Catholic religion in Schools

Religious education is a fundamental right for children belonging to the Catholic Church. This means they are not required to participate in the majority religion’s classes or ethics education. The municipality is obligated to organize religious education for Catholic children if there are at least three students requesting it.

For this reason, it is important that parents indicate their wish for Catholic religious education when enrolling their child in grade 1.

In practice, Catholic religious education is arranged either at the student’s own school or, if the number of students is small, at a centrally located school where students attend the religion class. Alternatively, in many Catholic parishes, supplementary classes are organized in the form of Saturday courses, where multiple lessons are held at once. These Saturday courses are usually held once a month.

For questions about religious education, parents are encouraged to contact the Diocesan Education Department:

Education Department Contact Information
Phone: 050-5440871
Email: osmo.vartiainen@katolinen.fi