2024 - Religion in schools - Are churches investing too little in religious education?

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In Switzerland there are not enough young people for church religious education. Theologian Thomas Schlag is convinced that the churches have missed an opportunity.

Whether the church will be pushed out of the school, asked the Basler Zeitung recently provocative. That would be saying too much. Nevertheless, in some places the cantonal churches are having difficulty finding enough young people. This is confirmed by Pastor Roland Dobler from the teaching department of the Evangelical Reformed Church of Baselland. There would be too few offspring for the many retirements – keyword baby boomers.

Missing education

Is there a shortage of skilled workers? church religious education also because fewer and fewer people are interested in the church? “That may be one reason – but not the main reason,” answers Thomas Schlag, Professor of Practical Theology. Religious education is one of his main topics. He is convinced that the churches are not investing enough in it.

There has been a hybrid model in Switzerland since Curriculum 21. The subject “Nature, People, Society” also deals, among other things, with religions, in the sense of “teaching about religion”.

In addition, there are church religious education classes at the school, which are the responsibility of the cantonal churches and the staff are trained and paid by them. This religious instruction is voluntary and is not graded. The approach is to bring up Christian values and traditions, i.e. “learning from religion”.

The University of Zurich conducted the study from 2021 to 2023 «Further develop church education with children and young people” through. According to Thomas Schlag, this has clearly shown that church religious education is “colossally important” for people to develop a bond with the Christian churches and an idea of the Christian faith.

We need as many “contact options” as possible in as many places as possible, Thomas Schlag continued. “And church religious education is just such an option.”

Missed opportunity

But education has been treated in a “step-childish” manner by the regional churches in recent decades. Community development, pastoral care and church services are first on the church agenda.

The churches would have missed something. Specifically, Thomas Schlag believes that a large religious education institute could pool forces, develop common standards and enhance the profession of religious education teacher. An idea that has been around again and again, but has never been implemented. “Now the problem is falling at our feet,” says Schlag.

However, there are exceptions. In Basel-Stadt, for example, the Evangelical Reformed Church and the Roman Catholic Church have each founded a “Rectorate for Religious Education”. The rectorates plan and organize ecumenical religious education together.

They have no bottlenecks, says Ursula Schubert of the Evangelical Reformed Rectorate. And: Religious education is “successful” – 65 to 70 percent of all primary school students visited him.