The objectors, among whose ranks are 105 youngsters, claim that a compulsory course on 'Education for the Citizenry' introduced by the Spanish government in 2007 violates "the fundamental rights of parents and their children" by obliging students to follow a course which promotes a "leftist stance" on sexuality and abortion and "denigrates Christianity".
The suit, filed this month by lawyers from the Alliance Defence Fund (ADF) and Professionals for Ethics, calls for the adoption of "provisional measures" preventing the Spanish government from obliging children to sit the course.
The objectors turned to the ECHR after 54,000 parents had officially complained to the government about the lessons, which are mandatory for children aged 10-16.
"Spanish families have been forced to appeal to the EU human rights court in response to the obvious lack of will on the part of the Spanish state in a conflict that has lasted for years," said José Louis Bazan of Professionals for Ethics, a Spanish organisation protecting Christian values in public life.
"The defence of a person's fundamental rights should come before the ideology upheld by a government that does not respect the ideological freedom of its citizens," Bazan claimed.
Pedro Zerolo of the ruling Socialist Party was quoted by the Barcelona Reporter as saying that the government would continue to support"education that promotes sexual diversity".
The complainants object to schools teaching students to accept homosexuality as normal and singled out a third-grade textbook used in Córdoba, Andalusia, which states that "nature has given us sex so we can use it with another girl, with a boy or with an animal".
They are appealing to the ECHR to "require the Spanish state to respect ideological neutrality in the educational system to prevent future violations of rights". They are also demanding "compensation for moral damages".
"Schools need to recover the tranquility, consensus and respect for the freedom of all in order to carry out their mission. 'Education for the Citizenry' has introduced a serious fracture in Spanish education due to the complete lack of dialogue on the part of the government,"the plaintiffs said in a statement.
ADF, a US-based association defending religious freedom, the sanctity of human life and traditional family values, believes the Bible to be "the inspired, infallible, authoritative Word of God".
