This article considers the actual problems of teaching about religion in public schools. The implementation of the educational concept outlined in the "Toledo Guiding Principles on Teaching about Religions and Beliefs in Public Schools" (2007) has been the subject of a vivid international discussion. Supporters of the new approach to teaching religion hope that the lessons of modern religious and non-religious beliefs and practices will promote tolerance and mutual understanding. Critics question not only the methods, but even the goal of the new educational strategy: the achievement of social peace in modern complex societies through the lessons of religion. Despite the fact that the context is fundamentally different from Western countries, the appearance of religious lessons in Russian school raises similar questions. What are the goals of the course on religion: indoctrination or the acquisition of knowledge? How does pedagogical theory

The research was carried out with the financial support of the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (RFBR) in the framework of the scientific project N16-06-00282a.

and practice ensure the neutrality or engagement of teaching religion in school?

Keywords: religious education, Toledo Guiding Principles on Teaching about Religions and Beliefs in Public Schools, religious literacy, religious indoctrination, principle of neutrality, "Foundations of Religious Cultures and Secular Ethics".

TEACHING religion in schools has become a truly puzzling task for modern states. On the one hand, they are trying to manage the growing religious diversity caused by intensive migration processes, which is increasingly perceived as a threat to security and social well-being. On the other hand, States declare their commitment to the concept of human rights and guarantee, inter alia, the right to freedom of conscience and freedom of religion. As a result, there are many different options for religious education1. At one end of the spectrum is Finland, with its 13 programs of exclusive denominational education for each religious group, and at the other end is the Canadian province of Quebec, with a single, compulsory, inclusive program of non-denominational religious studies.

Until the late 1990s, educational practices in developed countries were influenced by secularization processes: religions, increasingly restricted to private life, were actively pushed out of school life and curricula. Even in the projects of multicultural education, which became one of the instruments of multiculturalism policy and aimed at fostering tolerance and preparing students for life in a multiethnic society, very little attention was paid to religion. However, the return of religion to politics and the public sphere, the threat of religious extremism, first of all, the events of September 2001 in the United States, and the public outcry that they caused, led to a revision of state educational programs.

1. Religious education - the accepted designation for various approaches to teaching knowledge about religion in schools. See M. Shakhnovich's article in this issue for more details.

The Toledo Guidelines

In the early 2000s, government organizations and international institutions dealing with human rights, democratic development, and cultural interaction (in particular, the Council of Europe, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), and the First Amendment Center for the U.S. Constitution) began developing a new concept for religious education. A major milestone on this path was the publication in 2007 of a document entitled "Toledo Guiding Principles on Teaching about Religions and Beliefs in Public Schools" (Toledo Guiding Principles on Teaching about Religions and Beliefs in Public Schools). The Toledo Principles were developed by experts from the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), an OSCE institution, following a series of meetings with academics, politicians, teachers, lawyers and representatives of non-governmental organizations from different countries. The first of these meetings was held in the Spanish city of Toledo, after which the document was named. The Toledo Principles are recommendations for OSCE member states (the organization unites 57 countries located in North America, Europe, and Asia, including the United States, Canada, and Russia).², and offer a whole range of measures to correct educational strategies, form curricula, and train teachers. The proposed approach is based on two key principles: first, religious education should be organized in such a way that everyone's rights to freedom of conscience and religion are respected, and second, the study of religions and beliefs should help societies get rid of harmful stereotypes and prejudices. In general, new educational programs based on the Toledo Principles are designed to promote "a better understanding of the confessional diversity of the modern world and the increasingly visible presence of religion in the public sphere." ³

2. Who are we? // Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe [http://www.osce.org/ru/who-we-are, accessed from 20.11.2017].

3. Toledo Guiding Principles on Teaching about Religions and Beliefs in Public Schools (2007), pp. 11 - 12. ODIHR OSCE.

The Toledo Principles are recommended for all states, regardless of the form of church-State relations. The authors of the project are convinced that its main ideas-commitment to the concept of human rights; objectivity and impartiality; "sensitivity to local manifestations of religious and secular pluralism" ⁴-are universal and necessary for the implementation of modern religious education. It is emphasized that curricula should include not only institutional religions, but also various religious beliefs and even non-religious beliefs.

The "Toledo Principles" are general guidelines that can be used in the design of different types of training programs. They allow different options for religious education in public schools. In countries where it is already common practice to teach religion as an independent subject in primary and secondary education, the curriculum can be adjusted to suit new approaches. However, the authors of the project prefer various forms of integration of teaching knowledge about religions and beliefs in other subject areas, such as art, literature, music, history and philosophy, as well as in programs of multicultural education and the basics of democratic citizenship.⁵

In cases where the teaching of religion option is implemented, it is necessary to follow the principle of voluntariness and exempt from lessons those students who do not want to attend them. When teaching about religions is taught, a mandatory form of education is allowed in accordance with international human rights agreements. Religious affiliation cannot be considered as grounds for exemption from studying a course presented in the framework of a secular educational program.

The new concept of religious education assumes that all young people should receive knowledge about religion within the framework of the state education system: no educational system can ignore the role of religions and beliefs in history and culture, since this kind of education does not apply to all young people.-

4. Ibid., p. 20.

5. Ibid., p. 44.

knowledge causes intolerance and discrimination, and leads to negative stereotypes ⁶.

The authors of the Toledo Principles are convinced that most religious conflicts are related to a lack of understanding of other people's beliefs and respect for their rights, and thus religious lessons can become a kind of "antidote to extremism" ^.7

"Religious literacy": knowledge or education?

The educational concept formulated in the "Toledo Principles" has raised many questions from the scientific and expert community. The very idea that special educational programs can be used to educate citizens who understand and are loyal to all religions is attractive. However, as Adam Dinham, a professor at the University of London and head of several religious and civil society programs, has pointed out, " knowledge alone is not a guarantee of tolerance and respect."⁸. He draws attention to the fact that the problem lies not so much in the lack of knowledge, but in the inability to talk about religion, which is typical, in general, for modern society. Religion causes, at best, bewilderment, at worst - fear (literally, knee-jerk reaction - knee reflex), because it is associated with the threat of terrorist violence. In this situation, Dinham notes, it is necessary to foster "religious literacy (emphasis added - A. O.) that recognizes the new religious landscape and is relevant to all of us, regardless of our own religious position." ⁹

What is the basis of "religious literacy"? Does its development imply a departure from the purely academic concept of teaching religion in favor of" education " or " socialism-

6. Ibid., p.19.

7. Jackson, R. (2014) Signposts - Policy and Practice for Teaching about Religions and Non-Religious Worldviews in Intercultural Education. Council of Europe, p. 15.

8. Dinham, A. (2015) "Public Religion in an Age of Ambivalence: Recovering Religious Literacy after a Century of Secularism", in L.G. Beaman, L. Van Arragon (eds) Issues in Religion and Education. Whose Religion? International Studies in Religion and Society. Volume 25, p. 20. Leiden, Boston: Brill.

9. Ibid.

operations"? Does religious teaching consist in the transfer of a certain amount of knowledge or in civic education, which has replaced "religious indoctrination"? Proponents of the academic approach (in particular, the Danish researcher Tim Jensen) It is considered that religious education in public schools should be carried out within the framework of the regular compulsory school course, along with history, literature, foreign languages, social sciences, and include phenomenology, sociology, anthropology,and psychology of religion. ¹⁰ Moreover, the concept set forth in the Toledo Principles is often criticized for not being sufficiently critical and failing to "present religion and religious education from a non-religious perspective and in a non-religious way" ^.11

In turn, the proponents of the" Toledo Principles " draw attention to the fact that teaching religion in public schools is associated with a number of ethical, legal and pedagogical problems, and therefore requires a fundamentally different approach than ordinary subjects.¹² American researcher Bruce Grell believes that the academic approach to teaching religion lacks a critical perspective. Religions are depicted as discrete and unchanging systems: "Instead of a living, modern, complex tradition, students see only a snapshot taken at a specific time and place-usually a long time ago." ¹³ Little attention is paid to analyzing the relationship between religion and power, or how certain religious beliefs are culturally influenced by race, class, gender, and other factors. and political recognition, while others are marginalized.

Thus, some researchers interpret the "Toledo Principles" as a call to abandon the approach based on the study of world religions as historical traditions. They remind us that religion is not only a tradition, but also an iden-

10. Jensen, Т. (2008) "RS based RE in Public Schools: A Must for a Secular State", Numen: International Review for the History of Religions 55: 125.

11. Ibid., p. 127 - 128.

12. Grelle, B. (2015) "Neutrality in Public School Religion Education: Theory and Politics", in L.G. Beaman, L. Van Arragon (eds.) Issues in Religion and Education. Whose Religion? International Studies in Religion and Society. Volume 25, p. 248. Leiden, Boston: Brill.

13. Ibid., p. 250.

It is important that religion is alive and modern. A completely new approach must be developed that addresses "the most pressing religious and social question of our time - how can we help people find the right attitude to the religions that appear to surround them on all sides" ^.14

At the same time, proponents of the new methods note that the conversation about religion in school should be conducted with extreme caution, because it is associated with the problem of the identity of teachers, students and their parents. The situation is compounded by the fact that both religion as a topic and public schools as institutions have become hot spots in the "culture wars" between supporters of different political views. Accordingly, the main goal of studying religion is not to acquire a certain amount of knowledge, but to educate, develop certain skills and the ability to understand religions^.15 Religion classes are designed to fulfill an important social function - cohesion across diversity-and thus are radically different from other school subjects.

Proposals to develop the concept of teaching religion sometimes sound like a kind of political and pedagogical manifesto. Adam Dinham writes:

I would like to see teaching that focuses on religions and beliefs present in the here and now, rather than on a religion that existed somewhere in the past or somewhere far away. I would like to see the teaching of religion as an identity, not as a tradition - this is what will allow students to communicate with religion as something alive, real, experienced through personal experience. I would like to see teaching that will allow students to understand their own prejudices and confusion about religion and help them reach the level of conceptualization of religions and beliefs. I would like religious instruction to be an integral part of education, rather than a marginal addition that is colonized in any case by citizenship or ethics lessons. ¹⁶

14. Dinham, A. "Public Religion in an Age of Ambivalence: Recovering Religious Literacy after a Century of Secularism", p. 31.

15. Jackson, R. Signposts - Policy and Practice for Teaching about Religions and Non-Religious Worldviews in Intercultural Education , p. 22.

16. Dinham A., "Public Religion in an Age of Ambivalence: Recovering Religious Literacy after a Century of Secularism", p. 31.

Thus, school lessons about religions and non-religious beliefs are assigned an exclusive mission.: they should provide the new generation with the practical skills necessary for a successful life in today's global world.

The problem of neutrality

The other side of the problem is related to neutrality as a fundamental principle of the new concept of teaching religion. The Toledo Principles state that: the teaching of religious knowledge should be conducted in a neutral and unbiased manner that does not allow for an assessment of the validity or fallacy of any religious views.¹⁷

The requirement of neutrality applies not only to programs, but also to teachers. Studies conducted among religious teachers in public schools in Canada have shown that teachers face serious problems when they try to remain impartial and do not express their personal opinions in class when discussing any, even the most pressing topics. Indeed, can teachers be required to abstract from their beliefs when studying sensitive subjects such as religion and values? In the discussion that followed this study, it was recognized that: the program can be neutral, but not the teacher's personality, the teacher can only offer unbiased content and present different points ^of view18.

However, the neutrality of the programs has also been questioned. Religions are usually represented in the curriculum. -

17. Toledo Guiding Principles on Teaching about Religions and Beliefs in Public Schools.

18. Gravel, St. (2015) "Impartiality of Teachers in Quebec's Non-Denominational Ethics and Religious Culture Program", in L.G. Beaman, L. Van Arragon (eds) Issues in Religion and Education. Whose Religion? International Studies in Religion and Society. Volume 25, p. 367 - 388. Leiden, Boston: Brill.; Hoverd, W., Le Brun, E., Van Arragon, L. (2013) Religion and Education in the Provinces of Quebec and Ontario [http:// religionanddiversity.ca/media/uploads/religion_and_education_in_the_provinces_of_quebec_ and_ontario_report.pdf, accessed on: 10.08.2017].

There is a certain hierarchy of religious orders, and Christianity occupies a large part of the course. For example, the Quebec Ethics and Religious Cultures (ERC) program consistently addresses: Catholicism and Protestantism; Judaism and Native American religions, as part of the religious heritage of Quebec; Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism; secular forms of worldview ¹⁹. In addition, many non-denominational programs often teach religious teachings and dogmas under the pretext of studying national cultural traditions.

Doubts about the neutrality of the programs are also raised by their ideological load, because teaching religion in public schools is, first of all, a political project. The teaching of religious knowledge continues to be contrasted with religious indoctrination:

Religious teaching is seen as evidence of the arrival of a new era of religious freedom and inclusive equality, which, as a form of critical thought, is opposed to religious ideology and religious indoctrination. ²⁰

Members of religious communities often continue to perceive State educational policies as seeking to deprive them of their cultural roots, traditions, and religious obligations, and therefore not at all neutral. According to national reports from Western European countries, the United States and Canada, more and more families are avoiding the standardized school curriculum, sending their children to private religious schools or leaving them home-schooled. For example, in France, 17% of students are outside the public education sector, in Canada-35% ²¹. In Germany, over the past twelve years, the number of private schools has grown by 39% to 11%

19. Gravel St. "Impartiality of Teachers in Quebec's Non-Denominational Ethics and Religious Culture Program".

20. Van Arragon, L. (2015) "Religion and Education in Ontario Public Education: Contested Borders and Uneasy Truces", in L.G. Beaman, L. Van Arragon (eds) Issues in Religion and Education. Whose Religion? International Studies in Religion and Society. Volume 25, p. 35. Leiden, Boston: Brill.

21. Франция: Ministere de l'education nationale [http://www.education.gouv.fr/cid195/les-chiffres-cles.html, accessed on 20.11.2017]; Canada: seeHoverd, W., Le Brun, E., Van Arragon, L. (2013) Religion and Education in the Provinces of Quebec and Ontario.

out of a total of ²². Some researchers believe that neutrality in talking about religion is "epistemologically impossible", that it is only a declaration that serves the political purpose of disguising fear and hostility towards certain forms of religion and religious practices. ²³ Others express a more cautious view:

The neutral approach to teaching religions is not without controversy. But given our current educational and political circumstances, this is the best alternative ²⁴.

Canadian researcher Leo Van Arragon questions the neutrality of the concept presented in the Toledo Principles, noting that it has its own "epistemological assumptions, biases, and blind spots." ²⁵ He criticizes the claim that critical religious instruction can only be provided in secular, liberal public schools, and draws attention to that religious schools have developed their own traditions of critical thought. In particular, Jasmine Zayn's research shows that Toronto's Muslim schools are engaged in a critical analysis of colonial and racist discourses, exposing the power relations embedded in the structures of school education and serving to reproduce social inequality, the marginalization of knowledge and experience within school education. ²⁶

Thus, these schools do not act as "isolationist ghettos", as they are often perceived from the outside, but as "safe havens", where students are taught civic values as part of the educational process, which does not require them to make a choice

22. Education and Training Monitor (2016) Vol.2. Germany. Euripean Comission [http://ec.europa.eu/education/sites/education/files/monitor2016-de_en.pdf, accessed on: 10.08.2017].

23. Dinham, A. "Public Religion in an Age of Ambivalence".

24. Grelle, B. "Neutrality in Public School Religion Education: Theory and Politics", p. 252.

25. Van Arragon, L. "Religion and Education in Ontario Public Education: Contested Borders and Uneasy Truces".

26. Zine, J. (2008) Canadian Islamic schools: Unravelling the Politics of Faith, Gender, Knowledge and Identity, p. 69. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

between religious and civil identity. Zayn suggests placing an educational project based on critical faith at the center of a topical discussion about power and power relations, and thereby challenging the colonization of knowledge in schools through the hegemony of a Eurocentric worldview.²⁷

Van Arragon cites other examples of similar projects, Catholic and Protestant, showing that critical interaction with the world can be formed on the basis of a religious worldview. For example, Doug Blomberg argues that a curriculum based on a "biblical wisdom perspective" provides an alternative conceptual framework for critical thinking and social and political participation.²⁸

It is worth noting that in their discussions, both Zayn and Blomberg refer to the ideas of Paolo Freire, described in his book "Pedagogy of the Oppressed" (1970) and called critical pedagogy. Freire called the existing educational approach, where "the teacher talks about reality as if it were stationary, static, consisting of separate parts and completely predictable", "banking" or"limiting". In this case, students accept the passive role imposed on them, adapt to the existing reality and to the "fragmentary view of reality that they are taught" ²⁹. Freire contrasts this paradigm with "liberating education", which consists not in transmitting information, but in cognition. In critical pedagogy, it is considered important not to avoid sharp questions, but on the contrary, to problematize seemingly obvious truths. In accordance with this approach, the conversation about religion, faith and morality should be conducted based on the students ' own experience, based on the problems they face: nationalism, xenophobia, intolerance in all its manifestations.

27. Ibid., p. 70.

28.Cit. по: Van Arragon, L. "Religion and Education in Ontario Public Education: Contested Borders and Uneasy Truces". The possibilities of a critical approach within the religious worldview were discussed during a discussion between Judith Butler, Talal Asad, Saba Mahmoud, and Wendy Brown about cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad published in 2006 in a Danish magazine (and which caused exactly the events that should have prevented the lessons of religion).

29. Freire P. Education as a practice of liberation [http://www.prosv.ru/ebooks/best_pdf/paul_freire.pdf, accessed from 20.11.2017].

The teaching of religion in schools remains the subject of lively discussions, which have recently become truly global in nature. So, at the congress of the International Society of Sociologists of Religion (ISSR)³⁰ In 2017, researchers from Western and Eastern Europe, the United States, Canada, Australia, Israel, India, and Africa simultaneously discussed issues related to the presence of religion in the secular school space, in particular: the contribution of religious education to social integration, conflict reduction, and the fight against religious extremism; compliance with the principle of neutrality in the course of teaching religion in a multi-confessional society; the presence of clergy in a secular school; the provision of school meals in accordance with the religious preferences of students.

The range of concepts for teaching religion in schools is extremely wide: from cautious proposals for neutrality to "critical pedagogy", which implies a radical transformation of the existing model of education. At the same time, voices are increasingly heard calling for overcoming the dichotomy of the secular and religious and uniting on the basis of common values. Religious lessons have an important mission to spread knowledge that will help move from a fragile truce to a more lasting peace based on mutual respect and mutual responsibility, rather than suspicion and constant border patrolling, in a situation where religious minorities are perceived as hostile aliens. ³¹

The discussion of teaching religion at school refers us to a broader discussion about the role of religion in the modern world, desecularization, post-secularism, and a new understanding of secularism and religiosity. The battles that unfold around school religion lessons have become one of the challenges of the modern era, which force us to reconsider the established ideas and lead to the conclusion that:

30. Religion, Cooperation and Conflict in Diverse Societies (2017) Program of the 34th ISSR Conference, 4 - 7 July, Lausanne.

31. Van Arragon, L. "Religion and Education in Ontario Public Education: Contested Borders and Uneasy Truces", p. 53.

the secular and the religious are not opposed to each other, they are intertwined both historically and conceptually, so that it is impossible to understand one without referring to the other.³²

Teaching religion in a Russian school

In Russia, as in the West, the discussion of religious education revived in the 1990s, although in a slightly different context: the growing influence of religion and religious institutions was associated with the state's search for a new national idea. Russia abandoned the implementation of the concept set out in the Toledo Principles and began to develop its own approach to teaching religion in public schools. The key provisions of the Russian version of religious education are set out in the document entitled "The Concept of spiritual and moral development and upbringing of the personality of a Russian citizen" (2009), which is the methodological basis for the federal state educational standard of general education ³³. According to the Concept, the school should pay more attention to spiritual and moral education based on basic national values, which include patriotism, social solidarity, citizenship, family, work and creativity, science, traditional Russian religions, and the corresponding national educational ideal.

It should be noted that the initiator of the introduction of religious lessons in the school was not the Ministry of Education, but the Russian Orthodox Church. From 1991 to 2009, under various titles - "Fundamentals and Values of Orthodoxy" (Belgorod), "Fundamentals of Orthodox Culture" (Kursk), "The Law of God" (Voronezh), "Fundamentals of Orthodox Culture and Morality" (Novosibirsk), "History of the Church" (Rostov-on-Don) - lessons Orthodoxy in the status of a regional educational component was held in 15 regions, in a number of regions - as a mandatory one.

32. Asad, T., Brown, W., Butler, J., Mahmood, S. (2009) Is Critique Secular? Blasphemy, Injury, and Free Speech, p. 146. Berkeley.

33. Kontseptsiya dukhovno-nravstvennogo razvitiya i vospitaniya lichnosti grazhdana Rossii [The concept of spiritual and moral development and education of the Russian citizen's personality].

³⁴. When in 2010, due to the transition to new educational standards, the regional educational component was abolished, a new subject was introduced into the school curriculum- "Fundamentals of Religious Cultures and Secular Ethics" (ORCSE), consisting of six modules: "Fundamentals of Orthodox Culture", "Fundamentals of Islamic Culture", "Fundamentals of Islamic Culture".Fundamentals of Buddhist Culture", "Fundamentals of Jewish Culture", "Fundamentals of World Religious Cultures" and "Fundamentals of Secular Ethics". In 2012, after a two-year testing experiment, ORCSE was included in the school curriculum as a mandatory federal component. According to the regulations developed by the Ministry of Education, parents of students must choose one of the modules, and the school, in turn, must provide each student with the opportunity to attend classes in the chosen course, even if only one person has signed up for it. Students study ORKSE for one year (in the 4th grade) for one hour a week, and no grades are given in this subject.

According to the annual monitoring conducted by the Ministry of Education, the number of students choosing to study the module "Fundamentals of Orthodox Culture" is constantly growing, while the number of students choosing the so-called "secular" modules - "Fundamentals of Secular Ethics" and "Fundamentals of World Religious Cultures" - is decreasing (see table).³⁵. The number of students who study the basics of Islam is approximately 3%, while the number of students who study the basics of Judaism and the basics of Buddhism is less than 1%.

34. Orthodox culture is taught in more than 11,000 schools in Russia // Interfax-religions. December 27, 2006 [http://www.interfax-religion.ru/?act=news&div=15872, accessed from 20.11.2017].

35. Comparative table of the choice of ORCSE modules in 2014/2015 and 2015/2016 academic years. Website of ORCSE Academy for Advanced Training and Retraining of Educational Workers [http://orkce.apkpro.ru/doc/%D0%9E%D1%82%D1%87%D0%B5 %D1%82%20%D0%BE%20%D0%BF%D1%8o%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B5%D0%B4% D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B8%20%D0%BC%D0%BE%D0%B-D%D0%B8%D1% 82%D0%BE%D1%8o%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%B3%D0%Bo%20 %D0%9E%D0%Ao%D0%9A%D0%A1%D0%AD. pdf, accessed 20.11.2017]; Selection of ORCSE modules in the 2016/2017 academic year in the Russian Federation, Website of ORCSE Academy for Advanced Training and Retraining of Educational Workers [http://orkce.apkpro.ru/doc/%D0%98%D0%BD%D1%84%D0%BE%D1%8o%D0% BC%D0%B0%D1%86%D0%B8%D1%8F%20%D0%BF%D0%BE%20%D0%B2%D1%8B %D0%B1%D0%BE%D1%8o%D1%83%20%D0%BC%D0%BE%D0%B4%D1%83%D0%B -B%D0%B5%D0%B9%20%D0%9E%D0%Ao%D0%gA%D0%A1%D0%AD%20 %D0%B2%20%D0%Ao%D0%BE%D1%81%D1%81%D0%B8%D0%B9%D1%81%D0%B A%D0%BE%D0%B9%20%D0%A4%D0%B5%D0%B4%D0%B5%D1%8o%D0%Bo%D1 %86%D0%B8%D0%B8. pdf, accessed from 20.11.2017].

Table for selecting ORCSE modules

It should be noted that the free choice of the module remains only a declaration, often this issue is decided not by the parents of students, but by the school and / or regional administration ³⁶. For example, in the Belgorod, Ryazan, Tambov, and Rostov regions, the number of students studying "Fundamentals of Orthodox Culture" is close to 100 %. At the same time, in Tatarstan and Kabardino-Balkaria, no one studies either Orthodoxy or Islam.

A sociological survey conducted in 2015 among specialists of regional education authorities, teachers and parents revealed a number of negative consequences of the introduction of the ORCSE course: forced imposition of one of the modules; separation of students by worldview or nationality; forced imposition of faith,

36. Ozhiganova A. Battle for the school. Modernizers and clerics // Inviolable reserve. 2016. N 106 (2) [http://www.nlobooks.ru/node/7253 Academic research and conceptualization of religion in the XXI century: traditions and new challenges: collection of materials of the III Congr. ros. Vladimir: Arkaim, 2016. pp. 288-309; Kollner, T. (2016) "Patrioticism, Orthodox Religion and Education: Imperial Findings from Contemporary Russia", Religion, State and Society 44(4).

religious beliefs; reducing the level of tolerance for cultural, confessional and religious differences; the emergence of conflicts among parents on interethnic or inter-confessional grounds in the process of choosing modules. The overwhelming majority of respondents (80% of specialists from regional education authorities, 79% of teachers-teachers of ORCSE and 89% of parents) noted that the knowledge provided in the ORCSE training course could be taught in the course of studying other subjects, such as literary reading, the world around us, fine arts, music, etc. ³⁷ The data correlate with the results of a sociological survey conducted in 2013 by the Yuri Levada Analytical Center: 75% of respondents believed that subjects related to religion should be voluntary, while only 20% were in favor of making the study of religion in school compulsory for all students.

Regulatory documents and methodological developments note that the ORCSE is a neutral, secular, culturological subject. At the same time, a very specific understanding of "culture" and "cultural studies" is proposed: the concept of "culture" is derived from the word "cult"³⁹, and the cultural approach is contrasted with religious studies as an atheistic discipline. Alla Borodina, author of a series of odious textbooks that continue to be published in large numbers, claims that teaching religious studies contradicts the Constitution of the Russian Federation and the Law "On Education", offends the feelings of believers, and also hinders the successful socialization of students. ⁴⁰ I. V. Metlik, Professor of PSSTU, member of the Synodal Department of Religious Education and Catechesis, notes,

37. Analysis of survey data. Website of ORCSE, Academy of Advanced Training and Retraining of Educational Workers. [http://orkce.apkpro.ru/doc/%D0%9096 D0%BD%D0%Bo%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%B7%20%D0%B4%D0%B0%D0%B-D%D0% BD%D1%8B%D1%85%20%D1%81%D0%BE%D1%86%D0%BE%D0%BF%D1% 80%D0%BE%D1%81%D0%Bo.pdf,доступ от 20.11.2017]

38. Dubin B. Faith of the majority // Assembly and dismantling of the secular world / ed. by A. Malashenko, S. Filatov. Moscow: ROSSPEN, 2014. p. 200.

39. The authors of the manuals quote "Fundamentals of the social concept of the Russian Orthodox Church": "The Latin word cultura, meaning "cultivation", "upbringing"," education"," development", comes from the word cultus - "veneration"," worship","cult". This indicates the religious roots of the culture." (Fundamentals of the social concept of the Russian Orthodox Church, Chapter XIV. Secular Science, Culture, and Education, 2000 [https://mospat.ru/ru/documents/social-concepts/xiv/, accessed from 20.11.2017]).

40. Borodina A.V. Fundamentals of Orthodox culture: The world around and inside us. 2nd class. Manual for teachers, Moscow: Exam Publ., 2010, p. 5.

that religious education should be distinguished from religious studies and refers the ORCSE to the so-called religious and cultural education, which is "implemented for the purpose of studying a certain tradition, culture, as it is accepted and understood in the relevant religious organization"⁴¹.

It has been repeatedly noted that the concept of ORCSE is extremely controversial and represents an attempt to combine moral and patriotic education with religious indoctrination. ⁴² The promotion of this ill-conceived concept raises serious concerns. E. Lisovskaya and V. Karpov, after analyzing research data in four predominantly Muslim regions of Russia-Tatarstan, Dagestan, Kabardino-Balkaria and Bashkiria, came to the conclusion that "the content of the subject of" Fundamentals of Orthodox Culture" is becoming religious intolerance", and that further attempts to desecularize the state policy of the Russian Orthodox Church are being made. schools "from above" can lead to an increase in ethno-religious tensions ⁴³. Fyodor Kozyrev, the author of a number of works devoted to the "humanitarian approach" to religious teaching, also speaks of serious risks to the implementation of religious education in Russia, primarily the exclusive politicization of issues related to religion, low standards of civic behavior, and the lack of a developed modern educational theory and methodology.⁴⁴

Nevertheless, despite the negative assessments of experts and public opinion, the question of expanding the course of ORCSE to other secondary school classes is constantly being raised. To this end, in 2015 a new subject area "Fundamentals of spiritual and moral culture of the peoples of Russia" was introduced into the program of general secondary education:

41. Metric I. V. New about the study of religion and education of schoolchildren in the Law "On education in the Russian Federation" // the Education of schoolchildren. 2014. N7. pp. 24-35. [http://www.verav.ru/common/mpublic.php?num=2876, accessed from 20.11.2017].

42. Willems, J. (2007) "Fundamentals of Orthodox Culture (FOC): A New Subject in Russia's Schools", British Journal of Religious Education 29(3): 236; Glanzer, P.L. (2005) "Postsoviet Moral Education in Russia's State Schools: God, Country and Controversy", Religion, State & Society 33 (3); Halstead, J. (1994) "Moral and Spiritual Education in Russia", Cambridge Journal of Education 24: 423 - 438; Ozhiganova A. Battle for School. Modernizers and clerics.

43. Lisovskaya, E., Karpov, V. (2010) "Orthodoxy, Islam, and the Desecularization of Russia's State Schools", Politics and Religion 3: 277.

44. Kozyrev, F., Fedorov, V. (2006) "Religion and Education in Russia: Historical Roots, Cultural Context and Recent Developments", in R. Jackson, S. Miedema, W. Weisse, J.-P. Willaime (eds) Religion in Education. A Contribution to Dialogue or a Factor of Conflict in Transforming Societies of European Countries, p. 188. Hamburg.

The ODNKNR subject area is a logical extension of the ORCSE subject area and within its framework it is possible to implement educational subjects that take into account the regional, national and ethno-cultural characteristics of the peoples of the Russian Federation ⁴⁵.

Currently, the introduction of electives and additional subjects in the framework of ODNKD is at the discretion of the school. For example, in some schools, the subject "Origins" has appeared (authors: A.V. Kamkin, prof. Vologda State University, and I. A. Kuzmin), "aimed at connecting children to the basic spiritual, moral and socio-cultural values of Russia "⁴⁶, which replaced the usual primary school subject"The world around us". In some regions, the subject "Moral foundations of family Life", written by Yekaterinburg priest D. Moiseev and nun Nina (Krygina), is taught as an elective in grades 10-11. However, the issue of introducing religious instruction in all grades of secondary school from 1st to 11th as a mandatory federal component is constantly being raised. Thus, despite the fundamentally different context from Western countries, the appearance of religion lessons in Russian schools raises the same issues that are discussed in the discussion of religious education in the West. What are the goals of a school religion course: education or acquisition of new knowledge? How does pedagogical theory and practice ensure the neutrality or commitment of religious teaching in schools? The presence in the school curriculum of different subjects (modules) representing different religious traditions is associated with the confessional course (teaching religion) and the desire to respect the rights of students to freedom of religion. What is the justification for dividing the class into groups in ORKSE lessons, if the neutrality (secularism) of this subject is declared? Proponents of ORCSE explain this division as a desire for "a deeper study of religious culture." However, according to its concept, ORCSE is rather a direction of educational work, the purpose of which is "socio-cultural competence", and not an ordinary school subject aimed at acquiring new knowledge.

45. On the study of the subject areas of ORCSE and ODNKNR, letter of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation No. 08-761 dated May 25, 2015.

46. Rod basis of istokovedeniya / / Website of the Istoki Publishing House [http://www.istoky-co.ru/osnova.php, accessed from 20.11.2017].

Despite its relevance, the problem of teaching religion in schools is rarely covered in the Russian mass media. In the TV program "Meanwhile", which aired on the Kultura channel in December 2014, almost the only attempt was made to organize a public discussion on this topic. During a conversation about the prospects of expanding religious teaching to all grades of secondary school, from 1st to 11th, the head of the Patriarchal Commission on Family, Motherhood and Childhood and an influential Moscow priest Dmitry Smirnov said that "the study of religion should become the main subject, the core of the school curriculum." His opponents-Gennady Vdovin, director of the Ostankino Museum-estate, and Alexander Abramov, a mathematician, teacher, and corresponding member of the Academy of Education-strongly opposed this idea, noting the huge number of problems and risks associated with promoting religious teaching in Russian schools. ⁴⁷

This discussion revealed a radical divergence of opinion on the question of whether, in principle, special lessons on religion are necessary, or whether they are useless and even harmful. In addition, this program revealed a lack of awareness of the invited experts in modern concepts of religious education and the controversy surrounding them.

It is worth noting that the Toledo Principles have not yet been translated into Russian and remain little known to the Russian audience, as well as other fundamental documents, in particular, "Road Signs-policy and practice of teaching knowledge about Religions and Non-religious worldviews in intercultural Education" (2014) and materials of major international projects, such as REDCo (European Research Projecton Religion in Education)⁴⁸ and TRES (Network on Teaching Religion in a Multicultural European Society)⁴⁹.

47. Fundamentals of Orthodox culture - to a secular school? // Kultura TV channel. 23.12.2014 [http://tvkultura.ru/video/show/brand_id/20905/episode_id/1152662/video_id/1113162/viewt ype/picture/, доступ от 20.11.2017].

48. Full title of the project: "Religion in education. A contribution to dialogue or a factor of conflict in the transforming societies of European countries?" Representatives of 9 European research centers (Prof. W. Weisse, University of Hamburg; Prof. R. Jackson, University of Warwick, etc.) participated in its development. A contribution to Dialogue or a factor of Conflict in transforming societies of European countries? Final activity Report (2009) [http://cordis.europa.eu/documents/documentlibrary/123869721EN6.pdf, доступ от 20.11.2017].

49. TRES is a European network of academic institutions and other professional organizations involved in teaching religion at academies.-

In this special issue, we have collected several texts that address all these complex issues from different angles and from different positions.

Marianna Shakhnovich in her article "Religion at school: the modern European landscape" introduces the reader to modern approaches to teaching knowledge about religion in Western Europe. The author notes that the presence of a huge variety of concepts is due not only to the growing religious diversity of modern Western societies, but also to the pluralism of opinions in assessing this diversity. Shakhnovich pays special attention to the criticism of the term "religious education", noting its ambiguity, especially when translated into Russian, and, consequently, the danger of misinterpretation.

Tim Jensen's article is devoted to the practice of religious education in the Scandinavian countries, primarily in Denmark. The author expresses the opinion that the concept of the "Toledo Principles" is greatly overestimated and in fact represents only a way to curb or tame religion (especially Islam). Jensen is a strong critic of current approaches to teaching religion in public schools, noting that religious education is overly politicized and often used as a weapon in the ongoing culture wars.

Dmitry Shmonin also criticizes the concept of teaching religion presented in the Toledo Principles. However, in contrast to Jensen, he speaks of the importance of spiritual education through religion and suggests referring to theology as "a branch of humanitarian knowledge and a religious-philosophical theory of education."

Viktor Shnirelman in the article "Religious Culture or an invitation to Religion - what do new textbooks teach?" analyzes Russian textbooks on the subject "Fundamentals of religious cultures and secular ethics". The article considers both the very first editions of the 1990s (the textbooks "Fundamentals of Orthodox Culture" by A. Borodina and L. Kolesnikov). Shevchenko), and later-textbooks of the publishing houses "Prosveshchenie", "Drofa" and "Russkoe Slovo", according to which Russian schoolchildren are currently studying. The author comes to the conclusion that the content of textbooks does not correspond to the-

in a specific context. The project unites all EU countries and countries associated with it. The project is coordinated by the Center for Religious Education at the University of Vienna. Teaching Religion in a Multicultural European Society website [https://www.tres-network.eu/about-tres/, доступ от 20.11.2017].

It does not correspond to the cultural orientation of the subject, which is stated by their compilers.

Tatiana Pronina's article is devoted to the experience of teaching ORCSE in schools in the Tambov region, where more than 90% of students annually choose to study the module "Fundamentals of Orthodox Culture". The author presents the results of an independent comprehensive study conducted by the staff of the Center for Religious Studies of Tambov University, and shows what determines the choice of the module and how teachers and parents evaluate the results of mastering this subject by 4th graders.

The article by Leyla Almazova describes the teaching of religion in the Republic of Tatarstan in the context of the revival of Islam in this region. The author draws attention to the fact that while the leadership of the republic refused to teach "religious" modules of the ORCSE in favor of "secular" ones (in Tatarstan, schoolchildren study only "Fundamentals of Secular Ethics" or "Fundamentals of World religious Cultures"), the practice of studying Islam in Muslim kindergartens, summer camps, and educational centers at mosques is expanding and comprehensive Muslim schools.

We hope that the publications presented in this issue will be an important part of the ongoing discussion about teaching religious knowledge in public schools.

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