Most schoolchildren in the Russian Federation choose secular ethics as part of the orks course

Almost half of the fourth grades of Russian schools (46%) in the last academic year (2013/2014) chose the subject of "Fundamentals of secular ethics" as part of the course "Fundamentals of religious cultures and secular ethics" (ORKSE). According to the Interfax-religion portal on Friday, this is evidenced by the research data conducted by order of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation.

Of the 1,393,666 students of the fourth grades, 31% chose the "Fundamentals of Orthodox Culture", 19% - "Fundamentals of World Religious Cultures", 4% - "Fundamentals of Islamic Culture", less than 1% - the foundations of the Buddhist (5231 students) and the Jewish (161) cultures.

As for data on Moscow, statistics are as follows: out of 82,113 students of the fourth grades, 52% preferred to study secular ethics, 28% - “Fundamentals of World Religious Cultures”, 20% - “Fundamentals of Orthodox Culture”, less than 1% - the foundations of Islam, Buddhism and Judaism.

Different proportions are in federal districts. The Basics of Orthodoxy are leading in the Central Federal District: 46%were chosen this module. The following are the foundations of secular ethics (40%), world religious crops (14%). In the Volga Federal District, 48% decided to study the basics of secular ethics, 27% - Orthodoxy, 24% - world religious cultures, 1% - Islam.

The basics of secular ethics in the Southern Federal District were given preference for 27%, in the North Caucasus Federal District - 23%, in the Urals Federal District - 61%, in the North -Western Federal District - 55%, in the Siberian Federal District - 58%, in the Far Eastern Federal District - 54%. The foundations of Orthodoxy in the Southern Federal District chose 63%, in the North Caucasus Federal District - 14%, in the Urals Federal District - 16%, in the North -Western Federal District - 27%, in the FFF - 19%, in the Far Eastern Federal District - 27%. The foundations of world religious cultures in the Southern Federal District decided to study 9%, in the North Caucasus Federal District - 23%, in the Urals Federal District - 22%, in the North -Western Federal District - 18%, in the Siberian Federal District - 21%, in the Far Eastern Federal District - 19%.

The foundations of Islam in the Southern Federal District, Urals Federal District, the North -West, the FFF, the Far Eastern Federal District were studied less than 1%, in the North Caucasus Federal District - 40%. The foundations of Buddhism and Judaism in the North Caucasus were not chosen by a single schoolboy, and in the rest of the mentioned districts - less than 1%.

The course of Orks was introduced in all secondary schools in Russia on September 1, 2012. It is studied in the fourth grade throughout the academic year at the rate of one hour per week and consists of six modules: “Fundamentals of Orthodox Culture”, “Fundamentals of Islamic Culture”, “Fundamentals of Jewish Culture”, “Fundamentals of Buddhist Culture”, “Fundamentals of World Religious Cultures”, “Fundamentals of Secular Ethics”. Schoolchildren and their parents have the right to choose one of them. The introduction of the course as a mandatory was preceded by its testing in schools in 2009-2011 in 21 constituent entities of the Russian Federation.

The other day, in the Russian Orthodox Church, they spoke out for teaching the course from the 2nd to 10th grades. In response, the press secretary of the Minister of Education and Science, Anna Usacheva, told Interfax that, as part of the government’s order, the department is working on this issue. According to her, the course can be extended from the second to 10th grade if such a proposal is tested and supported by all interested parties, including teachers and parents. Now the ministry is preparing relevant proposals, which will be sent by November 1 to the Cabinet of Ministers.

The study was conducted by the state institution "Academy of advanced training and professional retraining of education workers", to which the Ministry of Education and Science instructed the information and methodological support of Orksa.