Religious instruction in Polish public schools in light of universal and European standards

The study is devoted to the analysis of legal regulations at a national level (Poland), the jurisprudence (case-law) of the Constitutional Tribunal and the practices of central and local government in matters related to public education, as perceived from the point of view of universal and European standards protecting freedom of conscience and religion. The author justifies the claim that the standards set by the Polish Constitutional Tribunal in this field are fundamentally different from the standards established in the case-law of the UN Human Rights Committee and the European Court of Human Rights. This leads to tolerance of repeated violation of the principle of ideological impartiality of public authorities. The principle, declared in Article 25 (2) of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland,1 is violated both by state-level legislation pertaining to the sphere of religion, and by biased practices of educational administration. What is particularly abnormal is the inertia of public authorities that are obliged to supervise religious education and/or instruction, and their indifference to the unlawful activities of the entity interested in ideological domination over the education sector. The author expresses the conviction that a fundamental change of the approach of the Polish legislator should take place, especially as regards the role and tasks of state entities in protecting freedom of conscience and religion in the educational activities of public schools. This would guarantee the philosophical and religious neutrality of education in state schools.