Russia: Medvedev Announces Programs Of Religious Education In Schools

July 21, 2009

Author: Clifford J. Levy

Source: The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/22/world/europe/22briefs-Russia.html?_r=1&emc=tnt&tntemail0=y

Russia’s president, Dmitri A. Medvedev, said Tuesday that the federal government would begin a national program to teach religious education in the schools. Parents would be able to choose studies in four federally recognized religions — Russian Orthodoxy, Islam, Judaism and Buddhism — as well as a course in comparative religion. The issue of religious education in the public schools has been provocative, highlighting the growing influence of the Russian Orthodox church since the Soviet Union’s collapse.