SMC Chairman participated in a Conference on Religious Education 

On December 4-5 the Jewish House of Culture in Sofia took place the seventh conference of NCRCB on the topic “Religious Education and Bringing up in confessional and institutional discourse – European practices and experience”.

The conference was held in four sessions. In the first session with a moderator Birali Birali – Deputy Grand Mufti, reports were delivered by the SMC Chairman Vedat Ahmed – “Attitude of the state towards the religious education of Muslims in Bulgaria” and Prof. Vladimir Gradev – “Pedagogy of faith: about the meaning and scope of Luther’s Small Catechism”.

According to Vedat Ahmed religion is the most important identification marker for Muslims in Bulgaria. Building up and preservation of identity, the development and reformatting it when new circumstances appear depends to a great extent on the bringing up and the education of a person which are received in the family and in school.

But “This to a great extent depends on the attitude of the Bulgarian state towards its most numerous minority – the Muslim and in particular towards their religious education” said Vedat Ahmed.

At the second session with a moderator Dr. Rupen Krikoryian reports were delivered by Prof. Dr. Garo Mardirossian on the topic “Lines of the secular and spiritual world of the Armenian community in Bulgaria, Prof. PhD Stefan Penov and Chief Assistant Professor Sevdalina Nikolova spoke on the topic about the “Social functions and personal meaning of religion – teaching and/or upbringing of values and worldview“.

During the third session with a moderator Father Petko Valov spoke Prof. Dr. Parush Parushev on the topic: „Credibility,Relevance and Contextualization of Theological Education: An Evangelical Perspective” and Dr. Kamelia Slavcheva about the “Religious education – case law of the European Court, recommendations of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europea and the position of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church”.

At the fourth session with a moderator Sofia Cohen reports were delivered by
Prof. Heni Lorer on the topic: “Basic principles of the Jewish secular and religious education – forming principles, factors and approaches” and the lecturers from UniLIT Chief Assistant Professor Svetla Shapkalova and Prof. Dr. Zhorzheta Nаzarska presented the topic about the “Religious education in the discourse of the cultural heritage”.

According to the Chairperson of the Central Israeli Spiritual Council Sofia Cohen this conference in which participate representatives of the three basic religious communities in Bulgaria is a “message of unity”.

Yuzlem Tefikova