Schools introduced the course “Fundamentals of Religious Cultures”. How can this affect the worldview of children? School psychologist Galina Tsukerman comments.
Galina Tsukerman – Professor, Doctor of Psychology, School Psychologist
Before May, parents of future fourth-graders must decide which module from the course “Fundamentals of Religious Cultures and Secular Ethics” they choose for their child. There are six options: the foundations of one of the traditional cultures (Buddhism, Islam, Judaism, Orthodoxy), the foundations of world religious cultures and secular ethics. As a result, the class will be divided into groups … and what will happen next?
Psychologies: Will the separation of children along confessional lines affect relationships in the classroom?
G. C .: It will depend on who and how this course will be taught. When a teacher or clergyman chooses the tactics of “aggressive missionary work” and convinces students that his faith is the most “correct”, this provokes conflict. There was no ground for which in the first three school years: the children were interested in each other’s character traits or external features, and now religious and ethnic differences were in their field of vision. I am convinced that the main thing is not to emphasize them. It is much more important to pay attention to the fact that all people are generally different. For example, there are very temperamental children and more restrained ones, boys differ from girls … And attitudes towards religion can also be different.
And how can these lessons affect the children’s worldview?
G. C .: In relation to children of 10 years old, one can only talk about the worldview. We assume that this is not about religious education, but only about enlightenment – but even in this case, I think such lessons are premature. It is too early to teach the history of religions to 9-10-year-old children: they still lack an understanding of the general historical and cultural context. But for teenagers, this training course – as part of world history and culture – would be simply necessary.