Schools must reflect change - Teaching religion in schools

THE announcement from Education Minister Richard Bruton that the Government will press ahead with plans to divest patronage of Catholic schools is welcome, but that welcome must be tempered, as Mr Bruton has said he favours the development of state-run primary schools which will provide for preparation for the Catholic sacraments during the school day. 

Mr Bruton said he wanted to see the process of divesting schools accelerated and to increase the number of multi-denominational schools to 400 within 15 years. Over 90% of our 3,200 primary schools are managed by the Catholic Church.

In a quickly changing world, this seems a fudge and, despite this country’s great historical commitment to Catholicism, it does not honestly reflect the reality of religious practice or commitment in today’s Ireland. Ireland has not gone as far and England and Wales, though it may yet, where, for the first time, the number of people who say they have no religion significantly outweighs those who describe themselves as Christian. The proportion of the population who identify as having no religion hit 48.5% in 2014. Those who define themselves as Christian made up 43.8% of the population.