The Polish bishops’ conference has criticised a number of educational reforms which it says are “worrying” and marginalise religion in schools. Starting from September, the Ministry of Education has halved religious education hours per week from two to one and introduced compulsory health education.
In an August 24 statement entitled “Young People Deserve More”, the Polish bishops also noted their concern that religious lessons were to be placed before or after compulsory classes, the possibility of combining classes and changes to grading which it said marginalised the subject in schools. The bishops appealed for the “immediate restoration of the proper place for these activities”, as well as a dialogue between the ministry and representatives of religious communities.
The bishops stated that the religious education classes, which focus heavily on Church teaching, “are not a privilege of the Church” but rather a “constitutional right of pupils and parents, resulting from the principle of freedom of conscience and religion and the right of parents to raise their children in accordance with their own beliefs”.
“Religion lessons help to form conscience, teach responsibility and build a hierarchy of values. They do not serve only the personal formation of believers. They allow you to learn more about the history of Poland and Europe, literature, art, social ethics and many other areas of culture.
“They also help to better understand oneself, to find the meaning of life, to deepen the understanding of one's faith. They bring something unique to school education: an answer to the deepest questions about the meaning, value and purpose of human life. For many students, especially in moments of crisis, it is the content learned from religion lessons that turns out to be a signpost that does not allow you to get lost.”
Regarding compulsory health education, the statement noted that its concern lay with the “vision of man, marriage and family, which emerges from the curriculum assumptions and published textbooks”, stating that it accepted “with concern” the decision by the Ministry of Education, which will come into effect from September 1.
“The upbringing of such a sensitive sphere of human life must respect the right of parents to decide on its shape. The state should support the family in its upbringing, and not take over its basic functions. Sexuality should be presented in the perspective of marital and family relationships, because in this context it serves the authentic good of the human person,” it read.
The bishops stated that the lack of an unambiguous position that marriage constituted the union between a man and a woman was “worrying” and asked parents to remain vigilant regarding the education of their children. The bishops also claimed that there was no broad dialogue during the creation of the curriculum and that the requests of the Church were not taken into account.
“We believe that such an important area of education requires a broad social consensus, curricular transparency and real participation of parents and educational environments,” the bishops said. “We appeal for substantive consultations with parents, educational circles and religious communities, as well as the joint development of programme content that respects the worldview of all parents, children and young people.”
In May 2025, following the announcement of the changes to the curriculum, the bishops released a statement criticising what it called “propaganda” conducted by media outlets, stating that the changes would result in a “complete change in the perception of family and love”.
It implored parents not to agree to the “systemic depravity” of their children “to be carried out under the pretext of the so-called health education”. “For the sake of upbringing and salvation, we appeal to you not to consent to the participation of your children in these demoralising activities,” the statement read.
