Nearly two decades after the collapse of the secularist Soviet Union, religion is going to be taught in Russian schools, reports Viktor Malukhin at openDemocracy:

What will this decision mean in practice for schools? Twice a week from the spring of next year, pupils in the fourth and fifth classes will study one of three new subjects. They and their parents will be able to choose between the religious culture of one religion (Orthodox, Islam, Judaism or Buddhism), the history and cultural background of the world’s great religions, or the foundations of secular ethics. It will be compulsory for pupils to choose one of these three modules.

Says Deacon Andrei Kuraev, professor of Moscow State University and the Moscow Spiritual Academy, who will write the textbook on Orthodoxy:

“There should be no place for religious propaganda in these lessons, no appeals  to perform particular religious rites or to accept particular dogmas. The textbooks should not contain criticism of other religions, and there should not be a single line which could be used as an argument in the debate of the superiority of one religion over another. The subject should be treated secularly. It should be financed by a secular organisation, and ‘indoctrination’ into any faith should be prohibited,” stressed the author of the future Orthodox textbook.

Read more at openDemocracy.