Former Bolivian president, Jorge Quiroga, is calling on the government to uphold religious instruction in schools and said he would defend the policy in Congress and at the Constitutional Assembly that will be inaugurated on August 6th.

According to El Nuevo Herald, Quiroga warned, “Religion is an issue that should not be politicized.”  “What we have clearly said (as the opposition) is that the teaching of religion be respected and we are going to defend it” in Congress and at the Constitutional Assembly.

Regarding the statements of President Evo Morales, who said that, “some leaders of the Catholic Church act as if this were the Inquisition,” Quiroga responded that such rhetoric should be avoided because it only brings negative consequences.

Numerous lawmakers at the national and local level as well as educational institutions have voiced their support of the Church and have united in calling for the resignation of Bolivia’s Minister of Education, Felix Patzi.