Prejudice and Ignorance – Today

With ignorant and incorrect arguments, the government wants to stop free sectarian schools.

The archbishop writes this in the entry to a hard-hitting discussion in Svenska Dagbladet.

In sharp words, Archbishop Antje Jacqueline is now responding to Education Minister Lena Axelson Kelbom’s statement on Friday that the government wants to ban the creation of new, independent denominational schools. The Archbishop writes in Swedish daily newspaper It continues:

“To speak from the perspective of the church: the church once provided Sweden with the infrastructure that put an end to clan rule and laid the foundation for literacy as well as for social and democratic systems. Not least the free churches have made a powerful contribution to democratic development.

In many countries of the world, regardless of the system, schools with communal principals are an explicit part of the education system. Most often, they belong to the best schools, precisely because of the ideals of knowledge associated with a humanistic view of the world and people. ”

misleading argument

The Archbishop also wrote that it is misleading to “suggest to the public that the problem of anti-democratic activities and extremism can be solved by preventing the creation of new and preferably banning free confessional schools”, when many of the schools that have been criticized are not being criticized. doctrinal.

Antje Jackelén also points out that denominational schools in Sweden have very few students from an international perspective, about 1% of students compared to 37% in Great Britain and 75% in the Netherlands.

dangerous delusion

The archbishop thinks the level of the Swedish debate over denominational schools is embarrassing, and writes that it is an obnoxious picture of making faith and the ideals of knowledge contradictory. She wrote that the illusion of religious freedom, on the contrary, is dangerous.

“What we need instead is for society to create the conditions for well-founded critical and self-reflection in the cults – religious and otherwise – prevalent in our country and in the world. It is a necessity given the challenges that today’s children have to deal with as adults. It’s hard for them to reach the spiritual maturity and flexibility they need to transcend life!”

[ Det behövs mer bön – inte mindre – i skolan ]