General

23 February 2018

How the State Religious Education Course breaches Human and Constitutional Rights

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...

16 January 2018

Atheist Ireland to attend meeting of Census 2021 Advisory Group on Religion question

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...

18 November 2017

Atheist Ireland launches new book for children at AGM

Atheist Ireland is today launching an illustrated book for children about freedom of religion and belief. It will be launched at 3pm in the Harbour Hotel, Galway, after our AGM this morning in the same venue. The book is titled ‘Is My Family Odd About...

15 June 2017

Don’t be fooled – Community National Schools reflect Catholic teaching

A school in Kerry is to re-open as a Community National School. The Bishop of Kerry is to transfer a primary school to the patronage of the local Education and Training Board. The Catholic Church prefer the (ETB) Community National schools because these schools reflect...

18 March 2017

Rise in number of people symbolically defecting from the Catholic Church

Notme.ie sees an increase in the number of people symbolically defecting from the Catholic Church. Atheist Ireland runs a website called notme.ie. The purpose of this website is to allow people to register that they would choose to leave the Catholic Church if they were...

3 February 2017

ETBI/CNS now using new phrase “belief nurturing” to hide reality of faith formation during school day

It has become clear over the last week that the Minister for Education is supporting ETB Community National Schools. We are very concerned about the establishment of Community National Schools at primary level, given the record of ETBs in relation to the teaching religion at...

30 January 2017

Now Minister Bruton wants to pay Catholic Church for Christian ETB schools to use their buildings

The Minister for Education has announced yet another consultation process in relation to religion and education. This time he hopes to pay the Catholic Church rent for school buildings, if they agree to a different Patron body running a small number of schools, while the...

29 January 2017

Freedom of Conscience in the USA

In an interview with the Christian Broadcast Network, the American President Donald Trump has stated that he will introduce a new policy to prioritise Christians within the asylum process. Atheist Ireland is opposed to such policies, as an overt abuse of the human right to...

16 September 2016

Atheist Ireland to speak on human rights at UN in Geneva and OSCE in Warsaw

Next Friday 23rd September Atheist Ireland will become the first Atheist advocacy group to address the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva. We will make this speech during the adoption of the Report from Ireland at the 33rd Session of the Universal Periodic Review...

2 September 2016

Atheist Ireland Statement to the UN Human Rights Council

Atheist Ireland has given a written statement to the United Nations Human Rights Council as part of the final session of the Universal Periodic Review of Ireland. The Thirty Third session of the Human Rights Council (HRC) will take place from 13th – 30th of...