Public remarks from Poland’s education authorities have focused on a debated stance about religion education in schools. The statement, voiced by the head of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, Przemysław Czarnek, emphasizes opposition to keeping religious instruction within the compulsory school curriculum. He described this stance as part of a broader movement he attributes to secularizing pressures across Europe and the Western world, including North America.
During an interview on the radio program Jedynka, the minister was asked about the future of religion lessons in schools and how those lessons should be treated within the education system.
The minister reiterated his concern that a deliberate effort to reduce religious education is unfolding across regions he described as part of a wider dechristianization trend affecting Europe and the United States and Canada as well. He framed the issue as a challenge to traditional faith communities and highlighted what he views as rising secular attitudes in Western societies.
According to the minister, the struggle over religion and the treatment of Christians in public life is increasingly visible across Europe and the Western world. He argued that measures aimed at diminishing the rights of Christians and Catholics, including removing religion from school curricula, are part of a long-running strategy he attributes to political and ideological forces on the left in Europe and beyond, spanning several decades.
He warned that such policies could have lasting and negative consequences, describing the possible outcomes as a “terrible harvest.”
In his assessment, there are already large regions in countries like France and Spain where Christian presence is noticeably reduced or perceived to be minimal.
Forecasts from the minister suggested that only a handful of European nations currently lead in maintaining religious influence compared with others where secular trends have grown stronger. He identified the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom as examples of European countries where non-belief is comparatively more widespread, predicting that such dynamics could expand further if dechristianization continues unchecked.
He argued that gaps created by policy shifts could be filled by other civilizations that are no longer Latin or Christian in character, and he warned that these changes might reflect broader shifts away from religious traditions in the free world.
According to the minister, proposals to remove religion from schools form part of what he calls a dechristianization process, a description he has used to characterise ongoing ideological movements within some parties and political circles.
In the political arena, late last year, there were public statements and policy outlines by party groups that supported reexamining the Concordat and reviewing the role of religious education within schools. The discourse reflected a wider debate about the role of religion in public life and education in Poland and similar debates in other countries.
This topic remains a focal point in discussions about education policy, civil rights, and the cultural identity of societies across the region.