RELIGIOUS EDUCATION IN PRIMARY SCHOOLS OF TRANSCARPATHIA OF THE PRE-SOVIET PERIOD

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to study the features of religious education in primary schools in Transcarpathia in the second half of the XIX – early XXI century. Research methods: search and bibliographic – in order to study archival and library catalogs, funds on the research problem; content analysis of archival materials (curricula, programs, textbooks, lesson schedules), historical and geographical – to determine the territorial subordination of the Transcarpathian region and the corresponding transformations of religious education within the stated chronological boundaries, etc. The study showed that in Transcarpathian education and schooling of the pre-Soviet period (until 1945) there was an interaction of religion and education. Monasteries and other religious organizations were the founders of the first primary schools. It is proved that despite the Law “Ratio edukationis” (1777), which separated religion from the church, the number of parish schools increased. A particularly large number of schools in the region were opened by the Greek Catholic community. The activity of parish schools was regulated by the Law “On Education” (1868). In Transcarpathia, within the study period, there were two (male and female) teacher’s seminaries, the founders of which were the Greek Catholic religious community of the region. Religious education is especially relevant during the Second World War, when the church became a powerful factor in national and patriotic education. The subject “Religion and Ethics” is mandatory for study in both parish and public schools. Religious education was realized through the content of other subjects, reflected in textbooks for primary school (A. Voloshin, O. Dukhnovich, etc.) and so on. Since 1945, the traditions of religious education have been ruthlessly persecuted by the Soviet authorities, who have removed the religious component, banned religious organizations from opening schools, and carried out ideological work with teachers.