Prayer room ban: Prorector says Danish government move is unnecessary

There should be no prayer rooms at Danish educational institutions.

This was the message from Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen in a Danish Constitution Day speech, where she announced that Minister for Higher Education and Science Christina Egelund will now enter into a dialogue with universities about having them removed.

»We are taking an active stance in saying that we do not want this, because it is being used as a mechanism of oppression against girls and potentially also boys,« the prime minister said to the Ritzau news agency.

Her announcement is resisted by the University of Copenhagen (UCPH) however.  The university’s management maintains that the so-called quiet rooms have a legitimate and important function for all students — and that steps have already been taken to ensure the rooms’ neutrality and openness.

READ ALSO: Prayer rooms emptied at the University of Copenhagen — before and after

»I don’t believe we have prayer rooms at the University of Copenhagen,« Prorector for Education Kristian Lauta says to the University Post.

»We call them quiet rooms, and they are spaces that all students who need peace and contemplation can use — whether it is to pray, meditate, or just take a breather.«

Gender segregation in breach of the rules

According to Kristian Lauta, there are currently seven quiet rooms distributed across the university’s campuses, and all are subject to guidelines that include a prohibition on gender segregation and promotion of religion.

It emerged last year that in several of the rooms — in violation of UCPH’s own rules — a practice of gender-segregated prayer had developed among Muslim students.

READ ALSO: Rector intervenes on gender-segregated prayer room at the University of Copenhagen

At the University of Southern Denmark, management earlier this year chose to close its meditation room until 1 September, because it had been »decorated with items that meant it no longer appeared neutral to all students and staff«.

The furore over the rooms had the universities’ umbrella organisation Universities Denmark announcing in March 2025 that all quiet rooms and reflection rooms must henceforth be neutral. They should not be used for proselytising, decorated with religious symbols, or made to seem exclusionary.

A decision that Kristian Lauta considers to be a sensible one.

We call them quiet rooms, and they are spaces that all students who need peace and contemplation can use

Kristian Lauta, Prorector for Education

»The point of neutralising these rooms was precisely to ensure that they are accessible to everyone. And that is important to us. And it is also important to insist that being at a university also means accepting certain social norms for how we coexist at a university,« says the prorector.

He therefore finds the prime minister’s statement unnecessary.

»I agree with what DTU’s rector said the other day — that the government is preaching to the choir on this. We have already taken a stance,« says Kristian Lauta.

The University of Copenhagen has also set up a working group that is examining the use of the quiet rooms and the dilemmas they raise. According to Kristian Lauta, the group is expected to present a report after the summer holidays.

»We are trying to take a calm and considered approach. It is important for us to understand how the rooms are actually used and what fundamental questions they raise,« he says.

Concerned about singling out minorities

The prime minister’s justification for removing prayer rooms is that they can be used for religious pressure, oppression of women, and coercive community pressures. Kristian Lauta does not dismiss this as a relevant concern, but cautions against targeting specific groups.

»Of course we want to combat social coercion, but it must be done with respect for what the students themselves bring with them, and with consideration for freedom of religion,« he says.

He points out that the rooms are not only used by Muslims, but also by Christians, Buddhists, and students who simply need a quiet space.

»What matters to us is that everyone feels at home — regardless of what they believe in or where they come from.«

In addition to the prayer room issue, the prime minister has proposed extending face veil restrictions to also apply to educational institutions. This would mean a ban on wearing the niqab and burqa at universities.

UCPH has not taken a position on this.

»It’s not something we’ve historically had problems with, so I don’t have any opinion on it,« says Kristian Lauta. He emphasises that the university will, of course, comply with the law if a face veil ban is extended to include UCPH.