KYRGYZSTAN TODAY Policy briefs on - Department of Geography

In Kyrgyzstan, there are the Spiritual Board of Muslims, 9 kazyyats, three missions
of foreign faiths, 50 centers, foundations and associations, the Islamic University of
Kyrgyzstan, 8 institutes, 50 madrassas and 1667 mosques. Also, there are 46 Russian
Orthodox churches and one nunnery. There are two organizations of the Orthodox
faith (not part of the Russian Orthodox Church), 292 Christian religious organizations,
three communities of Catholics, 49 Baptists communities, 30 communities of Seventh-
Day Adventists, 49 Pentecostal communities, 41 communities of Jehovah’s Witnesses,
21 Lutheran communities, 27 non-denominational Protestant religious organizations,
36 Presbyterian communities, 18 Christian organizations of charismatic character, 21
foreign missions, 15 religious schools, 26 centers and foundations and an organization
of Judaists and Buddhists.
The total of number of foreign missionaries (from 54 countries of the world)
registered by the State Commission on Religious Affairs reached 1,300 since 1996.
There are also 16 religious organizations of other religious schools in Kyrgyzstan
(12 Bahai communities, the universal church, church of Scientology, the “Concordia”
Lutheran church, Messianic Jewish community “Beit Ieshua”). Solving the religious
education problem in Kyrgyzstan is important for resolving conflicts in the country,
which often arise on religious grounds. A person who has a level of religious
knowledge cannot be such easy prey for those who use religious sentiments of
uneducated citizens for political purposes. Everyone is well aware of the negative
impact of the spread of Wahhabism. Sunni Islam (in particular, the Hanafite school)
has been dominant in Central Asia for many centuries, and its traditions and
principles are alien to the practices of Wahhabism. However, poor knowledge of the
basic religious principles has turned many citizens of Kyrgyzstan into supporters
of Wahhabism. To solve existing and prevent possible conflicts, which arise on
religious grounds as a result intolerant attitude toward the representatives of other
religions, it is necessary to take urgent and effective measures to develop religious
education in the country.
The following questions need to be addressed: Why do our schools need to introduce
the course of “Religious Studies”? Which positive results would this bring in achieving
the educational goals of school curricula?
It is well – known that the purpose of schools is the education of children, providing
them with the knowledge and skills needed to exercise social, professional and other
activities in modern society. Schools cannot neglect the ideology of the society in which
it exists – but, at the same time, a secular educational institution should not assume the
function of religious education. The school curriculum includes a set of courses that give
students an opportunity to assess the surrounding world, which includes the ability
to analyze the country’s religious situation. A child should be able to learn the society
as a whole, rather than its individual parts. A child should be provided a full picture
of society, therefore, we must teach children the basic principles and beliefs of Islam
[1, p. 67] and other religions. Comprehensive education in modern society cannot ignore
the issue of religious education. This issue cannot be solved by itself. It is impossible to
transmit knowledge about religion only with the help of courses such as philosophy,
ethics, etc. There must be a special course: “Religious studies.” It should be introduced
into school curricula, taking into account the significance of the specific religion, which
is important for a society [1, p. 68].
There are six reasons why any school curricula that does not contain a course on the
basics of religion, cannot be considered comprehensive.
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