Overview

• Education minister Julia Willie Hamburg and leaders of the Protestant and Catholic churches signed the agreement in Hannover on September 5.
• The jointly administered subject replaces separate confessional instruction and will be taught in primary schools and up to grade 10, with officials calling it a first in Germany.
• Participation remains compulsory for registered Protestant and Catholic pupils and voluntary for others, with the existing Werte und Normen ethics course available for opt‑outs.
• Officials and church leaders cite long‑term declines in baptized students as the driver, with reporting noting roughly 300,000 Protestant and 110,000 Catholic pupils today versus more than 700,000 combined two decades ago.
• The state student council supports the focus on dialogue and urges curricula that also address other religions and non‑religious worldviews to reflect classroom realities.