Current situation of religious instruction in Switzerland
On the issue of religious instruction in schools, the agreements between the religious communities and schools vary from one Canton to another. On the one hand, instruction may be completely handled by the religious communities – the school merely schedules a time slot and provides the premises. On the other hand, there are cantons where the school has the sole responsibility of providing religious instruction. However, in the majority of Cantons, there is some level of cooperation between schools and religious communities (most especially the Traditional Churches).
| Lay schools | Religious schools (incomplete data) | |||||
| The State has the responsibility for providing religious instruction (in collaboration with the Churches) | Religious communities have the responsibility of providing religious instruction | Catholic, Protestant or Christian Schools | Jewish schools | |||
| Without waivers | With waivers | Christian classes (Catholic or Reformed) |
Islamic classes | |||
| Primary Level | AG (Ethik und Religion) | AI AR (Mensch und Umwelt) BE (Natur-Mensch-Mitwelt) BL FR (Religion/Bibel) LU (Ethik und Religion) NW (Ethik und Religion) OW (Ethik und Religion) SH (Individuum, Gemeinschaft und Religion) SO TI TG (Realien) UR (Ethik und Religion) VD VS ZG (Ethik und Religion) ZH (currently being changed) |
AI BL BS (ecumenical) GL GR LU NW OW SG SH SO SZ TG UR VS |
LU | BE BL BS TG ZH and others |
ZH (Noam) |
| Lower Secondary Level | AG (Ethik und Religion) ZH (Religion und Kultur, since 2007) |
AI AR BE (Natur-Mensch-Mitwelt) FR LU |
AI BL BS BE GL GR LU NW OW SG SH SO SZ TG UR VS ZH |
Religious secondary Schools in several Cantons | ||
| Upper Secondary Level Schools preparing students for the School leaving certificate (Maturitäts-schulen) |
"Religion" as a complementary option based on the regulation (1995) on the recognition of the school leaving certificate in several Cantons | Religious secondary schools in several Cantons | ||||
(AG) Argovie; (AI) Appenzell Rhodes-Intérieures; (AR) Appenzell Rhodes-Extérieures; (BE) Berne; (BL) Bâle-Campagne; (BS) Bâle-Ville; (FR) Fribourg; (GL) Glaris; (GR) Grisons; (LU) Lucerne; (NW) Nidwald; (OW) Obwald; (SG) Saint-Gall; (SH) Schaffhouse; (SO) Soleure; (SZ) Schwyz; (TG) Thurgovie; (TI) Tessin; (UR) Uri; (VD) Vaud; (VS) Valais; (ZG) Zoug; (ZH) Zurich.
See in particular: : Belliger, Andrea u.a.: Staatlicher und kirchlicher Religionsunterricht an den öffentlichen Schulen der Deutschschweizer Kantone: 2002, Luzern: Zentralschweizerischer Beratungsdienst.
15 December 2012 Ansgar Jödicke Katharina Frank
