Last month Atheist Ireland, the Evangelical Alliance of Ireland, and the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community of Ireland, made a joint submission to the Public Consultation Commission on the Defence Forces. You can read that here.
We argued that Roman Catholicism is part of the culture of the Defence Forces, and that in particular the Defence Forces discriminate on religious grounds by failing to put the position of Chaplain out to tender.
We noted in that submission that we had sought details on the religious and nonreligious belief breakdown of Defence Force personnel and Chaplains, and a copy of the 2014 working group report called ‘Defence Forces Response to Religious Diversity.’ You can read this report here or at the end of this article.
We were advised to seek this under the Freedom of Information Act. We said that we would forward our analysis of that information when we obtained it, and we have now done so in the following supplemental submission.
Privilege for Religion over Atheism
The ‘Response to Religious Diversity’ report privileges religion over atheism.
Definitions of Religion and Belief
Everything in the document ‘Defence Forces Response to Religious Diversity’ flows from the definition that the Working group uses for the phrase ‘Religion and Belief.’.

“9. Religion is defined as belief in a god or gods with the notion of ‘bond between humans and gods.’ Belief (which includes non-belief) is defined as a feeling of certainty or acceptance that something exists, is true, or is good.”
“10. The defence Forces, Ireland, understands religion and belief as: A way of encountering God and/or awakening to spiritual values which help find meaning and purpose in life.”

These may well be the understandings arrived at by a well-intentioned Working Group that included three religious Chaplains and five senior male officers, but they are not consistent with atheistic philosophical convictions, the Constitution, or human rights law.
Philosophically, atheists can find meaning and purpose in life without either ‘encountering God’ or ‘awakening to spiritual values.’ You cannot automatically apply principles that are typically valid for religious people to atheists.
Constitutionally, the document acknowledges that:

“2(e) In the context of Article 44.2.3, the courts have found that the ‘religious profession, belief or status’ mentioned also includes non-belief.”

Under human rights law, the Venice Commission has stated about religion and belief that:

“A common definitional mistake is to require that a belief in God be necessary for something to be considered a religion. The most obvious counterexamples are classical Buddhism, which is not theistic, and Hinduism (which is polytheistic)… To the extent that laws include definitions, the text should be reviewed carefully to ensure that they are not discriminatory or that they prejudice some religions or fundamental beliefs at the expense of others…
“International standards do not speak of religion in an isolated sense, but of ‘religion or belief.’ The ‘belief’ aspect typically pertains to deeply held conscientious beliefs that are fundamental about the human condition and the world. Thus atheism and agnosticism, for example, are generally held to be equally entitled to protection to religious beliefs. It is very common for legislation not to protect adequately (or to not refer at all) to rights of non-believers. Although not all beliefs are entitled to equal protection, legislation should be reviewed for discrimination against non-believers.”

Application of these definitions
The document repeatedly gives privilege to religious beliefs over non-religious beliefs, either directly or through reference to spirituality.
Here are sample statements in the document that are mostly accurate but selective:

“6. The various religious traditions have important moral resources that can contribute to the health and ethical vitality of civil society.”
“6. Religious insights have much to contribute and religion for many soldiers plays a significant and legitimate role in their moral formation and consequent leadership abilities.”
“7. For young soldiers, religion can offer a moral compass and opportunity for moral formation.”
“7. A moral and spiritual framework is vital to create the sort of ethos the Defence Forces want — an ethos grounded in values of loyalty, duty, dignity, respect, integrity, and honour.”

The first three statements are equally true about atheistic philosophical convictions. The final statement is simply not true. A “spiritual framework” is not vital to create an ethos grounded in values of loyalty, duty, dignity, respect, integrity, and honour.
In reality there are morally good religious beliefs, morally bad religious beliefs, morally good atheistic beliefs, and morally bad atheistic beliefs.
It is discrimination to imply that religious or spiritual beliefs have a monopoly on positive values, just as it would be discrimination to imply that atheistic beliefs have such a moral monopoly.
There is also an inappropriate ideological attack on secularism, with reference to economic theories which have nothing to do with either secularism or the role of the Defence Forces:

“6. Secularism can be informed by a wholesome humanism, but there is always the danger of an empty secularism falling prey to corrosive influences such as dominant market and commercial interests or pernicious ideologies.”

In the context of the document, the clear implication is that these ‘pernicious ideologies’ are deemed to be nonreligious in nature. But pernicious ideologies can equally be grounded in religious beliefs, as is clear from the many places around the world where the Defence Forces serve, and also in Ireland with its many religious scandals.. Read more…

There are no non denominational schools in Ireland. At primary level the vast majority are catholic. At second level the majority are catholic or Christian (interdenominational).
The Catholic Church still has power and control over the Irish education system. The church is still campaigning to ensure that students who exercise their constitution right to not attend religious instruction are not offered another subject. If they control how the opt out is managed on the ground in schools then they can stem the flow of students opting out. The church has told schools what to out in their Admission policies regarding the opt out.

Respect our Rights: Religious educaton syllabus

Calling concerned teachers

If you are a teacher and concerned about unwanted religious influence contact Chris at teachers@atheist.ie