Keep religion out of the classroom
By 1831, when the Imperial government established the Commissioners of National Education under the Lord Lieutenant, 137,639 scholars attended its 1,621 schools. The commissioners sought to provide, within a values-in-common ethos, separate teaching of secular subjects with a partition between those and optional religious instruction to be given by representatives of the various churches. This arrangement was gradually undermined, and culminated in the Rules for National Schools of 1964 and the “New Curriculum” of 1970 which sought to legitimise the lacing of all secular education with religion.
It has had a profound, adverse effect on the Constitutional right (in Article 44.2.4) of any child to attend any school in receipt of public money without receiving religious instruction, not to mention compulsory participation in in-school religious services, which were never anticipated as a school activity.
The report of the Constitutional Review Group (Whittaker, 1996) declared that it regarded current practice as unconstitutional. Moreover, it has created unforeseen consequences for parents and society: school books laced with denominationalism have be printed here and are more costly. And we have wasteful bussing of pupils to avoid proselytising schools which also divide neighbour’s child from neighbour’s child.
Ironically, a comparison of school types (albeit at secondary level) in Scotland (1986) showed that the tendency of Catholic scholars to continue practising their religion after leaving school was highest in schools which were attended by those of all competing religions and none, with religious instruction given at a “Sunday school” — just what we had in the 19th century. It is long past time for a reprise.
John Colgan
Dublin Road
Leixlip
Co Kildare
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