European Court of Human Rights: No to Norway's Mandatory Religious Ed

The European Court of Human Rights has ruled against Norway's mandatory elementary school religion classes. The case was Folgerø and Others v. Norway (Application no. 15472/02) (June 29, 2007). The judgment of the Court in can be found here.

The facts, as set out by the Court:

The present case concerns complaints lodged by non-Christian parents. It relates, firstly, to a complaint under Article 9 of the Convention and Article 2 of Protocol No. 1, about refusals by the domestic authorities to grant their children full exemption from a compulsory subject in Christianity, Religion and Philosophy (the “KRL-subject” – see paragraph 16 below) taught during the ten-year compulsory schooling in Norway. Secondly, it concerns their complaint about discrimination contrary to Article 14 of the Convention taken in conjunction with the aforementioned provisions and Article 8 of the Convention. (Para 3 of the opinion).

Article 2 of Protocol 1 can be found here. The Court concluded:

[N]otwithstanding the many laudable legislative purposes stated in connection with the introduction of the KRL subject in the ordinary primary and lower secondary schools, it does not appear that the respondent State took sufficient care that information and knowledge included in the curriculum be conveyed in an objective, critical and pluralistic manner for the purposes of Article 2 of Protocol No. 1. Accordingly, the Court finds that the refusal to grant the applicant parents full exemption from the KRL subject for their children gave rise to a violation of Article 2 of Protocol No. 1. (Para 102 of the opinion).

Having disposed of the Article 2 claim, the Court did not reach the Article 14 claim (Para 105).

There was a dissent, which argued:

In our opinion, a review of the case requires a twofold approach, namely, in the light of the requirements of modern Norwegian society and with its history as an important background. On the one hand, the increasing number of Norwegian citizens with different ethnicities and religious beliefs calls for inclusive measures, with a common education in religions and ethics in schools. On the other hand, when devising the curriculum, one cannot overlook the many centuries of Norwegian history. Christianity has a very long tradition in Norway, both as a religion and a school subject (see paragraphs 9 and 10 of the judgment). This aspect must be reflected in the curriculum, which must at the same time be inclusive and broad.

An article on the case can be found at the Norway Post.

[Thanks to Christianity Today for the lead.]