ID: International Dialogue, A Multidisciplinary Journal of World Affairs 3 2013

Article
Is Multiculturalism Good for Children?
The Rights of the Child and Multiculturalist
Policies in Sweden

Pernilla Ouis, Gran Adamson, Aje Carlbom

In the present paper, the objective is to investigate if multiculturalism is good for
children. The method is to use secondary sources, as well as current examples from
Swedish society, to show how multiculturalist policies have negative consequences for
minority children's rights. The paper, as well as previous research, reveals that parents
of immigrant origin often forbid children to attend school activities such as camps,
gymnastics, swimming, and lessons in music and religion. Parents motivate their actions
with reference to their traditions and religion, and a fear that their children might learn
sexual immorality. The wishes of parents are accepted by schools because of the
prevailing multiculturalist policy in Sweden. The result shows that by not attending
schools activities like other children, these children will be disqualified for higher
education as they do not get grades in all disciplines due to their absence. Furthermore,
it is argued in the paper that the prohibitions by their parents violate the rights of these

Pernilla Ouis (principal author) is associate professor of health and society in the field of ethnic relations, at
the Department of Social Work, Faculty of Health and Society at Malm University in Sweden. She is a senior
lecturer in social work and sexology. Her research has focused on the honour complex, gender issues in Islam,
sexual rights and the rights of the child.
Gran Adamson is professor of sociology at the Department of Social Work, Faculty of Health and Society at
Malm University in Sweden. His expertise lies within the field of political sociology; in particular political
extremism, multiculturalism, nationalism, and political correctness broadly defined.
Aje Carlbom is associate professor of social anthropology at the Department of Social Work, Faculty of Health
and Society at Malm University in Sweden. His research interests are Islam in Europe, integration, and
multiculturalism.

78 Pernilla Ouis, Gran Adamson, Aje Carlbom

children. The policy of equal treatment is transformed into a practice of unequal
treatment of children with immigrant origin. The conclusion of this policy analysis
suggests that this approach is not in the best interest of the child and is a case of real
discrimination.

INTRODUCTION
More than a decade ago, Susan Moller Okin (1997) asked the intriguing question whether
multiculturalism is bad for women. Her answer was that multiculturalist policies
strengthen traditional patriarchal power structures and values, and hence, is bad for
women. In the present article, we pose the question whether multiculturalism is good for
children. To put the question the other way round is to challenge the notion of
multiculturalism as something inherently good. Hence, do multiculturalist values and
policies safeguard minority childrens rights and well-being? In this article, examples
from Swedish society will illustrate how multiculturalist policies in practice have
negative consequences for minority childrens rights and equal opportunities.
In an intersectional perspective, particularly girls from minorities can be seen as
oppressed by at least four parameters of power: age, gender, class and ethnicity
(Darvishpour 2008). In many cases the factor of religion can be added, although the
internal power structure within religion seldom is scrutinized in intersectional analysis.
Discriminatory practices can, of course, be discerned in the majoritys oppression of the
minorities, but also as a practical outcome of the childrens parents wish to preserve
traditions and the religion of their country of origin. As a result of their age, children may
not have their own voice in such issues. Due to values of tolerance and diversity, the
wishes of the parents for their children are respected. Many children are prohibited to
attend certain activities in schools, when schools choose to respect traditional and
patriarchal values. This policy analysis will elaborate whether the multiculturalist policy
and how its application in Sweden is in the best interest of the child, particularly when it
comes to the female child.

MULTICULTURALISM VERSUS FEMINISM

Okin discusses several oppressive practices against women in traditional cultures;
practices that are protected and reproduced by the state under the banner of

Is Multiculturalism Good for Children? 79

multiculturalism. She further makes the point that discrimination of women occurs in the
private sphere:
In many cultures, strict control of women is enforced in the
private sphere by the authority of either actual or symbolic fathers,
often acting through, or with the complicity of, the older women of the
culture. In many cultures in which womens basic civil rights and
liberties are formally assured, discrimination practiced against women
and girls within the household not only severely constrains their
choices but also seriously threatens their well-being and even their
lives. And such sex discriminationwhether severe or more mild
often has very powerful cultural roots. (Okin 1999: 2122, emphasis in
original)
Children are raised in the private sphere, and most people agree that parents
have the freedom to raise and educate their children as they please in their homes
according to the norms and values they believe in. However, it seems that parents have
gained influence over the societal institutions that deal with their childrens lives, such as
day care centres, schools, leisure activities and so on. The tendency is that the values in
the private sphere are disseminated into the public one. An explanation valid in Sweden
is the competition of private, religious schools that parents may choose for the children
instead of the public ones. Therefore, public schools may apply a more sensitive ear to
this group to maintain their base of pupils. A consequence is that discriminating,
gendered practices in traditional minority cultures may influence societys ability to
safeguard childrens rights in different public spheres.
Okins critical view has been challenged. Erik Christensen suggests that culture
can provide women with the necessary resources to promote gender equality and a
meaningful life, while noticing that many existing practices do not live up to that ideal
(2012: 40). His argument is that since culture in Okins view has the power to undermine
gender equality, culture should also analogously be seen as having the potential to
promote a positive context for womens self-determination (ibid.: 4041), i.e., gender
equality. However, he gives no empirical evidence for his statement as he confuses the
notion of a meaningful life with gender equality. Rather than use a rational argument,
Christenson is appealing to emotion. We do not deny that women are fully capable of
living meaningful lives in traditional contexts, but the issue is whether such contexts

80 Pernilla Ouis, Gran Adamson, Aje Carlbom

provide women and children with the rights of non-discriminatory practices (gender
equality). If not, then all citizens are not entitled to full human rights, since somehow
another standard is accepted for the Other with reference to their culture as differentfrom-us. Furthermore, Christenson implies that the romantic idea that the Other lives in
is a much more meaningful context (their culture) than the liberal Westerner
advocating for human rights and gender equality (see Adamson, unpublished
manuscript). Hence, the culture of the Other should be respected and preserved with
reference to its meaningfulness.
From a child rights perspective and in respect to issues dealing with child care,
it is not always in the best interest of the child to preserve traditional cultures. For
instance, in a study in southern Sweden on compliance to follow advice from nurses on
child accident prevention, it was noted that foreign-born parents complied with the
precautions at a much lower level than the rest of the population (Carlsson 2010). This
result may have many explanations such as language barriers and social segregation, but
the point is that the conservation of the parents culture ought to be a question open for
debate. In this policy analysis, examples will prove that multiculturalist policies in
Sweden provide an excuse for not taking these childrens needs seriously or they avoid
criticism towards the culture of the Other. The situation in Sweden might develop into the
British situation of parallel lives according to religious and ethnic belongings as
discussed by Rumy Hasan. Hasan refers to the multiculturalism of United Kingdom as
official racism and neglect (Hasan 2009: 63). He means that multiculturalism provides
an excuse for not interfering into the practices and lifestyles of the Other (that is,
neglect). In his view, the tolerance of the Other has turned into a neglectful indifference
of the Other.
In our view, the conflicts of feminist versus multiculturalist policies in practice
have not been taken seriously, and are often categorized as irrelevant or pro-Western. An
example of this attitude is found in the work of Tariq Modood, who puts it in rather
arrogant terms: Unfortunately, feminism has come to be used as a missionary ideology
to express the supremacy of the west and the backwardness of the rest (2008: 84). This
is the postcolonial critique against feminism in brief, and is an argument often used to
dismiss any further investigation of possible conflicts. Modood argues that although
multiculturalists support legal equality of women, there will also be a few limited areas
where people will disagree about what constitutes equality (ibid.: 85). What are these

Is Multiculturalism Good for Children? 81

few limited areas where multiculturalist policies are challenging the equal opportunities
and rights women and children? And why are they not taken seriously, but rather
dismissed as insignificant?

DISCRIMINATION BY RESISTANCE TO MAJORITY VALUES:

SOME EXAMPLES
In a Ph.D. Dissertation in social work, Sara Hgdin (2007) reveals that children with
immigrant background often have parental restrictions to participate in certain school
activities. Other studies have shown similar results (Dogan 1998; Jemteborn 2005; Mrch
2000). The reason for the restrictions is that such activities are seen to contradict the
families philosophical or religious believes (sic) (Hgdin 2007: 114). Such practices
towards the childrens education could be interpreted as a part of a wider context of
resistance towards the majority society. Apart from the fact that childrens absence in
certain school activities and lessons disqualify them for getting grades in these disciplines
and prevent them to continue on to higher education, the phenomenon can also be
interpreted as a violation of their rights as children.
According to Hgdin, girls with immigrant background may be prohibited to
attend swimming instructions in school. In Swedish schools, children are usually taught
swimming at the age of eight years. An argument for the parents to restrict their children
to learn to swim is that this activity involves undressing and to wear a swimming suit:
The children will be seen in this outfit by the pupils of the opposite sex, a perceived
nudity that is against their parents traditional believes. The same argument is applied
when it comes to prohibiting girls to attend certain sport activities, such as playing ball
games and gymnastics. Girls wearing the traditional Islamic head-scarf (hijab) and fully
covered clothing (burqa) especially have problems attending certain activities as they are
not allowed to change into more appropriate clothes.
Teachers have different strategies to deal with the parents wishes, and may
argue that the activity in question is mandatory. However, studies have shown that in
such cases, the parental strategy is to withdraw their children from these activities as a
routine (Lange 2008). Some teachers may respect the will of the parents referring to
notions of multiculturalism and tolerance. As a consequence these children will not, in
this case, learn how to swim at this age, but maybe later in a gender segregated setting.
Or in the worst case, not at alla serious problem in regard to childrens safety.

82 Pernilla Ouis, Gran Adamson, Aje Carlbom

In our previous research on honour related violence (Ouis 2005; Ouis 2009a),
teenage girls of Middle Eastern origin experienced many parental restrictions. Immigrant
children in Sweden from these countries reveal the same limitations by their parents
(Bjrktomta 2011). Girls were, for instance, not allowed to have boys as friends, laugh
with boys, go to the cinema, or attend camps or journeys arranged by school. Climbing
trees, biking, or playing football were considered dangerous and risky for girls as they
might damage their hymen, which would mean to lose the virginity in the traditional
understanding. Therefore, parents encouraged girls to stay inside and help with domestic
duties such as cleaning, looking after younger siblings, or watch television. It is obvious
that these ideas about raising girls are contrary to Swedens political commitment to
gender equality and childrens rights.
Children are often prohibited to participate in fun activities such as dancing,
playing music, and singing. In some strict Islamic interpretations, music is linked to
immorality. The dancing and singing of women are considered as a part of their sexuality
that should be hidden away. Particular musical instruments, such as flutes and string
instruments, are seen as associated to Satan and are condemned (Ouis 2009b). Children
from Islamists families may therefore be forbidden to learn about music and to play
instruments, which could be interpreted as exclusion in relation to cultural heritage and
identity.
Hgdin (2007) also noticed that girls of immigrant background felt most
engaged in their education compared to other groups of pupils. But at the same time, their
parents were the least involved in their daughters studies, according to her study. She
refers to previous studies that have shown the same result: girls of immigrant background
get less support from their parents when it comes to education because they are not
expected to have a career of their own outside the family (Fredriksson 2005; Yazgan
1983).
Parents may also want to exclude children from learning about other religions,
since this is believed to affect their own religious beliefs. Further, parents are often
negative about their children learning about the body and sexuality in schools. It should
be noted that on a strictly theoretical level, it is understandable that parents want to
protect their children from what they consider to be confusing religious ideas and
sexual liberalism. In the theory on the social construction of reality, so-called plausibility
structures are important to legitimize a certain worldview during the socialisation

Is Multiculturalism Good for Children? 83

processes (Berger and Luckmann 1966). Parents have a fear that schools might provide
such a plausibility structure that can legitimize what they consider to be unacceptable and
sexual behaviour for the child, at the same time as the school undermine their own morals
for the child.
The fact that children are discriminated in schools and are prohibited by their
parents to attend teaching on topics such as religion, sexuality, sports, music and camps
is, of course, paradoxical. Schools do not want to discriminate children because of their
religious beliefs, but this is actually the outcome of such policy. An alternative approach
would be to initiate discussions with parents and be allowed to question why some parts
of the education is perceived as threatening to their culture or religion. Can anything be
done to demystify these fears of the parents? To engage in such dialogue on different
norms and values is to take the parents opinions seriously, while still securing the best
interest of the child (Ouis 2009b).
The policy in Sweden is still unclear about how to deal with these situations. In
a workshop organized by the Swedish Minister of Integration Erik Ullenhag on 25 March
2013, researchers and representatives of religious groups were invited to discuss the role
of religion in education. On the agenda were the questions of what a non-confessional
education entails and the rights for pupils to practice their religion in school. In the
meeting it was argued by some Christian participants that schools should teach
Creationism as a valid alternative to the theory of evolution because both are equal
narratives. The meeting exemplifies the uncertain position that schools have in relation
to religious representatives in Sweden and the openness for negotiations.

SEXUALIZED CHILDREN
Lets ponder a little deeper into the cases of parents forbidding children to attend in
school activities. The previously discussed cases of children not attending swimming
lessons and certain sports activities in schools are illustrative examples of how parents
may reason. The perceived immorality of light dressing and the gender mixing provide
the basis in the arguments that parents put forward as against their religious and cultural
values. A connection between childrens bodies and sexual morality can be identified in
these arguments. Hence, we have a situation of sexualized children based on a patriarchal
presumption that that boys are observers and that girls are exposed to their gaze. If

84 Pernilla Ouis, Gran Adamson, Aje Carlbom

schools grant children permission to be absent in swimming lessons, does this imply an
acceptance of such norms?
The same pattern can be discerned when it comes to education in music because
of the association to disapproved sexual behaviour made by parents. Again, it is the
understanding of children as sexual subjects that limit their possibility to take part in vital
parts of the education. Also in teaching on sexuality, children may be prohibited to attend
with the excuse that they should not be taught sexual immorality. But ignorance on
sexual matters could put children at risks for sexual abuse and exploitation. To have
knowledge about sexuality, others and ones own, is often seen as empowerment and risk
reduction. Information is a vital part of promoting sexual health (WHO 2010).
The World Sexual Health Association (WAS 2008: 92) distinguishes between
positive and negative sexual rights. Positive rights include the right to sexual pleasure and
the freedom to sexual expressions. The negative rights include the right of not to be
forced into sexual intercourse or to not be exposed to sexual violence or exploitation
(Ouis 2012). In traditional cultures, however, girls are sometimes forced into marriages
as a child (Ouis 2009a). This sexual abuse, and violation of the childs negative sexual
rights, is somehow accepted by the parents since such a liaison is considered morally
impeccable. In Sweden, child marriages have been debated and legislation has been
sharpened. Still, parallel juridical systems prevail in Sweden, and parents may marry their
daughters according to the traditional law (e.g., shariah, the Islamic law) although not
valid officially in Sweden. But in practice, such marriages have the same social
consequence and risk for the children as an officially sanctioned marriage. Such
negatives outcomes for the child are for instance sexual violence, pregnancy and drop out
from school. In conclusion, it can be said that adherence to traditional patriarchal cultures
prohibits girls to take part in various activities in school with reference to the presumed
sexuality of the child, while at the same time the child may be exploited sexually in a
traditional, forced marriage.

THE EXAMPLE FROM THE CITY OF JNKPING: STRATEGIES TO DEAL

WITH PARENTAL RESISTANCE TO SCHOOL ACTIVITIES
A widely debated example of how schools have dealt with these issues is found in the
city of Jnkping. The municipality signed a policy agreement in 1994 with Islamic
congregations and organizations on how to treat Muslim children in schools. In 2010

Is Multiculturalism Good for Children? 85

renewed negotiations took place in order to update the document, provoking a nationwide debate later on. The agreement was to deal with the fact that parents often kept their
children at home during particular activities, as discussed above. The municipality
wished to be clear about which activities would be considered mandatory for all children.
But they also wanted to discuss in which cases it was acceptable for Muslim children to
not attend. The agreement was based on negotiations with religious Muslims,
representing different Islamic and/or Islamist associations. This meant that the majority
of Muslims in Sweden, i.e., the secular group, were excluded from the negotiations, a fact
that was criticized.
The agreement included the right for Muslim representatives to visit school
restaurants to check that the food served to Muslim children was correct according to
Islamic rules. In regard to camps organized by the school, it was agreed to separate boys
and girls at night. However, parents who still found this unacceptable were given the
possibility to take their children home at night and to let them sleep in their homes, while
promising to take their children back to camp for the next days activities. Furthermore, it
was agreed that Muslim children did not have to participate in celebrating Christian feasts
like Christmas and Easter. In general, the municipality did not allow Muslim children
leave in order to attend the Friday prayer at the mosque, but left the issue of Friday prayer
to be negotiated between the parents and each school in the municipality. The schools
were encouraged in the agreement to give Muslim pupils a particular space in the school
for their daily prayers.
The principal critique of the agreement came from human rights activists with
an immigrant background. Sara Mohammad, chairwoman of the organization working
against honour related violence Glm aldrig Pela och Fadime (translation: Never forget
Pela and Fadime, the names of two young female victims of honour killings in Sweden),
expressed in an interview: It is double racism by giving the children less rights because
they come from another country and a different religion.This legitimizes and manifests
the oppression and their lifestyle. The children get brainwashed and squeezed between
the school and home and do not get the chance to live like other children in society
(Jnytt, 11 May 2012, our translation). The organization reported the municipality to the
police, The Swedish National Agency for Education, the Ombudsman for Children and to
other agencies because they believed the agreement was a violation against childrens

86 Pernilla Ouis, Gran Adamson, Aje Carlbom

rights. The organization considered the agreement to be racist and discriminating against
children.
Another activist, Bahareh Andersson, asked in a debate article why the
municipality of Jnkping wanted to indoctrinate immigrant children with medieval
values such as gender segregation and that love without marriage is a sin? She wrote:
All children should have the same rights, irrespectively of gender, age, ethnic or
religious belonging. It is about time that the misplaced benevolence is replaced with the
objective that everyone should have the same individual rights. Specific cultural or
religious group rights should not exist (Andersson 2012, our translation).
It is noteworthy that Swedish feminist and anti-racist organizations were silent
on this issue. This is an example of how anti-racist concerns in the context of
multiculturalist policies provide a space for religious and patriarchal groups to gain
influence in presumed secular institutions of society without being criticized. Hence, it
can be noted that anti-racism and respect of the Other seems to be a more important aim
than questioning traditional gender structures and their reproduction. The above
mentioned activists Sara Mohammad and Bahareh Andersson have both been involved in
public debates arguing that feminists on the political left have failed to understand the
problems of the Other women. Our point is that such an approach has negative effects on
children, as well.

THE POLICY OF EQUAL TREATMENT BECOMING A POLICY

OF UNEQUAL TREATMENT
In Sweden, strong political agreement can be found on the policy of equal treatment
(Swedish: likabehandling) of every individual irrespectively of gender, age, disability,
ethnicity, and religion. However, the examples drawn from schools reveal that this policy
has in practice become a policy of unequal treatment, particularly when it comes to girls
with immigrant backgrounds. We believe that the fear of being classified as racists
motivates schools to take a non-combative approach towards the wishes of the parents.
This attitude is legitimized under the banner of multiculturalism.
So, we have a paradox: While trying to be tolerant and non-discriminatory,
schools de facto create a space for discrimination and exclusion of immigrant children.
The policy of the schools can be labeled as a halal-hippie approach. The concept is
based on the irony of a person that is extremely tolerant towards the Other, although this

Is Multiculturalism Good for Children? 87

Other embraces values that are totally contradictory to the values of liberalism and
equality held by the halal-hippie. It is a term coined by Naser Khader, a Danish politician
with an Arabic background and one of the strongest critics of multiculturalism in
Scandinavia. The paradox of the halal-hippe should be taken seriously, since it reveals a
blindness of particularly the political left on issues of discrimination and equal
opportunities, in practice (Ouis 2010). Moreover, this attitude is patronizing, as halalhippies seem not to view the Other as an equal partner with whom they can discuss, argue
and disagree.
The willingness to accept the wishes of parents with immigrant background is
based on a respect and acceptance of their right to exactly continue to bethe Other, i.e.,
different from Us, with different traditions, values and commitments. This could also be
interpreted as accepting the Others right to show resistance to the majority and accepting
that We are not allowed to force our values and lifestyles upon others, i.e., to avoid
ethnocentrism. Integration politics in Sweden is aiming at every individuals right to fully
take part of society, while still maintaining his or her culture and religion. However,
strong adherence to cultural and religious values can actually be in conflict with the
objective of social integration. Furthermore, it should be noted that such values are often
continued and reinforced by the second generation of immigrants. In the UK these issues
have been criticized. In the words of Hasan, who sees detachment from the society as
opposed to integration:
Strong affinity with a culture and religion can, therefore,
intensify the constituent elements of physic detachment. Levels of
normative detachment may reach such an extent that there is an
ever-increasing hostility to the host societys culture, values, and
mores. (Hasan 2009: 113, emphasis in original)
Hasan argues that parallel lives and a psychic detachment are created for
immigrants in the UK due to multiculturalism. This situation is similar to the situation in
Sweden, although the Swedish government has a much more outspoken goal of social
integration.
It is important to note that the supposedly failed integration policies should
not turn into a blame-the-victim attitude, i.e., that it is the fault of the immigrants
themselves that they are not integrated into society. Neo-liberal politics in Sweden have
profoundly transformed the welfare state during the last two decades. The institutions of

88 Pernilla Ouis, Gran Adamson, Aje Carlbom

the welfare state are withdrawing from the ghettos and an institutional deficit has been
created (Lash 1994). Furthermore, this rather strengthens the processes of creating
ghettos and enclavisation (Carlbom 2003: 18488). The public school could be seen as
the last outpost of the majority society in certain areas. It is important that society give
these children full support so that their parents exclusion from, for example, the job and
housing market, is not reproduced into the next generation.

A CHILD RIGHTS PERSPECTIVE

Swedish schools and child care institutions are according to the law supposed to integrate
a child perspective (Swedish: barnperspektivet) in all actions such as investigations and
interventions involving children. Sweden has signed and ratified the UN Convention on
the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). In article 3, it is said that in all actions concerning
children, the best interest of the child shall be the major consideration. It could be
questioned in the situation of a girl who is not taught how to swim, a life saving measure
in certain circumstances, if this is in the best interest of the child. Furthermore, to be
excluded from important parts of an education and not be qualified for higher education
(i.e., by not getting grades in all disciplines) could clearly not be in the best interest of the
child.
Some other articles in the UNCRC are also of relevance to our topic. Article 12
gives the right to the child to express his or her opinion and to have the opinion taken into
consideration. Is this the case when parents decide on which of the activities in school
they can or cannot attend? Hgdins (2007) thesis showed that children often come in
loyalty conflicts between the school and their homes in such cases. Article 13 provides
the child the freedom of expression and information, i.e., the right to seek, receive and
impart information in various forms, including art, print, and writing. Surely, this right is
overruled when the child is prohibited from attending some school activities. This could
be interpreted as a violation of the democratic training of the child.
Article 17 deals with the childs right to access to information and media, stating
that the child shall have access to information from a diversity of sources; due attention
shall be paid to minorities and guidelines to protect children from harmful material shall
be encouraged. This is also important in relation to attendance in all activities in school.
The exclusion of children of different ethnic background is also a democratic problem.
The views of the diversity of children are not incorporated in the open discussion in

Is Multiculturalism Good for Children? 89

schools on topics such as religion, gender roles, and sexuality. It is important that schools
are open forums for all children. To voluntarily withdraw from discussions on
controversial topics is a problem both for the children that do not attend, but also for the
rest of the childrenin this case the children of ethnic Swedish background. How will
they learn about each other if children from early age are separated even in public
schools?
Article 14 stipulates that every child has the right to think and believe what
they want and also to practise their religion, as long as they are not stopping other people
from enjoying their rights. The question should be asked if religion, or certain practices
motivated by religion to be specific, can be an obstacle for children to pursue their rights
as a child? Furthermore, the article requires states to respect the rights and duties of
parents to provide direction to the child in the exercise of this right in accordance with
the childs evolving capacities. Hence, the interpretation of the article is that the state
should guarantee the right of the parents to educate their children in religious matter.
However, this right of the parents may be challenged if it contradicts the rights of the
child, as this policy analysis has shown.
What are the rights and duties of the state to educate children? And in practice,
how should teachers and school management act to offer a democratic education for all
children? Amy Gutmann is clear when saying:
Within the family, parents are free to foster in children deep
convictions to particular ways of life. But by educating children also as
future citizens, the democratic state resists the view that parents are the
ultimate authorities of their childrens education, that they may invoke
their parental rightsor their right to religious freedomto prevent
schools from exposing their children to ways of life or thinking that
challenge their personal commitments. (Gutmann1989: 79)
The role of the schools in these situations was discussed at a workshop for
teachers (led by the main author) at The European Forum for Teachers of Religious
Education 12th conference in Malm, August 2013. In the workshop the question was
posed: How to deal with children that are not allowed to attend certain activities in
schools due to tradition and religion? Four possible positions were developed and
elaborated: (1) respect the parents wishes in regard to freedom of religion; (2) try to

90 Pernilla Ouis, Gran Adamson, Aje Carlbom

convince the parents to apply a different religious interpretation; (3) be practical and
negotiate, give and take; and (4) request attendance motivated by the rights of the child.
The participating teachers meant that in practice they apply a mix of these four
positions in their negotiations with parents, as well as with the schools management.
They argued convincingly that it is impossible to stick to strictly only one of these four
arguments. Furthermore, the participants meant that the fourth position would alter the
negotiations with the parents from the personal level into the level of the legal,
impersonal and authoritative. Therefore, they would avoid discussing the matter in terms
of the rights of the child. The teachers coming from different European countries shared
the same experience that traditional and religious parents have strict notions on their
childrens exposure to challenging ideas. However, they added that atheist parents may
also have this rigidity.
To sum up, the Swedish policy of multiculturalism reveals a number of
dilemmas. The first and obvious one is the contradiction between preserving culture and
its specificity on one hand, while encouraging social integration on the other. The
multiculturalists often interpret minorities struggles to conserve traditions as an
expression of resistance towards the majority society. But a legitimate question to ask is:
Resistance against what? The resistance against democratic teachings and education, due
to its perceived association to Western values, should be open to critical debate.
However, other dilemmas are found in regard to rights. Not even the UNCRC is clear
about if the childs religion is a matter of choice for the parents or the child alone.
Furthermore, there is an ambiguity regarding whose responsibilitythat of the parents or
that of the stateshould prevail in regards to protecting the child and safeguarding the
rights of the child.

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