Christian schools in Norway might face quite a heavy storm

“It’s the whole point of the human rights”, says Audun Raen, secretary general of the Association for Christian Schools (KFF, Kristne Friskolers Forbund) in Norway. Speaking to the CNE podcast, he is still flabbergasted by the inspection report from earlier this year. “It is a human right for parents to choose a school that conforms to their beliefs. That is also in line with the freedom of religion.”
Raen agrees that topics about marriage and sexuality have to be taught “with utmost respect,” but Christians should still teach what they believe is the truth about those things. “The majority of Christians around the world see marriage as a relationship between a man and a woman. You cannot block a Christian school from teaching that,” he shares with CNE podcast host Evert van Vlastuin.

Audun Raen’s organisation, KFF, helped formulate an official complaint against the school’s inspection. The Minister of Education must decide whether the inspection was right or not, a decision with far-reaching consequences.

Nobody knows what will happen next, but it seems that the Christian schools might be caught in the middle of quite a storm.

In Norway, about 6 to 7 per cent of the students go to independent schools. Half of them (3 per cent) attend Christian schools. The number is around 125 (of which 85 are primary schools and 40 are secondary).

Most of them are concentrated in the south-west of the country. But, says Raen, “Christian schools are in all counties of Norway.” The KFF represents “almost all” of the confessional schools.

Christian schools are usually “Jesus-focused”. In the podcast, Raen talks about the religious identity of the many schools and the variety in that.

Unfair

Independent schools get 70 per cent of the state money that public schools receive. “Together with parental fees, that is enough to run the school”, says Raen in the podcast. But still, he thinks it is unfair that Christian schools do not get 100 per cent.

Another ongoing problem is that the Independent Schools Act is not enough to guarantee the existence of those schools. Local governments can block the start of a new school in their municipality. “So, on the one hand, Norway implements all the universal human rights in its own legislation. But on the other hand, local authorities can veto those.”