Spiritualized Diploma

The state recognizes higher religious education as full-fledged

Religious education in Russia will receive official status and will be practically equal in rights to secular education . Yesterday, State Duma deputies adopted in the first reading a bill allowing the issuance of state diplomas to graduates of religious educational institutions. True, this applies only to “non-religious” faculties of theological universities, which will now be able to undergo state accreditation and become full-fledged in the eyes of secular authorities. “We are talking about a whole range of specialties: philosophers, historians, cultural experts, artists,” one of the authors of the bill, chairman of the State Duma Committee on Public Associations and Religious Organizations, Sergei Popov, explained to Vremya Novostei.

As Mr. Popov said, now professional religious educational institutions can only obtain a license. About a hundred educational institutions have already acquired one, including several higher ones: Orthodox academies and universities, two Muslim universities (in Moscow and Kazan). However, in the absence of state accreditation, their graduates are left without diplomas of the established form and, accordingly, are not considered full-fledged specialists with higher education. Although their knowledge and professional skills are often higher than those of their colleagues from secular universities. But without the necessary diploma, they were deprived of the opportunity, for example, to obtain a second higher education or get a job in secular organizations.

“A strange thing happened: if exchange students of the Theological Academy went to other countries and received a diploma there, then this diploma was recognized in Russia. But if this diploma was issued in Russia itself, then it does not have official status here. We underestimated ourselves,” Deacon Andrei Kuraev told Vremya Novostey. Mr. Popov also agrees with him. “In order to receive a full-fledged diploma, students of philosophical faculties of religious institutions had to go back to study at some philosophical faculty of Moscow State University, and often with the same teachers,” the deputy noted.

The authorities have promised to eliminate this misunderstanding for a long time. First Deputy Prime Minister of the Government Dmitry Medvedev also spoke about this, who recently in Kazan, at a meeting with students and teachers of the Russian Islamic University, said that “theological educational institutions should have the right to accredit their program according to the state standard and issue graduates with state diplomas.” sample." However, as Sergei Popov noted in a conversation with a Vremya Novostey correspondent, the matter will not be limited to just the legitimization of “credentials” about higher education. “Accreditation is a big responsibility for universities, which means that they must maintain certain standards,” he emphasized.

In addition, even state-recognized diplomas from professional religious educational institutions will still differ from diplomas from other Russian universities - in particular, they will not have state symbols. Thus, according to Sergei Popov, the principle of secularism in education will be respected.

Kirill MELNIKOV