School courses in the basics of religious cultures introduced recently into the Russian federal curriculum raise many questions: how and in what way religion can be taught in secular school; whether the course should be monoconfessional or based on comparative religious studies; what its goal should be teaching about religion or an invitation to religion; whether the course should be chosen with respect to ethnic background or whether it can be optional; whether it should be a short course or an extensive one covering the entire educational period; what the content of the