The Consiglio di Stato ruled in 2010 that Catholic religious education counts toward the school credit awarded to Italian upper secondary students, Cultura Cattolica reported, confirming that religion teachers take full part in class-council votes that set the final credit score.
The ruling, Sezione VI n. 2749/2010, deposited on May 7, 2010, upheld ministerial ordinances giving teachers of Catholic religion a full voice in class-council deliberations on school credit. The court found the arrangement legitimate: religion teachers do not assign a numerical grade, but they issue a judgment on the interest and commitment a student shows, and that judgment helps the council decide the score.
How religion shapes the credit score
School credit, or credito scolastico, is assigned to students in the upper secondary school (scuola secondaria di secondo grado) and can shift within a set range, the so-called banda di oscillazione. The religion teacher’s judgment does not enter the mathematical average of the other subjects, since it is not expressed in tenths. Instead, it helps the class council pick the higher score inside that band when the student has shown strong interest and effort.
Students who skip religion face no penalty
Students who do not attend the religion hour are not penalized. Their school credit is calculated regularly on the basis of the other subjects, and the choice not to attend does not produce any discrimination in the final score.
Once chosen, attendance becomes mandatory
Choosing Catholic religious education is voluntary at the outset, but once a student opts in, the course becomes compulsory for them. That status is what allows the teacher’s judgment to feed into the credit decision without disadvantaging classmates who sit the hour out.
Questions students ask about religion and school credit
Does my religion grade count in my grade-point average? No. The grade or judgment for Catholic religious education is not expressed in tenths and does not enter the mathematical calculation of the average of the other subjects.
Can religion raise my final school credit? Yes, within limits. The class council uses the religion teacher’s judgment on interest and achievement to assign the higher score inside the credit’s oscillation band.
What happens if I don’t take religion? Nothing negative. Your school credit is calculated on the other subjects alone, and the 2010 ruling confirms you suffer no penalty for not attending.
The May 7, 2010 ruling remains the governing precedent: religion teachers sit in class councils with full voting rights on school credit, and their judgments count only inside the oscillation band, never in the numerical average.
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