Here is a summary of the questions and answers part of the meeting last Tuesday between Michael Nugent and Jane Donnelly of Atheist Ireland, and the Department of Education’s Forum on Patronage and Pluralism in the Primary Sector. We were questioned by the Advisory Group...
Yesterday, Tuesday September 6, Michael Nugent and Jane Donnelly attended the Department of Education’s Forum on Patronage and Pluralism in the Primary Sector. We were there to elaborate on, and answer questions about, the written submission that Atheist Ireland previously made to the Forum. We...
Atheist Ireland welcomes the decision by Minister for Education Ruairi Quinn to establish a forum to identify how schools can be transferred out of Catholic patronage as a matter of immediate priority. We hope to participate as fully as possible in this forum as an...
Atheist Ireland has sent the following submission to the members of the Fine Gael and Labour Party negotiating teams for the Programme for Government. As you begin setting out an agreed Programme for Government for the incoming administration, Atheist Ireland wants to congratulate your parties...
Atheist Ireland wants a change to the Education (Amendment) Bill 2010, which is being debated this week in the Dail, to ensure the right of parents to a secular education based on human rights law in new VEC primary schools. The Bill will allow VECs...
At our AGM last Saturday, Atheist Ireland adopted the following amended version of the Copenhagen Declaration on Religion in Public Life. The original version was written and adopted by delegates at the world atheist conference “Gods and Politics” held in Copenhagen from 18-20 June 2010....
From today, 1 January 2010, the new Irish blasphemy law becomes operational, and we begin our campaign to have it repealed. Blasphemy is now a crime punishable by a €25,000 fine. In response, we have published a list of 25 blasphemous quotes: 1. Jesus Christ,...
Do you want to stop the Irish government from reviving the medieval crime of blasphemy? Do you want to promote a rational, ethical and secular society in Ireland? Atheist Ireland has put a campaign website online at http://blasphemy.ie/ as part of our campaign against this...
The Irish Government’s new proposed blasphemy crime combines the oppressive religious thinking of 1950s Catholic Ireland and modern Islamic fundamentalism. This proposal should be opposed for three reasons: One, it does not protect religious belief. Instead, it encourages outrage and it criminalises free speech. Two,...