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Editorial
Submission to Anti-racism Committee
Atheist Ireland made a submission this week to the Department of Equality’s Independent Anti-Racism Committee. As atheists, we empathise with members of other groups who face prejudice and discrimination in Ireland, because we have first-hand experience of it.
We also recognise that members of other groups face more frightening hostility in Ireland, including overt harassment, intimidation and violence. We should all stand together to challenge prejudice and hostility against any and all of us, and to protect the values of Western liberal democracy that enable us to do so.
Religious and nonreligious beliefs are different from race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin, which are the characteristics used to define racial discrimination in Article 1 of the UN Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD.) Unlike these immutable characteristics, religious and nonreligious beliefs are changeable, and they must remain open to criticism without that criticism being inaccurately labelled as racist.
Our submission is based on two submissions that we have already made in 2019: one by Atheist Ireland, the Evangelical Alliance of Ireland, and the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community of Ireland to the CERD Committee; and the other made by Atheist Ireland to the Department of Justice Consultation on Hate Crime and Hate Speech.
Atheist Ireland is a voluntary body with no paid staff, and we depend on our members to continue our work. Please join Atheist Ireland as a member and help us to promote an ethical secular Ireland.
– Secular Sunday Editorial Team
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Éire Aindiach
Éire Aindiach
Chun ár gcuid feachtais a leathnú agus a neartú, tá sé beartaithe ag Éire Aindiach níos mó úsáid a bhaint as an Ghaeilge.
Ba mhaith linn meitheal a eagrú, chun cuidiú le:
- Polasaithe agus feachtais Éire Aindiach a phlé ar an raidió nó ar an teilifís
- Cuidiú le doiciméid ghaeilge a scríobh
- Bualadh le polaiteoirí chun stocaireacht a dhéanamh
Táimid i mbun aistriúcháin a dhéanamh ar dhoiciméid polasaí faoi láthair, agus teastaíonn cabhair uainn le aistriúchán agus profáil. Más maith leat bheith páirteach san iarracht seo, cur ríomhphost chugainn ag gaeilge@atheist.ie.
English translation:
To broaden and strengthen our campaigns, Atheist Ireland have undertaken to make more use of the Irish language.
We are looking to assemble a group of volunteers, to help with:
- Discussing our policies and campaigns on radio or tv
- Helping to write documents in Irish
- Meeting with politicians to lobby them
We are in the process of translating policy documents at the moment, and we need some help with translating and proofreading. If you would like to assist with this effort, please email us at gaeilge@atheist.ie.
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Atheist Ireland News
Atheist Ireland submission to Government Anti-Racism Committee
Atheist Ireland made a submission this week to the Department of Equality’s Independent Anti-Racism Committee. You can read that submission in full at this link. Below is the overview and contents sections of the submission.
Introduction to the submission
As atheists, we empathise with members of other groups who face prejudice and discrimination in Ireland, because we have first-hand experience of it. We also recognise that members of other groups face more frightening hostility in Ireland, including overt harassment, intimidation and violence. We should all stand together to challenge prejudice and hostility against any and all of us, and to protect the values of Western liberal democracy that enable us to do so.
We recognise the intersectionality between prejudice based on race and prejudice based on religion or atheism. Nobody should be discriminated against based on their race, or based on their religious or nonreligious beliefs. We address this in part 2 of of this submission, which deals with racial discrimination in schools.
However, religious and nonreligious beliefs are different from race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin, which are the characteristics used to define racial discrimination in Article 1 of the CERD. Unlike these immutable characteristics, religious and nonreligious beliefs are changeable, and they must remain open to criticism without that criticism being inaccurately labelled as racist. This is particularly important where those beliefs are themselves the source of discrimination and human rights abuses of other people. We address this in part 3 of this submission.
This submission contains the text of two submissions that Atheist Ireland has already made:
- A submission made by Atheist Ireland, the Evangelical Alliance of Ireland, and the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community of Ireland to the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) in November 2019.
- A submission made by Atheist Ireland to the Department of Justice Consultation on Hate Crime and Hate Speech in December 2019.
Part 1 — Overview
1.1 Introduction to Atheist Ireland
1.2 Introduction to this submission
Part 2 — Racial Discrimination in Schools
This is the submission made by Atheist Ireland, the Evangelical Alliance of Ireland, and the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community of Ireland to the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) in November 2019.
Overview
2.1 Introduction
2.1.2 Issues addressed in the CERD Concluding Observations 2011
2.1.3 Implementation of the recommendations
2.1.4 Our Recommendations
2.1.4(a) Patronage: multiple patronage and ethos leads to segregation and inequality
2.1.4(b) Access: the right to attend a local school without religious discrimination
2.1.4(c) Curriculum: the right to a neutral education not a religious integrated curriculum
2.1.4(d) Teaching: the right of minorities to equal access to the teaching profession
Problems
2.2.1 Patronage: multiple patronage and ethos leads to segregation and inequality
2.2.2 Access: the right to attend a local school without religious discrimination
2.2.3 Curriculum: the right to a neutral education not a religious integrated curriculum
2.2.3(a) Opting out of Religious instruction classes and worship
2.2.3(b) No objective teaching about religion, beliefs and ethics
2.2.4 Teaching: the right of minorities to equal access to the teaching profession
2.2.4(a) Recognition of Qualifications to Teach Catholic Religious Education
Part 3 — Prejudice-Motivated Crime & Freedom of Expression
This is the submission made by Atheist Ireland to the Department of Justice Consultation
on Hate Crime and Hate Speech in December 2019. Read more…
Calling concerned teachers
If you are a teacher and concerned about unwanted religious influence contact Chris at teachers@atheist.ie
List of Atheist Ireland Submissions
Buy this book “Is My Family Odd About Gods?”
**Schools Special Offer**
Atheist Ireland are offering the book ‘Is my family odd about gods‘ free (excluding postage and packaging). This means that you can get this book for the total price of 10 euro. This offer is aimed at families with school going children, who would like to read this book. This offer is limited to one book per family unit and for postage within Ireland only. Read more…
Have you noticed that your school and your teachers may tell you one thing about religion, while some of your friends and family may have different ideas about god?
If you think that this is a little odd, then this book is for you. Buy this book here.
Lessons about Atheism
Atheist Ireland has published a set of free lesson plans about atheism for children aged 8 and up. We welcome feedback, which we will use to develop the lessons. You can download the lesson plans here

Be Good without Gods
Atheist Ireland ‘Good Without Gods’ Kiva team members have made loans of $33,075 to 1148 entrepreneurs in the developing world. You can join the team here. Before you chose a loan, make sure you do not support religious groups. You can check the loan partner’s social and secular rating here.
Notme.ie
Atheist Ireland’s ‘notme.ie‘ is a place where people can publicly renounce the religion of their childhood. Currently there are 1859 symbolic defections. Many share their reasons for making a public symbolic defection which you can read here.
Petition on Schools Equality PACT
Atheist Ireland currently runs one petition – The Schools Equality PACT. This seeks to reform religious discrimination in state-funded schools. Currently this stands at 4,076 Help us reach it’s target of 5000. Please sign and share this petition if you haven’t already done so. Thank you.
Tell us what you think
Have you any feedback that you would like to give us on the Secular Sunday newsletter. What are we getting right? What could we improve on? Is there something you would like to see included? Drop us an email at secularsunday@atheist.ie.
Please consider joining or re-joining Atheist Ireland
Atheist Ireland is an entirely volunteer run organisation. We receive no grants or government funding to continue our campaign work. We rely entirely on membership fess and donations.
Annual membership is nominal; €25 waged, €10 unwaged/student and €40 for family membership. Please consider becoming a member. Membership means:
- You can help to build an ethical and secular Ireland.
- You have a say in determining policy and electing officers.
- You can attend members meetings and our AGM.
- You will have access to our members only Facebook group
- Your membership fee will go towards supporting our many campaigns.
You can join Atheist Ireland here.
Thank you for your continued support
Atheist Ireland Committee
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Opinion and Media
Material on atheism, secularism, human rights,politics,science etc. collected from media and the blogosphere from Ireland and beyond; used without permission, compensation, liability, guarantee or implied endorsement. We aim to include a variety of diverse opinions and viewpoints.
Blogs & Opinions
National
National Maternity Hospital
By Dr Peter Boylan
Sir, – You report that Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly told the Oireachtas Health Committee that “all procedures” legal in the State relating to women’s reproductive healthcare are “permitted at St Vincent’s [Hospital] at present” (“National Maternity Hospital: Government not looking at another site, –says Donnelly”, July 14th), Read online…
Health minister pressed to reveal number of abortions carried out at St Vincent’s amid row over new National Maternity Hospital
By James Ward
Health Minister Stephen Donnelly has come under pressure to reveal how many abortions have been carried out at St Vincent’s Hospital in Dublin. It comes amid fresh concerns over the provision of services at the new National Maternity Hospital. Read online…
Irish citizens unaware of how big a part charities play in public services
By Sheila Cannon
In the recent debates about the new National Maternity Hospital (NMH) being run by a religious order, it became clear that Irish citizens have no idea how their public services are delivered. In Ireland we have a model called “welfare partnership” which means that the government funds the third sector (charities, foundations, social co-operatives, nonprofits, trusts, associations and other organisational forms) to deliver public services. Read more…
Bishops issue warning over schools ‘ban’
By Alan O’Keeffe
Catholic bishops have warned that ending church involvement in running some primary schools must result in Catholic children being guaranteed places in other schools that remain under church patronage. The warning came after comments in The Irish Catholic newspaper by Bishop of Meath Tom Deenihan, who was critical of the implications of a school admissions law that came into force last October. Read more…
The National Maternity Hospital: It Is Time for the Government to Get Tough
By Niall Stokes
We answer 25 Questions posed by A Citizen about the row over the proposed location of the new National Maternity Hospital. And we spell out for the Government (a) how the Church will undermine the law on abortion if they have a say in running the hospital; and (b) what they need to do to end the current stalemate. Read more…
Mother and Baby Homes: Three test cases could be used as survivors seek judicial review
By Órla Ryan
LEGAL COUNSEL FOR women seeking judicial reviews of the final report of the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes report have proposed proceeding with three test cases in the High Court. Eight women, some of whom cannot be named, are taking legal challenges against the Irish State. Read more…
International
Abortion ban forces Polish women to seek terminations abroad and mental health support at home
By Agnieszka Wądołowska
The recent introduction of a near-total ban on abortion in Poland has not significantly reduced the number of women obtaining terminations, according to data from organisations that help them do so. Instead, it is forcing more to travel abroad for abortions and, doctors warn, causing great psychological harm to many women. Read more…
Does ‘faith-based’ include people without a religious faith?
By Mark Brockway
The European ruling on headscarves opens the way to rank discrimination
By Polly Toynbee
It’s a puzzle that so many religious people identify themselves by what they wear. Among Christians I find it macabre that they choose to wear, in gold around their neck, an instrument of one of the cruellest tortures known to man. But they do. It’s their choice and no one else’s business.Today the European court of justice confirmed the right of private employers to fire staff for wearing headscarves or other religious insignia. Read more…
How the University of California outfoxed Catholic hospitals on religious medical restrictions
By Michael Hiltzik
Until the afternoon of June 23, it seemed that the University of California Board of Regents was prepared to accept religious restrictions on healthcare delivered by UC doctors working in Catholic hospitals. Then, virtually in the blink of an eye, the ground shifted. Read more…
How the Christian right took advantage of COVID to win rampant religious exemptions
By Amy Littlefield
On a Friday evening in April, the Supreme Court quietly issued a short decision that opened the floodgates for religious entities to claim an exemption from just about any law. Tandon v. Newsom didn’t center on a traditionally hot-button issue like abortion or LGBTQ rights; it focused on COVID-19. While the case received little attention outside of the legal world, it marked the culmination of more than 30 years of legal strategy by Christian conservatives who have sought ever-broader leeway to flout the law. Read more…
People unconsciously stereotype atheists as more likely to be serial killers, yet pin them as open-minded, scientific, and fun at parties
By Beth Ellwood
Research published in Social Psychological and Personality Science suggests that people can hold both positive and intensely negative stereotypes about a stigmatized group. The findings suggest that people stereotype atheists as immoral — unconsciously believing a serial killer is more likely to be an atheist than a religious person — while simultaneously stereotyping atheists as more open-minded, scientific, and fun at parties. Read more…
Tennessee’s anti-science attacks persist 96 years after Scopes trial
By Freedom From Religion Foundation
What would Clarence Darrow say?This week marks the fourth anniversary of the dedication of Zenos Frudakis’ bronze statue memorializing Darrow, which the Freedom From Religion Foundation gifted to the Rhea County Courthouse in Dayton, Tenn., site of the famous Scopes trial in 1925. Read more…
Defending Muslim women’s rights requires a willingness to criticise Islam
By Kunwar Khuldune Shahid
Islamic scripture is being used to justify attacks on women’s rights in many countries. Secular law is a crucial defence – and shielding Islam from criticism undermines efforts to assert it, says Kunwar Khuldune Shahid. On Saturday, the Taliban issued a decree in Afghanistan’s provinces of Badakhshan and Takhar demanding that all local unmarried females above 15, and widows, be ‘handed over’ to jihadists ‘fighting in the path of Allah’. Read more…
Will the government protect the ethos of secular schools?
By Alastair Lichten
Religious privilege is built into England’s school system, with around a third of state schools having a formal religious designation. But as the National Secular Society’s 2020 report Power grab: Academisation and the threat to secular education found, religious control of education is also extending beyond these faith schools into those which are nominally secular. Read more…
Helping the public shouldn’t mean pushing religion on people
By Megan Manson
A parliamentary group has removed provisions in its ‘faith covenant’ that prevent faith groups from proselytising when delivering public services. This leaves vulnerable people open to exploitation, says Megan Manson. Is it reasonable for councils to ask organisations delivering public services to do so without pushing religion on vulnerable people? Disappointingly, a parliamentary group no longer seems to think so. Read more…
If you are a blogger or vlogger writing or talking about atheism, secularism, ethics, skepticism, human rights etc. and would like us to include your work here please email the link to secularsunday@atheist.ie
Media Watch
News and views from Ireland and around the world. Sharing is not an endorsement.
Ireland
International
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