The Minister for Education Norma Foley has replied to a letter from Atheist Ireland about the right to not attend religious instruction in schools and a recent anti-abortion video shown in a school. Here is the Minister’s reply and our reply to her.
Letter from Minister for Education to Atheist Ireland
Dear Mr. Nugent & Ms. Donnelly,
Thank you for your letter.
At the outset, it is important to distinguish between Religious Education as an educational activity that deepens young people’s understanding of religions, whatever their background or beliefs, and Religious Instruction, understood as initiating or nurturing young people into a particular religious way of life (sometimes also referred to as faith formation or catechesis). It is not the aim of Religious Education to facilitate Religious Instruction or a type of learning that has as its aim nurturing into a particular religious tradition or set of beliefs.
The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) developed Religious Education Junior and Senior Cycle examination and non-examination syllabuses are intended for students of all faith backgrounds and none. The content prescribed in the syllabuses is intended to ensure that students are exposed to a broad range of religious traditions and to the non-religious interpretation of life. They do not provide religious instruction in any particular religious or faith tradition.
Junior Cycle Religious Education approved by the NCCA aims to develop the students’ ability to examine questions of meaning, purpose and relationships, to help students understand, respect and appreciate people’s expression of their beliefs, and to facilitate dialogue and reflection on the diversity of beliefs and values that inform responsible decision-making and ways of living.
Leaving Certificate Religious Education approved by the NCCA promotes tolerance and mutual understanding. It is a broad course which seeks to develop the skills needed to engage in meaningful dialogue with those of other or of no religious traditions. The programme calls for the exploration of issues such as meaning and value, the nature of morality, the development and diversity of belief, the principles of a just society, and the implications of scientific progress. Such exploration takes place in personal, local and global contexts and will be a valuable resource for the active, participatory citizenship envisaged in the aim of education.
In relation to Religious Education my Department does not require schools to include the NCCA developed Religious Education syllabuses at Junior or Senior Cycle as mandatory subjects on their curriculum. Accordingly schools have discretion to determine if they provide the subject at all or if it is to be mandatory or optional in any particular class group or year. Religious Education, where it is offered by a school, must be delivered in the timetabled class periods without any religious instruction or worship of any religion forming any part of class activity.
Currently at Primary level, Religious Education is one of 12 subjects in the 1999 Primary School Curriculum. It holds a unique position in that the responsibility for providing a programme of Religious Education rests with the patron bodies of individual schools and not the State. There are a number of patrons’ programmes within the primary school system reflecting the diversity of patronage. Some of these are denominational or religious in nature, emphasising the place of children’s faith, spiritual and moral development in their lives. Other patrons’ programmes are ethical in nature and emphasise fostering children’s understanding of ethics and values.
Schools have the option to offer the religion education subject as part its range of subjects. In accordance with Section 30 of the Education Act, 1998, parents have a right to have their children opt out of religious education classes if they so wish. The manner in which any school ensures that the right to opt out of religion education classes is upheld is a matter for the school concerned. Each individual school must determine the particular arrangements which are most appropriate in its individual circumstances having regard to local issues such as available space, supervision requirements and how the school concerned organises classes etc.
The Primary curriculum is currently undergoing a period of review and redevelopment, led by the NCCA. The Draft Primary Curriculum Framework, which aims to support the learning and development of children from different religious backgrounds and of non-religious backgrounds, sets out the proposed purpose, structure and content of the next curriculum for primary schools. Phase one of the consultation was published in February 2020 with a focus on public and education stakeholders and concluded at the end of January 2021. Phase 2 will take place during the 2021/2022 school year and will focus on consulting with teachers, school leaders, parents and children.
The Professional Development Service for Teachers (PDST) as a Department of Education funded support service has responsibility for delivering continuous professional development (CPD) supports to teachers and school leaders in areas of curriculum and policy at Primary and Senior Cycle levels.
Key to this role is the development and delivery of CPD with regard to the NCCA’s statutory curriculum comprising a number of subjects/subject areas at Primary and Senior Cycle level. Religious Education is one such subject which the PDST includes as part of the NCCA’s suite of curriculum subject specifications/syllabi. In-service supports for Religious Education as a curricular discipline appears on the PDST’s annual workplan in line with its responsibility to include all NCCA subjects in its CPD programme.
The PDST can on occasion be invited to provide inputs at various educational conferences and events. This can happen for all subjects including Religion. Any input provided by the PDST is directly connected to the curriculum and classroom methodologies/assessment.
With regard to your reference to a specific FOI request, you will understand that I am not in a position to comment on individual FOI requests but I can state that my Department complies with the Freedom of Information legislation.
In relation to the press reports referenced in your letter, I wish to advise that neither my Department or the PDST has any knowledge of the video referred to in the articles.
Once again thank you for raising this matter and I trust that I have addressed your concerns.
Yours sincerely
Norma Foley TD
Minister for Education
Reply from Atheist Ireland to Minister for Education
Dear Minister Foley,
Thank you for your letter. [Note: our letter begins by addressing some procedural matters. The policy substance of the letter follows.]
1. Your Department’s Definitions of Religious Instruction and Education
Your response begins with:

But these distinctions (from which the remainder of your analysis flows) are not based on what the Courts in Ireland have defined as Religious Education (Article 42.1), Religious Formation (Article 42.4) and Religious Instruction (Article 44.2.4).
Your response also states that:

This adds another level of confusion to your Department’s definitions of ‘Religious Education’ and ‘Religious Instruction’. You are saying here that at primary level ‘Religious Education’ is delivered through patrons’ programmes that are “denominational or religious in nature, emphasising the place of children’s faith, spiritual and moral development in their lives.”
This contradicts your “at the outset” paragraph, which states that ‘Religious Education’ is not denominational or religious in nature, but is “an educational activity that deepens young people’s understanding of religions, whatever their background or beliefs.” Read more…

A report by Genesis published this week by Catholic education groups shows clearly that the Catholic Church’s control over State-funded schools in Ireland must end. The results are devastating for State funding of Catholic schools, contrary to the misleading spin its publishers are pushing.
The report says many parents feel embarrassed or ashamed to admit to being a practicing Catholic, and associate the Church with being male dominated, punitive towards women, controlling, abusive, and brushing problems under the carpet. Only 5% consider priests or nuns to be very influential in helping children address life challenges.
The report finds that most parents (between 55% and 66%) do not think having a Catholic ethos or faith formation are important when choosing a school, and most (between 51% and 58%) do not think religious instruction is valuable within the school. Also, most nonreligious parents (59%) do not get their choice of school for their children.
What most parents want in a school is convenience of location, academic reputation, good discipline, teaching right from wrong, social inclusion initiatives, and raising awareness of social issues. None of these factors require a religious ethos or forcing children to attend religious instruction classes.
Genesis surveyed 500 parents in 2019 for the Catholic Primary Schools Management Association, the Catholic Education Partnership, and the Association of Management of Catholic Secondary Schools, and followed this up with interviews and focus groups.
Legal and political implications
This report supports the arguments Atheist Ireland has been making for years, that the State must stop allowing Catholic school patrons from breaching the Constitutional and human rights of atheist and minority faith children, parents, and teachers.
These arguments are made even stronger by the Supreme Court’s judgment this week in the Burke case, that the administration of government policy must abide by the Constitution. That is the over-arching jurisdiction under which every organ of the State must act.
The figures in this report do not affect the right to not attend religious instruction in publicly funded schools. That is a personal right protected by the Constitution, and does not require majority support from other people.
But the legal justification for Catholic ethos generally in schools, and for allowing some discrimination against minorities, is to uphold the religious freedom of Catholic parents and their children. This report shows that the balance in relation to ethos has shifted, and it now assists a minority of religious parents at the expense of everybody else.
Parents and Catholic School ethos
The report shows that multiple patronage cannot provide pluralism in education. 24% of respondents said they had only one school available to them in their locality. Even if the government’s policy of trying to have 400 multi-denominational schools by 2030 actually happened, it would not resolve this problem.
The report shows that the admission system discriminates heavily against nonreligious parents. 72% of parents got the school of their choice. However, of parents who attend Mass once a month, 82% got the school of their choice. By contrast, of parents who never go to Mass, 59% did not get the school of their choice if there was a choice.
Most parents do not think Catholic ethos, faith formation, or religious instruction are important.

One response is only partially reported
A newspaper article about the report by Marie Griffin says the report shows ‘overwhelming support among parents (78%) for the Catholic Church to have a role in continuing to shape and influence the ethos of schools.’ Read more…

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Report findings

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Calling concerned teachers