The Plenary Session of the Council of State in Greece ruled that church services attendance and the morning prayer of the pupils of kindergartens and primary schools are constitutionally and legally provided for.
At the same time, it ruled that unconstitutionally and contrary to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), there is no legal provision for the exemption from church attendance of kindergarten and primary school pupils for reasons of religious conscience.
The Plenary Session of the CoS had received a request for the annulment of a decree which provides for the joint prayer of pupils and teachers of kindergartens and primary schools, as well as the possibility of pupils attending church services, in the context of specific holidays.
The Plenary Session of the CoS ruled that “prayer and attending church services in the context of the educational process, as well as the teaching of Religious education classes, are necessary means by which the constitutional purpose of developing the religious conscience of Greeks under Article 16 paragraph 2 of the Constitution, is served.”
It also refers to the court judgment according to which, “therefore, they are addressed exclusively to pupils embracing the Orthodox Christian doctrine and not to heterodox, those practicing different religions or atheist pupils.”
The latter have a direct right of exemption from prayer and attending church services.
Furthermore, it refers to the CoS’s decision that “attending church services and morning prayers for pupils of kindergartens and primary schools are legally provided for”, while on the contrary, the possibility of exemption from church services attendance of kindergarten children and primary school pupils for reasons of religious conscience is illegally not provided.
In addition, according to the CoS’s decision, “in violation of the same provisions, the possibility of exemption from morning prayer is provided only for pupils of another doctrine and not the other pupils (practicing different religions, atheists, agnostics) who use reasons of religious conscience for exemption.”
Source: ANA-MPA