Posted on19. June 2022, 03:27
A teacher in Safenwil is disturbed by a group of teachers who want to introduce a weekly teacher’s prayer on the school grounds. The initiators of this prayer should have a free church background.
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Should school teachers in Safenwil AG pray on Wednesdays? A dispute broke out on this issue. (icon photo)
IMAGO / CHROMORANGE
This worries the group of teachers as it violates the ‘religious neutrality of the school’. (icon photo)
images imago / Peter Endig
Radical Christians want to introduce the regular prayers of teachers at school in Safenwil AG, writes “NZZ am Sonntag”. But teachers who disagree with this should involve the school’s supervisory board. The teacher who proposed this teacher’s prayer before Christmas last year is said to be leading a Christian movement with her husband that makes radical promises of salvation with her husband. They should see themselves as “disciples of Jesus” and privately train young people as missionary activists.
Prayer is an offer, like gymnastics or a beer after work
The director, who himself worked in a free church, should support the idea of teacher’s prayer. He describes it as “NZZ am Sonntag” as one of the various proposals to strengthen teachers – “like gymnastics at lunch or having a beer after work.” The district school council also decided that the classrooms could be used privately by school staff for prayer during non-scientific periods.
There is a prayer in the school’s music hall in Safenwil every Wednesday before school. The teachers who notified the school inspectorate do not like this. In a letter to the city council to the mayor, Daniel Zünd (SVP), they complained: “The religious neutrality of the school” should therefore prohibit such prayers in the primary school building.
The district school council, also chaired by Zünd, decided that the classrooms “may be used privately by school staff for non-academic prayer,” continues NZZaS. The incident was then reported to the school inspectorate.
Faithful teachers in Switzerland are not unusual
According to NZZaS, religious teachers are not unusual in Switzerland. Only at the Pedagogical University (PH) is this percentage high: “According to a 2011 study, about 15 percent of prospective teachers have” absolute confidence in faith. ” They often come either from evangelical families or came to the faith through evangelical movements.
The newspaper quotes a source from PH Bern saying that believers are less “communicative and engaged” today. “The situation seems to have calmed down,” but that doesn’t mean their share has declined.
According to an expert on public law, although the teacher’s prayer at school is delicate, it cannot be rejected unequivocally. Whether classrooms can be used as a teacher’s prayer depends on various factors. Namely, whether the public interest of the school’s religious neutrality and reputation, or the loyalty of the teaching staff is violated. On June 24, the teaching staff will meet with the school’s headmaster at a mediation session.
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