Two Government ministers in Sweden have criticised the decision of the National Agency for Education (NEA) to ban all references to ‘God’ and ‘Jesus’ during school Advent services.
The NEA issued new guidelines stating that whilst it is possible for schools to have a Christmas service in church, religious content could not be included since Sweden’s schools were “non-confessional”.
The agency's Anna Ekström and Claes-Göran Aggebo wrote in the Dagens Nyheter daily on Sunday: “That schools are non-confessional means that there can't be any religious elements such as prayer, blessings or declarations of faith in education. Students should not have to be subjected to religious influence in school.
“The agency has decided that it is possible to have an end of term service in church and that a pastor can be in attendance. The demand is that there should be no confessional element.”
But Social Minister and Christian Democrat leader Göran Hägglund disagreed stating that pupils should not be forbidden from singing hymns at advent services or graduation ceremonies.
He added: “There's no reason to protect our children from our traditions and our cultural heritage.
“I'm tired of having this discussion two times a year. It has to be okay to sing a hymn in connection with something as solemn as a graduation ceremony.”
Reform
Mr Hagglund commented that he would be willing to change the law to ensure that religious elements were not excluded from traditional ceremonies.
"If the National Agency for Education now interprets the Education Act so strictly, I think we ought to consider changing the law and make an exception for these types of traditional ceremonies," he said.
Education Minister and Liberal Party (Folkpartiet) head Jan Björklund expressed similar views stating:
"You should absolutely be able to sing hymns in church at school graduations; pastors should be able to read the Christmas Gospel, refer to the Bible, and explain why we celebrate this Christian holiday,"
"If this ridiculous debate continues year after year, I'm ready to review the Education Act."
Sources:
The Local: It can’t be wrong to sing ‘O Holy Night’: minister