The church should have less influence, the Christian faith in the school no longer play such a major role. That demands the provincial school representative in Rhineland-Palatinate. She wants religious education abolished - and therefore the state constitution is changed, according to which schools in Rhineland-Palatinate are basically "Christian community schools".
The Catholic Church in Rhineland-Palatinate will not comment on a SPIEGEL request. The Ministry of Education defends itself against the student initiative and argues with the Basic Law. "Confessional schools should be the exception according to the will of the constitutional donor", the authority informs the SPIEGEL. That was not compatible with explaining all public schools as non-confessional schools.
Incidentally, the current wording of Article 29 of the Land Constitution - unlike in earlier times - ensures that the schools in Rhineland-Palatinate are open to all students, regardless of their beliefs. Religious education is also important for the identification of children and adolescents, according to the authority. But student spokeswoman Lucia Wagner does not want to be content with that.
SPIEGEL: Ms. Wagner, why do you want to change the constitution?
Wagner: One month ago we called for the abolition of denominational religious education. However, Article 34 of our Constitution states that religious education is a regular subject in all schools, with the exception of non-confessional private schools. So if now all schools were free of confessions, the problem would be solved. However, Article 29 states that all public elementary, primary and special schools are Christian community schools. So if we want to abolish religious education in its present form, we first have to change Article 29.
SPIEGEL: The new demand for non-confessional community schools is therefore a means to an end.
Wagner: In the beginning yes, not anymore. When we looked at the constitution because of religious education and came across the article, we were shocked. I did not realize that there is still so much church in the constitution and in the schools. Although there were regular church services at my old elementary school, for example for school enrollment. However, I have not expected that all community schools are officially Christian.
SPIEGEL: What exactly is bothering you when a school calls itself Christian?
Wagner: We do not think it's alright that a state that claims to separate state and church from one another defines schools as Christian. This is discriminatory for people of all religions or without faith. If you do not notice it anyway, you can easily change it on paper.
SPIEGEL: And why do you want to abolish religious education?
Wagner: There are fewer young people today who are Catholic or Protestant. Instead, they believe in the most diverse religions or not at all. That's why we call for a compulsory school subject, where all students are taught together. In Brandenburg, for example, this is already being implemented in a similar way. Various religions, worldviews and criticisms of it should be comprehensively enlightened. In the best case, this is done by the state teacher and not by any municipal officers who send the church.
SPIEGEL: What were the reactions to your demands?
Wagner: We have received a lot of very positive letters to the editor and e-mails from all sorts of people, associations and youth parties are also supporting us. Some parents have even written to us that they would like to send their children to schools with ethics classes if we had any tips for them. The only ones that are at odds are the Ministry of Education and the churches.
SPIEGEL: The Ministry of Education in Mainz said that it was "neither necessary nor expedient" to abolish confessional-oriented religious education. For this, the Basic Law, the state constitution and also regulations in the school law and in the school regulations would have to be changed.
Wagner: That's no reason not to do anything! Politicians are still there to revise the law. State Secretary Hans Beckmann of the SPD has said to our demand that the schools would already stand for diversity and openness. But if all were taught together, openness and diversity would be much more supportive. You do not isolate yourself, but learn from each other.
SPIEGEL: You are currently in the 12th grade. Do you think that you will witness the abolition of religious education even at school?
Wagner: I think public discourse is the first step. Unfortunately he is the only one we can go at the moment. We observe that the churches still have a big influence on politics, so probably nothing will change that fast. Since the Fridays-for-Future debates, young people are being listened to more often than before - but much more does not happen.
