E/CN.4/1995/91/Add.1 page 91 In accordance with constitutional principles, a new draft law on religious denominations and religious freedoms in Romania has been prepared and will be submitted to the Romanian Parliament for debate after consultation with the institutions concerned. In 1992, a Religious Affairs Department was set up under Government decree No. 595; within the central administration, this institution will be responsible for supporting all religious denominations on an equal basis, providing a link between the religious denominations and the central or local bodies of the public administration as a means of solving their particular problems and contributing to the development of education in denominational schools. Through this department, the State contributes monthly amounts for the payment of salaries of denominational staff and theological teachers and each year allocates funds for the construction, restoration and conservation of places of worship and religious property administered by the latter. Religious education has spread and diversified considerably in Romania. Starting in the 1990/1991 school year, moral and religious education, referred to as ’religion’, was introduced as an optional subject in State schools, in classes I to VIII. In the 1993/1994 school year, 86 per cent of pupils in classes I to VIII attended religion classes. All religious denominations recognized in Romania organize religious studies, in accordance with parents’ options. For the 1993/1994 school year, 89.81 per cent of options were Orthodox, 3.9 per cent Roman Catholic, 2.9 per cent Reformist, 0.5 per cent Greek-Catholic, 0.9 per cent Pentecostal, 0.4 per cent Baptist and Adventist and 0.3 per cent Evangelical. Religious teachers are recommended by the various religious denominations and paid either by the Ministry of Education for classes or study groups of more than 10 pupils or by the religious denominations for groups of fewer than 10 pupils. Religious teaching has been incorporated into school texts and the school curriculum. In secondary education, optional classes in religious history may be held for classes IX to XIII. Starting from the 1990/1991 school year, all religious denominations in Romania have had the possibility, at their request, of holding theological seminars in secondary schools and theological institutes. Nearly all the religious denominations (except the Ancient Rite Christians and the Mosaics) have organized theological teaching institutions, which are entirely financed by the Romanian State. The studies followed by pupils in State educational establishments and in theological institutions are equivalent.