Response to interpellation 2022/23:23 on religious independent schools
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
The debate concerns religious independent schools and their connection to scientific foundations and segregation. S wants to ban religious independent schools because they are considered to segregate students and base the teaching on faith instead of science 1 2 3 4. S believes that children are subjected to religious indoctrination and proposes an establishment ban 4. S argues that the government is dodging the question of a ban and that the Tidö Agreement only focuses on Muslim independent schools 2 3. L emphasizes that education should rest on a scientific foundation and that current legislation should be effective 5 6. L argues that the Tidö Agreement aims for increased scrutiny of schools with a confessional orientation regardless of confession 5 7 8. L underlines that schools with extremism and Islamism are a greater problem 5 7 8.
Written by AI in advance and may contain errors. The numbers lead to the speech a statement builds on; check against the text below.
Statsrådet Lotta Edholm (L)
Madam Speaker! Linus Sköld has asked me if I intend to present the proposal on an establishment stop to the Riksdag. Linus Sköld has also asked how I want to ensure that all education within the Swedish school system rests on a scientific basis and proven experience. Furthermore, Linus Sköld has asked how I intend to act to ensure that students are not subjected to religious indoctrination in school.
For me, these questions are very important. Of course, we must work to ensure that children and students receive education and instruction in accordance with the provisions of the Education Act and thus are not subjected to unauthorized religious influence in the teaching.
It already appears from the Education Act that participation in confessional elements in school is voluntary for children and students. On 2 January 2023, an obligation is also introduced for principals to inform guardians and students about confessional elements. Furthermore, a general rule is introduced that confessional elements shall be separate from other activities within the education. The purpose of this is that students shall have real opportunities to choose whether they want to participate in such elements or not.
It is also clarified that in an education with a confessional orientation, the exemption from the requirement that the education shall be based on a scientific basis and proven experience may only be made for the confessional element.
The interpellor states, among other things, that there have been problems with indoctrination, discrimination, and crime in schools with a confessional orientation.
From the agreement between Sverigedemokraterna, Moderaterna, Kristdemokraterna and Liberalerna - the so-called Tidöavtalet - it appears that the parties want to increase the inspection of schools with a confessional orientation. Skolinspektionen shall therefore be tasked to increase its inspection of these schools and those schools that have an orientation that can be assumed to be conducted with problems regarding extremism and Islamism. Supervision shall as a rule take place through unannounced visits, and for resource reasons, priority shall be given to those schools where the problems can be assumed to be greatest. Schools that do not respect the governing documents shall be closed.
Regarding the question of an establishment ban, there are no such proposals from the government. The results of, among other things, the changes that entered into force on July 1, 2022, as a consequence of the bill Increased opportunities to close schools with serious deficiencies, need to be awaited and analyzed.
The Government will work unremittingly to ensure that all children and students can attend a school where knowledge is prioritized, where the teaching is non-confessional, and where all education and instruction takes place in accordance with the provisions of the Education Act.
Linus Sköld (S)
Madam Speaker! Thank you, Minister for Education, for another interpellation debate! It feels life-giving.
In a strong society, we must stand up for the fact that the best school is the one where students meet and are granted the same right to a good education regardless of gender, background, and religious views. Neither extremism, religious influence, nor deficiencies in knowledge acquisition can be accepted in Swedish schools. The school is not for parents to be able to ensure that their children receive the "right" religious upbringing or for people with extreme views to be able to act freely. The school is for all children in Sweden to acquire the knowledge they need for life.
Madam Speaker! We Social Democrats want to ban religious free schools, and a few weeks ago, the Liberals actually wanted that too. It even still says – while this debate is ongoing – on the Liberals' website that they want to ban religious free schools.
After the last election, we joined forces with the Liberals in the January Agreement. We already wanted to ban religious free schools then. The Liberals, on the other hand, wanted to introduce an establishment ban. In the end, we got them on board in an agreement with the Center Party and the Green Party to introduce exactly an establishment ban. Since then, the Liberals have therefore changed their minds. They went to the election this year on a ban, but now it has happened again: the Liberals have changed their minds. To be a liberal is to be conflicted - or as Johan Pehrson expressed it when the Tidö Agreement was presented: You say one thing before the election. Then there is the election. Then you say one thing also after the election.
Now the election is over, and suddenly the liberal Minister for Education does not even want to present the own party's ready-made proposal on the establishment ban.
During the past parliamentary term, we have, as the Minister for Education points out in his response, tightened the rules for religious independent schools. We have changed the rules so that it will truly be possible for students to exercise their negative freedom of religion even in confessional schools. Participation in the elements that are confessional shall be optional. We have introduced a requirement to report if a school is operated with a confessional orientation, so that the Swedish Schools Inspectorate can get an overview of how many and which religious independent schools exist. We have introduced a democratic condition in the ownership and management review to stop undemocratic actors from running a school. We have also given the Swedish Schools Inspectorate a stronger mandate to intervene in cases of repeated irregularities.
But there are good reasons to proceed with even stricter regulations, preferably a ban. Schooling in Sweden should be based on scientific grounds and proven experience.
The school must also rest on a democratic foundation - by, through, and for. In the school system, children shall learn about democracy through democratic working methods for active participation in a democratic society. The school shall build a kind of society's lowest common denominator, a common frame of reference, and a somewhat similar strong sense of community for all who grow up in this country. In that case, it is not sufficient for children from different backgrounds to be separated.
We want to ban religious independent schools. Our government has implemented the legislative changes that the minister refers to, i.e., tightened the rules and given the School Inspectorate greater powers. During the election campaign, the Liberals themselves said that they want to ban religious independent schools. What has caused Lotta Edholm to change her mind?
Aylin Fazelian (S)
Madam Speaker! In recent days, SVT's investigation of the Christian private school Oneschool Global showed that the school has a code of conduct specifying what teachers may and may not teach. According to the investigation, teachers are, among other things, not allowed to question that God created life. Students are also to be protected from morally dangerous material, such as the theory of evolution or the questioning of the fact that marriage is between a man and a woman. Lgtbq issues and divorce are topics that should be avoided. The investigation also shows that students are denied the right to sex education. On a total of ten occasions, the school has received criticism from Skolinspektionen.
This is a serious violation of children's right to an education on a scientific basis, and it is a serious violation of their rights. It is unworthy of Sweden, and it is absurd that we have legislation that allows this to continue - that religious independent schools can continue to operate school activities despite the fact that we know they segregate students, despite the fact that we have repeatedly been reached by alarm reports that, for example, religious independent schools with a Christian profile practice anti-abortion, indoctrination, and even exorcism and physical abuse of children.
Madam Speaker! For us Social Democrats, this is completely unacceptable, and it should be for all eight parties in the Riksdag. Religious influence does not belong in school, and it is high time that religious free schools are banned.
The school's focus should be on knowledge and education, and the school should rest on a scientific basis and proven experience. It should be obvious that all children have access to an equal education, for it is the prerequisite for our democracy and for the observance of human freedoms and rights.
During the previous mandate period, a majority was lacking to ban religious independent schools, so we Social Democrats pushed through what we could, such as stricter rules for who is allowed to run a school. Furthermore, there is a completed proposal on the school minister's desk that enables a ban on new religious independent schools, which would be an important step in the right direction. But the right-wing government is dodging the question and is not tackling the problem.
In the Tidö Agreement, only the Muslim friskolor are pointed out as a problem. My question to Minister Lotta Edholm is therefore: Does the Minister, in accordance with the government she represents, see problems only with the Muslim friskolor and not with other religious friskolor such as Oneschool Global, which I previously described and which repeatedly discriminates against our children and denies them the right to an education based on science?
Statsrådet Lotta Edholm (L)
Madam Speaker! I believe it is absolutely crucial that the education rests on a scientific basis and proven experience in accordance with the school legislation we have, and it is up to the School Inspectorate to verify that this also occurs.
It is perhaps a bit strange that the Social Democrats to such a large extent do not trust the legislation they themselves have been involved in proposing and making decisions about. There are, after all, changes that do not come into force until after the turn of the year, and I believe it is important to see what they lead to and if they are sufficient. But that being said, we also believe that Skolinspektionen must to a greater extent inspect the schools for which reports are received and where it is believed that there are problems, and do this with somewhat greater frequency and clarity.
I do, however, think it is right and proper to let the legislation, which has partially entered into force and partially is to enter into force, work for a while to see if it has the consequences that we believed it would have when we jointly made the decision on it.
Linus Sköld (S)
Madam Speaker! I note that I once again do not receive an answer to my question: What is it that has caused Lotta Edholm to change her mind?
Lotta Edholm refers in her interpellation answer and here and now to that all activities shall be in accordance with the Education Act and attributes a distrust to this. This is hopelessly visionless of a school minister. The Education Act obviously does not work in all respects, and in that case it shall be changed. Therefore, it is also naive of Lotta Edholm to believe that she will be able to inspect her way out of the problems with religious free schools.
A division of children based on religious beliefs cannot benefit Swedish society. It does not create better cohesion, less segregation, or more equality, no matter how many more powers the Minister of Education or the Swedish Schools Inspectorate are given.
Furthermore, there are clear signs that inspection is insufficient in this context. Despite the fact that Skolinspektionen has closed twelve religious independent schools in the last two years, abuses are still being revealed after abuses.
In my interpellation, I wrote that the latest example of revealed irregularities is from this past summer, when Uppdrag granskning revealed extensive irregularities in Christian independent schools, such as spiritual and physical abuse, LGBTQ+ opposition, physical contact, and exorcism. But since I submitted my interpellation barely two weeks ago, a new revelation has emerged: the Plymouth Brethren's Christian independent school, which Aylin Fazelian recently took up in the rostrum. According to a revelation in SVT, they instruct their teachers not to question that God created man. They have been criticized by Skolinspektionen ten times, most recently this spring, for not offering students sex education. Judging by the revelation, it seems that the irregularities nevertheless persist.
The head of unit at the School Inspectorate says in the segment on SVT that the problem is that this type of community can run a school and that it is a political issue.
Those who have the mandate to change something also have an ethical obligation to act when something needs to be changed. The Minister for Education has the mandate to act to rectify these irregularities. Therefore, I argue that she also has an ethical obligation to act and not just fall back on inspecting and asserting that the Education Act shall be followed.
More inspection is obviously an insufficient measure. So what should the minister do then?
Aylin Fazelian (S)
Madam Speaker! It is clear that we have a government that is not interested in tackling the religious independent schools. These are schools that segregate and which society does not have insight into because the principle of public access is not applied. These are schools that do not provide education on a scientific basis and that do not treat girls and boys with the same rights.
It is clear that the government's Tidö Agreement only results in increased scrutiny of Muslim independent schools. The government does not have a problem with religious independent schools, rather the government has a problem with Muslims.
This is not enough. That which is Sweden is being threatened. That which is our democracy is being threatened when our children are segregated and education is conducted without being built on science. SVT's investigations show that teachers are forced to deny the theory of evolution and that girls are not given access to sex education. This is not enough. Religious free schools must be banned.
Statsrådet Lotta Edholm (L)
Madam Speaker! It is precisely because there are irregularities that the legislation has been tightened and will be tightened again from the turn of the year. That is the basis. We will also give the School Inspectorate additional assignments to tighten its supervision to ensure that schools do not act in an illegal manner regarding these issues.
I am becoming a bit concerned when Aylin equates Muslim schools with Islamism. For me, they are absolutely not the same thing. According to the Tidö Agreement, we are to tighten the scrutiny of schools with confessional elements. Then we also identify schools that are Islamist or extremist. That a school has a Muslim orientation is not the same as it being Islamist. I think it is important to point that out.
The scrutiny will be tightened. The legislation has been tightened, and we will tighten it further from the turn of the year. The Liberals and the Social Democrats have jointly contributed to ensuring that these tightenings take place. Let us see what they will entail before we make further tightenings, if such even will be needed.
Linus Sköld (S)
Madam Speaker! I begin this contribution in the same way as the previous one: I note that I did not receive an answer to my question. What is it that has caused Lotta Edholm to change her mind?
I have a guess. In the Riksdag today, the new education policy spokesperson for Lotta Edholm's coalition partner Kristdemokraterna, Mathias Bengtsson, proudly says that the Tidö Agreement has secured the religious independent schools and that they will get better conditions. Another of Lotta Edholm's coalition partners, Sverigedemokraterna, campaigned on banning Muslim independent schools. However, it is obvious to everyone who follows the media that Christian independent schools are not a free zone from segregation, abuse, and poor conditions; SD does not want to do anything about it.
Lotta Edholm has folded to clueless free church friends and dark Islamophobes. Despite the fact that the most recent and perhaps most flagrant irregularities have been revealed in Christian environments, she has fallen into the trap and signed an agreement that singles out Muslim free schools as the only problem. The problem is larger than that. The problem is schools that, instead of basing their teaching on science, base it on faith. The problem is the segregation that religiously homogeneous activities lead to. The problem, Madam Speaker, is that children and young people are exposed to religious indoctrination in schools that are paid for with tax money.
It is time to stop this now. A simple first step would be for the liberal Minister of Education to present the proposal for an establishment ban. It is also technically constructed in such a way that it could easily be converted into the total ban that the Liberals campaigned on.
Madam Speaker! I want to urge the Minister for Education to come forward with a proposal that she herself believes in, instead of the limited attacks on Muslim independent schools that the Sweden Democrats have forced her into.
Statsrådet Lotta Edholm (L)
Madam Speaker! Of course, it is the case that all schools, whether they are confessional or not, must follow Swedish legislation. It is completely fundamental. To that, we now add the tightenings that the interpellant and my party have contributed to and which have not even entered into force yet. Let us see what consequences they have!
I also want to be very clear that in the Tidö Agreement it is stated that we want a stricter review of schools with a confessional orientation, regardless of which confessional orientation it is. In addition, we naturally see that there are even greater problems with schools that practice extremism and Islamism. It is an additional step regarding the problems that we see.
But let us see what this legislation, which has not yet entered into force, has for effects. Let us see what effects it has when we give Skolinspektionen additional tasks to increase its supervision of schools with confessional elements and schools that are not confessional but may still engage in what Linus Sköld is concerned about. We shall remember that a very small proportion of Sweden's students attend schools that claim to have a confessional orientation.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.