Religion

18 October 2015

Professor Conway invents a bogeyman of an Irish “subcultural secularist elite”

In a recent talk to the Iona Institute, Rev. Professor Eamonn Conway, head of Theology and Religious Studies at Mary Immaculate College, invented a bogeyman that he calls a “subcultural secular elite” to frighten Catholics into thinking that their control of the education system is...

30 September 2015

Atheist Ireland tells OSCE meeting in Warsaw of religious discrimination against atheists and minority faiths

Atheist Ireland made two formal contributions to today’s OSCE human rights conference in Warsaw, highlighting religious discrimination against atheists and members of minority faiths in Ireland and throughout the OSCE. Jane Donnelly spoke on discrimination in the Irish education system, and Michael Nugent spoke on...

21 September 2015

The Association of Catholic Priests Supports Anti-Scientific Creationist Teaching in Catholic Schools

The Association of Catholic Priests Supports Anti-Scientific Creationist Teaching in Catholic Schools. While the Roman Catholic Church is broadly supportive of the Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection, their formal doctrine continues to insist on “human exceptionalism”. That is, the Church requires that some dogmatic...

17 July 2015

Irish school teachers must be Catholic missionaries

Thinking of getting into the teaching profession in Ireland? If so be prepared to be a missionary for the Catholic Church. The vast majority of publicly funded schools in Ireland are controlled by the Catholic Church, and if you want to get a job as...

8 July 2015

Dáil told Catholic Church “Sole Supplier” of Chaplains

The Minster for Education and Skills, Jan O’Sullivan TD, has told the Dáil that in respect of hiring for publicly funded chaplain roles, Institutes of Technology in Ireland may be in a “sole supplier situation”. Dundalk Institute of Technology has decided that the only supplier...

25 June 2015

RTE to reconsider Angelus Title – letter to Atheist Ireland

RTE to reconsider Angelus title – RTE’s Head of Broadcast Compliance has written to Atheist Ireland in response our complaints about the Angelus. We thank RTE for its comprehensive reply, and we welcome that RTE is to reconsider whether the title ‘The Angelus’ remains the...

4 June 2015

Atheist Ireland asks RTE to reconsider new Angelus video competition as disrespectful and pre-evangelising

RTE has recently promoted a competition for new video for the Angelus, asking producers for ideas that enable members of all faiths and none to pray or reflect, under the title and chimes of the Angelus, which is a Catholic call to prayer. We recognise...

22 May 2015

The requirement in the Electoral Act to take a religious oath is a breach of human rights

The Electoral Act 1992 obliges persons to object publicly to taking a religious oath before they are offered an affirmation. The requirement to publicly object to taking a religious oath before you are offered an affirmation is a breach of human rights. Last July the...

13 April 2015

Why would same-sex marriage, but not divorce, cause the Catholic Church to withdraw from state weddings?

Atheist Ireland welcomes the threat by the Irish Catholic Bishops that the Church may no longer perform the civil aspects of weddings, if marriage is extended to same-sex couples. We believe a formal separation of the religious elements of a church marriage, and the civil...

12 March 2015

New Catholic Church schools guidelines fail to protect rights of atheist and secular families

The Catholic Bishops Schools Partnership today released a document titled ‘Catholic Primary Schools in a Changing Ireland – Sharing good Practice on Inclusion of All Pupils’. Bishops website report RTE news report These proposals claim to be inclusive, but they are only inclusive of families...