Religion in the Classroom – The Irish Times

Sir, – The continued contractual obligation on teachers to promote a religious ethos in their schools is causing real harm to staff and children (“Younger teachers in Catholic schools are less likely to believe in God or attend religious services”, Education , April 23).

As teachers, we are required by law to teach that Jesus is our Savior, regardless of whether we share this belief. We are forced to prepare students for first confession by telling them that they are sinners and that they must confess their sins to a priest.

This inevitably leads to a sense of exclusion among the growing number of ‘opt-out’ students, who do not receive sufficient educational involvement every day.

They are visibly excluded not only in the classroom, but also in the hallways of schools, where they are conspicuously absent from class photos taken at religious events.

This aspect of our education system causes real pain for children. It affects their sense of well-being, makes them feel left out and affects their home life as their loving families try to counterbalance the discrimination they face at school.

It should come as no surprise that many teachers try to minimize the amount of classroom time they spend on religious instruction. In doing so they risk breaching section 37 of the Employment Equality Act, which allows ‘religious institutions’ (i.e. schools) ‘to take action reasonably necessary to prevent an employee or a prospective employee undermines the religious ethos of employment. institution”.

Education Minister Norma Foley will be aware of INTO’s recent move to establish a trade union task force on faith formation and school protection. She must finally address this issue by setting clear timelines for the long-awaited citizens’ assembly on the future of education.

Momentum is building behind this issue, whether the government chooses to acknowledge it or not.

Teachers are educational professionals, not missionaries. It’s time for our schools to reflect that reality. – Yours, etc.,

ALANA WILHELM,

Teacher Representative for Educational Equality,

Blessington,

Co Wicklow.

Sir, – The results of recent research into attitudes towards religion among Catholic teachers in Ireland should add considerable weight to the abolition of formal religious instruction in schools.

Young teachers, 44 percent of whom have declared no commitment to their faith and one in three school principals, are being asked to educate children in an area that is alienated from their personal beliefs.

The anomaly is that parents are satisfied with the level of general education, but lukewarm toward faith-based education.

Dr. Alexander O’Hara highlighted this in his article stating that non-Catholic families transfer their children to Catholic ethos schools for the quality of education (“Ireland is perhaps the only place in the world that does not fully appreciate the benefits of Catholic education) . ”, Opinion, April 22).

The principles of respect, inclusivity and equality should form the cornerstone of any school ethos and are found in the common pillars of most religions.

As a former principal of a Catholic ethos school, I was confident that the teaching staff were well trained to promote these principles. Based on research figures and personal experiences, I have less confidence in the suitability of teachers to teach children in an area where a large proportion of educators do not share this belief. – Yours, etc.,

AIDAN BOYLE,

Dun Laoghaire,

Co Dublin.