A shocking report from an Austrian primary school is causing a stir: A child is mocked because of his Christian name. Teachers report growing hatred towards Christians – politicians remain inactive and leave the teachers to their fate.
A pupil who is simply called Christian is laughed at – because of the word ‘Christian’. As Freilich Magazin reports, what sounds like a bad joke is a reality in a primary school in a provincial capital in western Austria. Its teacher anonymously reports increasing hostility towards Christians, the likes of which would not have been thought possible in a country with a Christian, westernised character. Children as young as eight years old express hatred of Israel, kick worksheets with the Star of David in the corner and shout Islamist slogans. One pupil says: ‘Islam is the best and only religion.’
In some schools, it hardly seems possible to live together as we should in everyday school life. In the playground, the first question is not ‘What’s your name?’ but: “Are you Muslim or Christian? Do you eat pork?” Anyone who answers the wrong question is ostracised – from an early age. Another teacher reports that a child cried when he found out that his favourite teacher was a Christian. The subliminal message: Christians are inferior.
Several teachers who have their say in the newspaper Der Standard report on alarming conditions. A teacher at a vocational school in Vienna describes ‘super-fundamentalist’ attitudes among pupils: homosexuals are to be marginalised, women subordinated to men – supported by religious justifications. Teachers are urgently calling for compulsory ethics lessons from primary school onwards in order to convey a common set of values – but this is nowhere to be found in the government programme. According to the teachers, the current situation is ‘anti-integrative’. Denominational religious education does not create a common basis, but separates young people according to faith and origin. In ethics lessons, on the other hand, differences can be discussed respectfully.
However, instead of creating a common set of values, education policy continues to emphasise religious segmentation – with all the familiar side effects: Intolerance, devaluation of others and increasing polarisation. Schools are supposed to be safe places for learning and personal development – but they are increasingly becoming places of fear and marginalisation. Teachers and pupils who deviate from the social norm – whether because of their Christian faith or simply because they are curious about other world views – must fear being ostracised or even attacked. It is high time that those responsible took action.