Atheist Ireland has asked the SIPO Commission to examine the funding of the Catholic Bishops’ referendum campaign in support of retaining the eighth amendment. Atheist Ireland is a voluntary advocacy group, registered with SIPO as a Third Party. Because of our support for SIPO and...
Last Friday, 2nd March, at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, the Holy See opposed the fundamental human right to freedom from religion, claiming that it is a patronising idea that goes beyond the mandate of UN’s special rapporteur on freedom of religion...
This week the Minister for Education, Richard Bruton issued a new Directive to ETB schools and colleges on religion. This new Directive has been a long time coming. Atheist Ireland has been working on this for years as the majority of the complaints we get...
Atheist Ireland welcomes the Department of Education’s new directive on religious instruction in second-level ETB schools. It is the most significant recognition of the constitutional and human rights of atheist, minority faith, and secular families in Irish schools since Atheist Ireland was founded. These rights...
Finally, in ETB schools, a proper opt-out from religion seems about to happen, with alternative subjects being offered at the start of the year, based on proposals that Atheist Ireland has been intensively lobbying for in recent years. The Irish Times has seen records of...
Atheist Ireland works internationally, as members of Atheist Alliance International and the International Humanist and Ethical Union. We also work directly with atheist and secular groups in other countries, to share information and to help each other to achieve separation of church and state. The...
The Minister for Education has told Solidarity TD Ruth Coppinger that he will review the practice of ETB schools paying the Roman Catholic Church to train students in faith leadership. Last month Atheist Ireland revealed details of these controversial courses, that train some students to...
Atheist Ireland attended a three-hour meeting yesterday of the Census Advisory Group on the religion question for the 2021 census. We had previously made this written submission to the process. At the meeting, we added the arguments outlined in this report. We will report later...
Atheist Ireland will be attending a meeting next Monday of the Census 2021 Advisory Group on the questions of Religion and Ethnicity. The meeting will take place in the Central Statistics Office. Atheist Ireland has proposed changes to the religion question. Our proposals are that...
This weekend, the Citizens’ Assembly has recommended strengthening the laws governing political parties and campaign groups that are seeking a particular outcome in a referendum. It has recommended equal public funding for both sides, limits on spending, and a ban on anonymous donations. Atheist Ireland...