The Constitution of India
Article 28
Freedom as to attendance at religious instruction or religious worship in certain educational institutions
(1) No religious instruction shall be provided in any educational institution wholly maintained out of State funds.
(2) Nothing in clause (1) shall apply to an educational institution which is administered by the State but has been established under any endowment or trust which requires that religious instruction shall be imparted in such institution.
(3) No person attending any educational institution recognised by the State or receiving aid out of State funds shall be required to take part in any religious instruction that may be imparted in such institution or to attend any religious worship that may be conducted in such institution or in any premises attached thereto unless such person or, if such person is a minor, his guardian has given his consent thereto.
Why this exists
India's Constitution-makers wanted the State to stay neutral in religious matters while still respecting the country's many faith-based educational trusts and missionary institutions that predate independence. Article 28 balances two goals: keeping fully state-run education secular, and protecting the freedom of religious or conscience-based choice for students in institutions that have some State connection (recognition or aid) but were not purely created by government money.
How courts read it
Courts have generally read Article 28 alongside the broader constitutional commitment to secularism. In Aruna Roy v. Union of India (2002), the Supreme Court held that teaching *about* religions — their basic values, ethics, and comparative philosophy, as part of a national curriculum on value education — is different from 'religious instruction' in the sense of promoting or indoctrinating a particular faith, and so does not automatically violate Article 28. This distinction between academic study of religion and religious indoctrination has shaped how the Article is applied in practice.
Common misconceptions
- Myth: Article 28 bans all religious teaching in every school connected to the government in any way.
Fact: It only fully bans religious instruction in institutions wholly maintained by State funds; aided or recognised institutions may still offer it, but attendance must be voluntary. - Myth: Teaching students about world religions and their ethics always breaks Article 28.
Fact: Courts have distinguished between academic study of religions (like comparative ethics) and religious indoctrination — the former isn't necessarily 'religious instruction' under this Article.