On September 14, 2026, the round table "Religion in Modern Schools" was held at the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation (CC RF) in Moscow. The event was organized by the Commission on Interethnic, Interreligious Relations and Migration of the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation and the Institute of Heritage and Modern Society of the Russian State University for the Humanities (RGGU).
The round table was moderated by V.R. Legoyda, Chairman of the Synodal Department for Church-Society Relations and the Media, and V.A. Fadeev, Chairman of the Presidential Council for the Development of Civil Society and Human Rights (HRC).
In his opening remarks, V.A. Fadeev emphasized that the education system should teach all three ways of understanding the world that exist: science, art and religion. "A person has the right not only to education, but also to knowledge. And cognition, I repeat, is three different institutions, interconnected, of course," said V.A. Fadeev.
The head of the HRC stressed that religion is an integral part of the worldview, and when talking about religion, it is necessary to address first of all the "ultimate issues of human existence." He also stressed that the question of the place of religion in education requires responsible and consistent study.
V.R. Legoyda emphasized that it is necessary to pay attention to the philosophy of education in the broadest sense of the word.
"Since the time of Plato, the goal of education has been man, and today the goal of education is final qualifying work. In other words, the question of what kind of person we want to get as a result of education is not raised at all," said the chairman of the Synodal Department for Church Relations with Society and the Media.
He stressed that the realization of society in any sphere of life depends on the quality of education. In addition, V.R. Legoyda drew the attention of the participants of the round table to the fact that the issue of defining religion in the modern academic space is a complex methodological problem.
"One of our tasks could be to return religion to the sphere of normality in the school space, which does not fully exist today," said the head of the Synodal Department for Church Relations with Society and the Media.
The event was attended by representatives of the scientific and expert community, as well as representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church.