On February 3rd, the time has begun to pre-enroll our children and young people in schools, and as every year we would like to remind you why we do not think it is a good idea to enroll them in religion. Last year we finished the article saying that “many of you will be familiar with this writing because we have been with the same motto for years” and unfortunately we have to start the same again this year because things have not changed at all. And worse still, last year the new Basque Law of Education was passed. Article 3 of the Act, on the principles of the Basque Education System, states: “Social cohesion, respect for pluralism, and freedom of thought and belief, as well as the guarantee of human rights and the defense of diversity within the framework of the principle of secularism.” Despite this principle of secularism, the treatment of the subject of religion is the same as in previous courses. That is why we must continue to repeat the same arguments as always.

To begin, remember that the obligation to offer religion in public school is an inheritance of Franco and Suárez, because one is one of the points of the concordat that was signed in 1953 and the other ratified in 1979 (like the maintenance of the Catholic Church by the state, but we will leave that for another). It is true that in most election campaigns the left, including the PSOE, has promised us that they will eliminate it as soon as the government is achieved, but the only change is that since 1992 more religions have the possibility of appointing teachers that we all pay for.

Since it is legally recognized, many use the word right to refer to this situation. But is it only a law, a right or a privilege that protects the interests of some? Because at the moment it is said that there are about 42,000 religions in the world and of them only the Roman Catholics, the Hebrews, the whole that is taken under the word Islam and the Evangelical is what can carry out this right, so are the Orthodox, Buddhists, Neopagans or Maronite Catholics (yes, those who have come to escape the civil war in Syria) who are more and more numerous people of Baroque rights? In this connection, we have recently heard from the left the demands for the recruitment of teachers of other religions. We do not agree, the bad way to achieve a secular state is to fill the public school with teachers of religion.

Article 14 of the Children’s Rights Proclamation, adopted in 1959, states that “the freedom of thought, conscience and religion of the child shall be guaranteed.” Many parents feel that it is their right to choose the ideology of their children. These two rights collide. We would propose to wait until the children begin to think for themselves, but whoever does not have the patience for it has sacristies, meders, synagogues, etc. We don't want to pay for children's indoctrination.

Religion is the only topic of choice in Early Childhood and Primary, when they are still too young to have any of their own minds. Therefore, these young people who study religion spend about 40 hours outside their classroom each academic year, which is not the best way to group cohesion and strengthen relationships.

All schools have the same number of hours of study, so it is necessary to remove the religion from somewhere else to enter. It was decided that religious students would not be worse prepared at any level if only one student throughout the school chose religion, the other would work on a parallel theme so as not to delay the religious in loss. That is, one conditions all the others. If no other party has chosen this time that could have been used in the school to work on the common baggage, but this created differences between schools. What was the administration’s solution? Every student must address the parallel issue in all schools, to the detriment of biology.

And when we say everything, we mean everything, not only in Infant and Primary Education, but also in ESO and Baccalaureate. This year our young people will take the USaP (new selectivity) exam for the first time, prepared by their predecessors 37 hours less than in so many hours in high school.

It is also an argument heard over and over again, the ethical education of the students. Ethics is a branch of philosophy and therefore the theoretical subject belongs to the professor of philosophy. Addressing the attitudes of children and young people towards certain issues is a task for all, for all teachers and for society as a whole. Religion does not teach ethics, but morals. They adopt ethics and make an adaptation, for example, if ethics proclaims the equality of all, morality accepts all the same, but leaving it clear that “some are more equal than others.” The simplest example is still the equality of men and women. How many women priests, imams or rabbis do you know?

It must also be taken into account that all the sacred books that form the basis of religions are contrary to science, and the public school must always act in favour of science. To our satisfaction, fewer and fewer children are enrolled, as a result, these teachers have problems to complete their schedules, but on the other hand, they are fixed teachers, so it has been the decision of the administration to justify the salary to give them classes on other subjects, but it must be taken into account that they are fixed as long as they have the approval of the bishops, so what will teach those of the religion that has been assigned to teach the geography, that the mountains are as they are because God designed them, or the forms of movement, transportation and sedimentation?

It costs us 700 million euros a year to support teachers of religion. 700 million of us are taxed, because even if they need the approval of the bishops (or who knows who) to be hired, the salary is paid by the education department of the local autonomous government. Surely there are more urgent needs than paying for the indoctrination of children.

And we want to express a doubt that is eating us for years. Roman Catholics need the approval of their bishops and have written requirements on their website, but who decides who will be a teacher in other religions?

We’d love to finish by saying goodbye and be good, but we’ll be realistic and we’ll finish by saying until next year.

Secular Basque public school, now!

Arantza Lekona, Collective Secularism