Religious education is commonplace in public schools across Europe, and is obligatory in many. In some European countries such as Slovakia, religious bodies are responsible for religious education curricula, and in Bulgaria religious schools follow their own curricula for religious education, which can include teachings that condemn LGBTQIA+ identities. This creates environments where LGBTQIA+ children feel unsafe, unwelcome, or unable to express their identities.
This is especially pertinent at a time when the far right is on the rise. Indeed, much religious objection to LGBTQIA+ rights is done in the name of “protecting children”, and studies have explored how right wing politics has made children – and with them education – into a political football.
