site.btaPatriarch Daniil: No One Will Be Forced to Study Religion

Patriarch Daniil said Saturday there is no cause for concern that every pupil will be obliged to study religion once the provisional subject Virtues and Religion enters the compulsory curriculum.

The course, discussed at an April 24 Ministry of Education and Science forum, will have three profiles: Religion and Orthodoxy, Religion and Islam—both already approved as electives—and an Ethics option for pupils who do not follow a faith.

Daniil noted that Austria, Malta, Romania and Germany treat religious education as compulsory and that Bulgaria did the same until 1944 while remaining a secular State. He argued that moral conduct rests on belief in God, pointing out that 62% of Bulgarians identify as Orthodox Christians and listing doctors, lawyers and academics among those whose professional integrity stems from their faith. He dismissed plans for protests, saying nothing in the proposal conflicts with parents’ or children’s beliefs.

“It is clear where the resistance to people learning about God and moral values comes from; The reasons are obvious. This reaction is driven by irrational impulses and outright hysteria—even, I would say, the demons are running amok,” Daniil said.

"Things will settle down, and, with God's help, the Ministry of Education and Science’s concept will soon be made public. All the facts will be available, and anyone who has questions will be able to ask them. There is no reason to worry that anything will be imposed on children," Daniil said.