Sweden’s governing Social Democrat party has proposed bringing an end to religious independent schools in the country as part of its manifesto for the autumn general election.
“Religious influence has no home in Swedish schools. The Social Democrats want school to provide all children with a good education regardless of their background, gender or religion,” the party explained in a press release.
While most of Sweden’s schools are run by the local municipality, there are also a large number of independent schools (friskolor), which are publicly funded and must follow government guidelines on the curriculum, but operate independently.
Religious free schools have been a controversial subject in Sweden as of late.