Letters to the Editor: Religious education can open up a sense of wonder

Several readers responded to Aoife Cassidy's opinion column about religious education in schools — and, as ever, what they have to say may surprise you

One reader says: 'The escalating case for removing religious education more generally from the school curriculum could prove to be both shallow and myopic.' Picture: iStock

Aoife Cassidy’s case for excluding preparation for the sacraments from schools makes a number of valid points: Not least the potential for exclusion and segregation — ‘School sacraments alienate pupils and take time away from teaching’ (Irish Examiner, May 20).

Giving responsibility for this aspect of a child’s spiritual development to the churches, as happens in the Archdiocese of Dublin, will encourage families to opt in to the process for positive and informed reasons, allow more in-depth preparation as part of their participation in the life of the Catholic Church, and detract from any sense that this is primarily about fashion and money.