The Russian Orthodox Church is calling for social studies classes in Russian schools to be replaced with Orthodox religion classes

In Russia, there is a proposal to replace the "Social Studies" course in high school with a course titled "Fundamentals of Orthodox Culture" (FOC). 

Metropolitan Evgeny (Kulberg), a member of the Higher Church Council of the Russian Orthodox Church, made this statement on Russian state television on April 5, 2026. According to him, questions of religious meaning are more important than ethics or legal knowledge, and studying the fundamentals of faith will allegedly help young people avoid crime.

He emphasized the need to expand the reach of Orthodox education among schoolchildren, since a significant portion of Russians identify with Christianity. He also noted that starting September 1, 2026, a new mandatory subject, “Spiritual and Moral Culture of Russia” (“DNA of Russia”), will be introduced in Russian schools, intended to reinforce fundamental values among students and teachers.

The replacement of secular disciplines with religious and propaganda courses has been ongoing for several years. In 2025, “Social Studies” was completely removed from the curriculum for grades 6–7, and for grades 8–9, the course load was cut in half. Topics on human rights and the fundamentals of law have disappeared from the curriculum, and the freed-up class hours have been allocated to studying history using Medinsky’s textbooks, which contain justifications for the war against Ukraine. This move is part of the Russian Federation’s strategy to strengthen ideological control over the younger generation. This was reported by OTV, citing a statement by a representative of the Russian Orthodox Church.

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Earlier, Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church publicly stated that Russians fighting against Ukraine allegedly do not violate the biblical commandment “Thou shalt not kill.”

Meanwhile, Moscow is reviving medieval myths about holy war through church relics.