WARSAW, Poland (ChurchMilitant.com) – In a significant shift from the previous administration’s policies, Poland’s new coalition government proposes to reduce state-funded catechesis in public schools, stirring debate between the State and the Catholic Church.
Barbara Nowacka
Barbara Nowacka, the incoming education minister, announced the proposal shortly after the new government’s inauguration.
Nowacka aims to halve the number of state-funded catechetical classes to one hour per week. She claimed “two hours of religion lessons is excessive.”
The minister added that any additional religious education beyond the reduced hour should be a local or parental financial responsibility.
She also seeks to reorganize the class schedule, ensuring catechesis occurs at the beginning or end of the school day. This change is intended to prevent nonparticipating students from waiting idly during religious instruction.
Furthermore, she proposes removing grades for religious instruction from end-of-year reports and overall grade averages.
Church Calls for Dialogue
The Catholic Church immediately responded to the proposed changes. Bishop Artur Miziński, the general secretary of the Polish Bishops’ Conference, stressed the necessity of dialogue.
Miziński declared that “any work on this should be carried out primarily in dialogue with the church.” He further observed that the government’s proposal, while under consideration, has not yet undergone thorough discussion within the new government or with the Church.
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Miziński acknowledged the Church’s willingness to discuss the terms, especially regarding teaching hours, scheduling and grading.
Public Opinion and School Participation
This proposal comes amid changing public attitudes toward religious education in Poland.
Last year, a market research organization in Warsaw conducted a poll revealing that 44% of Poles support removing religious education classes from schools.
Nevertheless, during the 2021–2022 school year, over 80% of students in schools and preschools participated in these optional classes, mirroring the country’s 71% Catholic population.
Piotr Uściński
Piotr Uściński, a former deputy minister in Poland’s conservative Law and Justice Party, sharply criticized Nowacka’s proposals. He characterized them as “an ideological war that the new [government] wants to wage against the Polish people.”
He emphasized that religious education is optional and enjoys broad support among Catholic families.
The debate over catechism classes in public schools highlights the ongoing clash between secular governance and religious traditions in Poland.