opetusta vain omissa seurakunnissaan.
Kuuria hyväksyy kaiken opettajille ja oppilaille tarkoitetun materiaalin. Uuden opetussuunnitelman mukaan uskonnonopetuksen tavoitteena on:
- valottaa katolisen uskon perustavat opinkappaleet ja arvot
- laajentaa tietämystä kirkon elämästä, historiasta ja traditiosta
- antaa perustuvat tiedot ei-kristillisistä uskon- noista
- antaa vastauksia suuriin kysymyksiin koskien elämän tarkoitusta ja tavoitteita
KREIKKA
Ortodoksinen kristillisyys on syvästi vaikuttanut Keikan uskontokasvatukseen. Vaikka maallistuminen on edennyt myös Kreikassa ortodoksinen uskonnonopetus on säilyttänyt paikkansa pakollisena aineena kaikilla koulutasoilla. Ainetta opettavat luokanopettajat ja teologisista tiedekunnista valmistuneet uskonnonopettajat.Turkin pitkäaikaisen miehityksen johdosta Kreikassa joka asteella muslimikouluja, joissa on yleisesti tunnustettu islamilainen opetus. Aineen kehittämisesä vastaavat maan islamilaisen yhteisön edustajat.
Vanhastaan ortodoksisen opetuksen sisältö on muodostunut liturgisesta kasvatuksesta, ortodoksisesta opista, kirkon historiasta ja kirkon kreikkalaisten isien Raamatun tulkinnoista. Nykyään viranomaiset ovat lisänneet opetussuunnitelmiin myös aineksia elämän kysymyksistä ja yksilö-ja yhteiskuntaetiikan pääkohtia. Nämä uudet ainekset ovat kuitenkin huonosti integroituneet opetukseen, koska ne koetaan uhkana kirkon viralliselle opille. Tämän seurauksena sekularisoituneiden nuorten uskonnonopetus ei ole helppo tehtävä.
Muiden uskontojen opetus on sisällytetty kyllä opeussuunnitelmiin ja oppikirjoihin, mutta opetus taahtuu kirkon näkökulmasta, ei näiden uskontojen omasta itsetulkinnasta.
1985 lähtien laki on taannut myös vähemmistöjen uskonnonopetuksen, mutta käytännön toteutus on yhä auki. Ainoastaan muslimioppilaisen tilanne on järjestyksessä.
Uskonnonopetusta koulussa ei koskaan ole mainittu Kreikan perustuslaissa, vaan sitä on pidetty itsestään selvyytenä. Nykyinen laki toteaa, että " kreikkalaisen kasvatuksen tavoite on kreikkalaisten moraalinen, mielenterveydellinen, ammatillinen ja fyysinen kasvatus, kansallisen ja uskonnollisen tietoisuuden kehittäminen kuten myös vapaitten ja vastuuntuntoisten kansalaisten kasvattaminen". Samaisessa laissa taataan myös uskonnonvapaus.
MUUT EUROOPAN VALTIOT
Muista Euroopan maiden uskonnonopetuksesta kirjoittajalla on hallussaan vain hajanaista tietoa ja sekin muuttuu entisen Neuvostoliiton romahtamisen jälkeen itsenäistyneiden valtioiden osalta nopeasti. Ehkä muutaman vuoden päästä tilanne on toinen.
Lesboja yritetään "parantaa" raiskauksin Etelä-Afrikassa
14.03.2009 13:45Etelä-Afrikka
MTV3 - Jussi Sippola
Lesbot joutuvat elämään raiskauksien pelossa Etelä-Afrikassa. Ihmisoikeusjärjestöt ovat raportoineet, että paikalliset miehet yrittävät tehdä naisista heteroseksuaaleja raiskaamalla heitä.
Etelä-Afrikan ihmisoikeuskomission ja kansainvälisen ActionAid -järjestön mukaan valtio ei ole tunnustanut rikoksia eikä rankaissut rikoksista homoseksuaaleja kohtaan.
Ihmisoikeusjärjestöjen raportti vaatii Etelä-Afrikan oikeusjärjestelmää tunnustamaan raiskaukset viharikoksiksi, jotta poliisi puuttuisi lisääntyvään väkivaltaan.
Asiasta kertoo brittiläinen sanomalehti The Daily Telegraph.
KompoZer
Erkki Hartikainen 7.3.2009Alla Markku Pääkkösen ohje kaatumattoman Kompozerin löytämiseksi:
Kaikki ominaisuudet eivät toimi, mutta ei ohelma kaadu.
Tämä juttu on tehty KompoZerilla.
8.10:ssä toimiva Kompozer (20090206) löytyy täältä.
Asenna tällä ohjeella:
Brasilian hallitus ja katolinen kirkko kiistelevät 9-vuotiaan abortista
Kiista yhdeksänvuotiaalle tytölle tehdystä abortista aiheuttaa kitkaa hallituksen ja katolisen kirkon välillä Brasiliassa. BBC:n mukaan presidentti Luis Inacio Lula da Silva on arvostellut katolisen arkkipiispan päätöstä tuomita abortissa auttaneet henkilöt ehtoollisyhteydestä poistamiseen.
Suomesta viedään tyttöjä Afrikkaan ympärileikattavaksi?
MTV3 KatsomoJulkaistu 05.03.2009
Suomessa on yli 3000 maahanmuuttajataustaista tyttöä, joita saattaa uhata ympärileikkaus. Niin poliisi kuin kansalaisjärjestötkin ovat saaneet tietoja, että tyttöjä viedään esimerkiksi Afrikkaan ympärileikattavaksi.
Suomesta yhtään tapausta ei kuitenkaan vielä ole tullut ilmi. Toisin kuin esimerkiksi Ruotsissa ja Norjassa, Suomessa ei myöskään ole virallista toimintasuunnitelmaa ympärileikkauksien torjumiseksi.
Meillä ympärileikkauksiin ovat kiinnittäneet huomiota lähinnä kansalaisjärjestöt.
Alkuvuodesta Tanskassa eritrealaisalkuperää oleva nainen vangittiin, koska oli vienyt tyttärensä Sudaniin ympärileikattavaksi. Kyseessä oli ennakkotapaus.
Suomessa poliisi on saanut vihjeitä tapauksista ja uskoo, että on vain ajan kysymys kun ensimmäinen tulee ilmi.
Professori: Wikipedian varjopuolet mittavat
Aamulehti 02.03.Punaista nappia painamalla voisi tehdä heti ilmoituksen verkossa olevasta rikoksesta. Nappulaa odotellessa saamme lukea miltei päivittäin uutisia internetissä tehdyistä laittomuuksista.
Internet tuottaa kiihtyvään tahtiin rikosuutisia. Media kertoo, kuinka pääministerin ex-morsiamen kunniaa oli oikeuden mukaan loukattu keskustelupalstalla. Oikeus antoi verkon rasistisista kannanotoista tuntuvia vankeusrangaistuksia. Mies sai tuomion etsittyään alaikäistä seksiseuraa. Ryhmä kansalaisia paljasti "hillomiehen", jota epäillään petoksesta.
Uutispäivä ilman internetiin liittyvää rikosta alkaa olla harvinaisuus. Onko internet siirtynyt rikollisten haltuun? Vastausta on etsittävä sekä käyttäjien lukumäärän räjähdysmäisestä kasvusta että verkon muuttuneesta käyttötarkoituksesta.
Internetin virtuaalimaailma on kasvanut tiedeyhteisön valtakunnasta tavallisen kansan välineeksi. Rikoksia on verkossa tehty pitkään, mutta ne on korkeintaan setvitty nörttien omien normien mukaan ja perinteisesti salanimien suojassa.
Nyt kansalaiset ovat aktivoituneet ja myös viranomaiset ovat verkossa. Koulusurmaajien verkkoaktiivisuus sai virkavallan kiinnostumaan internetistä. Poliisi haluaa verkkosivuille punaisen napin rikosilmoituksia varten.
Aiemmin verkon sisältöä koskevista rikoksista ja rikkeistä valittaminen oli turhauttavaa. Räikeimmät asiat, kunnianloukkaukset ja rasismin, sai verkosta pois. Se vaati sinnikästä asian perustelua palveluntarjoajalle, kuten IRC-Gallerialle. Ainoa seuraamus oli sivujen poisto, joten niiden sisältö saatettiin siirtää muualle.
Internetin sisällöstä valittaminen on edelleenkin hyvin hankalaa. Esimerkiksi Julkisen sanan neuvosto puuttuu verkon sisältöön vain siinä tapauksessa, että se on median omistamilla sivuilla.
Useat verkkorikokset ovat asianomistajarikoksia, joten vain uhri voi laittaa rikosprosessin liikkeelle.
Verkkojen vapautta puolustavat tuovat esiin internetin positiivisia puolia, eivätkä missään nimessä halua valvontaa tai vastuuta.
Verkon vapauden väitetään tuottavan ilmiöitä ja asioita, joita ei valvotuissa olosuhteissa ja omaa nimeä käyttäen syntyisi. Vapauden tuomia etuja on pidetty haittoja suurempina.
Yhtenä verkon positiivisimmista puolista esitellään tietosanakirjoja, joista Wikipedia lienee tunnetuin. Unohdetaan, että silläkin on verkon muiden sivujen mukaisesti myös varjopuolensa.
Verkon ilmaiset sisällöt ovat vähentäneet esimerkiksi sanakirjojen ja sanomalehtien kysyntää. Ilmaiseksi tehty työ ajaa myös kirjoittamalla elävät ammattikunnat ahtaalle. Perinteinen Britannica-tietosanakirja on joutunut antamaan periksi verkon ilmaistyölle, ja se hyväksyy nyt myös kirjoituspalkkiotta tuotetun sisällön.
Jokamiehen toimittamat tietosanakirjat ovat kuitenkin lukijan kannalta arveluttavia. Esimerkiksi Wikipedia joutui kiristämään toimitussääntöjään sen jälkeen, kun syöpää sairastavan senaattori Ted Kennedyn kuolemasta levisi sen sivujen kautta uutisankka.
Ilmaisuuden lisäksi Wikipedian toimitustavat ovat ongelmallisia. Kuka tahansa voi osallistua tekstien muokkaamiseen, joten sisältö voi olla mitä tahansa. Kirjoittajat esiintyvät mielikuvituksellisten salanimien takana. On täysin mahdotonta tietää, onko kirjoittaja alansa arvostettu tutkijaprofessori vai joku asiantuntematon. Laatuerot ovat räikeitä.
Kirjoitusprosessi ei varmastikaan ole asiantuntijoille mieleinen. Perustekstiä muokataan reaaliaikaisesti siten, että kuka tahansa voi muuttaa kirjoitusta.
Mikäli aihe on siinä määrin helppo, että siitä voi helposti esittää mielipiteitä, velloo keskustelu puolelta toiselle.
Kokonaan eri asia ovat ammattikuntien ylläpitämät wikit, kuten paperi-insinöörien palvelu. Niiden tarkoituksena on tiedon siirtäminen ammattikunnan sisällä, joten kirjoitusten tietosisällön taso on yhtä korkea kuin alan kirjallisuudessa.
Wikipedian ilmaisuus on myös perätön klisee. Se kerää varoja oman ilmoituksensa mukaan uusien palvelimien hankintaa varten. Puuhamiesten mukaan palvelimille ladataan nykyisin kasvavassa määrin sekä suuria valokuva- että videotiedostoja. Kasvava tietomassa vaatii uudet palvelimet.
Näin voi toki olla, mutta se ei poista sitä, että rahan kerääminen on esimerkiksi Suomessa luvanvaraista ja valvottua. Wikipedialla ei ole ollut tuota lupaa.
Myös Wikipedian sisältö on ongelmallista. Verkkoon on ladattu runsaasti yksityishenkilöjä koskevaa, myös arkaluonteista, tietoa heiltä lupaa kysymättä.
Järjestelmässä ei ole myöskään varattu henkilöille mahdollisuutta korjata itseään koskevia tietoja, kuten laki edellyttää. Tätä epäkohtaa on tiettävästi käytetty hyväksi perättömien väitteiden tahallisessa levittämisessä.
Verkkosanakirjojen henkilöitä koskevat artikkelit ovat ongelmallisia. Käytännössä verkkotietosanakirja palauttaa Suomessa lopetetun rangaistusmuodon - häpeärangaistuksen.
Rikollisten saamat tuomiot ja esimerkiksi mielenterveyttä koskevat tiedot ovat arkaluonteisia, eikä oikeus niiden julkaisemiseen ole yksiselitteinen.
Vaikka viranomaisten rikosrekisterillä on selkeät määräajat, minkä jälkeen tiedot poistetaan, jäävät samat tiedot verkon tietosanakirjoihin ikuisesti. Rangaistuksen suorittaminen ei siten kuittaa rikosta, vaan siitä jää verkkomerkintä.
Näistä puutteista huolimatta Wikipedia on verkkomaailmassa monessa suhteessa positiivinen ilmiö. Sen sivuilta ei tiettävästi saa verkossa muuten yleisiä haittaohjelmia. Sen sisältöön ei voi luottaa, mutta usein sen sivuilta voi löytää todellisia tiedon helmiä. Lähdekritiikkiä ei saa koskaan unohtaa.
Kovin erikoista on, että vaikka tietosanakirja julkaisee muista jopa arkaluonteiseksi katsottavia tietoja, ei verkkosanakirjojen tekijöistä tiedetä mitään. Varsinaiset tiedon portinvartijat esiintyvät mielikuvituksellisten salanimien suojassa.
Siinä, missä sanomalehden päätoimittaja vastaa lehtensä sisällöstä yhdessä toimittajien kanssa, kätkeytyvät verkkotietosanakirjojen vastaavat. Siihen lienee syynsä.
Yhteiskunnan lait ja valvonta syrjäyttävät nopeasti erilaiset verkon sisäpiirin normit. Poliisin punaista nappia painavat siirtävät verkon peruuttamattomasti osaksi normaalia yhteiskuntaa.
Laki on saapunut villiin verkkoon, ja sen pioneerit joutuvat oppimaan uusille tavoille. Sitä odotellessa saamme lukea lisää rikosuutisia.
Arto Jokinen
Kirjoittaja on tekniikan tohtori ja kauppatieteiden maisteri, joka on toiminut professorina United Business Institutessa Brysselissä.
Yleisöltä
Mikä ero on suomalaisella ja ruotsalaisella eläköityjällä?
Vastaus: ruotsalainen eläköityjä ei tarvinnut sodan aikana ja sen jälkeen nähdä nälkää.Sotalapsi
Kasvatuksesta
Ymmärrän hyvin, että suomen kielessä puhutaan viljan kasvatuksesta tai sikojen kasvatuksesta. Sen sijaan ihmisten kasvatus tuntuu oudolta. Kukahan tämän sanahirviön on keksinyt suomen kieleen? Elinkeinoelämä varmaankin.Kielikello
Kuukauden kysymys
Kuinka monta ihmistä mahtuu yhtä aikaa puheltamaan yhteen hiileen?Pisteytysvihje elämänkatsomustietoon
Mikä on yhteista ateismille ja uskonnoille?
Vastaus: Ateismi sisältää yhden väitelauseen ja uskonnot useita väitelauseita 6p.
On tiennyt, mitä ateismi on, ts. ateismi on väitelause "jumalaa tai jumalia ei ole olemassa". 7 p.On tiennyt pelkästään, mitä uskonnot ovat eli "uskonnot ovat järjestäytynyttä teismiä" -3p.
Jumaluustieteen kysymyksiä
Mistä Joosef ja Maria löysivät kätilön, kun Jeesus syntyi?Fysiikan kysymyksiä
- Jos Higgsin bosonin massaa ei tiedetä, ja jos kyseinen hiukkanen on olemassa, miten sen massa vaikuttaa kaikkeuden massaan? Onko tässä kilpikonna elefantin päällä jne.?
- Olbersin paradoksia selitetään mm. seuraavasti: Jos avaruus olisi ääretön ja tähtiä kaikkialla yhtä tiheässä, näkösäde kohtaisi aina lopulta tähden pinnan katsotaanpa mihin suuntaan tahansa. Koska pintakirkkaus ei riipu etäisyydestä, pitäisi koko taivaan hehkua yhtä kirkkaana kuin Auringon pinnan. Jokainen voi kuitenkin havaita, että yötaivas on kovin pimeä. Tämä ongelma tunnetaan Olbersin paradoksina. Aikoinaan tätä pidettiin todisteena maailmankaikkeuden äärelliselle koolle. Vaikka Heinrich Olbers käsittelikin paradoksia, se ei ole hänen keksintöään. Ratkaisu ristiriitaan on maailmankaikkeuden äärellinen ikä, jonka vuoksi näemme siitä vain äärellisen osan. Entä jos näemme vain räjähdyksessä syntyneen äärellisen osan. Jos avaruus laajenee laidoiltaan yli valon nopeudella, miten niiden takaa voisi näkyä valoa? Mitä havaitun kaikkeuden ulkopuolella voi olla? Voiko siellä olla räjäyksen syy?
- Ihminen keksi ensin sähkömagneettisen aaltoliiikkeen ja vasta sitten hiukkasten aalto-ominaisuudet. Mitä olisi tapahtunut, jos asiat olisi keksitty käänteisessä järjestyksessä?
- Jos pimeää massaa on olemassa, pimeän aineen liikenopeuksia voidaan mitata. Millaisia nopeuksia pimeällä aineella on? Voiko pimeän aineen nopeus ylittää valon nopeuden? Onko pimeää ainetta nykyisen "kaikkeuden" ulkopuolella?
- Voiko tavallinen aine muuttua pimeäksi aineeksi esimerkiksi massakadon tapauksessa?
- Muuttuuko pimeä energia tavalliseksi aineeksi vai pimeäksi aineeksi?
- Muuttuuko pimeä aine tavalliseksi energiaksi vai pimeäksi energiaksi?
- Jos pimeä aine vaikuttaa painovoiman avulla, eikö pimeän aineen avulla synny aivan tavallista energiaa?
- Jos pimeä energia laajentaa näkyvää kaikkeutta, eikö se ole ihan tavallista energiaa?
- Päteekä kvanttifysiikka pimeässä aineessa ja pimeässä energiassa?
- Onko pimeä aine vain virhe nykyisten kaikkeustutkijain käsityksissä (teorioissa)?
- Onko pimeä energia vain virhe nykyisten kaikkeustutkijain käsityksissä (teorioissa)?
- Vai muodostavatko pimeä aine ja pimeä energia sen "eetterin", joka saa sähkömagneettisen säteilyn käyttäytymään ikään kuin se tietäisi, minne se on menossa?
Onko alkuräjähdys mahdollinen
Ei ole. Puhutaan vain yhdestä alkuräjähdyksestä, jota sitäkään ei ole ollut kukaan katsomassa. Ei tässä ole ennenkään menty tekemään johtopäätöksiä yhden väitetyn tapahtuman perusteella, vai miten on, viisaustiede?"Läski on Suomen pahin vihollinen
Helsingin Sanomissa Ateisti | 1.3.2009 18:39Valtiokirkkojen yhteisöveron jako-osuus (1,75 %) pitää poistaa kokonaan, jolloin hyöty ohjautuu pääosin yrityksille. Ne ylläpitävät tuottavaa toimintaa ja palkkaavat ihmisiä töihin, jos homma kannattaa. Ellei näin voida tehdä, jako-osuus on luovutettava kuntien hyväksi. Eivät ne rahat ihan hukkaan sielläkään mene.
Valtio ja kirkko ovat yksissä tuumin kehitelleet näitä ylätason paketteja. Ne tulevat veronmaksajille erittäin kalliiksi ja myös seurakuntalaisille. Menkää kysymään puutarhureilta oliko tunnustuksettomien hauta-alueiden perustaminen järkevää. Ei ollut, valtavat menot ja vain muutama vainaja-asiakas koko Suomessa. Perustakoot ateistit omat hautausmaansa, kirkko hoitakoot omien jäsentensä asioita.
Upporikas kirkko ja seurakunnat myykööt nyt liikaa omaisuuttaan. Vanhat, lahoavat pappilat, kulahtaneet leirikeskukset, erämaakämpät, asunto- ja vapaa-ajantontit, unohtuneet takametsät, arvonsa menettäneet pörssiosakkeet, kaikki myyntiin. Ainakin Saarijärven ja Puolangan seurakunnat ovat jo ryhtyneet toimiin. Tai sitten seurakuntalaisten on maksettava lisää kirkollisveroja. Keskimääräinen kirkollisveroprosentti on nyt 1,32, joten siinä on varaa nostaa ainakin 2 prosenttiin asti. Ne maksavat, jotka haluavat olla kirkon jäseniä ja loput lähtevät."
Joogakielto sai Indonesian muslimit kiistelemään
1.3.2009 STT–DPAJakarta. Uudet uskonnolliset määräykset ovat repineet kuilun Indonesian muslimien välille.
Maan uskonoppineiden neuvosto on kieltänyt muslimeilta joogan, johon sisältyy hindurituaaleja kuten laulamista tai meditaatiota. Uusien fatwojen mukaan myös julkisesti tupakointi ja äänestämättä jättäminen ovat syntejä.
Joogaa saa edelleen harrastaa pelkkänä liikuntana, mutta neuvosto pelkää hinduvaikutteiden heikentävän muslimien uskoa.
Maailman suurimman muslimivaltion Indonesian lisäksi jooga kiellettiin viime vuonna myös naapurimaassa Malesiassa. Molempien keskiluokka on kerääntynyt joogasaleihin ahkerasti.
Venäjällä valittiin uudet lahjusten saajat
Venäjällä on pidetty paikallisvaalit.Uutispäivä Demari kertoo 3.3.2009 etusivullaan kolmen suomalaisen sosialidemokraattisen vaalitarkkailijan havainneen, että eräässä vaaliuurnassa oli 200 Putinin puolueelle annettua ääntä jo ennen vaalien alkamista.
Kokeneen vaalitarkkailijan Kimmo Kiljusen mukaan tämä on harvinaisen alkeellista vaalivilppiä.
Sittemmin murhattu Anna Politkovskaja kertoo kirjassaan Putinin Venäjä, että eräs hänen vanha tuttavansa sanoi pyrkivänsä Moskovan kaupunginvaltuustoon siitä syystä, että näin hän pääsee lahjusten maksajasta lahjusten saajaksi. Pyrkijä pääsi Moskovan kaupunginvaltuustoon.
Yleinen mielipide
Yleinen mielipide on, että sellaisia tutkimuksia, jotka antavat yleisen mielipiteen kannalta kiusalllisia tuloksia, ei saa tehdä.Yritäpä tehdä tutkimus jumalatodistusten kannatuksesta Suomessa (edellinen tehtiin 1973).
Iltasatu
Valejättiläiset valehtelevat aina. Valehtelevatko he, kun he sanovat olevansa jättiläisiä?Vainajille horoskooppi
Kun monet vainajien omaiset ovat huolissaan siitä, pääseekö vainaja taivaaseen vai joutuuko hän helvettiin, eikö voitaisi ryhtyä laatimaan vainajille horoskooppeja?Maantiedon kysymyksiä
Missä maassa sijaitse St. Putingrad?Filosofian kysymyksiä
Mitkä ajatukset ovat muotia vuonna 2009?Miten vastustat mustia käyttöesineitä
Väitä jokaiselle vastaantulijalle, että ne on tehty myrkyllisistä jätemuoveista.Ihmisoikeudet ja imurointirobotti
Erkki Hartikainen 6.3.2009Kun poliitikot Martin Scheininin avustuksella tekevät omien mielipiteittensä mukaisia julistuksia ihmisoikeuksista, eräs tuttavani kyseli minulta eilen ihmisoikeusasiakirjoista. Kehotin häntä etsimään niitä Internetistä.
Vasta tänään laittaessani paksua kirjaa Ihmisoikeudet 2000-luvulla maton nurkan päälle, jotta imurointorobotti ei tartu törröttävään maton kumlaan, huomasin, että kyseinen kirja sisältää kysellyt ihmisoikeusasiakirjat.
Ostin kirjan aikoinaan Kirjatorilta 2 eurolla, ja kirja on palvellut hyvin imuroidessa.
Koska kristutyt ovat suomentaneet eräitä asiakirjoja tahallisen virheellisesti (esim. belief on suomennettu vakaumuksen sijasta uskoksi), kehotan kaikkia vähänkin muita kieliä osaavia lukemaan ihmisoikeuasiakirjat jollain niiden alkuperäiskielellä.
Peruskäsitteiden määrittelyä
Olla
Suomen kielen yleisin sana on olla -verbi lukuisissa eri merkityksissä.Edellisessä numerossa on käsitelty sanontaa "on olemassa", ja tähän sanontaan palataan myöhemmin.
Myös olla-sanaa yhdistäjänä eli kopulana (esimerkiksi Pekka on suurmies) on käsitelty edellisessä numerossa.
Muissa kielissä merkityksiin
- pitää hallussaan (väliaikaiseti tai pysyvästi)
- olla omistuksessa
Loput suomen kielen olla -sanan merkitykset ovat suomen kielen erikoisuuksia.
Ja
Toiseksi yleisin suomen kielen sana on ja.Tämä sana yhdistää yksittäisiä sanoja (suuri ja ruma) ja lauseita (Pekka on suuri ja Pekka on ruma) ja vastaa pitemmissä kertomuksissa pistettä.
Sanan "ja" merkitys määritellään helpoimmin totuustaulukolla:
| Lause 1 |
Lause 2 |
Lause 1 ja lause 2 |
| Tosi |
Tosi |
Tosi |
| Tosi |
Epätosi |
Epätosi |
| Epätosi |
Tosi |
Epätosi |
| Epätosi |
Epätosi |
Epätost |
Sanallisesti: Sanalla "ja" yhdistetty on totta, jos ja vain jos (joss) molemmat yhdistettävät ovat totta.
Logiikassa sanaa "ja" merkitään nykyään ∧.
Ohjelmointikielissä käytetään englanninkielen sanaa and (C- sukuisissa kielissä &&).
Tietokoneiden suorittimissa käytetään portteja "ja", "tai", "ei". Ja -portti päästää virtaa eteenpäin, jos molemmista saapuvista johtimista tulee virtaa.
Se
Sanalla "se" viitataan johonkin. Voidaan sanoa, että "se" on muuttuja, jonka arvo tavallisesti selviää jostain edellä puhutusta.Ei
Sana "ei" muuttaa totuusarvon todesta epätodeksi tai epätodesta todeksi.Tietekoneet suorittimissa ei -portti lähettää signaalia silloin, kun saapumisjohdosta ei sitä tule ja on lähettämättä signaalia silloin, kun tulojohdosta sitä tulee.
Kaksiarvoinen lauselogiikka voidaan rakentaa sanojen "ja", "ei" avulla.
Ohjelmointikielissä käytetään englanninkielen sanaa not (C-sukuisissa kielissä !).
Joka
Tässä yhteydessä tarkastellaan vain joka -sanan merkitystä muuttujana. Joka -sanalla viitataan johonkin edellä mainittuun, esimerkiksi "Ohitimme auton, jossa istui viisi ihmistä."Että
Sana "että" on seuraavalla sijalla. Sillä on monia merkityksiä:- selittävä: että
- alistava: että
- tarkoitusta ilmaiseva: että
- Lähde jo, että / jotta et myöhästy.
Seurausta ilmaiseva sivulause (sekä että- että jotta-sanat ovat mahdollisia):
- Hän on niin laiska, jotta ei tule paikalle. / Hän on niin laiska, että ei tule paikalle.
- Hän ei saapunut siksi, että lento oli myöhässä.
Muita esimerkkejä, joissa jotta-sana ei ole mahdollinen:
- On hauskaa, että pääsit tulemaan.
- Johtaja sanoi, että työ on tehtävä.
Tämä
Tämä on muuttuja, jonka viittausuhteita voidaan esittää seuraavasti:Valitsemalla tämä- tai nämä-asemosanan puhuja osoittaa sijoittavansa tarkoitteen omaan huomiopiiriinsä, joka voi olla avoin myös puhuteltavalle.
Jos edellisessä lauseessa on kaksi henkilöä tarkoittavaa sanaa, hän ~ he viittaa kauemmaksi ja tämä ~ ne lähemmäksi. Esim.
Naiset ihailevat kuninkaallisia. He ovat vähän kummallisia.
Vrt. Naiset ihailevat kuninkaalisia. Nämä ovat vähän kummallisia.
Joissain ohjelmointikielissä käytetään sanaa this.
Hän
Hän on muuttuja, jolla viitataan puheenalaiseen henkilöön.Voida
- Voida ilmaisee mahdollisuutta.
- Kyseessä on velvoite tai lupa, joka kohdistuu tarkoituksellisen toimijan tekoihin
Saada
- Kyseessä on velvoite tai lupa, joka kohdistuu tarkoituksellisen toimijan tekoihin
- Kiteytynyt sanaliitto, jonka merkitys ei muodostu suoraan sen osien merkityksestä, esim. saada tarpeekseen (jostakin), saada selvä
- Verbiketju on nimitys kahden tai useamman verbin muodostamalle kokonaisuudelle, joka toimii lauseessa predikaattina. Verbiketjun alkuosana on modaalinen verbi (esim. täytyä, kannattaa, voida, tahtoa) tai muu abstrakti verbi (esim. alkaa, saada, ruveta, sattua, näyttää).
Mutta
Mutta -sanalla on suomen kielessä monia merkityksiä, mutta- sen yhdistämien ilmausten totuusarvo määräytyy samoin kuin ja -sanan totuusarvo
- se ilmaisee vastakohtaa tai poikkeusta,
Niin
Niin -sanalla on suomen kielessä monia merkityksiä. Tärkein merkitys on sama kuin englannin kielen sanalla "than".- vertailusana (...niin suuri...)
- vastakysymys (Kuinka niin?)
- parikonjuntio (niin...kuin)
- keskustelusana (No niin.)
- tavoitesuhde (Juoksen niin että ehdin varmasti.)
- huomautussana (... jos saan niin sanoa.)
- seuraussuhde (Hän käveli niin hitaasti, että myöhästyi.)
- änkyttelysana (Tuota niin.)
- tilanneviittaus ( Käyn usein mökillä, koska se on niin rentouttavaa.)
- välijakso (Mitä se maksaa? – Tää pienempi vai? – Niin. – Kuuskymppiä.)
Kuin
Kuin -sanalla on suomen kielessä lukuisia merkityksiä. Seuraavassa tarkastellaan lähinnä englanninkielen sanan "than" merkityksiä-- vertailusana (Asumme pian eri paikassa kuin ennen).
- Kuin -rakenne on vertailukohtaa ilmaiseva kuin-sanalla alkava jakso, esim. Hän on nopeampi kuin minä ja Hän puhuu ihan eri tavalla kuin minä puhuin lapsena.
Ne
Suomenkielen sanalla "ne" on lukuisia merkityksiä. Tärkein niistä vastaa nykyenglannin sanaa "they".- muuttuja, joka viittaa useisiin olioihin (Ne ovat ilkeitä.)
Kun
Kun -sanalla on paljon merkityksiä. Esimerkkejä:- ajallinen suhde (Kun saan tämän kirjoitettua, niin...)
- liittokonjunktio ( ...kun taas...)
- syysuhde (Kun tein niin, tapahtui näin.)
- ehtosuhde (Kun olet kiltti, joulupukki tuo lahjoja.)
Tulla
Sanalla "tulla" on suomen kielessä lukuisia merkityksiä, mutta tässä käsitellään vain osaa niistä.- tulla johonkin tai tulla jostakin
- tulla olemaan
- tulla joksikin (Hän tuli valituksi.)
- seuraamusta (Tulee ikävyyksiä.)
- tulla tehdyksi (Tuli valvottua.)
Myös
- sanottu pätee muihinkin vaihtoehtoihin (Hän pitää myös suklaasta.)
Tai
Tämä sana yhdistää yksittäisiä sanoja (suuri tai pieni) ja lauseita (Pekka on suuri tai Pekka on ruma. Tässä merkityksessä sitä kutsutaan disjunktioksi eli sallivaksi tai -sanaksi.Logiikassa alternaation merkkinä käytetään kirjainta v (latinan vel).
Ohjelmointikielten or (C- sukuisissa kielissä ||) vastaa tätä sallivaa tai -sanaa.
Sallivaa tai -sanaa käytetään lähinnä matematiikassa ja sen merkitys määritellään seuraavalla totuustaulukolla:
| Lause 1 | Lause 2 | Lause 1 ja lause 2 |
| Tosi |
Tosi |
Tosi |
| Tosi |
Epätosi |
Tosi |
| Epätosi |
Tosi |
Tosi |
| Epätosi |
Epätosi |
Epätosi |
Disjunktiivisen tai -sanan ja ei -sanan avulla voidaan rakentaa koko lauselogiikka.
Suomalainen käyttää mieluummin sanoja joko - tai.
Joissakin ohjelmointikielissä tästä yhdistäjästä (alternaatiosta) käytetään sanaa xor.
Sen totuustaulukko on seuraava:
| Lause 1 | Lause 2 | Lause 1 ja lause 2 |
| Tosi |
Tosi |
Epätosi |
| Tosi |
Epätosi |
Tosi |
| Epätosi |
Tosi |
Tosi |
| Epätosi |
Epätosi |
Epätosi |
Kaikki
Sana "kaikki" on periaatteessa yhtä hankala kuin sanayhdistelmä "on olemassa".Vältä käyttämästä sanaa "kaikki". Huono esimerkki: Vladimir Putin sanoi televisiohgaastattelussa: "Kaikki tsetseenit ovat roistoja."
Tässä yhteydessä emme puutu tämän sanan hankaluuksiin vaan esitämme sanan merkityksen logiikassa aksiomaattisesti. Suomenkielisiä alkeislogiikan kirjoja on nykyään vaikka kuinka paljon. Niitä kannattaa ostaa kirjastojen poistomyynneistä.
Sanan "kaikki" merkkinä käytetään nykyään logiikassa nurinpäin olevaa A -kirjainta, Sanojen "on olemassa" merkkinä käytetään nykyään takaperin olevaa E - kirjaina ja sanojen jos ... niin merkkinä kahdella viivalla varustettua nuolta.
Alla olevat kaavat on kopioitu kuvina sivustolta http://mathworld.wolfram.com. Kaavat on tarkistettu E. W. Bethin teoksesta Formal Methods (s. 50, D. Reidel 1962).
Aksioomat:
Päättelysäännöt:
Yllä olevissa kaavoissa x on muuttuja, r on vakio, F ja G ovat ominaisuuksia eli predikaatteja.
Mainittakoon, että sekä lauselogiikka että ominaisuuslogiikka (ensimmäisen kertaluvun predikaattikalkyyli) voidaan esittää a) aksioomin ja päättelysäännöin (esim. David Hilbert) tai b) pelkillä päättelysäännöillä (Patrick Suppes). Totuustaulukot antavat lauselogiikalle erään tulkinnan.
Aika
Siitä, mitä aika on, ei ole minkäänlaista yksimielisyyttä. Siitäkään ei olla yksimielisiä, onko aikaa ylipäätään olemassa. Tässä ei ole mitään erityisen ihmeellistä. Ihmisethän ovat erimielisiä hyvin monista asioista.Sana ”aika” esiintyy hyvin monissa sanoissa osana. Pelkällä ”aika” – sanalla saatetaan tarkoittaa monia asioita. Joissakin lauseissa ”aika” ei tarkoita aikaa ollenkaan (esimerkiksi ”Tämä kala on aika iso”.).
Sanalle ”aika” ei ole yleisesti hyväksyttyä. suoraa määritelmää. Suora määritelmä on esimerkiksi seuraava nisäkkään määritelmä: ”Nisäkkäät ovat eläimiä, jotka synnyttävät eläviä poikasia.”
Sanaa ”aika” käytetään hieman eri tavoin fysiikassa, biologiassa ja psykologiassa.
Esimerkiksi fysiikan sisällä aika voidaan määritellä epäsuorasti joukolla lauseita, jotka sisältävät sanan ”aika”. Fysiikan aikaa mitataan kelloiksi kutsutuilla laitteilla.
Se, miten tutkimusalat käyttävät sanaa ”aika” opitaan opiskelemalla alaa.
Lapsi oppi sanan ”aika” eri merkityksiä vähitellen. Kellon opetteleminen liittyy myös aika – käsitteen opetteluun. Käsitteitä voidaan oppia havaitsemalla, miten niitä käytetään. Lopulta sanaa ”aika opitaan käyttämään niin monella tavalla, että kukaan ei enää pysty sanomaan tarkasti, mitä aika on.
Me
Me on muuttuja, joka viittaa joukkoon, johon puhuja itse kuuluu. Monissa kielissä on erikseen sana, joka tarkoittaa muuten samaa joukkoa, mutta johon puhuja itse ei kuulu.Suuri
Sana suuri ilmaisee erään suhteellisen ominaisuuden.Sanayhdistelmä "suurempi kuin" (kuten myös "pienempi kuin") on matematiikassa järjestyssuhde, jonka määrittelevät järjestysaksioomat:
1. Refleksiivisyys: 
kaikille 
.
2. Antisymmetria: 
ja
seuraa 
.
3. Transitiivisuus: 
ja
seuraa 
.
4. Kaikille 
,
joko 
tai 
.
Mikä
Tällä sanalla on monia merkityksiä, joista seuraavassa on lueteltu
muutamia.
- Kysymyssana ("Mikä on Sepeteuksen poikain isän nimi?")
- Suhdesana ("Hän voitti kilpailun, mikä yllätti kaikki.")
- Kaikki -sanan vastine ("mikä hyvänsä")
Vuosi
Aika, joka kuluu, kun Maa kiertää yhden kerran Auringon ympäri. Käytännössä eri vuodet ovat hieman eripitkiä, koska jakolasku vuoden pituus jaettuna vuoden päivien määrällä ei mene tasan.Toinen
Järjestysluku.Jatkuu huomenna ...
Ateismin määritelmä
George H. Smithin ontologinen ateismin määritelmä:Ateismi on väite: jumalaa tai jumalia ei ole olemassa
Tässä määritelmässä on määritelty olemassaoloa koskeva eli ontologinen käsitys. Jumala joko on olemassa tai ei ole olemassa. Mitään olemassaolon ja olemattomuuden välimuotoa ei ole.
Teismi on väite: jumala tai jumalia on olemassa
Deismi (jumala on olemassa, mutta ei puutu maailmanmenoon) ja panteismi (jumala on sama kuin maailmankaikkeus) ovat tämän mukaan teismiä
Inhimillinen tieto siitä, mitä on olemassa, on vajavaista. Joku saattaa pitää varmana, että jumalaa tai jumalia ei ole olemassa. Joku toinen saattaa pitää varmana, että jumala tai jumalia on olemassa. Joku kolmas voi olla epävarma siitä, onko jumalaa tai jumalia olemassa vai ei.
Ateistin määrittelemä
Ateisti on henkilö, jonka mielestä ateismi on tosi.Agnostikon eli jumalaongelmaisen määritelmä
Agnostikko eli jumalaongelmainen on henkilö, joka ei mielestään tiedä, onko ateismi tosi vai onko teismi tosi.Uskonnon määritelmä
Uskonto on järjestäytynyttä teismiä.Ne käsitykset joissa ei ole jumalia, eivät ole tämän määritelmän mukaan uskontoja.
Kompozer really doesn't need to be installed, it is such a neat application because everything it needs to run comes inside the zip/tar file.
Download kompozer-20081205.tar.gz,
and put it somewhere you can find it. (In my case, i have a seperate
Home partition, so I keep it there, then it doesn't have to be replaced
if I change my version of Ubuntu.)
Right click on the tar file, and "Extract here". You will find a new folder called kompozer in the same directory. Inside the folder is the executable you are looking for, also called komposer. Double click that, and you are in business.
Now, you will need to go into your applications menu to add Kompozer there, but even simpler (I find) is to right click on the panel, select "Add to Panel" then "Custom Application Launcher", then click "add". In the Create Launcher Dialog, click browse, then navigate into your kompozer folder and double click on the icon for the executable. Then click add, and your launcher will be in the panel.
Then if you want the launcher to have the Kompozer icon, right click on the launcher, select "properties". Double click on the launcher icon, then when it loads the icons, click "browse".
Navigate into your kompozer folder again, and inside it is a folder called "Icons". Double click on the folder, then click "Open". Double click on the icon you want to use, and voila, you have a working version of Kompozer with its own launcher on your panel.
Hope this helps.
Regards,
Bruce
Muut lehdet
USKONNOT HUIJAUSTA: TAIVASTAKAAN EI OLE!
11/97 TURKULAINEN ilmoitusYksi uskonto luulottelee että Hale-Bopp komeetta pelastaa meidät joukkoitsemurhan jälkeen. Toinen ihmettelee, onko syntisempää elää homon vai sian kanssa. 3. ja 4. teurastavat pyhäksi kutsumalla maallaan toisiaan.
Yhä useammat huomaavat, että uskonnot ovat vain mielenterveydelle vahingollisia taikauskoja, eikä jumalia oikeasti ole.
Jeesus onkin vain satuhenkilö.
Tiede ei ole koskaan tavannut mitään yliluonnollista. Järki ja uskonto eivät sovi samaan päähän. Turussa jo 20 % on uskonnottomia.
Vastusta sinäkin Suomeen pakkotuodun etuoikeuskirkkolaitoksen sortoa!
PS. Eroamalla marraskuussa säästät kirkollisveroista heti 1000 mk.
Ajatuksen vapauden ja elämän puolesta, uskonnottomien oikeusjärjestö
TURUN VAPAA-AJATTELIJAT RY
Kristittyjen määrä kasvaa
10.3.2009 AA TT
Kristittyjen määrä Euroopassa on kääntynyt laskuun. Sen sijaan Afrikassa, Aasiassa ja Latinalaisessa Amerikassa heidän määränsä on nousussa, kertoo maailman lähetys- ja uskontotilasto.
Euroopassa kristittyjä on yli 550 miljoonaa, Latinalaisessa Amerikassa 530 miljoonaa, Afrikassa liki 450 miljoonaa ja Aasiassa noin 370 miljoonaa.
Yli kahdesta miljardista kristitystä puolet on roomalaiskatolisen kirkon jäseniä. Seuraavina tilastossa tulevat niin sanotut riippumattomat kirkot, protestantit, ortodoksit ja anglikaanit.
Voimakkaimmin kristittyjen määrä kasvaa niin sanotuissa riippumattomissa kirkoissa. Kasvua on myös helluntailaisissa, karismaattisissa ja uuskarismaattisissa yhteisöissä. Myös protestanttien määrä on nousussa.
Maailman lähes 7 miljardista ihmisestä eniten on kristittyjä, kolmannes.
Voimakkaimmin kasvaa muslimien määrä. Heitä lasketaan nyt olevan yli viidennes kaikista maapallon asukkaista.
Seuraavina uskontotilastossa ovat hindut ja uskonnottomat.
Opetusministeri Henna Virkkunen on pihalla kuin lumiukko
Kotimaa 5.3.2009
Kirkkohallituksen kouluasian sihteeri Markku Holma toteaa tänään ilmestyvässä Kotimaassa pelkäävänsä, että koulujen päivänavauskäytäntö on ohentunut.
Hänen huolensa tulee koulujen opettajien terveisistä. Holmalle on kerrottu, että päivänavauksia ei aina pidetä sovitusti tai niiden anti voi olla heppoinen.
Holma muistuttaa, että päivänavauksien pitäminen perustuu perusopetus- ja lukioasetukseen. Niissä molemmissa todetaan, että päivän työ aloitetaan lyhyellä päivänavauksella.
Opetusministeri Henna Virkkunen toteaa Kotimaalle, ettei ministeriöön ole kantautunut viestiä siitä, että lain noudattamisesta lipsuttaisiin kouluissa.
Hän korostaa, että päivänavaus voi olla luonteeltaan myös uskonnollinen.
- Jos päivänavaus sisältää uskonnollisia menoja tai muuta hartauden harjoitusta, oppilasta ei voida velvoittaa osallistumaan uskonnolliseen päivänavaukseen. Uskonnollisista päivänavauksista tulee ilmoittaa etukäteen, jotta oikeus jäädä niistä pois voisi käytännössä toteutua, Virkkunen sanoo.
Kommentti 8.3.2009
Erkki Hartikainen 8.3.2009Ensiksi todettakoon, että perustuslain suoja koskee myös koulun henkilökuntaa, erityisesti opettajia. Tämän kirjoittaja oli ensimmäinen opettaja, joka peräti virallisella asiakirjalla vapautettiin päivänavauksiin osallistumisesta 1980 -luvulla.
Toiseksi on todettava, että rehtorien enemmistö pyyhkii Suomen perustuslailla persettään.
Suomalaisten käsitykset uskonnollisten oppien totuudesta
Päästätäksesi lukemaan napauta tästä.