ABSTRACT

Religious freedom, being a cornerstone of the contemporary democratic societies, is a vital factor that contributes to form the identity of the individual believers and, with reference to minors, the educational and life plan that will lead them to the adult stage. In this sense, the web of relationships that are established between children and the school, an institution called to cooperate in the educational function of the younger generations, intersects with the role of the holders of the parental authority, as principally responsible for the moral and cultural formation of their offspring. Thus, naturally, a peculiar synergy is established between the scholastic institutions and the parents, aimed at ensuring minors an education that respects the confessional affiliation or spiritual orientation of the family and at the same time one capable of guaranteeing the self-determination of the children in the perspective of the realization of their best interest.