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Article 16 (par. 2) of the Constitution states that education is a fundamental mission of the State aimed at the moral, intellectual, professional, and physical development of the Greeks, as well as the fostering of national and religious consciousness. While Article 16 does not explicitly mention the Orthodox Church, it is closely linked to Article 3, which designates Orthodox Christianity as the prevailing religion in Greece.

The teaching of religion in schools has been the subject of extensive public debates concerning religious freedom and the secularisation process in Greek education. It is widely acknowledged that the religious curriculum predominantly reflects Greek Orthodox perspectives and provides only minimal information about other religions. Moreover, the absence of scientific and critical analysis in the curriculum is notable. Following the development of a new, more progressive curriculum, and educational materials in 2016-17, a group of Orthodox priests and theologians appealed to the Council of State, arguing that the religious curriculum should exclusively represent Greek Orthodox beliefs in accordance with the Greek Constitution.

The court upheld their appeal, affirming the validity of Article 3 and its direct relation to Article 16. These rulings (660/2018 and 1749-1750/2019) effectively mandated that the religious curriculum remains almost exclusively Greek Orthodox, significantly limiting religious diversity and excluding religious pluralism from Greek schools. Additionally, the court ruled that in the event of a significant number of students opting out of the religious class due to their religious beliefs, the Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs should introduce an alternative class. Furthermore, the Council of State ruled that disclosing one’s religious beliefs to seek exemption from the religious class is unconstitutional and should be abolished. Consequently, the current situation stands as follows : the religious curriculum remains predominantly Greek Orthodox-oriented -with provisions for exemptions not requiring the disclosure of one’s beliefs- unless a request from students and parents warrants the introduction of an alternative class.

In 2018, in order to seek exemption from the religious class without having to reveal, directly or indirectly, their religious or non-religious beliefs, some parents appealed to the European Court for Human Rights and won the case (Papageorgiou and others v. Greece 2020). The Court argued that the applicants had been in a situation that had forced them to submit a statement from which it could have been inferred that they and their children had, or did not have, a specific religious belief. Indeed, the current system in Greece for exempting children from religious education classes risked exposing sensitive aspects of the applicants’ private lives. The system could, moreover, deter them from making such a request as it involved the school principal having to verify the information on the statement and alerting the public prosecutor in the event of a discrepancy. The potential for conflict was accentuated in the case of the applicants who lived on small islands or villages where the vast majority of the population owed allegiance to the Orthodox religion. Furthermore, as pointed out by the applicants and accepted by the Court, no alternative classes were offered to exempted pupils, meaning they would have lost hours of schooling just for their declared beliefs. Stressing that the authorities did not have the right to intervene in the sphere of individual conscience, to ascertain individuals’ religious belief or to oblige them to reveal their beliefs, the Court held that there had been a violation of Article 2 of Protocol 1, as interpreted in light of Article 9 of the Convention for human rights.

Other religious practices and festivals are related to education : first, a priest conducts a consecration ceremony in each school at the beginning of the school year, sometimes distributing copies of the New Testament to students ; second, students gather for a collective prayer before school starts each morning ; third, students attend church services three to five times per year, with the option for those who do not wish to attend to arrive at school an hour later. Again, the Council of State has ruled that the everyday prayer and church attendance are both in accordance with the Constitution (ruling 942/2020) and should be preserved in the school programme because they contribute to the cultivation of religious consciousness (Articles 3 & 16). Finally, although perhaps not the most critical issue, the presence of religious symbols in Greek schools (such as icons and crucifixes) remains a topic of debate surrounding religious freedom and pluralism in Greek schools.

Source : SAKELLARIOU, Alexandros, “Religious pluralism, religious freedom and the secularisation process in the Greek educational system”, Annual Review of the Sociology of Religion, volume 12, “Religious Freedom : Social-Scientific Approaches”, O. Breskaya, R. Finke, G. Giordan (eds.), 2021, pp. 83-102.