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Religion in Finnish Schools: A Human Rights Perspective

Merenmies, Matilda

Opinnäytetyöt 8.5.2017, Gradut ja muut tutkielmat

Tiivistelmä

The aim of this master’s thesis is to find how and if Finnish practice in schools regarding religious content is reconcilable with the current requirements of international human rights law and constitutional fundamental rights. This thesis offers a concise view on freedom of religion particularly in the public sphere and in the context of schools as a basis for the further evaluation of possible problems within Finnish practice. The main methodological approach is legal dogmatics with elements of critical legal study. Additionally, an element of de lege ferenda is applied. The main sources for this study include resolutions passed by the supreme guardians of Finnish law, jurisprudence of international human rights tribunals, jurisprudential literature and other academic works.

The study is composed of four main segments followed by the findings and discussion. The first section of the thesis presents the framework and context for the study. This is followed by a summary of relevant and fundamental constitutional factors and international human rights instruments that are necessary for the further examination of freedom of religion in particular. The third chapter discusses the content and implications of freedom of religion as a fundamental and human right especially through jurisprudence. The fourth chapter maps out Finnish practice in school and applies the findings of chapter three to these and evaluates stances adopted by domestic authorities.

Freedom of religion is an integral fundamental and human right and is one of the bases of a democratic society. This right imposes both positive and negative obligations on the state. The implications of this right are subject to the interpretations made by international human rights tribunals, which in turn shape the practical requirements at the state level. Therefore this thesis clarifies the contents of freedom of religion as a human right through the jurisprudence of both the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and the United Nations Human Rights Committee (CCPR) and highlights differences in the stances adopted by these two human rights instruments. This study considers the nature of the margin of appreciation doctrine especially in ECtHR jurisprudence concerning freedom of religion and frames the problematic implications of the broad use of the margin in these cases.

Finland is officially a secular country but awards special status to the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. The church maintains a significant position within Finnish society, including schools. Most of this practice is founded on tradition and justified through cultural significance. There has been considerable public debate on the issue of religious content in schools, but this de-bate has mostly centred on one hymn sung at spring term festivities. The actual issue and subject of this thesis are much broader. This thesis examines religious content in Finnish basic education covering religious education, morning assembly, the Hymn-Quiz and other religious activities that schools partake in and evaluates this practice in the light of human rights jurisprudence and the constitution. Finnish religious education is carried out in a sectarian and segregated manner. Education in the pupils’ own religion is obligatory for pupils with officialized religious affiliation. Although this religious education is non-confessional according to law this is often not the case in practice. Therefore the compulsory nature is a problem for the actualization of freedom of religion. The large variety of religious content in Finnish schools and the consequent opt-out schemes have lead to a situation that makes protecting freedom of religion of all pupils equally unfeasible for practical reasons

The results of this study suggest that current Finnish practice is not in line with all the requirements of international human rights law, especially those set by the ICCPR. Christian religion permeates Finnish schools in a manner that does not comply with the requirements for state neutrality. It would appear that domestic authorities are inclined to rely on the broad margin of appreciation evident in the ECtHR’s judgments regarding freedom of religion in school. Too little weight is placed on the resolutions of the CCPR apparently because there have been no recent cases brought by Finnish nationals or cases pertaining to the exact issues that are subjects of complaint in Finland. The Constitutional Law Committee is inclined to protect tradition and reluctant to address necessary changes despite of recent suggestions made by the Deputy Chancellor of Justice. Tradition is not on its own a justification for infringement on freedom of religion. Special attention should be paid to these issues especially because of the vulnerable position of children in compulsory schooling.

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