Atheist Freethinkers defend Canadian secularism law
08/07/2020 No Comments

Atheist Freethinkers defend Canadian secularism law

Atheist Freethinkers/Libres Penseurs Athées of Montreal is trying to protect Bill 21, a new law that promotes separation of Church and State in Quebec. David Rand, President of Atheist Freethinkers, says: “As secularists, we have a duty to do everything in our power to ensure that this law is neither ...

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The Rights of the Child in Irish schools
05/07/2020 No Comments

The Rights of the Child in Irish schools

The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child will soon be questioning Ireland again. Atheist Ireland, the Evangelical Alliance of Ireland, and the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community of Ireland have sent this joint submission to the UN Committee. Contents Introduction Summary of Questions Cluster 3. General Principles Article 2 — ...

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Humanists at Risk Action Report 2020
25/06/2020 No Comments

Humanists at Risk Action Report 2020

Atheist Ireland is a member of Humanists International, who today published the Humanists at Risk Action Report 2020. It exposes discrimination against atheists, humanists, and nonreligious people in eight countries: Colombia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka. These States limit the rights to freedom of thought, conscience, ...

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Grania Spingies would have been fifty today
23/06/2020 No Comments

Grania Spingies would have been fifty today

Grania Spingies, who died suddenly this month last year, would have been fifty today. She was a founding member and first secretary of Atheist Ireland, and a contributor to Jerry Coyne’s website Why Evolution is True. Grania was an intelligent and organised activist, a rational and effective communicator, and a ...

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Protect Humanists at Risk 2020
21/06/2020 No Comments

Protect Humanists at Risk 2020

Many atheists and humanists across the world cannot live freely in accordance with their values. As well as campaigning politically in Ireland, Atheist Ireland campaigns as a member of Humanists International to protect people at risk of persecution around the world. When we led the successful campaign to remove the ...

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How secular is the Programme for Government?
16/06/2020 No Comments

How secular is the Programme for Government?

This is Atheist Ireland’s initial response to the proposed Programme for Government agreed jointly by Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, and the Green Party. While it is weak on explicit secular policies, some of its commitments would lead to secular specifics if they are implemented while respecting freedom of religion and ...

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Pakistan still persecuting religious minorities
07/06/2020 No Comments

Pakistan still persecuting religious minorities

Pakistan is still persecuting atheists and religious minorities with blasphemy charges, often trumped up because of personal disputes, which can result in life imprisonment or the death penalty. Here are two current examples: an illiterate Christian couple facing death by hanging for allegedly sending a text message, whose appeal has ...

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The United Nations and Religious Minorities
31/05/2020 No Comments

The United Nations and Religious Minorities

Atheist Ireland today sent this submission to Dr Fernand de Varennes, the UN Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues. He is preparing a report for the 75th session of the UN General Assembly, about the significance and scope of the four categories of minorities (national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities). In ...

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Homework Pass ruling has lessons for the state, school boards, principals, and teachers
06/05/2020 No Comments

Homework Pass ruling has lessons for the state, school boards, principals, and teachers

A recent case at the Workplace Relations Commission has found that Yellow Furze National School in Meath discriminated on religious grounds against a family that had no religious belief. The school claimed at the WRC that the case was unfounded. Most schools are unable to recognise religious discrimination when it ...

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WRC rules that ‘homework pass for mass’ is religious discrimination
01/05/2020 1 Comment

WRC rules that ‘homework pass for mass’ is religious discrimination

The Workplace Relations Commission has found that Yellow Furze National School in Meath discriminated on religious grounds against a family, in a case that Atheist Ireland raised publicly last September. The school is under Catholic patronage, and it gave homework passes to children who attended Catholic religious services. But it ...

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