The Uaar (Union of Rationalist Atheists and Agnostics) has written to the Italian Minister of Education and Merit — Giuseppe Valditara — in order to remind him that, due to reasons of conscience, the decision to subscribe to Catholic religious instruction (IRC) can be revoked throughout the course of the school year, too.
Same old story: at the onset of every school year, there is no shortage of controversies related to religion class. This has been the case for a child attending an elementary school in Piverone, in the Turin province, who decided not to attend Catholic religious instruction classes upon the passing of an established deadline, but the school principal nonetheless obliged him to attend such classes.
The Uaar has received numerous reports denouncing the fact that school principals deny the possibility of abstaining from IRC given the fact that they consider the enrollment date as the deadline for abstaining from such classes. But is this really the case? Absolutely no. Such an interpretation is erroneous, as established by the Council of State. The Council of State emphasizes the fact that such a deadline caters merely to schools’ internal organization matters, and therefore “cannot be considered as being an obstacle to a different decision, later on throughout the course of the school year”.
For reasons of conscience, it is completely legitimate to drop out of IRC whenever one feels like it. Therefore, there is no established deadline throughout the course of the year. The following legal precedent substantiates such matter:
- Tar Molise, June 22, 2012: “the non-availability of the right and the revocability of consent lead one to believe that, even throughout the course of the year, one can change one’s mind regarding IRC and stop attending such a class”.
- Council of State, March 15, 2018: “the deadline linked to the act of enrolling in a specific school year, which predominantly serves the school’s internal organizational matters, as well as that of religious instruction teachers, cannot be considered as hampering a different decision later, even during the school year”.
- Tar Lombardia, December 3 2022: “the regulatory deadline for choosing not to attend IRC (at the time of enrollment) cannot be interpreted as definitive”.
- Tar Toscana, July 28, 2023: “[the student] is always free to manifest its will for what concerns the following or lack thereof regarding IRC. This is done in a manner binding to the school, even after the deadline that is set for enrollment in the new year, and even throughout the course of the school year”.
The Uaar has therefore written to the Italian Minister of Education and Merit, Giuseppe Valditara the following: «we have asked the minister — states Roberto Grendene, secretary of the Uaar — to promptly communicate to schools that the deadline indicated by the Ministry in order to reach a decision concerning IRC is purely present for internal organizational matters. Therefore, in light of personal and unquestionable reasons of conscience, the decision to attend IRC can be revoked at any moment, even throughout the course of the year. In such a case, school principals must ensure that students are provided with the options outlined in the Supplementary Module for Students who do not Attend Catholic Religious Instruction». This is a matter of fairness and legality for the steadily increasing group of individuals who decide not to attend IRC.
Press Release
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