Atheist Ireland welcomes Education Committee report supporting objective sex education
29/01/2019 No Comments

Atheist Ireland welcomes Education Committee report supporting objective sex education

Atheist Ireland welcomes the Oireachtas Education Committee report on Objective Sex Education. The report has recommended, as Atheist Ireland asked it to do, that the law must be changed to remove the role of ethos as a barrier to the objective and factual delivery of sex education curriculums. It has ...

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The Irish Times is correct to warn against weakening the laws that regulate political funding
20/01/2019 No Comments

The Irish Times is correct to warn against weakening the laws that regulate political funding

The Irish Times (editorial, Jan 16th) is correct to warn that allowing foreign political donations could have negative consequences for our democracy. It is also correct to highlight the similarities between funding election campaigns and funding political lobbying between elections. Atheist Ireland is a small advocacy group promoting human rights. ...

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We should challenge, not respect, Ethiopian religious customs that are unjust to women and LGBT people
15/01/2019 No Comments

We should challenge, not respect, Ethiopian religious customs that are unjust to women and LGBT people

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar defended his visit to a male-only Ethiopian Orthodox monastery, while leaving the women members of the Irish delegation outside, by saying it was appropriate to respect the rules and customs of different cultures and religions in their country. The Irish delegation included Irish ambassador to Ethiopia, Sonja ...

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Taoiseach, Tánaiste, and others must swear a religious oath to remain in office
12/01/2019 1 Comment

Taoiseach, Tánaiste, and others must swear a religious oath to remain in office

One of Atheist Ireland’s main campaigns this year is One Oath For All, a campaign to remove from the Constitution the religious oath that Presidents, Judges, and members of the Council of State must swear. Many people are unaware that this oath encompasses the Taoiseach, Tánaiste, chair of the Dáil and ...

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Children must respect the codes of conduct of Scientology in Irish Community National Schools
19/12/2018 No Comments

Children must respect the codes of conduct of Scientology in Irish Community National Schools

Last night RTE's Prime Time reported on Scientology in Ireland. Scientology has set up its European hub in Firhouse in Dublin. Scientology says it is a modern religion, which addresses spirituality in a practical way. It says that it brings new solutions which do not involve drugs, conflict or violence, but include ...

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Irish schools require children to respect Vatican codes of conduct that discriminate against gay people
03/12/2018 No Comments

Irish schools require children to respect Vatican codes of conduct that discriminate against gay people

The Irish Times reports that Pope Francis is concerned about what he describes as the “serious issue” of homosexuality and that being gay is a “fashion” to which the clergy is susceptible. He has said that “gay people should not be accepted into ministry”. It is nothing new that the Catholic ...

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Atheist Ireland launches ‘One Oath For All’ campaign
11/11/2018

Atheist Ireland launches ‘One Oath For All’ campaign

Atheist Ireland is today launching a ‘One Oath For All’ campaign, to enable conscientious atheists to hold the office of President, Judge, Taoiseach, or other members of the Council of State. Today Michael D Higgins will begin his second term as President, after fourteen elections or uncontested nominations since 1938, ...

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Why ETB schools should give an alternative subject to students who opt out from the NCCA religion course
04/11/2018

Why ETB schools should give an alternative subject to students who opt out from the NCCA religion course

Atheist Ireland, the Evangelical Alliance of Ireland, and the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community of Ireland will be meeting the Department of Education to follow up on issues raised at our last meeting. At that meeting, the Department confirmed to us that students can in fact opt out from the NCCA religion course ...

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The Austrian Muhammad paedophile case judgment is both dangerous and widely misunderstood
03/11/2018

The Austrian Muhammad paedophile case judgment is both dangerous and widely misunderstood

The case in which a woman was convicted in Austria for describing Muhammad as a paedophile, and in which the European Court of Human Rights did not overrule the judgment of the Austrian Courts, is both dangerous for human rights and widely misunderstood by many critics. It is ironic that ...

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From Belgium to Saudi Arabia, IHEU ranks the best and worst countries in which to be an atheist
29/10/2018

From Belgium to Saudi Arabia, IHEU ranks the best and worst countries in which to be an atheist

The IHEU Freedom of Thought Report 2018 ranks the best and worst countries in the world to be an atheist, based on restrictions or discrimination in four areas: constitution and government; education and children’s rights; family, community and society; and freedom of expression. The IHEU is the International Humanist and ...

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