The article below was also published in the Irish Times letters page.

Irish Government says religious oaths are “necessary in a democratic society”

It is disgraceful that the Irish Government is arguing at the European Court of Human Rights that the religious oath for President and members of the Council of State are “necessary in a democratic society.”
The Government is contesting a legal challenge to the religious oath by Roisin Shortall TD, John Brady TD, Senator David Norris, Fergus Finlay, and David McConnell.
The Taoiseach and Tanaiste have to swear this oath, as they are member of the Council of State, so Micheal Martin and Leo Varadkar are now trying to legally prevent conscientious atheists from occupying the positions that they themselves now hold.
Shockingly, the Government is actually arguing that these oaths are “necessary in a democratic society in the interests of public safety, for the protection of public order, health or morals, or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others.”
Is this how the Government of a Republic treats its citizens? How does this vindicate the right to freedom of conscience, and equality before the law? How can Fianna Fail, Fine Gael, and the Green Party actively promote overt religious discrimination?
Atheist Ireland runs a One Oath for All Campaign. We believe that holders of public office should make a declaration to uphold the Constitution, with no reference to their personal religious or nonreligious beliefs.
Atheist Ireland raised this issue with the United Nations Human Rights Committee in 2014, and the Human Rights Committee concluded that:

“The State Party should take concrete steps to amend articles 12, 31 and 34 of the Constitution that require religious oaths to take up senior public office positions, taking into account the Committee’s general comment No. 22 (1993) concerning the right not to be compelled to reveal one’s thoughts or adherence to a religion or belief in public.”

As recently as last October, the UN Human Rights Committee told Ireland:

“Please report on the measures taken to ensure that the right to freedom of conscience and religious belief is fully respected, in law and in practice, on a non-discriminatory basis… Please indicate whether there have been any changes to the constitutional provisions requiring persons who take up certain senior public positions to take religious oaths.”

The European Court of Human Rights has consistently found that the right to freedom of religion and belief is one of the foundations of a democratic society. The court has also held that the right to manifest your religion or belief has a negative aspect.
This means that the State cannot oblige you to disclose your religion or beliefs. Nor can it oblige you to act in such a way that it is possible to conclude that you hold, or do not hold, religious beliefs. That is intervening in the sphere of your freedom of conscience.
We have removed the law against blasphemy. That is one step towards a secular State that respects equally everybody’s right to freedom of conscience. Removing these anachronistic religious oaths from our Constitution is the next step.
Further Information:
Atheist Ireland One Oath for All Campaign
Atheist Ireland article in Irish Times about religious oaths
Read more…

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The Constitutional right to not attend religious instruction (explicitly) and other subjects (implicitly)

Under the Irish Constitution, parents have the explicit right for their children to ‘not attend’ religious instruction in publicly funded schools, and the implicit right for their children to ‘not attend’ instruction in any subject that is against their conscience.
Article 44.2.4
Article 44.2.4 of the Constitution explicitly gives parents the right to ensure that their children do ‘not attend’ religious instruction in publicly funded schools.
It also makes this right to ‘not attend’ a condition of the state funding of schools. Article 44.2.4 is a sub section of the Constitutional right to freedom of conscience and religion.
Article 44.2.4 states that:

“Legislation providing State aid for schools shall not discriminate between schools under the management of different religious denominations, nor be such as to affect prejudicially the right of any child to attend a school receiving public money without attending religious instruction at that school.”

The constitutional right to ‘not attend’ religious instruction is a specific right under the Constitution and the fact that it is a condition of the state funding of schools increases its significance.
Article 42.1
Article 42.1 of the Constitution does not explicitly state that children can ‘not attend’ instruction in any subject. It states that:

“The State acknowledges that the primary and natural educator of the child is the Family and guarantees to respect the inalienable right and duty of parents to provide, according to their means, for the religious and moral, intellectual, physical and social education of their children.”

However, because the Constitution recognises that parents are the primary educators of their children, the State recognises the right of parents for their children to ‘not attend’ any subject that is against their conscience, notwithstanding the fact that Article 42.1 does not explicitly mention this.
This is reflected in Section 30.2(e) of the Education Act, which states that

“The Minister… shall not require any student to attend instruction in any subject which is contrary to the conscience of the parent of the student or in the case of a student who has reached the age of 18 years, the student.”

An example of this is that parents can opt their children out of sex education classes, and some Muslim parents opt their children out of physical education on the basis of conscience. This right is belong to parents and it is not up to Church or State to decide what is or is not against the conscience of parents. It is the duty of the State to vindicate this Constitutional right.
Article 44.2.4 is stronger
The Department of Education and publicly funded schools treat the right to ‘not attend’ religious instruction under Article 44.2.4 as if it was the same as ‘not attending’ under Article 42.1 of the Constitution.
They ignore that the wording of Article 44.2.4 explicitly refers to ‘not attending’ ‘religious instruction,’ and the fact that there would be no need for religious instruction to be explicitly mentioned in the Constitution if it was meant to be treated the exact same as the implicit right under Article 42.1.

Here is an Irish Times article from last year by Atheist Ireland’s human rights officer Jane Donnelly

Religious oaths must be removed from State activities

In Ireland high public office is only for the religious, and our court system ignores the rights of atheists, despite the fact that we pride ourselves on our human rights record and promote freedom of religion and belief around the world.
I recently had to make an affidavit, and the solicitor asked me which religious book I wanted. I had to tell her, in a public office, that I did not want any religious book as I was an atheist.
I was annoyed and she was embarrassed when I told her that she was breaching my right to freedom of religion and belief, by putting me in a position where I had to declare my atheism.
Thankfully this particular problem is about to end. The Civil Law and Criminal Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2020 will allow us to make affidavits without revealing our personal beliefs.
t this only a half step towards removing all religious oaths from State activities. Witnesses in court must still swear on the Bible or publicly refuse to do so. As well as having their rights breached, they could also be victims of bias.
This discrimination is so widespread that it goes unnoticed. The Electoral Act obliges those who are challenged while voting to swear on a Bible or publicly refuse to do so. It also spreads beyond individual incidents into affecting the careers of public office holders.

Imagine the outcry if any public office holder had to swear that there was no god?

Know your rights

Religious Formation comes under Article 42.4 of the Constitution. The courts in Ireland have linked Religious Formation (Article 42.4) with Religious Education under Article 42.1.

Students have a constitutional right to ‘not attend’ religious instruction under Article 44.2.4. Religious instruction is simply any formal teaching in religion, it doesn’t matter what type of religious teaching it is. Schools that claim the Constitution right to ‘not attend’ does not apply to curriculum religion are breaching Constitutional rights.