2009

• December 2009 : declaration on displaying religious symbols

On December 10, 2009, the National Assembly of the Slovak Republic adopted the Declaration on Displaying Religious Symbols in Schools and Public Institutions (Vyhlásenie Národnej rady Slovenskej republiky o umiestňovaní náboženských symbolov v školách a vo verejných inštitúciách v súlade s kultúrnou tradíciou krajiny). The Slovak Parliament declares that the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights, which qualified the displaying of crosses in schools in Italy as a violation of parents´ rights to educate their children according to their own beliefs, contradicts the cultural heritage and Christian history of Europe. Displaying crosses in schools and public institutions represents a tradition owned by many European countries, Slovakia included. To respect this tradition cannot be understood either as a restraint of freedom of religion and belief or a violation of the parents´ rights to educate their children according to their own beliefs.
Displaying of religious symbols in schools and public institutions represents fully the right of every member state of the European Union, including Slovakia, and it is in accordance with the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, adopted in 1950.
103 MPs from 125 MPs present (the total number of Slovak MPs is 150) voted for this Declaration.