Discussing the Catholic bias in Irish schools

From The Late Late Show 2nd September 2011

The vast majority of schools in Ireland are State funded but Catholic run. This is nowhere more obvious than in the primary school sector. Parents who do not wish their children to receive religious instruction find it very difficult to locate a school where their children will not be subject to Catholic indoctrination.
If they are extremely lucky, they will find a multi-denominational school nearby. For most, however, the only schools within their area will be Catholic schools. As the experiences recounted here illustrate, even when an agreement is reached with a school to accommodate parents desire for a religiously neutral education for their children, in reality our national schools continue to indoctrinate Catholicism, with the assistance of State funds.
The question here is whether the State should continue to support a school system that is organised around one religious ethos, or to separate religious and academic education entirely. Religious indoctrination should be optional, not inevitable.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Ireland
• Irish
• religion
• religious
• education
• catholic
• church
• secular
• atheist
• multi-denominational
• indoctrination
• parents
• children
• national
• primary
• school
• educate
• together
• late
• show
• michael
• nugent
• ivana
• bacik

[irishrose32]

When in Rome do as the Romans do or don't visit Rome -you dopes!

[DaithiDublin]

@irishrose32 Is that a veiled implication that Ireland is a 'Catholic' country? I don't want to start put you straight until I know your thinking is crooked.

[MrBrittish]

Very very interesting. Faith schools have got to go, have we forgotten what schools are for!!!

[DaithiDublin]

@MrBrittish Yes, if the only intent of our schools is to educate then the Catholic Church wouldn't be putting up such a fight to keep control. And by fighting for that control they are acknowledging that they see it as vitally important to indoctrinate our kids. They know full well that without pervasive brainwashing those kids will not all grow up Catholic. They fight for the right to brainwash our kids, we fight for the right our kids have *not* to be brainwashed.

[JESUStheATHEIST1]

RELIGION should be taught where it belongs.....HISTORY CLASS.

[DaithiDublin]

@JESUStheATHEIST1 If only it was history!

[LeftHandCookie]

@bbass67 I agree.

[BFFbleachfansforever]

Cant believe religion is a junior cert project

[opsvideo2008]

Except for the people who are sufficiently open-minded to understand the need for non-catholic schools that will respect the right of their students to practise their own religious faith, I would say the rest of the audience, together with the Irish government & the catholic church school administration are really a joke for trying to foist and shove the catholic faith & catholic indoctrination down the throats of other people. Simple common sense will dictate it is wrong to do that on others.

[HybridD91]

@bbass67 Your culture shouldn't have a monopoly over education.

[james7300]

This dude reminds me of Richard Dawkins

[bbass67]

I live in the New York, unfortunatly i went to public school most of my life. Now i am enrolled in a Catholic college. I am very proud of my Irish-Catholic heritage. WHat are we without our culture?

[WafflesandWhales]

I think people in the US take the separation of church and state for granted. I mean, I personally believe in God, but when I studied abroad in Cork for my junior year of high school, I thought it was the most awkward and uncomfortable thing ever because...well...it is. I can't explain why. It just is. In the U.S, I've never had to deal with religion and "God" talk, save for my one chemistry teacher who seemed to dislike young-Earth creationists a lot. Still awkward. The Irish are nice though.

[mrodub]

Religion should be taught in the church not a school, but if religion must be taught then it should be in the form of comparative religion not indoctrination.