Disucussion of 'Foundations of Religious Culture and Secular Ethics'

Foundations of World Religions and Secular Ethics.How are the coursebooks organised?

Article discusses coursebooks in FRCSE – political discussions leading up to installment of course – why are ´smaller´ religions like Islam – Judaism and Buddhism participating in this course – what is the place of FRCSE in political discussion – Article discusses parts of FRCSE in context of political discussion concerning place of religion in Russian society - patriotism--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Since september 2012 Russian children have a new schoolsubject; ´Foundations of Religious Cultures and Secular Ethics´ (FRCSE). In the words of one of its proponents, this course is meant to be ´another step in the direction of a new governmental educational policy, based on moral principles, moral traditions of the Fatherland – aimed at raising morally highstanding, responsible and competent citizens of Russia.´1 This article means to give an overview of the content of a few of the key coursebooks, written forthis new course. How are these coursebooks organised, who has written these books andhow do these books relate to one another?

The first coursebooks were published by publishing company Prosveshchenie (=Education) in 2010. The publishing house has a history dating back to 1931, when it was founded under the name of ´Uchpedgiz´, and has from its beginning published educational literature.From a state-owned enterprise, the publishing house was privatized in 2011 but still retained close links to the Russian government; itpublishes the journal ´Vestnik Obrzovanija(=the Herald of Education), an official publication of the ministry of education.Its current general director is Aleksandr Kondakov, who from 1997 to2001 has worked for the Russian government; first as an assistant todepute prime minister O.N.Sysuev, and from 1998 to 2001 as deputy minister of education.2 Currenlty Aleksandr Kondakov is also a memberof the Russian Academy of Education at the Institute of Strategic

1 A.Ja. Daniljuk on the website http://www.orkce.org/ , accessed 11-02-20132 Ksenija Boletskaja, Rossijskoe Procveshchenije Privatizirovano, Vedomosti, 29 december 2012, available online at http://www.vedomosti.ru/companies/news/1466054/prosveschenie_prodano#sel= accessed 26-05-2013

Studies on Education.3 This institute is concerned with the study of ´fundamental and applied research in the field of scientific prognosed tendencies in the development of Education.´4

In the words of Kondakov, Prosveshchenie is responsible for publishing 35-40% of all the coursebooks in Russia.5 If this is true – checking publishing figures in Russia remains a difficult undertaking – it would mean that Prosveshchenie is the largest publishing company in the field of educational books.In his ´mission statement´Kondakov explains what it is his publishing house is trying to do:´... we are bound together by a dream. The dream of a strong, good and wise country. A country ready for the future. A free and responsible country. A country we are going to call Enlightened Russia. (...) This is our goal, our work, love and responsibility.´6

Besides being general director of Prosveshchenie, Aleksandr Kondakovhas also been part of the collective who wrote the Russian State Educational Standards (RSES)7, which in their turn are being published by Prosveshchenie.

The RSES is a set of ´requirements, which are mandatory for the fulfillment of basic educational education.´8 In their entirety they prescribe all knowledge a student must have after completing a levelof education. For our discussion section 11.4 is especially relevantas this section states what it is the students are to learn from thecourse in World Religions and Secular Ethics. The RSES article 11.4 emphasisis that the study in the field of ´Foundations of spiritual-moral cultures of the peoples of Russia´ - to which FRCSE belongs - should aid in the ´knowledge of the fundamental norms of morality and spiritual ideals, that are preserved in the cultural traditions of the peoples of Russia.´9

Furthermore the intended subject should aid in the formation of views concerning ´the basis of secular ethics, cultures of traditional religions, and their role in the development of culturesand history of Russia and mankind, and in the formation of the civil

3 http://www.isiorao.ru/Institut/leaders.php4 http://www.isiorao.ru/Institut/5 Boletskaja, Vedomosti, 29 december 20126 http://www.prosv.ru/about.aspx?ob_no=2067 http://www.isiorao.ru/Institut/leaders.php 8 Federal´nyj Gosudarstvennyj Obrazovatel´nyj Standart Osnovnogo Obshchego Obrazovanija , 2010, Prosveshchenie, page 19 Ibid. page 15

society and Russian statehood.´10

In this article we will discuss whether the coursebooks succeed in the tasks laid upon them

Before we turn to the content of the coursebooks, we will take a look at the way the course on religion in schools started out.

Getting thereA short overview of how the ´Foundations´ course got its current form may help to understand the attitudes which shaped the current coursebooks and clarify the different actors which helped to create them.

The collapse of the Soviet-Union in 1991 ended a 70-year period of state-imposed atheism on the Russian people. Although religion neverreally went away entirely during the Soviet-period – knowledge of and access to religion was pushed away to the fringes as much as possible. It was only logical than that the demise of the old systemmade space for people to reacquaint themselves with the religious traditions that had existed before 1917. Also the abandonment by the Russian government of the old courses on atheism made parents and teachers fear an abandonment of moral roots. What followed was an uncoordinated growth of courses in religion on Russian schools. Both representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC), but also foreign Protestant or Catholic missionaries, were invited to teach russian children in a secular setting. In 1992 the Ministry of Education invited the CoMission, an American protestant para-church organisation, to train Russian public school teachers. This was seenby the ROC as an infringement of its own role in Russian society. In1997 the CoMission, and all other foreign representatives of so-called ´non-traditional´ religions were ousted from Russia.11

One of the consequences of this period may have been the establishment of the idea that a more central approach was necessary, so as not to let things run wild. In 1999, the Ministry of Education established a council to explore partnership with the

10 Ibid.11 For a more thorough exploration of this episode, see Teaching Christian Ethics in Russian public schools: The testing of Russia's church-state boundaries, Perry Glanzer, Journal of Church and State (1999) 41 (2): 285-305.

ROC in moral education. 12 In 2004, minister of education Andrei Fursenko came with the idea of starting a course on ´World Religions´. In 2006 Fursenko stated: “I am all for teaching in school, not of the history of Orthodoxy, but of a history of major religions as a compulsory and not an elective subject.” 13

The Russian Ministry of Education utilises an advisory council. ThisPublic Council under the Ministry of Education and Sciences, as it is formally called, is made up of volunteers from, amongst others, the fields of education, science and of different associations. It has the task of 'aiding the cooperation between the government and the Civil Society'14. As such it can also give recommendations to theMinister of Education who can then choose to ignore them.The current members of this council includes writers (Dmitrij Bykov), journalists (Aleksej Venediktov, founder and director of radiostation ´Echo Moskvy´), corresponding members of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Aleksandr Aseev, doctor in the physical-mathematical sciences) and others. From a pedagogical standpoint, the most famous member of this council is Evgenij Jamburg - founder of the adaptive school model in Russia, where ´the school adapts itself to the possibilities of the child and not the other way around´15. Evgenij Jamburg has proven himself to be very critical towards the course of FRSCE, as it is given today. He went so far asto name it 'absurd, dangerous and criminal'16 to have a division along religious lines between schoolchildren.

In march 2007, the council came with a list of observations and recommendations in response to a discussion on the question of ´Modern approaches to the study of history in schools and cultural foundations of traditional religion in the Russian Federation.´17 Among these observations one can read that ´Russia is a secular

12 Ibid.13 Sovremennije podchodi k izucheniju v sjkolachistoricheskich i kulturnich osnov traditsionnich religij de Rossijskoj Federatsii минобнарки.рф/справки/20 accessed october 7th 2013

14 Ibid.15 http://archive.kremlin.ru/appears/2009/07/21/1827_type63376type82634_219988.shtml16Ékspertnoe zakliuchenie Moskovskogo bjuro po prava Cheloveka na kompeksnyj kurc "Osnovy religioznykh kultur i svetskoj etiki", http://antirasizm.ru/index.php/news/242-mbhr-news-religion-course-2010?ff64eda6be7c8c0a513b4f753d39ad99=c333edfbf3ec1a1fa5b6d955e453b13e 17 Книга для родительей, pp 5-7

nation and should not allow any church influence on the curriculum of schools.´ 18At the same time a school ´can pass on any knowledge on religious worldview’s, as long as it raises ´citizens and not followers of this and that religion.´

In order to achieve all this the Council recommended that the Russian Government should institute a modular course ´History of World Religions´ which should become part of the ´core knowledge´ ofall pupils in Russian Schools as mentioned in the RSES. 19 One of themore striking points in these recommendations was the Council´s advice to introduce this course ´only as an elective course (and not a mandatory one, as Fursenko wanted – RG), to be taught by professional pedagogues and not members of any cults.´

The discussion of whether religion should be a part of the curriculum continued to be a divisive issue leading up to and following the council´s recommendation.20

After the fall of the Soviet-Union, the Moscow Patriarchate sought to re-establish Orthodoxy as the leading denomination in a Russia which - after 70 years of self-imposed atheism - was looking for a new spirituality. By 1997 the official position of the ROC was aimedat including a general course called 'The History of Russia's Orthodox Culture' in Russian public schools. 21

By 2000 this policy was also present in the 'Bases of Social Conceptof the Russian Orthodox Church' (Bases)22. This document serves as anoffical guideline of the ROC and regulates, amongs other things, relationships between the ROC and the government. Taken as a whole, the Bases emphasize the link that exists between Russia and the ROC.

The Bases state that the ROC and the Russian government should work together in different areas like 'preserving the historical and cultural heritage' of the country as well as aiding in the 'spiritual, cultural, moral and patriotic education in society.'23

At the same time, according to the Bases, the Russian government should take into account the number of believers and the role the ROC has played in the historical development of Russia. 24

This last argument gives the ROC a position not bestowed on any of the other 'traditional religions' of Russia, and places these other

18 Книга для родительей, pp 5-719 Ibid. pp 8-920 Ibid. pp 6-821 Ibid. page 722 Ibid. page 523 Ibid. pp 23-2624 А.Я Данилюк, Программы, Просвешение 2012, page 8

religions at a severe disadvantage that they subsequently have foundvery difficult to escape from. The ROC took the lead when it came to the teaching of religion in public schools, with reactions from both the Muslim and Jewish community slowly following. Islamic reaction to the proposed course was initially difficult to gauge, since not one group has established itself as the authority of all Russian Muslims. On the one hand Ravil´ Gajnutdin, a prominent and moderate sunni whohas served as the Grand Mufti of Russia since 1996, advocated a course on Islamic culture similar to the one the ROC wanted for Orthodox culture. On the other hand in january 2005, the Council of Mufti´s, opposed this idea and wanted one course for all religions combined.25

When minister Fursenko came with a proposition, he chose the 14th Annual Christmas Readings on Education as his arena for presenting his plans. The Christmas Readings is a forum where representatives of the ROC, state and local officials and international scholarsmeet and discuss matters of faith, society and education. It takes place at the State Kremlin Palace and is organised by the ROC - every year the minister of Education It seemed therefore, for Fursenko, to be a logical place to present his plans. Fursenko once again emphasised that he wanted one course on all religions in classes 10 and 11, with no special place reserved for Orthodoxy. So,only in their last 2 years in school were Russian pupils to learn about world religions - too late to really change the way they regard religion or influence their relation with religion. The reaction of the ROC could have taken no one by surprise.

Instead of the customary and polite applause which a representative of the government receives upon making a speech, Fursenko was greeted with cries and catcalls. People were shouting at him, makingremarks "Are you living in Russia or what?", "We don't need your World Religions." 26 Fursenko's one-course-for-all was not what the ROC wanted. Metropolitan Kliment, in a press-conference afterwars, declared himself an opponent of any facultative course because it

25 Ibid. page 926 The russian word use here is ´Rodina´ (russ. Родина) which often serves as a synonym for the word ´Fatherland´(russ Отечество). However the word Rodina more often is associated with the actual place of birth of a person.It is also invoked in times of war, when people are being called upon to defend the country. Although the wars against Napoleon and the Nazi´s are termed wars for the Fatherland, the word Rodina was used as a constant reminder of what was important to the Russians. The word Rodina is as such associated with places of birth, places worth defending and the place of the mother. I shall translate this word with ´home´ throughout this study.

would be 'unlikely' for children to attend a subject which was not compulsory.27

Archbishop Ponomarev of Rjazan proclaimed the idea of facultativeness to be 'discriminatory against children who want to know more about the orthodox culture of their country.'28

Patriarch Aleksej II stated that 'everyone should know the fundamentals of Orthodoxy' as it was a culturological schoolsubject and 'every child should know the culture of the country it grows up in.'29

After a lengthy debate president Medvedev decided in july 2009 on a pilot in a number of regions, to start with a course on the foundations of religious culture. Medvedev saw this course as a way to raise ´honest, decent, tolerant and normal citizens.´30 Values which were considered necessary for citizens to function normally insociety, thus were equated with those values religious education were supposed to instill.

The course Medvedev introduced in public schools was in line with the above mentioned recommendation of the Public Council of 2007, but with a twist. Instead of an elective course Medvedev proposed a compulsory modular course, whereby pupils and their parents had to choose from 6 different modules; Foundations of Secular Ethics, World Religions, Orthodoxy, Islam, Buddhism and Judaism. The course was to take place in 34 hours, spread over the last quarter of the fourth grade and the first quarter of the fifth grade. Of these, 4 lessons were planned to be communal - whereby all pupils of all sixmodules were together. The remaining 30 lessons, pupils were to be separated acoording to the module that they (or their parents) had chosen.Pupils were to be taught, not by representatives of the various religions, but by specially trained teachers.

The proposed course went counter to what Fursenko, who was still in office, had proposed, but also went counter to the wish of the ROC

27 Translation found on http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/to-chadaev/ 28 Translation by myself. During the credit sequences the song was sung by Mark Numovitsj Bernes, famous in those years for his songs and of Ukrainiandescent. The song sound during the opening credits of the four-part film and was allegedly recored in one take. 29 There are numerous video´s to be found of this event at which also French actor Gerard Depardieu was present. For instance http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_vEFSWKb_U (accesed april 13th 2013). Afterplaying the song with two fingers for a couple of minutes, Putin then went on to sing-speak ´Blueberry Hill´.30 Программы, pages 19-20

- who had wanted 1 compulsory course with an emphasis on Orthodoxy for all pupils. The ROC, however, seemed satisfied. At least they got to teach Orthodoxy to pupils who were a lot younger than those in Fursenko's plans. Furthermore, it was expected that the majority of the people would automatically choose a course on Orthodoxy sincemost Russian considered themselves to be Orthodox.

The new course was first introduced as a trial in 2010 in 19 regionsof the RSFSR. After the trial period, the course FRCSE was to be evaluated before introduction in all public schools all over the country was to be considered.The coursebooks used during this trial period, were the same as are used today in FRCSE. In total, around 300.000 pupils were to take part in this trial.

The liberal newspaper 'Vremja Novostej' in february 2010 published an article on the trial course, which was about to begin 2 months later. The article stated that publishing house Prosveshchenie had printed 125.000 exemplars of the coursebook on Secular Ethics, 80.000 exemplars of the coursebook on Orthodoxy, 60.000 for World Religions, 40.000 on Islam, 14.000 on Buddhism and 12.000 on Judaism. Clearly Prosveshchenie expected the majority of pupils and parents to choose the more neutral 'Secular Ethics' over the more traditional course on 'Orthodoxy'. 31

If Medvedev had expected the introduction of the course to end all discussions, he was proven wrong. Right from the start the course was criticised both for its content and for the way the course was made up.Among those levelling criticism against the content and setup were several members of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS). Amongst those, it was the academician A.V. Smirnov who, in 2010 had carried out a thorough examination of the proposed coursebooks, which delivered a very outspoken critique. Smirnov gives several reasons why all the course books are ´totally inadmissible as textbooks in Russian schools.´32 The books lack a strong scientific basis, contain factual errors, and are written with a very strong missionary slant.This last point also was made by the Moscow Buro for Human Rights which also noted that this course ´interferes with the private livesof peoples, without their consent.´33

31 For a discussion of these lessons I have used: А.Л. Буглов, Е.В. Сеплина, Е.С. Токарева, А.А. Ярлыкапов, Основы Мировых Религиозных Култур, Prosveshchenije, 201232 Книга для Учителя, Prosveshchenije, 2012, page 14233 Основы Иудейской Културы, Prosveshchenije, 2012, page 7

But also proponents of a course of religion in schools, had their doubts when the date of introduction neared. In March 2010, archdeacon Kuraev, author of the coursebook on Orthodoxy, accused the Ministry of Education of sabotaging the new course after it had become clear that only a minority of the people (23%) had chosen thecourse on Orthodoxy. 34 According to Kuraev, parents had not been given a fair choice or had not been given any choice at all.

All this criticism did not seem to have made any impact, as the ´Foundations´course was introduced in all schools in september 2012 without any changes to the trial course which had preceded it since 2010.

The Content - Overview

Publishing house Prosveshchenije has devised an entire programme forthe course of FRCSE, including books for pupils, parents, teachers and CD´s with slideshows, poems and fragments of video and audio. The coursebooks are colour-printed and illustrated with photos and reproductions of drawings and paintings. All in all, the coursebooksmake for an attractive package of learning tools.

Within the framework of FRSCE, Prosveshchenije has published the following coursebooks:

Title Authors Size (Number of pages)

Foundations of Secular Ethics

None mentioned 63

Foundations of JewishCulture

M.A. Chlenov 95

Foundations of Islamic Culture

D.I. Latyshina, M.F. Murtazin

79

Foundations of World Religions

A.L. Beglov, E.V. Saplina

79

34 The Quest for Russia's Soul, Perry Glanzer, Baylor University Press, 2002

Foundations of Orthodox Culture

A.V. Kuraev 95

Foundations of Buddhist Culture

V.L Chimidorzhiev 79

Accompanying these books,publishing house Prosveshchenije, alsho published three other books - meant to help parents and teachers in the preparation for this course. These additional books are:

Title Authors Size (Number of pages)

Programmes A. Ja. Daniljuk

24

Book for parents A. Ja. Daniljuk

26

Book for teachers V.A. Tishkov, T.D. Shaposhnikova (editors)

240

All of the ´Foundations´ books are accompanied by a CD-ROM and are meant for pupils. The book ´Programmes´ explains the content for each module and gives an outline of all lessons. The ´Book for Teachers´ is meant as a teachers manual, and the ´Book for Parents´ is meant to help parents in choosing the right course for their child.

Instead of letting a collective of authors work out all the course books simultaneously, each course book is written by a different author. Writing as part of a collective, makes for an overall approach to the content of a coursebook, ensures that the content iswell balanced and most often results in a textbook that gives equal attention to each part of the overall subject. The only author mentioned in every course book is A.Ja. Daniljuk. In

every course book (except the Foundations of Islam) he is credited with writing lesson 1,´Russia – our home´ and lesson 30 ´Love and respect for one´s Fatherland.´ In the book on Islamic Culture, Daniljuk is also credited for writing lessons 16 and 17; ´Creative work by students´. Apart from the lessons from Daniljuk, the course book on ´Secular Ethics´ seems to have no other author. It seems reasonable to assumethat Daniljuk is the author of the entire coursebook, however this can not be stated with absolute certainty. Daniljuk is also creditedwith the books ´Programmes´ and ´the Book for Parents´, whereas with´the Book for Teachers´ he is credited as being a member of the editorial board, together with N.D. Nikandrov, V.A. Tisjkov, A.M. Kondakov and T.D. Sjaposjnikova, and not as author of a part of thisbook.

The Book for Teachers

The ´Book for Teachers´ is a thick teachers manual (240 pages, no illustrations, small print) aimed at giving teachers a thorough background for teaching the different modules of FRSCE. This teachers´manual has been written by a collective of 14 (!) authors and is divided in 4 parts:

Religion and society -Explains the position of religion vis a visscience, art and politics.

23 pages

The history of the religious situation in Russia - Gives a short overview of thehistory of religion in Russia and relationship between church and state

31 pages

The basic religious movements -The largest part of the book is dedicated to explaining the workings of the four so-called traditional religions in Russia.Christianity in its various forms (Orthodoxy, Catholicism, Protestantism, Old Believers, etc.) receives most pages.

151 pages

Secular Ethics - What is the 25 pages

meaning of ethics in a secular society? By which moral principles is it being guided?

The authors of the teachers manual are for the most part, not the same authors as those who wrote the coursebooks. The only exception is M.F. Murtazin, who is also one of the authors of the book on Islamic Culture.The other authors of the teachers manual come from various denominations and sectors of science. Only three authors are from pedagogical or humanitarian institutions (B.Ch. Bgazjonokov of the Russian Academy of Sciences, O.V. Voskresenskij and T.D. Sjaposjnikova of the Russian Academy of Education, O.E. Kaz'mina of the Historical department of the Moscow State University). The otherauthors are either representatives of their denominations (representative of the Chief Rabbi in Moscow A.V. Glotzer, presidentof the Council of Mufti's M.F. Murtazin, representative of the Old Believers T.D. Chunin, representative of the Fifth Day evangelists T.M. Gorbachjova), or from various religious educational institutions ( rector of the Protestant Humanitarian-Economical Institute E.V. Zaitsev, rector of the Moscow baptist theological seminary P.V. Mittskevich, rector of the institute of philosophy, theology and history St. Thomas, N.L. Muschelisjvili, rector of the theological seminary of Lutheran churches A.V. Tichomirov). Remarkably not one representative of buddhism was involved in the teachers manual. Most of the authors have a christian background, whereas Judaism andIslam are only represented by one author each.

The Book for Parents

The Book for Parents is small booklet of no more than 28 pages, intended to aid (and persuade?) parents in comprehending the background of FRSCE, and taking away any qualms parents may have in relation to this course. As with the teacher's manual, the Book for Parents has no illustrations and is rinted with small letters. This book, as mentiond above, is written bij A. Ja. Daniljuk – a corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Education (Rossijskaja Akademija Obrazovanija = RAO), an organisation aimed atconducting research on the problems of education, pedagogy, psychology and related fields of science.

The Book for parents tries to reassure parents as to the reasons whyand how their child is going to get religion taught to them. It also

gives parents tips and advice as how to help make a child a good andwellinformed choice for one module over the other five. The first chapter of the book, tries to assuage any qualms parents may have concerning religious education in school; apparently initial resistance towards the introduction was so big, that the author felt the need to address this at the first opportunity.35

Whether this strategy works, remains to be seen. If a parent approached this book - explaining a new course for their children - without any objection whatsoever, the first chapter immediately impresses upon them a justification for this course. Apparently the author expects anyone of having objections, and wants to take these away before proceeding.

Daniljuk responds by stating that only ´secular teachers´ which are already working at schools and are ´well-known to parents´, are going to teach the new course. The whole course is intended as a culturological course which aims to teach ´religion through culture´; because the teacher is going to teach about historical and cultural bases for religious cultures, children will pick up knowledge about religions.36

The second chapter is devoted to explaining the psychological state of mind of the 'young adult' to the parents. The child is undergoing'a transformational process from childhood to a more independent andresponsible age'37. This transformation brings with it an 'educational crisis' whereby the pupil may lose his faith in school.The chapter ends with the admonition that, although people nowadays have much more technology available to them - children should stilllearn to play 'real' games as opposed to 'virtual' computer games. Whereas the first ones teach children to play fair and learn them how to behave in the real world, the latter ones do not teach children what works and what doesn't. Computer games, so Daniljuk asserts, also do not teach any moral norms.38

1. Why is FRCSE introduced in schools?2. How is the course organised in school and how should teh cooperation between

school and family be organised?3. Who is going to teach your children?4. Practical advices, how you may be able to help your child in the study of FRSCE

35 http://sovet-edu.ru/about/27 accessed october 7th 201336 http://sovet-edu.ru/web/yamburg/home accessed october 9th 201337 Ibid.38 Rabstvo nelz'ja modernizirovat' , Novoe Vremja, http://newtimes.ru/articles/detail/57308 accessed october 14th 2013

The first chapter is largely devoted to refuting several objections that were apparently raised with the public.

´The eventual choice for a religion is a personal matter.´39

Because, the author of Книга для родителей states, the course has a culturological character – all pupils are being taught about the common culture of Russia. Therefore there will not be any conflict between pupils – they all share the same culture which binds them.All modules in this course are aimed at teaching three ´basic national values´:

1. Fatherland2. Family 3. Cultural traditions

All pupils, the author asserts, will get to learn about other religions, regardless of the module they have chosen. Finally, subsequent messages from the president of Russia tell about the importance of a moral consolidation of society. Therefore the ´law on education´ was changed and henceforth stated that one of the tasks of education was to integrate an individual in a national culture.40

In order to make an informed choice, the booklet advices parents to:1. Get acquinted with the contents of all modules of this course2. Go to the parent meeting and listen to the teachers, then

choose a teacher3. If possible, go talk to the intended teacher. Parents should

not only make an assesment of the professional quality of the teacher, but also a personal assesment of him or her

4. Consult with the class teacher and make a final choice for a certain module41

This all assumes of course, that parents do have the time and knowledge to ´get acquainted with the contents of all modules of this course´. This does not take into account that some parents (andteachers) do not have the slightest knowledge of any other religion than their own, and even that that knowledge can be flawed. How thencan a person under these circumstances make an informed choice of

39 John D. Basil, Orthodoxy and public education: the first 15 years, Journal of Church and State.40 Osnovij Sotsial'noj Koncepcii Russkoj Pravoslavnoj Cerkvij, 2005. Available at http://www.patriarchia.ru/db/text/141422.html 41 Ibid.

which module to choose? Things become more difficult with regards to making a professional and personal assesment of the proposed teacher of any of the modules. What assesment of the professional quality of a teacher cana parent make, who himself works in a totaly different field than education? On what basis should one make a personal assesment of said teacher?The book seems to motivate parents to make an informed choice, without at the same time giving them real tools to make such a choice.

Each module consists of 30 lessons, spread out over 34 school hours divided over classes 4 and 5. The aim is to have 2 hours per week for these lessons; one hour for each lesson in the coursebooks and the final 4 hours for a final presentation by students of their creative works. A summer vacation divides start and end of every course, instead of fitting all lessons in one school year as was possible.

The division over 2 school years is seen as very advantageous to students who, during the summer holiday, can reflect on what they have learned during the first halve of the course, talk about it with their (grand)parents and other family members. The expectation is that students develop themselves during this break, so they can then continue and finish the course in class 5 already more matured then when they started in class 4.Also the division between classes 4 and 5 signifies a change betweenthe years of Primary General Education and Basic General Education – generally the moment when students enter puberty and in most countries start the process of breaking away from their elders and question authority. In a brochure designed to help parents understand the role of the course ´the Foundations of …´ it is explained that the student in this period enters a dangerous age where he or she experiences an existential crisis, which results in a new level of consciousness.42

This last statement is not further substantiated and assumes that all children develop at the same rate, progress all in exactly the same way through puberty and leaves no room for differentiating between individual situations of pupils. At the age of ten every ´child becomes a young adolescent´, and undergoes an educational andand age crisis.43 Consequently everything related to these two crisesis taken to be as important to every adolescent, without regard to

42 Ibid.43 Ibid.

religious, social, racial or gender issues. In fact the word ´gender´ is nowhere mentioned in the so-called aid for parents. Now, this can be attributed to the fact that FRCSE is said to be about ´Religious Cultures and Secular Ethics´ - at the same time the course is intended to help pupils/adolescents becoming good citizensand aiding them in their socialisation. Sexuality is known to be an important part of adolescent life, and dealing with issues relating to gender should not simple be ignored in a course on ethics. Especially one which deals with issues of morality.

Instead ´Книга для родительей´ includes a discussion on the detrimental influence of the social media, and more specifically on on-line gaming adolescents are involved in. ´In computer games children do not play with people, but with phantoms (=с фантомами).´Whereas in traditional games (i.e. games you play with real people and not via the Internet) children would learn what was according tothe rules, or what was fair, a child reared on online-gaming would learn behavior which ´in reality not only will not work, but is ableto cause harm to other human beings.´44

Again this statement is not substantiated in any way, nor is there mention of theories which state the opposite or ways in which parents can choose other – more educational - games via the internet.

The book aimed at helping parents ends with six pieces of advice, which further the impression that – at least in the eyes of the author - parents need the helping hand of a more authoritative person. The advices are:

1. Take an interest in the upbringing: look at the new school course as an extra means of moral development of your child; you will remain an important educator to your child

2. Speak with the children, what they have learned in the lessons.A better way for the upbringing of the child – is a dialogue between parents and children about spirituality and morality

3. Nurture in the child a favorable understanding towards people with other world views

4. Do not waste time which can be use to the moral upbringing of the cildren

5. Do not forget that no course in itself can raise your child; the most important thinghe acquires - is the understanding howimportant is morality to a complete life. Aid your child with

44 John D. Basil, Orthodoxy and public education: the first 15 years, Journal of Church and State

this6. Create communication and interaction with your child, turn

problems into moral lessons45

So parents get a ´shopping list´ with what it is they are expected to do. At the same time they are just ´an important educator´to their child, not the most important one. In the words of then minister of Education Fursenko ´the family, pedagogues and caregivers´always were and today continue to be the principal sourceof moral upbringing.´ One can only wonder what such a qualification means for parents who take the time to actually read this book.

The whole tone of the book is aimed at reassuring parents; everything is well thought out and nobody should worry about anything. This makes for a paternalistic approach which, I assume, cannot be to the liking of most of the parents in this day and age in Russia. Therefore one must wonder how much of a beneficial effectthis book may have had on its intended audience. I think that this book, by choosing an authoritative approach instead of trying to make parents partners, has missed its mark and may have alienated more people to the course of FRCSE.

Before we go on with a discussion on the various coursebooks, we must point out that the word ´Religions´ is in effect only applied to the four established churches in Russia: Orthodoxy, Islam, Judaism and Buddhism. This course is not intended to teach very muchon the differing doctrines of Christianity (Roman-Catholicism, Protestantism, etc.) Islam (Shiites, Suni), Judaism (Hassidic, Liberal, Conservative) or Buddhism (Theravada, Mahayana) – but focuses only on the ruling forms of these faiths as they are practiced in Russia.

The Coursebooks

As mentioned above, each coursebook is written by different author(s). Apart from the lessons bij Daniljuk, which serve as a shared start and close of each book, there does not seem to have been any contentual check to see wheather and how the different coursebooks fit together. According to the ´Programmes´ each of the six modules is divided in 4 parts; lessons 1 and 30 serve as the communal starting and closing parts of each module (parts 1 and 4), whereas the remaining 28 lessons are divided over class four (part

45 S 1 sentabrja vo mnogih shkolah strany dobavjtsja eshhe odin predmet - osnovy pravoslavija, http://www.newsru.com/religy/30aug2006/opk_print.html accessed november 5th 2013

2) and class five (part 3). 46

The first part aims to acquaint students with spiritual values and moral ideals in the life of man and society. Part 4 closes each module and accentuates the spiritual traditions of multi-cultured Russia.Parts 2 and 3 (lessons 2 to 29) differ according to the chosen module.When the student has finished the entire course, according to the ´Programmes´, he or she acquires a representation about ´concrete cultural traditions based on the acquaintance with more or less common characteristics.´47

These trivializing words could mask the fact that, although the entire course is brought under the guise of a ´comprehensive training course´(russ. комплексный учебный курс), every book is written totally independent from each other. Apart from the common lessons in each book, there does not seem to have been any consultation between authors.At the same time, as we will see later, lessons 1 and 30 are given different meanings and aims in every coursebook – according to the ´Programmes´.The final four lessons of the entire course (lessons 31 to 34) are dedicated to the execution of presentations by the students of theircreative work.This then leads to the conclusion that fourth graders get actually more lessons in their chosen subject (17) than fifth graders (13), who must for a substantial part participate in the presentations of themselves or other students.

The different authors for each book are:

Course book Author (Lessons written)

Основы Светской Этики А.Я. Данилюк (1, 30)

Основы Православной Културы А.Я. Данилюк (1, 30), А.В. Кураев

Основы Мировых Религиозных Култур А.Я. Данилюк (1, 30), А.Л. Беглов, А.А. Ярлыкапов, Е.В. Саплина, Е.С. Токарева

Основы Исламской Културы А.Я. Данилюк (1,16,17,30) Д.И Латышина, М.Ф. Муртазин

46 Ibid.47 Ibid.

Основы Буддиской Културы А.Я. Данилюк (1, 30), В.И. Чимитдоржиев

Основы Иудейской Културы А.Я. Данилюк (1, 30), М.А. Членов

In this section we are taking a closer look at the content of the different coursebooks. We will try and see what these different books have in common and where they differ both in content and approach to their subject.We begin by taking a look at the 2 bookending chapters of each book.

Lesson 1 – ´Russia - our Home 48 ́

The first lesson in each book is called ´Russia – our home´. This, together with lesson 2 (which is different in each coursebook), is meant for the pupil to ´get acquinted with the emergence and features of´ different religions and morals in society.´We live in a remarkable country´, the lesson begins, ´which is called the Russian Federation or, short, Russia´.The lesson then introduces the student to a spiritual world, which contains ´knowledge and information enclosed in books, objects of art and the cinema, the relations between people etc.´ This spiritual world exists around and within the people. The student gets taught that it is his reaction to this outer and inner world, that determins whether this spiritual world is used to do good or bad. The spiritual world ´has its own roads´ which have been travelled by our forefathers. These roads are called traditions. Cultural traditions are called ´riches of our multinational country.´ A special place is being taken by religious traditions and moral-ethical norms. When a man follows these (traditions and norms), he will not lose himself in this difficult world, he will learn to distinguish between right and wrong and he will learn how to keep his spiritual world clean, light and happy.

The spiritual world is an inner world, and it is this inner world that FRSCE is aiming to protect. In the words of this lesson:

“How not to destroy your inner world? You have started to study

48 Ibid.

“Foundations of Religious Cultures and Secular Ethics” in orderto get answers on these questions, important for every man”

The lesson ends with the observation that ´in our country there are many people that cherish and keep different traditions. They often speak in different languages, but understand each other well and make up one friendly family of peoples of Russia.And in this family we respectfully relate to each tradition. (...) We all live, work and study together and are proud of our Russia.´

From this first lesson there is established a link between the course of FRSCE and patriotism in the student; it is the traditions of the fatherland which are important in forming the inner spiritualworld of the student, and it is important for the student to connectto these traditions.

Since this is a generic lesson, used for different coursebooks, no reference is made to any of the other subjects, important for this course, i.e. orthodoxy, islam, judaism, buddhism or secular ethics are not mentioned. Also the illustrations for this lesson make no visual reference to any of this. This lesson uses 3 photographs, thefirst of a group of smiling and applauding children in traditional Russian attire. The second photograph shows a group of schoolchildren, sitting attentitevely with their arms folded in school banks. The third photo shows two asian looking girls, who look smilingly at the canera, holding doves.

Lesson 30 – Love and respect for one´s fatherland

Lesson 30 closes the course of FRSCE and forms a continuation on thetheme of patriotism, started in lesson 1.´Dear Friends´, the last lesson starts, ´you have acquainted yourself with the great spiritual heritage which during many centuries one generation of our forefathers has passed on to another.´ Continuing on this, the lesson gives a history of religionin Russia in a nutshell; how judaism was established on the shores of the Volga in the7th till the 10th centuries, how the first mosque was established in the town of Derbent (Dagestan) in the 8th century,how Vladimir christened Russia in 988, and finally how in the 17th century the Buryats and Kalmyks became part of the Russian Empire, bringing with them Buddhism.Secular ethics, again according to this lesson, only was establishedin the 18th century when in Russia non-religious culture became more widespread.What holds everything and everybody together is love – for one´s family, for one´s small and large ´Rodina´, for ´our Russia´.

´Love – is the basis of our lives. (…) True love starts with the unconditional love for one´s neighbor: for the mother and the father, for the brother and the sister, for one´s classmates´. Love is not just a feeling, but also the wish to do well by others, to dogood deeds.The lesson concludes with an allusion to a poem by M.L. Matsovskij ´How to begin the home?`, but instead of the word ´home´ the lesson asks the question ´How to begin Russia?´The answer the lesson gives is unequivocal, ´She begins with your love, with that which you are prepared to do for her´.

The lesson is ilustrated with 3 photo´s and 2 parts of poems. The photo´s show pictures of a countryside, a family of father, mother and son holding Russian flags, and a picture of a big Russian city. The illustrations have no direct relation to the text, but seem to be used to illustrate different aspects of the Fatherland – of what it is one exactly should love.

One of the poems this lesson uses is part of Pusjkin´s ´To Chedaev´.The quoted stanza reads:

And whilst with liberty we burn,And whilst our hearts adore ovation,Our country needs us, - let us turnAnd dedicate our soul’s elation.49

The second poem is from the abovementioned Matusovskij who wrote it in 1967. The lesson quotes 2 stanzas:

Where to begin your home?With pictures in your ABC,With good and trusted friends,Living in a court next door.

Maybe thour home starts ,With songs, that your mother sang,With that, that during any trials,Nobody is taken away from us50

The poem ´Where to begin our Home´ was widespread in Soviet times,

49 Michail Mosjkin, Fiziki i Kliriki, http://www.vremya.ru/2010/31/51/248108.html accessed november 11th 201350 A.V. Smirnov, Uchebnik nuzjen, no ego pridetsja perepicat's nulja http://iph.ras.ru/s_0.htm accessed march 4th 2013

made popular by the film ´Shield and Sword(russ. Щит и меч)´ from 1968. It was revived in 2010 when Putin played it (not very well) ata charity for children with cancer.51 The movie it comes from is a four-part war movie of more than 5 hours which recounts the fictitious story of Aleksanr Belov who, on the eve of the Second World War, infiltrates in the German army and starts to act as a spy for the Soviets.The poem/song in this way connects to course of FRSCE to the defenceof the Fatherland, further underlining the theme of patriotism this course tries to impart in children.

Foundations of World Religious CultureThe the book ´Programmes´ the thematic planning for this module looks like this52:

Fourth Grade:

Lesson number Thematical planning/Name of the Lesson

Characteristic of student activity

Utilisation of resources

1. Russia - our Home

Learn about thehistory of the emergence and specialaties ofreligius cultures.

Programme of FRSCE

2. Culture and religion

3.

4. The origin of religions. Religions of the world and their founders

Research the foundations of different worldreligions

Coursebook “Foundations ofWorld ReligiousCulture”

5.

51 Krestovyj Podchod protiv "fronta tormozjenija", http://www.vremya.ru/2010/53/51/250593.html , accessed november 11th 201352 Kniga dlja Roditelej, pp 5-7

6. Holy books of religions of the world

Give definitions of basic understanding of religious cultures

7. “Foundations ofreligious cultures and secular ethics”. Teachers handbook, reference material for schools

8. Keepers of the legends of world religions

Teaching to establish mutual bonds netween religious cultures and behavior of people

9. Right and wrong. Understanding of sin, repentance and retribution

We get to know with writings of the fundamental books, description of holy holidays and saints.

10.

11. Man in religious traditions of the world

12. Religious buildings

Teach to compare different religious traditions,

“Foundations ofreligious cultures and secular ethics”. Book for

phenomena of religious cultures

parents

13.

14. Art in the religious world

15. Electronic resources “Foundations ofreligious cultures and secular ethics.”

16. Creative work by the students

Stating our opinion on the basis of knowledge of religious traditions, in the lives of people and society.

17.

Fifth Grade:Lesson number

Thematical planning/Name ofthe Lesson

Characteristic of student activity

Utilisation of resources

18. History of the religions in Russia

See above

19.

20. Religious rituals. Customsand rites

Getting to know developments of different religiouscultures in the history of Russia.

21.

22. Pilgrimage and saints

Teach to analyse life situations, finding moral formsof behavior, matching them with norms of religious culture of different people

23. Feasts and calendars

24.

25. Religion and moral

26.

27. Goodwill, caringfor others, mutual aid

Teach tolerance relations towards representatives of different worldviews and traditions

28. The family

29. Duty, freedom, responsibility, work

Teach to lead examples of different religioustraditions and secular ethics and comparing them

30. Love and respectfor one´s Fatherland

31. –34.

Final presentation of creative work bystudents

We participate in disputes, study to listen to our interlocutors and to express our opinion.Prepare report on the theme of our choice

Looking at this overview one cannot help but wonder why the build-upof this module is what it is. The different lessons do not seem to have a logical build-up or doscernable structure which could help students, parents and teachers to understand where these lessons aregoing.For instance – whereas the emergence of religions in the world is explained in lessons 4 and 5 (fourth grade), the same emergence of religions in Russia is only explained in lessons 18 and 19 (at the start of the fifth grade). It would have made more sense to place these lessons more closely together. Furthermore, it could have madesense to start fifth grade with lessons dedicated to religion in Russia, if the consecutive lessons also would have broacherd subjects related to Russia. Instead, the lessons on the emergence ofreligion in Russia are being followed by lessons on religious rituals, pilgrimages, i.e. not subjects solely related to Russia.Also, it would have made more sense to place lessons on ´Right and Wrong´ (lessons 9 and 10 – fourth grade) and ´Morality and religion´(lessons 25 and 26 – fifth grade) more closely together. Again, these lessons share the same themes and coul easily be extensions ofone another. Instead these four lessons are separated by one year ofstudy.What seems to make more sense are the lessons on art (lessons 14 and15)– leading up to the first lessons on the creative work of students (lessons 16 and 17).A closer look at each chapter may give us an insight in the underlying structure, which may not appear at first glance.53

Lessons 2 and 3 – Culture and Religion

These two lessons share the same title and subject and form a whole.According to the ´Programmes´ in these lessons children will:Learn about the history of the emergence and specialities of religious cultures.As we have seen, these lessons focus on the emergence of Religions worldwide. The emergence of religions in Russia is only touched uponin lesson 2, and forms the subject of lessons 18 and 19.The two lessons are subdivided in several smaller units:Lesson 2:

● What is religion?● What religions are there?● Religions of Russia

Lesson 3:● What is culture?● The influence of Religon on culture

53 Ibid.

The largest part of these two lessons is assigned to the last part ´The Influence of Religion on Culture´ which takes sligkty more than one page. The other parts are no more than around 20 lines each.

What is religion?

Lesson two kicks off with the assesment that ´An important part of amajority of spiritual traditions is religion.`According to this lesson, the word ´Religion´ is derived from a latin word meaning ´binding´.An important part of religions nowadays, according to this lesson, is the fact that people participate in rituals. And these are important in binding and linking people together.An important part of the present day conception of religion is the fact that people can believe in one god or many gods.

What religons are there?

Religions have existed from ancient times. Gradually there emerged religions in different countries, and some of these religions have been preserved to this day – we call these traditional religions. Many people have founded national religions, because adherents to these faiths live mostly in one country, like Hinduism and Judaism.Over time there emerged several world religions, because adherents to these faiths live in several countries around the world. Today werecognize these world religions: Christianity, Islam and Buddhism. According to this paragraph Judaism is not a worldwide religion, of which believers can be found in many countries around the world, butonly limited to the Judaic people. This of course assumes that thereexists something like a Jewish race.

Religions in Russia

This part asserts that different religions in Russia have existed ´from time immemorial´, with the majority of the people adhering to the Orthodox faith. Judaism and Buddhism are followed by ´a considerable part´ of the population, and only a few follow Judaismaccording to this lesson.This part then goes on to explain that ´there are other people in our country who follow different doctrines in christianity; like catholicism and protestantism.´ Also there are people who still adhere to traditional religions, and a ´considerable number of inhabitants of Russia do not follow any religion.´This part then concludes with the statement that;

´Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, traditional religions of the peoples of

the Volga-region, Siberia, the Far-East - are all an important part of the cultures of our country. A considerable part of the Russian people are religiouspeople, leading religious lives: believe in a God(sic RG), follow religious rites, as demanded by their faith.´

No numbers are give, so we do not get any clear idea what ´a considerable part´ is supposed to mean. Also there is no clear indication what the authors mean with the phrase ´traditional religions of the peoples of the Volga-region, Siberia, the Far-East´, since these do not form a part of this course.

What is culture?

The word ´Culture´ is taken to be the ´material and spiritual values, which man makes during his history.´ So, houses, fortresses everyday utensils, but also ideas and images made by writers and sculptors, and notions of ´right and wrong.To the left of this part, is a photo of the Saint Isaac´s Cathedral in St. Petersburg. The caption under this photo reads:

´Is this building part of the material culture? Find out where this building standsand what its name is.´

Whether intentionally or not – this photo delivers a cynical commentary on the text it illustrates. The Saint Isaac´s Cathedral served from 1930 to 1937 as one of the main centres of the campaign for atheism conducted in the USSR at the time; during this period the building housed the Antireligious Museum – before this was closed and the collection was transferred to the Museum of the History of Religion, also in St. Petersburg.

The influence of religion on culture

Despite its name, this section does not really explain the influenceof religion on culture. This section states that ´every religion hasneeded a special place to perform rituals.´ This should explain why there were buildings built especially for this purpose. The lesson reminds us that ´to this day we like to visit with pleasure, the preserved temples of ancient Egypt, Ancient India, Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome.´Also in ancient times, ´as a rule´, we could find statues from the God the temple was dedicated to, which we can still see. The same goes for paintings and - in Christianity and Buddhism – for music. All of these things are presumably part of our culture and connectedto religion. However, this chapter does not mention any pieces of music which could illustrate this statement, or mentions any

painting which could underscore this point.Chapter 3 instead, is illustrated with a photo of the Saint Isaac´s Cathedral (mentioned above) and one of a statue of Zeus. The cpationunder the statue of Zeus reads: ´Zeus, Ancient statue´, where it would have been appropriate to make further statements concerning the status of Zeus , and what his role was in Greek society.

Lessons 4 and 5 – The Emergence of Religions

Although both lessons are mentioned in the ´Programmes´ as having the same thematic planning, the title of these lessons in the coursebook differs slightly. Lesson four is called ´The Emergence ofReligions´ whereas lesson five´s full name is ´The emergence of religions. World religions and their founders´.

The first religionsReligious feeling, this section teaches us, came at the earliest moment in the history of men.´Ancient buried bodies we found, were done with the utmost love and care. This points to the faith in an existence after death and in higher powers.´Furthermore, this part contends that ´ancient people believed that the world around them was populated by spirits who were good or evil.´Subsequently this belief in spirits was replaced by a belief in Gods– with a byline stating that in ancient Egypte, Greece, Rome, India,China en Japan people adhered to a polytheistic belief, with each God having his own speciality. All these Gods together were called the Pantheon.

JudaismThe first peope to adopt a monotheistisc faith were the Jews, so this lesson goes. It then goes on to exlain that the forefather off all Jews is Abraham – who went from the land of his forefathers and settled in the land of Canaän, promised to him by God. Because of famine, the families of his descendants later settled in Egypt from where Moses took them away back to the promised land. During their way back, Moses received the ten commandments on mount Sinai. Back in their own land – the Jews build their own nation, only later to be driven away into Babylon.

This section, again, restates the view that the Jews are a people (russ. Народ) first and a religion second. Whether or not this is true, remains a matter of contention, whereas the word ´people´ seems to be unequivocal in its meaning; a group of people

distinguished by the same outward feautures, language, shared cultural heritage and other feautures. The ´Book for Teachers´ has this to say in the chapter on Judaism:

Judaism is an old monotheistic religion, which took shape in ancient JudeaIn the first era before our era. The history of this religion is closely tied with the rich history of the jewish people, the development of its state and live in the diaspora. (emphasis by me - RG).54

This statement nuances that from the coursebook which is being discussed right here. Furthermore the ´Foundations on Judaic Culture´ states :´Judaism is the oldest monotheistic religion in the world´, and later goes on to say:

Judaism is the religion of one people – the jews. (…) Nowadays jews by nationality can be jews by faith, or theycannot be, but every non-jew who assumes the jewish faith,is counted as belonging to the jewish people.55

So we see across three books belonging to the same schoolmethod– different opinions regarding the emergence of the Jewish faith and whether the jews are to be regarded as a seperate people or not.Also the fact that this lesson is devoted to the oldest religions, gives Judaism a place separate from Christianity, Islam and Buddhismwhich belong to the next lesson, together with their founding fathers. Clearly Judaism does not belong to that category, although lesson 4 states that Abraham was the founder (russ. Родоначальником) of this faith.

This lesson is further illustrated by a trio of illustrations: a reconstruction of an ancient grave, a picture of Moses leading his people out of Egypt on the bottom of a sea ´parted by the will of God´ and a reconstruction of the first temple in Jerusalem.

ChristianityThe first section of lesson 5 explains the origin of Christianity and its founder - Jesus Christ. The jews were waiting for a prohet who was to free them from all evil. When Jesus came, some of the jews decided to follow him and his teachings – because they thought he was the Messiah. Jesus called on eveybody to change, to become better.´But´, this section continues, ´many Jews wanted something else from their

54 Ibid. pp 8-1055 Ibid.

Messiah. They thought he must be a fierce warrior, and not a preacher.´ Soon thereafter Jesus was arrested and crucified – in order to be resurrected 3 days after his death. ´Jesus as the Son of God was notsubservient to Deat and arose from the Dead´ the section concludes. Accompanying this section are 2 illustrations, one from a 12th century icon, and antoher showing Jesus´ Sermon on the Mount.

Strikingly in this section, no mention whatsoever is made of the 12 apostles who were with Jesus and started spreading his teachings around the world, not in the least starting with the writing of the Gospels which found their place in the New Testament. Christian faith, so we can read in a accompanying box, ´soon started spreadingin many different countries´ - apparently without any independent actors who were able to do this. So, in this version of the story, the only person of name if Jesus himself and his mother Mary (who ismentioned once).Also the treason by Judas, the betrayal by Peter nor any of the miracles Jesus performed, according to the Bible, get any mention. This way pupils will get no explanation of what makes Jesus any different from other preachers or prophets – other than that he called on people to behave better.

Islam´In distant Arabia, a long time ago there lived Arabs.´ This sectionstarts out as one of the fairy tales of Thousand-and-One-Night, telling the story of Islam as if it was a thing of magic. The tone is strikingly different from the section on Christianity which precedes this section. The story then goes on:

´Once upon a time a boy was born with the name of Mohammed.He rose as an orphan, first in the custody of his grandfather, then of his uncle. (…) Then at one time, when Mohammed was preparing for his prayers on a not very high mountain near Mekka, an angel came to him and started dictating holy texts, telling him that he was a messenger from God.´

Mohammed saw hinself as the last prophet, preaching the same religion as Moses and Jesus, unifying the different Arabian tribes. After his death the Kalifs spread the Arabian culture andreligion beyond the borders of the Arabian peninsula.

Reading this section the question comes up of what makes Mohammeddifferent from other prophets. The textbook gives us no answer. Nor is there any mention of the ancestry of Mohammed, except that

he ´comes from the tradition of the forefather Abraham´. Again weare presented with a story which knows no other actors, apart from the main figurehead of the founder of the religion.

Buddhism´The third world religion, Buddhism, existed before the others and arose in India.´ The young prince Siddharta Gautama was born ´in the north of India´ and was brought up by his parents to become a prince. The youngling was very capable and soon overtookeverybody in sciences and sport.A series of encounters in the streets (with a burial procession, with a very ill man and with a very poor man) led him to the conviction that the road to self-knowledge was the only way the comprehend the causes of suffering among human beings. From that Siddharta grapsed the four noble truths:

1. Suffering exists in the world2. Desire is the cause of all suffering3. Nirvana is the way to free yourself of suffering4. There is way, leading to the freeing of suffering

This is the way Siddharta Gautama became Buddha(the Enlightened one). After becoming the Enlightened one, Budha started preachingto his followers. After many years he started to grow older and died ´entering in the highest and eternal Nirvana, where there isno suffering.´

Again this section refrains from mentioning anybody else apart from the main character of this story. It is as if these world religions originated in a vacuum, beginning from ´within´ as it were and without any relation to external circumstances. In the section on Christianity, for instance, there is no mentionof the Roman occupation at the time of Christ´s birth. At the same time the Roman occupation plays an important and important part in the gospels. Also the other religions receive short thrift, when it comes to explaining their emergence at a certain time and place.A possible explanation for this absence of external circumstancesunder which monotheistic religions emerge, cannot easilyy be given without further research.Possible explanations could be the fact that children in classes 4 and 5 in Russia, are simply to young to comprehend these issues. Another explanation for the absence of any external influence on the birth and emergence of these religions could be the fact that the authors wanted to ´play it safe´ and not put

anything in this book that could possibly offend anyone.

This explanation is further underscored by the fact that these two chapters, evenly divide their space across the four covered religions. Each religion more or less gets 1 ½ page of text and receives by 2 illustrations. One photo goes to the section on ´First religions´.

Lessons 6 and 7 – Holy books of World ReligionsThe nest two lessons are wholy dedicated to the sacred books of the four religions, with a small excursion to the Indian Vedas – which are mentioned in the opening paragraph of these chapters, and are called ´one of the oldest sacred texts´. Apart from the remark that the Vedas consist of four parts (this lesson fails to mention which parts these are), and that they contain stories about the origin of the world and the most important Hinduist Gods, the student does notget much more information.

Sacred books of BuddhismThe sacred Buddhist texts do not get much more space than the Vedas got before them. What the student find is this:

´the teaching of one of the oldest religion of the world – Buddhism, was not recorded for a very long time. She was transferred by word of mouth, and so spread over several countries.´

What the Veda´s mean, or what is contained in these writings, isleft unexplained. Eventually the words and deeds of Buddha were written down on palmleaves, these writings were then gathered in3 separate baskets. This explains why these writings are called Tipitaka, meaning ´three boxes of wisdom´. Then there follows a passage from one of these Tipitaka, there is no mention out of which of the three books the citation is taken. Also, the student doesn´t find any explanation of why this particular passage is chosen; is it charachteristic of all the writings in the Tipitaka, or does it explain something particular to Buddhism, the student is left without a clue.Propably the authors of this coursebook expect the coursebook onBuddhism to explain all this more fully.

Sacred books of Judaism and ChristianityThis section explains the fact that the book, which the Jews take tobe their holy book, is called the Tenach, ´and those that in the olddays migrated to other countries and started to speak Greek, startedto call this book the Bible – which is the greek translation for the word ´Books´. The authors of this textbook thus create a clear

lineage between the Holy book of the Jews and that of the Christians, without pointing out any differences that might exist between them. According to his section both Christians and Jews namethe Bible their holy book – because the Christians added stories about the life of Jesus Christ. This part was called the New Testament, according to the Christians, whereas the holy part for the Jews was called the Old Testament.

The Old TestamentThe text in this part explains the division of the Old Testament in three parts:

● Pentateuch – the first 5 books of the Old Testament recount thestory of the creation of the world and the first humans, the exodus of the Jewish people from Egypt and gives rules for Jewsto live by.

● Prophets - Books on the further history of the Jewish people, about how the temple in Jerusalem was built and subsequently destroyed and about the most respected men of this people.

● Writings – This part contains ´many poetic texts and homilies´.

Following this is an excerpt from the book Genesis, about the creation of Man. In asfar as this is an excerpt from one of the books of the Pentateuch, this is an appropriate text.

The New TestamentTogether with the part on the Old Testament, this part constitutes alarge part of the pages devoted to these two lessons. Combined, the information on the Old and the New Testament consist of 3 roughly pages, which is approximately 50% of the total of pages of these chapters.Analogue to the previous part, this part divides the New Testament in 4 parts:

● Gospels● Acts of the Apostels● Epistles● Apocalypse