Educate Together – Case Statement

Irish Human Rights Commission

21.03.2005

Background

For various historical reasons, the Irish State has inherited a system of primary education that this overwhelmingly dominated by specific religious interests. 98% of all State-funded primary schools are privately owned and controlled by religious bodies. The breakdown is approximately 93% Catholic and 5% Anglican, with one Jewish and two Muslim National Schools.

The “National School System” established in 1831, was established as a multi-denominational system with strict separation between literary and moral education and religious instruction. Despite these intentions, the system became controlled by specific denominational interests by the beginning of the 20th Century. However, in this system, the rights of minorities were protected by a rule guaranteeing the right of parents to absent their children from religious instruction that contravened their conscience. This right was given further legal force in the Irish Constitution.

During the last 40 years, the State has acted to restrict and remove the protection of the rights of minorities and to create a situation that violates the Constitutional and human rights of an increasing numbers of children, parents and teachers.

In 1965, the revision of the Rules for National Schools saw the State specifically recognize the denominational nature of the National School system for the first time.

In 1971, the “New Curriculum” removed the separation between literary and moral education and religious instruction and introduced an “integrated” approach in which the religious ethos of the school permeated the whole curriculum. This effectively removed the practical ability to absent a child from the religious content of school life. (see Note 1)

In 1998, the Education Act – the first such act in the history of the State – obliged the Board of Management of a school to uphold the ethos of its Patron and provided wide powers of control to the patrons of National Schools. (see Note 2)

In 2000, the Education Welfare Act obliged a parent to ensure that their child was attending a “recognized programme of education” by the age of 6 and provided significant penalties for failing to do so.

Also in 1998 and 2000 the Employment Equality Act and Equal Status Act allowed schools with religious patronage to discriminate in favour of persons of their religions in order to protect their ethos. This is allowed both in the employment of staff, in enrolment policy and in the selection of Board members. (see Note 3)

During the same period within which these legislative changes have take place, there has been an unprecedented increase in religious diversity within the population of the State.

The Census of 2002, demonstrated dramatic increases in minority religious identities. Many were recorded for the first time. The largest single minority religious identity was that of “No Religion”. Many social indicators suggest that this trend will further increase before the next Census.

Case

As a result of this increasing diversity, rising numbers of families are being compelled to send their children to recognized programmes of education that promote – and must in law promote – a religious ethos that conflicts their conscience and lawful preference. The element of compulsion lies in the fact that the State has not acted to provide reasonable access to schools that provide an alternative.

The alternatives available are the growing number of multi-denominational schools, which operate under a legal patronage that obliges them to provide equality of access and esteem to children “irrespective of religious backgrounds”. At present, these schools constitute only approximately 1.2% of the total. (see Note 4)

Compelling attendance at a denominational school on pain of legal sanction (Education Welfare Act); allowing religious discrimination in enrolment and employment policy (Equality Legislation) and legally obliging Boards of schools to uphold specific religious identities (Education Act) has the following consequences:-

• Access to those holding different faiths from the dominant religions is restricted, especially where there is a shortage of spaces in schools, when it can be withheld. This can force parents holding different faiths to travel long distances to access an appropriate school for their children.
• Parents are compelled to send their children to schools that uphold religious views that contradict their own religion, thought or conscience. The Education Welfare Act provides serious penalties for failure to ensure that children are in school.
• Children of different faiths often have to stand outside classes, go to a office or even sit at the back of a class when doctrinal instruction take place thus creating potential for social isolation, exclusion and bullying.
• Parents are pressurized to allow a child attend religious classes against their conscience due to their legitimate concerns for the child’s socialisation.
• Children are repeatedly exposed to educational content and practices that may be prejudicial to their family culture. The integrated nature of the curriculum makes separation of religious and non-religious content practically impossible.
• Teachers can be required to teach as religious truth views that they do not themselves hold.
• Access to the teaching profession can be restricted to those of the main religions.
• Staff members who do not hold the religious views of the school can be legally discriminated against.
• Religious discrimination can legally take place in all school Board decisions.
• Those of minority faiths are specifically excluded from exercise of or participation in the dominant role of the Patron in school affairs.
• Those effected can only find a remedy if places are available in a multi-denominational school in the locality of if they are of sufficient number and have the necessary social, administrative and financial resources to set up such a school themselves. The State provides no remedy for them unless they can do so.

Educate Together believes that the State’s failure to act to provide alternatives to the overwhelming monopoly of private denominational provision constitutes a serious denial of the human rights of those of minority religious identities.

These human rights are expressed legally in the Irish Constitution, European Convention on Human Rights, UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, UN Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The seriousness of this violation is evidenced by the fact that each September, tens of thousands of Irish parents are forced to decide whether or not to require that their child be absented from sacramental preparation classes in the local school. The fact that the majority choose not to do so as a result of their concerns for their child’s socialization does not mitigate the violation, rather it compounds it. Putting an increasing minority of the population in such a situation is not compatible with modern democratic standards or human rights.

It also frustrates the wishes of the large numbers of those of the majority faiths who wish to see their children educated in an atmosphere of inclusion and equity. It is directly counter-productive to the objective of bringing forward future generations who have grown up in an atmosphere of respect, inclusion and equality between peoples of different faiths, ethnicities and cultures.

Notes:

1)The Teacher’s Handbook which accompanied the New Curriculum was quite specific in this regard “The decision to construct an integrated curriculum is based on the following theses:…that the separation of religious and secular instruction into differentiated subject compartments serves only to throw the whole educational function out of focus.  The integration of the curriculum may be seen…in the religious and civic spirit which animates all its parts.”  

2)Education Act, 1998 15(2) A board shall perform the functions conferred on it and on a school by this Act and in carrying out its functions the board shall— …(b) uphold, and be accountable to the patron for so upholding, the characteristic spirit of the school as determined by the cultural, educational, moral, religious, social, linguistic and spiritual values and traditions which inform and are characteristic of the objectives and conduct of the school…

3)The addition of a right to recognize a programme of home education for the purposes of this Act is not now regarded as a reasonable response in a society in which the majority of new parents are part of double income, one large mortgage social units.

4)35 Educate Together schools, 4 multi-denominational Gaelscoileanna and two independent multi-denominational schools.