In the case yesterday at the Supreme Court in the UK on the Northern Ireland education system, the court found that: The religious education course in Northern Ireland Schools was ‘indoctrination’. Northern Ireland was pursuing an aim of indoctrination by not ‘respecting’ parents’ philosophical beliefs....
A Supreme Court judgement in the UK today is of great relevance to the Irish education system, and reinforces the points made by Atheist Ireland in a recent article The right to an objective education goes beyond avoiding ‘faith formation‘. The UK Supreme Court case...
The Department of Education, school Patron bodies, TDs, the ETBs, and others often refer to ‘faith formation’ in schools, by which they typically mean religious instruction according to the rites of a particular religion. A consequence of this is that the Constitutional right of children...
Catholic schools often argue that they are inclusive, and that they do their best to make all children feel included. They are correct. They do want to make all children feel included, but by this they mean included in the Catholic religion, faith, and ethos....
Today, Ireland swears in yet another president in a ceremony that prevents a conscientious atheist from honestly taking office. Why? Because the Constitution requires them to swear a religious oath that begins “In the presence of Almighty God” and ends “May God direct and sustain...
The Department of Education is conducting a misleading and harmful survey of primary school parents and guardians, staff, and management board members. It misleadingly implies that parents are being given an option to choose non-religious schools, when in reality they are not. It harmfully implies...
Atheist Ireland uses our special consultative status at the UN to highlight religious discrimination in Irish schools, and to counter inaccurate responses by the Irish state to UN human rights committees. Here are UN human rights recommendations to Ireland based on these sessions. Questions from...
As well as using our special consultative status at the UN, Atheist Ireland highlights with the Council of Europe the issue of religious discrimination in Irish schools. Here are Council of Europe human rights recommendations to Ireland. Council of Europe Protection of National Minorities 2006,...
The State still funds Catholic chaplains in ETB schools and colleges with over €10 million a year to assist Catholic parents with the faith formation of their children. That sits uneasily with how ETBs are marketed as the alternative to denominational schools. What the law...
Of every ten Irish people, only one now says they are religious only, three say spiritual only, and another two say they are both. Another three say they are neither, and one doesn’t know. That’s from a recent survey by Amárach for the Iona Institute....