Demonstratie Belgische Katholieken Antwerpen tegen schoolwet Collard

The Second School War (french: Deuxième guerre scolaire, nl, Tweede schoolstrijd) was a political crisis in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

over the issue of religion in education. The conflict lasted between 1950 and 1959 and was ended by a cross-party agreement, known as the School Pact, which clarified the role of religion in the state. It followed a crisis over the same issue in the 19th century, known as the

First School War The First School War (french: Première guerre scolaire, nl, Eerste schoolstrijd) was a political crisis in Belgium over the issue of religion in education. The School War marks the high water mark of the conflict between the conservative Cathol ...

Crisis

After victory in the 1950 elections, a Christian Social Party (PSC-CVP) majority government came to power in Belgium for the first time since the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The new education minister,

Pierre Harmel Pierre Charles José Marie, Count Harmel (16 March 1911 – 15 November 2009) was a Belgian lawyer, Christian Democratic politician and diplomat. Harmel served as the prime minister of Belgium from 1965 to 1966. Early life He was born in Uccle ...

, used the PSC-CVP's position to increase the wages paid to teachers in private (mainly Roman Catholic) schools and introduced laws linking the subsidies for private schools to the number of pupils. These measures were perceived by the traditionally-anticlerical Liberals and

Socialists Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the eco ...

as a "declaration of war" on the traditionally contentious issue of religion in education. The 1954 elections reversed the PSC-CVP victory and brought to power a coalition of Socialists and Liberals under

Achille Van Acker Achille Van Acker (8 April 1898 – 10 July 1975) was a Belgian politician who served three terms as the prime minister of Belgium between 1946 and 1958. A moderate from Flanders, Van Acker was a member of the Belgian Socialist Party (PSB–BSP) ...

. The new Education Minister, Leo Collard, immediately set out to reverse the measures taken by Harmel, founding a large number of secular schools and only permitting the instatement of teachers with a diploma, which forced many unqualified priests out of the profession. These measures sparked mass protests from the Catholic bloc. A compromise was eventually reached by the following government (a Catholic minority led by

Gaston Eyskens Gaston François Marie, viscount Eyskens (1 April 1905 – 3 January 1988) was a Christian democratic politician and prime minister of Belgium. He was also an economist and member of the Belgian Christian Social Party (CVP-PSC). He served t ...

) and the War was concluded by an agreement, known as the School Pact, on 6 November 1958.

School Pact

The School War was finally ended by the "School Pact" (''Pacte scolaire'' or ''Schoolpact''). Under the agreement, parents could choose the system they preferred for their children. Publicly, the pact did not satisfy anyone including many in the Catholic camp, especially the Belgian Cardinal van Roey.

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External links

40 Hurt In Brussels Riot (1955)

British Pathé British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

YouTube Channel. Education in Belgium Political history of Belgium History of education in Belgium Secularism in Belgium 1950s in Belgium 1950 in Belgium 1959 in Belgium

Crisis

School Pact

See also

References

Further reading

External links