Atheist Ireland has made a pledge to the United Nations Human Rights 75 initiative to promote the consistent use of the full phrase ‘Freedom of Religion or Belief’ instead of the incomplete phrase 'Freedom of Religion.' 1. Background to Atheist Ireland Atheist Ireland is a voluntary advocacy group based in Ireland. ...
Atheist Ireland has made the following submission to to The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission on the Draft Code of Practice on the Public Sector Equality and Human Rights Duty. 4. The purpose of the draft code is to reflect the relevant law and the definitions within the law. ...
Atheist Ireland met Minister for Children and Equality Roderic O’Gorman last week. Afterwards, we wrote the following to the Minister about the right to objective sex education. Dear Minister O'Gorman, the right to objective sex education is infringed by allowing Catholic schools to deliver the state curriculum in accordance with ...
Many people are aware that the Irish Constitution requires the President and judges to swear a religious oath. Many people are unaware that this also applies to the Council of State, which includes the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste, the Chief Justice, the President of Court of Appeal, the President of High Court, ...
Atheist Ireland has for years been raising the issue of objective sex education with the United Nations. The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child included the following in its recent concluding observations about Ireland: Adolescent health (b) Integrate comprehensive, age-appropriate and evidence-based education on sexual and reproductive health into ...
The oireachtas, not the Government or the Department of Education or schools, is responsible for regulating the Constitutional right to not attend religious instruction in schools. That is why statutory guidelines are needed, passed by the Oireachtas, not just Government policies, or circular letters from the Department, or abdication of ...
In a recent article in the Irish Examiner, Fergus Finley asks “Why do we still allow religious orders to exist?” He was responding to the latest revelations of clerical sex abuse in Irish schools, this time by the Spiritans who run Blackrock College, and the Carmelites who ran Terenure College. ...
Atheist Ireland is asking TDs to amend the Criminal Justice (Incitement to Violence or Hatred and Hate Offences) Bill 2022 as follows: Please amend the above Bill to: (a) give equal protection to people with religious beliefs, and people with positive nonreligious philosophical convictions including atheism and secularism, and (b) ...
Two years ago, in October 2020, we published a report on how 100 sample schools were defying the legal requirement to publish an Admission Policy which must include details of the school’s arrangements for students who do not want to attend religious instruction. We brought the results to the attention ...
Atheist Ireland has made the following submission to the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights who is preparing report on combating intolerance against persons based on religion or belief. Contents 1. Background to Atheist Ireland 2. Our recommendations 3. The UN and States should use the phrase ‘religion or belief’ consistently ...