Education in the student’s own religion

The parent or guardian can request religious instruction for their child by filling out a form. The form is provided by the school.

If your child belongs to a religious community registered in Finland other than the Evangelical Lutheran church or Orthodox church, and your child does not take part in the majority religion teaching (Evangelical Lutheran), you can request the child’s own religion instruction for them. It will be provided if the minimum number of three students is met.

The Finnish-language schools of City of Helsinki provide education in Catholic, Islam, Buddhist and Krishna religion. The Swedish-language schools provide education in Catholic and Islam religion.

The students must be members of this religious community or the religion taught to the student must, in view of their upbringing and cultural background, correspond to their religious beliefs (Basic Education Act, section 13, subsection 6).

If necessary, the school can request that the student’s parent or guardian submit a reliable statement of the student’s membership of the religious community or of the way the student’s upbringing and cultural background correspond to the religion taught to them.

Compulsory education of a child who lives permanently in Finland begins in the year they turn seven. Compulsory education ends when the student reaches the age of 18 or if they complete an upper secondary qualification (matriculation examination or vocational qualification) or an equivalent foreign education before that.

The period of compulsory education may be extended due to a disability or illness. Adults may complete the basic education syllabus for example at a general upper secondary school for adults, a folk high school or an adult education centre.