The proposed Act on Citizenship Education requires fundamental reflection from several angles. The article provides a perspective from remarks describing the current age and a possible list of values for a democratic state. Important is also the perspective from educational freedom, on which topic several publications from the Onderwijsraad were issued in December 2019. The proposed Act (with the different versions of its explanation by the Minister) are critically evaluated and confronted with an alternative proposal.

Unlike the common expectations, Islamic primary schools can contribute to the integration of Muslims in the Dutch society. This article is a reflection of Dr Beemsterboer’s doctoral research and asks what this conclusion can say about other religion based primary schools.

Islamic schools are often criticized for indoctrinating children, which would violate the goals of education in a democratic society. This article explores whether, as a matter of principle, parents could legitimately choose to send their child to a school where he or she will be indoctrinated, for example because they believe that at a religious schools the opportunities for a child to be stigmatized are smaller. Besides, the article investigates whether it is plausible that children in Islamic school in the Netherlands are indeed being indoctrinated.

This article compares the situation of religious education in the Dutch and German school systems against the background of the relationship between church and state. In the Netherlands most schools are confessional schools, whereas in Germany most schools are public schools. The way in which the school subject of religious education is taught differs in its form. In both countries difficulties arise in relation to religious education which leads to the future of the Dutch school system of public and confessional private schooling being disputed and in Germany the school subject of confessional religious education being under pressure. Despite laws concerning religion and education the theme of religious education is still debated in the public domain.

Since the introduction of the Primary Education Act in 1985, all Dutch primary schools are obliged to teach religious movements as a subject, to make children aware that they are growing up in a multicultural society. Although many schools endorse the idea of education in spiritual movements, recent study shows that currently only 14% of the Dutch primary schools teach all religious movements without focusing on one tradition. This article discuss what the legislator had in mind with the obligation to educate religious movements, what it became in practice and the opportunities schools see for education in religious movements.