Ministry of Education & Religious Affairs

Let me start by posing a question. Which country in the world has a combined Ministry for Education and Religious Affairs? Perhaps the countries which come to your mind, include theocracies like Iran, S. Arabia, even the ol' US of A.

Let me give you a hint. This country is a member of the European Union since the 80s. It is the birth place of democracy. The birth place of Plato, Aristotle, Socrates, Pythagoras, Alexander the Great and so on and so forth.

You guessed it right. Perhaps the only country in the world (at least in what we call the Western World) which has a combined Ministry for two opposite subjects, is Greece. It sounds impossible yet it is absolutely true. If you do not believe me, check its web site.

How is it possible for education and religion to go hand-in-hand in a democratic society? Education represents freedom, knowledge, logical thinking. Religion represents the exact opposite; slavery, fear, ignorance, bigotry and propaganda.

But there is more. It is not enough that there is a combined Ministry for two mutually exclusive subjects. Religious studies are compulsory during school. Students have to learn all about Orthodoxy. If it was only part of the regular history class, I could just about stomach it. But having a compulsory class is just pure insanity. Why does the state care about my spiritual beliefs? Does the government care about the citizens' political beliefs? Obviously, they do not. Greeks can vote whichever party they want. So what if most Greeks are baptised Christians without being asked? Indoctrination of any form should be illegal, especially at a young age.

Why do these things happen? Is it, perhaps, that the State and the Church have not been officially separated? Unfortunately, this is the case. The Church still exerts huge influence onto the government and any attempts for proper separation has failed so far. However, there is some good news, here and there, mainly thanks to the European Union which tries to respect individual freedom. A few years ago, the Greek government decided to issue new identity cards where the religion field was removed. (Perhaps you are totally shocked by now, but this is true. On my first ID was written: Orthodox Christian). Needless to say that the Church and all their bigots revolted and protested. But the end result was good for democracy. There is no religion field on the IDs any longer. The rationale for that is very simple. The ID is an official document which assists the citizens to do business with the state. In a democratic society, the State should NOT care about the personal beliefs of its citizens. It is that simple.

Of course, the change came from the top, aka European Union. That is why I deplore the European Parliament. They should force the Greek government to stop the propaganda in schools. Stop scaring the innocent kids about hell and the wrath of a non-existent God. When will we finally realise the true meaning of democracy? In a proper democratic state, your rights stop when mine start. Individuality is respected. The few have the same rights as the many. The State respects all the citizens regardless of their colour, background, beliefs.

It is that simple. Greece is the birthplace of democracy. It is therefore time to act like one.