In Flanders (Belgium), religious education is a compulsory subject for all children and adolescents, from the age of 6 to 18 in all Roman Catholic public schools. Students who do not want to follow the courses of religious education in public schools can replace this course by one in moral education. This arrangement means that a large number of young people follow some form of religious education in Flanders, mostly Catholic religious education. The educational system in Belgium is different in the northern part (Flanders) from the southern part (Wallonia). As I live and work in Flanders, I discuss the situation here in Flanders. Nearly 60% of the population identify themselves as members of the Catholic Church, while 37% say they do not belong to any church. A small minority belong to other religions, like Protestantism, Islam, Judaism, etc. (Dobbelaere & Voyé, 2001, pp. 117–152). Of the people who say they do not belong to any church, there are still a few who would prefer a Catholic funeral to a secular one or who send their children to Catholic schools. About 75% of children and adolescents go to a Catholic school. Nearly 85% follow Catholic religious education in Flanders (Pollefeyt, 2004, pp. 44–45).
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Dillen, A. (2007). Theologizing With Children a New Paradigm for Catholic Religious Education in Belgium. In: Grace, G., O’Keefe, J. (eds) International Handbook of Catholic Education. International Handbooks of Religion and Education, vol 2. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-5776-2_19
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