Children are not religious playthings

The Government will soon formulate a constitution of rights for children.

In response to the current debate on religion in schools, I ask this — what of the right to freedom of intellect?

People refer to ‘faith formation’, which means faith indoctrination. Parents and Government need to realise that children are not religious playthings.

Religion should be put in the realm of alcohol, sex and marriage: something which adults have the right to partake of. It should be illegal to involve children in religion.

The combined arrogance of the State, parents and religion has gone on for too long. Religion needs to step aside and stand firmly in its place, which is not in the courts of the land, not on the airwaves of the national broadcaster and not in the minds of the innocent.

The intellectual freedom of children needs to be seen as equally important to any other of their rights when formulating a constitution, and we need to wake up to the abuse of children’s intellect taking place in the home and the school in the name of ‘faith formation’.

Shane Larkin

104 Seville Place

Dublin 1