Articles Archives | Teach Dont Preach

September 3, 2020 No Comments Teach Dont Preach

School Transport scheme discriminates against atheists

Atheist Ireland has sent a Submission to the UN Human Rights committee under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. We raised the issue of religious discrimination in the School Transport scheme at second level. Atheists, humanists and secularists are discriminated against in the School Transport scheme as the ...

August 29, 2020 No Comments Teach Dont Preach

Atheist Ireland submission to UN Human Rights Committee

Atheist Ireland has made the following submission to the UN Human Rights Committee. It is about what questions the UN should ask Ireland during its next questioning under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. 1. Introduction to Atheist Ireland 2. Recommended questions 3. Article 2, Article 26 — ...

August 17, 2020 No Comments Teach Dont Preach

Legal opinion on the Constitutional right to not attend religious instruction

Atheist Ireland has obtained a legal opinion from barrister James Kane on the Constitutional right to not attend religious instruction under Article 44.2.4. The Irish Times has reported on it here. You can read the full Legal Opinion here. The legal opinion covers the right to not attend religious teaching, ...

August 15, 2020 No Comments Teach Dont Preach

How the UN protects human rights

Where can you turn if your State denies you your human rights? Here is an overview of the main United Nations human rights treaties. Atheist Ireland uses these treaties to advocate for human rights in the areas of freedom of conscience and expression, and separation of church and state. The ...

August 8, 2020 No Comments Teach Dont Preach

The State religion course disrespects atheists and humanists

The state Religious Education course developed by the NCCA disrespects atheists and humanists. The course was recently updated and introduced into second-level schools in September 2019. Despite superficial changes, the updated version is no better than the previous one. It is not an objective course about religions, beliefs and ethics. ...

August 8, 2020 No Comments Teach Dont Preach

How a secular State protects us all

A secular State protects both atheists and religious people. It has practical advantages for society, and there is a pathway to it. Secularism is a force for good in three ways. Firstly, secularism protects everybody’s freedom of conscience and religion and belief by staying neutral between them. Religious States promote ...

August 7, 2020 No Comments Teach Dont Preach

Why secular schools are good

There are two reasons why State schools should be run on a secular basis. And a secular school is not the same thing as an atheist school. A religious school teaches that a god exists, an atheist school would teach that no gods exist, and a secular school is neutral ...

July 22, 2020 No Comments Teach Dont Preach

The WRC report on the ‘Homework passes for Masses’ discrimination case

The Workplace Relations Commission has published the recent case that found Yellow Furze National School in Meath had discriminated on religious grounds against a family. You can find the case here The school is under Catholic patronage, and it gave homework passes to children who attended Catholic religious services. But ...

July 18, 2020 No Comments Teach Dont Preach

Catholic education undermines the Constitutional rights of parents

Catholic education undermines the Constitutional rights of parents to respect for their philosophical convictions. The vast majority of schools in Ireland have a Catholic ethos. This includes ETB schools. The Irish Constitution (Article 42.1) recognises the inalienable right of parents to respect for their convictions. Regardless of this right, minority ...

June 20, 2020 No Comments Teach Dont Preach

How secular is the Programme for Government?

This is Atheist Ireland’s initial response to the proposed Programme for Government agreed jointly by Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, and the Green Party. While it is weak on explicit secular policies, some of its commitments would lead to secular specifics if they are implemented while respecting freedom of religion and ...