Religious Education in Magyar: Hungary
Religious Education in Hungary (Magyarország)
The Act CXC of 2011 on Public Education brought about a new situation in regard to Religious Education in Hungary. Three forms of RE have existed since then: RE in congregations, RE in church-schools, and RE in state-schools.
RE in faith communities
RE in congregations is fully optional and voluntary: children and parents can decide whether they want to participate in this form of education in their free time outside of school. This form of RE is organised by and held in the congregation, lead by a pastor, an RE teacher, or a skilled fellow-worker.
RE in congregations is denominational and confessional with a wide variety of forms in practice. There are recommended curricula and materials by each faith community, but the responsible body of the local congregation decides on the concrete syllabus and study plan for the group and the final forms and content of this kind of RE.
RE in church schools
RE in church schools is compulsory: those who attend a school sustained by a church have to study RE in every (1st-12th) grade.
The pedagogical program of the school determines the number of hours of RE classes per week in each grade (usually 2hrs/week). RE in church schools is also denominational and confessional, with some freedom of choice: the child and the parents have the option to decide about the denomination of the RE classes in which the pupil will participate. In relation to this option there is a signed agreement among Catholic, Reformed and Lutheran churches: each church gives permission to the representatives of other churches to hold RE classes for their church members in its own church schools. This form of RE is organised by the school and delivered by a pastor or RE teacher hired by either the school or the church. The curricula of RE classes are assigned by the responsible pedagogical committee of experts in each church, and teaching materials are also prepared under their supervision.
RE in state schools
Hungary is a secular state, and state schools have to be neutral in religious and world views issues. RE in state schools is optional-compulsory: in state primary schools, ethics classes are included in compulsory curricular class activities, but pupils and their parents have the option to choose instead the alternative of „Religious and ethics” (in brief RE) classes. Both classes are determined at 1 hour/week by the National Act (CXC of 2011) on Public Education. (In state secondary schools this possibility does not exist, compulsory ethics classes are held in 1 hour/week on 11th grade and there is no alternative option for that.)
This type of RE in state primary schools is also denominational and confessional. The child and the parent may freely decide about the faith community, the church and the denomination of the RE class in which he/she will participate.
This form of RE is organised by an ecclesiastical legal person, and delivered by a pastor or RE teacher hired by the church. All 32 legally recognised faith communities in Hungary (Act CCVI of 2011) are allowed to organise RE classes in all state primary schools, the only limit to this may be the capacity of them to do so. RE classes can be given even for one child per class if the community concerned has the capacity to organise that class (eg. has an adequate person for teaching in that school of the city or village).
State schools have to cooperate with the ecclesiastical legal person concerned, but the content of RE classes can be determined and supervised only by the faith communities: “The ecclesiastical legal person shall be responsible for determining the content of religious and ethics education, for employing and supervising the religious teacher, for organising applications to take part in religious and ethics classes, and for supervising such activities. Schools – with the means available within the educational institution – shall ensure the material conditions for religious and ethics education, including, in particular, the orderly use of the premises, as well as the conditions required for application and operation. … The religious teacher shall have the necessary higher education religious qualifications and be appointed by the competent church authority.” (Act (CXC of 2011) on Public Education, Section 35, (4))
The curricula of RE classes are assigned by a responsible body of experts in each church, and also the teaching materials are prepared under their supervision.
The Act CXC of 2011 on Public Education brought about a new situation in regard to Religious Education in Hungary. Three forms of RE have existed since then: RE in congregations, RE in church-schools, and RE in state-schools.
RE in faith communities
RE in congregations is fully optional and voluntary: children and parents can decide whether they want to participate in this form of education in their free time outside of school. This form of RE is organised by and held in the congregation, lead by a pastor, an RE teacher, or a skilled fellow-worker.
RE in congregations is denominational and confessional with a wide variety of forms in practice. There are recommended curricula and materials by each faith community, but the responsible body of the local congregation decides on the concrete syllabus and study plan for the group and the final forms and content of this kind of RE.
RE in church schools
RE in church schools is compulsory: those who attend a school sustained by a church have to study RE in every (1st-12th) grade.
The pedagogical program of the school determines the number of hours of RE classes per week in each grade (usually 2hrs/week). RE in church schools is also denominational and confessional, with some freedom of choice: the child and the parents have the option to decide about the denomination of the RE classes in which the pupil will participate. In relation to this option there is a signed agreement among Catholic, Reformed and Lutheran churches: each church gives permission to the representatives of other churches to hold RE classes for their church members in its own church schools. This form of RE is organised by the school and delivered by a pastor or RE teacher hired by either the school or the church. The curricula of RE classes are assigned by the responsible pedagogical committee of experts in each church, and teaching materials are also prepared under their supervision.
RE in state schools
Hungary is a secular state, and state schools have to be neutral in religious and world views issues. RE in state schools is optional-compulsory: in state primary schools, ethics classes are included in compulsory curricular class activities, but pupils and their parents have the option to choose instead the alternative of „Religious and ethics” (in brief RE) classes. Both classes are determined at 1 hour/week by the National Act (CXC of 2011) on Public Education. (In state secondary schools this possibility does not exist, compulsory ethics classes are held in 1 hour/week on 11th grade and there is no alternative option for that.)
This type of RE in state primary schools is also denominational and confessional. The child and the parent may freely decide about the faith community, the church and the denomination of the RE class in which he/she will participate.
This form of RE is organised by an ecclesiastical legal person, and delivered by a pastor or RE teacher hired by the church. All 32 legally recognised faith communities in Hungary (Act CCVI of 2011) are allowed to organise RE classes in all state primary schools, the only limit to this may be the capacity of them to do so. RE classes can be given even for one child per class if the community concerned has the capacity to organise that class (eg. has an adequate person for teaching in that school of the city or village).
State schools have to cooperate with the ecclesiastical legal person concerned, but the content of RE classes can be determined and supervised only by the faith communities: “The ecclesiastical legal person shall be responsible for determining the content of religious and ethics education, for employing and supervising the religious teacher, for organising applications to take part in religious and ethics classes, and for supervising such activities. Schools – with the means available within the educational institution – shall ensure the material conditions for religious and ethics education, including, in particular, the orderly use of the premises, as well as the conditions required for application and operation. … The religious teacher shall have the necessary higher education religious qualifications and be appointed by the competent church authority.” (Act (CXC of 2011) on Public Education, Section 35, (4))
The curricula of RE classes are assigned by a responsible body of experts in each church, and also the teaching materials are prepared under their supervision.
|
|
Some of the purposes of RE
Each church and faith community formulates the purposes of RE on its own. Hereinafter there are listed some of the main and common guidelines of the RE classes of Christian churches: To make pupils become acquainted with the Christian tradition, its biblical, dogmatic and ethical contents and its history and present life in order that they get to know their own cultural roots and environment.
- To make pupils become acquainted with the Christian tradition, its biblical, dogmatic and ethical contents and its history and present life in order that they get to know their own cultural roots and environment.
- To help pupils to determine their own life stance.
- To enlighten pupils about world religions and other world views of life in order to learn to live in a multicultural world, to understand people of other faiths and to be able to be in dialogue with them.
- To provide access to the spiritual resources of pupils’ own religious community and to use them in order to enrich life.
- To ensure that pupils get experience in their own religious community to become familiar with its values and to benefit from belonging to a faith community.
High-school graduation exam
RE can be chosen as a subject for graduation exam. For pupils of church schools this possibility is included in the school's pedagogical program. If pupils of state schools want to take this option then they have to apply for this exam in a church school as a guest student.
Teachers
RE teachers’ training is the responsibility of the churches' theological universities or the theological faculties of those. There are no RE-teachers' programmes at state universities. RE-trainings are carried out in co-operation with teacher training faculties of state universities where students complete their other majors in any other subjects.
This report was written by Eszter Kodácsy-Simon, the EFTRE representative for Hungary - August 2016
