Response to interpellation 2024/25:474 on secularism in 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 secularism in schools and whether religious demands are allowed to influence municipal decisions, for example, when a municipality stops exchange trips due to another country's secular legislation. SD considers this to be a dangerous development where religious norms erode democratic values and that the school should be a neutral place free from religious pressures 1 2 3. SD argues that the government lacks a clear stance against religious interests governing educational collaborations 2. L emphasizes that the school should promote human rights and democratic values 4 5. L argues that the principals themselves are responsible for interpreting the legislation 5 and that the government is working to re-regulate the school with a focus on knowledge and children's rights 6 7.
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! Sara Gille has asked me how I view a Swedish municipality stopping exchange trips due to another country's secular legislation and whether I intend to take any actions based on my view on the matter. Sara Gille has also asked me whether I believe Swedish municipalities should be able to make decisions that risk giving religious demands influence over the school's activities and international collaborations and whether I intend to take any actions based on my opinion on the matter.
Furthermore, Sara Gille has asked me what measures I and the government intend to take to ensure that Swedish schools and municipalities stand firm on secularism, equality, and the fundamental mission of education without adapting to religious pressures.
I want to begin by establishing that Swedish education shall convey and anchor respect for human rights and the fundamental democratic values upon which Swedish society rests. This is stated in the Education Act. According to the curricula, preschool and school shall actively and consciously promote students' equal rights and opportunities, regardless of gender. Taken together, this constitutes the foundation for the Swedish school system.
Children and students shall, from their right to freedom of religion – according to the Instrument of Government, the European Convention, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which applies as Swedish law – have the opportunity both to express their faith and to refrain from participating in confessional elements in education. Children also have freedom of expression like everyone else.
My and the government's self-evident view is that all education in school shall be based on the requirement of objectivity and versatility. This is clearly stated in the Education Act. It is then the head of the school, in this case a municipality, who decides how the teaching shall be designed and conducted according to current legislation. This also refers, for example, to which study trips or exchange trips a school undertakes.
The Government has taken several measures to promote education's fundamental democratic mission. For example, since 2023, the Swedish Schools Inspectorate has been tasked with strengthening its supervision of schools with a confessional orientation and of other schools where the authority assesses that there is a risk profile for extremism and Islamism, or regarding students otherwise being exposed to influence aimed at opposing fundamental civil and political rights or the democratic system of government. The suitability assessment of individuals applying to become heads of schools within the school system has since been expanded with a democratic condition, regardless of whether they apply to operate the activity with a confessional orientation or not.
Another priority issue for the government is to counter honor-related violence and oppression. Already in 2023, the government decided to allocate additional funds to the Swedish National Agency for Education's mandate regarding strengthened systematic work against honor-related violence and oppression. The government has also tasked the Swedish Schools Inspectorate with reviewing schools' work within the knowledge area of sexuality, consent, and relationships, with a focus on preventing and managing honor-related violence and oppression. Furthermore, during 2024, the Swedish National Agency for Education received a new mandate to prevent, detect, and address men's violence against women, including violence in young people's relationships and honor-related violence and oppression. In addition, the government intends to appoint a new inquiry into honor-related violence and oppression. The purpose is to counter honor-related violence and oppression in preschool, in school, and at after-school centers.
Sara Gille (SD)
Madam Speaker! The decision that Eskilstuna Municipality has made to stop exchange trips to France due to the country's secular legislation is deeply concerning. France, in line with its legislation and its traditions, has chosen to maintain a school environment where religious symbols do not belong. That a Swedish municipality is now boycotting exchanges with this as a reason sends a dangerous signal that religious demands can affect Swedish educational collaborations. This goes against the democratic values we should defend. The school shall be a place for knowledge, education, and integration, not a forum where religious pressures govern municipal decisions. If we accept that religious norms govern the school's decisions, we open the door to a development where secular and democratic values are eroded bit by bit.
Madam Speaker! The decision in Eskilstuna shows that religious beliefs can influence Swedish municipal decisions. It is a development we need to stop before it goes any further. What does this signal to other municipalities? That religious interests can dictate which international collaborations we participate in? That Swedish students' opportunity for intercultural exchange and education is less important than avoiding conflict with certain groups? We must put a stop to this development. When we allow principles of secularism and equality to be eroded through small concessions, we risk normalizing a situation where religion has an ever-increasing influence on our public institutions. This development cannot be accepted.
The Sweden Democrats consider that the school should be a neutral and secular place free from religious elements and pressures. The school's activities shall be based on democratic and secular principles without fear of conflict with religious interests. The school shall provide students with knowledge and tools to realize their dreams in a free and equal country, not be a place for concessions to fundamentalist demands.
The hijab ban in schools is not just about secularism but about protecting girls' freedom and their right to be free from imposed religious norms. That Eskilstuna boycotts a country that defends these principles is unacceptable and a betrayal of the girls who need our support. By clearly marking that the school is a place for freedom and knowledge and not an arena where religious norms are allowed to rule, we ensure that all students receive the same opportunities to develop without external coercion. Municipalities that have introduced such bans have done so out of a desire to protect girls' rights and uphold the school's secular principles.
With this said, I ask the Minister: How does the government view a Swedish municipality stopping exchange trips with reference to another country's secular legislation? What measures does the Minister intend to take to ensure that Swedish schools and municipalities do not let religious pressures govern their decisions?
Statsrådet Lotta Edholm (L)
Madam Speaker! Of course, neither schools nor municipalities should allow themselves to be subjected to religious pressure when they make decisions. As a Minister, I cannot have opinions on individual cases, however, and the question must be posed to the municipality in question.
On the other hand, we can of course have a principled discussion. According to the Education Act, the school shall convey and anchor respect for human rights and the fundamental democratic values on which Swedish society rests. Also in the curricula, it is stated that the school shall actively and consciously promote students' equal rights and opportunities regardless of, for example, gender. There is therefore a strong Education Act here.
But it is up to the authorities to interpret the legislation that exists, for example the Education Act, the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the constitutional law on freedom of religion.
As a Minister, I cannot, however, step in and review the actions of an individual municipality.
Sara Gille (SD)
Madam Speaker! No, I know that the Minister cannot have opinions on individual cases. But the Minister and the government can still direct and set the agenda and present legislative proposals to exert influence.
School should be a place where students, regardless of background, receive an equal education based on knowledge and science, not an arena where religious demands influence the operations. When a Swedish municipality stops exchange trips because another country has a secular school environment, a dangerous and fundamentally questionable standard is set. Adapting municipal decisions to religious interests risks opening a door we cannot close. Where is the limit? Will we see more decisions where secular principles are sidelined for religious demands? That would be a direct threat to the fundamental mission of the Swedish school.
The Minister points out in his answer that students have the right to express their faith. That is a self-evident fact. But that is not what this is about. No one questions the right to wear religious symbols in their free time or to have a faith. The question is whether religious beliefs should be allowed to limit Swedish students' education and international exchanges. On that point, the Minister has not given any clear answer.
It is particularly noteworthy that the government says it safeguards the school's secular mission and at the same time accepts decisions such as this. If the government is serious about opposing religious oppression, why do we then see no clear stance on this issue?
International exchanges broaden students' worldview and allow them to take part in other societies and cultures. To deny them that opportunity because we do not share another country's secular laws is bad for the students, the school, and Sweden's international relations.
Madam Speaker! This also shows a lack of respect for other countries' democratically made decisions. France has chosen to keep schools free from religious expressions, and that is its right. Sweden should rather be inspired by France's clear stance instead of limiting Swedish students' opportunities for international collaborations.
We must also ask ourselves what the next step will be if we open this door. Shall we accept special rules in school because of a student's faith or conviction? That would be a very dangerous development.
Madam Speaker! The Sweden Democrats want to see a school where the focus lies on knowledge, order and discipline, and the transmission of Swedish values. It is unacceptable that municipalities allow religious interests to influence education.
We must work for a school that promotes critical thinking, defends our democratic order, and puts the students' best interests first. It is crucial that we clarify that the school is a place for education and development, not an arena for religious compromises.
I therefore ask the Minister again: How does the government intend to ensure that secular and democratic principles are not undermined by religious demands, and will the Minister clearly signal that this is an unacceptable development?
Statsrådet Lotta Edholm (L)
Madam Speaker! Of course, neither a municipality nor a school shall capitulate to religious demands from the outside. There is also no support for that in the legislation.
We have a school law and a constitution. We have freedom of religion and so on in Sweden. I cannot comment on how an individual municipality chooses to act.
What I can say is that the entire school policy in Sweden now aims to re-regulate Swedish schools. There is far too much free choice in Swedish schools. There are very large differences between municipalities and between independent schools regarding how they choose to act and in what education students actually receive.
I have just received an investigation regarding a new curriculum that is significantly more focused on knowledge and children's rights to acquire important skills such as reading, writing, and arithmetic. In addition to that, there is also a grading investigation.
All of this is to ensure that we get a school that is more focused on knowledge and important skills. In that regard, it is also naturally important to take a stand on matters concerning children's rights. This applies, for example, to children's rights to a good education.
It is not always like that in Sweden today. All of this is, of course, aimed at ensuring that children have the right to a good school.
Sara Gille (SD)
Madam Speaker! This debate is not about a single exchange trip. It is about what role secularism should have in our school system and whether we are prepared to stand up for our democratic values.
When Eskilstuna municipality makes such a decision, it shows that there is a growing problem. Some are prepared to yield to religious requirements and prioritize these over the school's fundamental mission.
The decision in Eskilstuna sends a worrying signal that it is possible to let religious beliefs influence Swedish municipal decisions. This is a development we must stop before it goes any further.
If we allow this, simply more municipalities will follow suit. Do we really want a society where religious requirements affect which school activities and educational opportunities Swedish students get to participate in? It is a path we cannot and must not take.
We must clearly take a stand against this. School should be a place where students are nurtured in freedom and not in religious submission. Decisions like this risk creating a development where more municipalities follow suit.
I hope that the Minister will nevertheless take this to heart. Even if the Minister cannot comment on the Eskilstuna case, I think that the Minister can still say whether she will work to ensure that this does not happen in any other school, quite simply.
Is the government prepared to establish that Swedish schools shall be free from religious influence, or are we seeing the beginning of a development where religious requirements gain ever greater influence over our education system? What does the Minister intend to do to stop this?
Statsrådet Lotta Edholm (L)
Madam Speaker! Just as I have tried to say, it is clear that school principals must not be subjected to religious influence. It is very important so that the school and the principals follow the school law that exists in Sweden.
It is important to point out that there is actually legislation. The school's mission is formulated in both the Education Act and in curricula. My hope now is that we will receive a curriculum for primary school that is clearer and that has a very strong focus on knowledge and important skills. But it is difficult for me as a minister to comment on individual matters, quite simply.
With that, I thank you for the debate.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.