Public Debates in Bulgaria and the Ministry of Education’s Concept “Virtues and Religions” in Educational Policy
Public Debates in Bulgaria and the Ministry of Education’s Concept “Virtues and Religions” in Educational Policy

Author(s): Andrian Aleksandrov
Subject(s): Social Sciences, Education, School education, State/Government and Education, Pedagogy
Published by: Editura Eikon
Keywords: Bulgaria; religious education; educational policy; secularism; values formation; “Virtues and Religions”;
Summary/Abstract: This paper studies the current public debates in Bulgaria concerning the role of religion in education, with a specific focus on the Ministry of Education’s concept “Virtues and Religions” as a proposed element in national educational policy. The study analyses the tension between the secular character of public schooling and the increasing demand for moral and spiritual formation, situating the Bulgarian discourse within broader European conceptual models of religious education (confessional, cultural-historical, and virtue-based). The concept “Virtues and Religions” is explored not as a finalized curriculum, but as a marker of state-level value repositioning. The paper discusses the normative, pedagogical, and identity-related challenges that the implementation of such a model may entail, as well as the potential for a theologically grounded and civically responsible integration of religious education within a secular educational framework.

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