Religion

3 October 2014

The Catholic Church rejects teaching about religions and beliefs in an objective, critical and pluralistic manner.

In an article in the Irish Times today the Catholic Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin is quoted as stating that a pluralist Ireland can only happen through “dialogue and respect”. He is also quoted as stating that “Elements in society are ‘allergic’ to mention of...

15 September 2014

Religious crests on schools uniforms are symbols of discrimination

Atheist Ireland welcomes the comments of the Anglican Archbishop of Dublin regarding religious crests on school uniforms. In an article in the Sunday Independent Archbishop Michael Jackson (Anglican Archbishop of Dublin and Glendalough) said there should be “scope for negotiation” around the wearing of uniforms...

3 September 2014

Dr Ali Selim of the Islamic Cultural Centre calls for “revolution of inclusivity” in Irish schools and “an upheaval in Irish educational perspectives”

Atheist Ireland welcomes the above comments by Dr Ali Selim and invites the two publicly funded National schools under the patronage of the Islamic Foundation of Ireland to lead the way by including the children of atheists and secularists in their schools. The Islamic Foundation...

28 August 2014

Another school year and another 9 million of state funding to pay for Chaplains in schools.

Ireland funds School Chaplains and it costs the taxpayer 9 million a year. This funding is meant to help parents with the religious education of their children in the general school environment of some publicly funded second level schools. The 9 million is allocated to...

24 July 2014

UN Human Rights Committee tells Ireland to stop breaching the human rights of atheists and minority faiths

The UN Human Rights Committee today told Ireland to stop breaching the human rights of atheists and minority faiths in the education system, employment, religious oaths and blasphemy law. The UN report published today vindicates all of the complaints raised by Atheist Ireland when we...

20 July 2014

Irish government again defers to the "institutionalised belief system" that pervades Irish schools

Last Monday the UN Human Rights Committee asked Ireland, “with regard to denominational schools, does the State believe it is required to ensure a neutral teaching environment outside of the religious instruction classes”. It also asked if the State will remove Rule 68, which enforces...

18 July 2014

Irish Government again evades UN questions on oaths, blasphemy and religious discrimination in Irish schools

The UN Human Rights Committee has just published the Irish Government’s written response to the questions that they were asked in Geneva this week. The Government gave no additional information on religious oaths or blasphemy, and it evaded several specific questions that the UN asked...

16 July 2014

Majority votes cannot deny human rights: UN questions to Ireland reflect Atheist Ireland briefing in Geneva

Michael Nugent and Jane Donnelly, representing Atheist Ireland, briefed the UN Human Rights Committee this week in Geneva about religious discrimination in Ireland, particularly in the education system. The issues we raised in our briefing were directly reflected in many of the UN’s questions to...

3 July 2014

A hundred religious symbols hanging on a wall?

With Kerry County Council hanging a crucifix in the chamber and the recent report from the Dept. of Education regarding the proposal to hang religious symbols on classroom walls, we thought we would publish a list of some of the religious bodies in the country....

2 July 2014

How an atheist blogger converted to Catholicism – Michael Nugent talks to Leah Libresco

Michael Nugent had a discussion this week with Leah Libresco, who in 2012 converted from being an atheist blogger at Unequally Yoked to being a Roman Catholic. They discussed Leah’s atheism, her conversion and her Catholicism. Here’s the video, in three parts.

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