Religious Education in Serbia – Twenty-Four Years After Its Return to the Educational System

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2298/GEI2503251R UDC: 37.016:271.222(497.11) Original research paper

Abstract

The process of revitalizing religion preceded the return of religious education to the Serbian educational system. After half a century of exile, the Serbian Orthodox Church emerged into the public sphere. Confessional religious education was reintroduced in our educational system as an optional subject (2001/02). By the following school year (2002/03), religious and civic education became mandatory elective subjects. Today, after twenty-four years of their presence, debates continue regarding the status these subjects should have, which was further influenced by their rebranding from an elective subject to an elective program in 2017. Following the tragic events at „Vladislav Ribnikar“ Primary School in May 2023, amendments to the Law on the Foundations of the Education System are being announced. These changes will restore the status of religious education as an elective subject, and religion teachers will be able to sign indefinite employment contracts. The second part of the paper presents the results of empirical research on the attitudes of 4th-grade students from two high schools in Belgrade: the Mathematical Grammar School and the Geological and Hydrometeorological School, who attend religious education classes. The research aimed to determine whether students are familiar with and practice religious customs and rituals, what motivated their decision to attend religious education, and whether their expectations from the subject were met. The research was conducted in April 2023 with a random sample of 93 students. The results confirmed our hypothesis that responses would differ by school and gender.

Keywords: religious education in schools, Serbian Orthodox Church, religion teachers, attitudes of high school students, Serbia