Category Archives: Education

Atheist Ireland meets Irish Government Forum on Primary Education Part 2

By Michael Nugent | Published: September 9, 2011

Here is a summary of the questions and answers part of the meeting last Tuesday between Michael Nugent and Jane Donnelly of Atheist Ireland, and the Department of Education’s Forum on Patronage and Pluralism in the Primary Sector.

We were questioned by the Advisory Group to the Forum, which consists of Chairperson Dr. John Coolahan, Professor Emeritus at NUI Maynooth; Dr. Caroline Hussey, former Registrar and Deputy President, UCD; Fionnuala Kilfeather, former Chief Executive of the National Primary Parents Council; and the Secretary to the Forum, Breda Naughton.

You can read the summary on our secular education campaign website Teach Don’t Preach.

 

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Atheist Ireland meets Irish Government Forum on Primary Education

By Michael Nugent | Published: September 7, 2011

Yesterday, Tuesday September 6, Michael Nugent and Jane Donnelly attended the Department of Education’s Forum on Patronage and Pluralism in the Primary Sector. We were there to elaborate on, and answer questions about, the written submission that Atheist Ireland previously made to the Forum.

We were questioned by the Advisory Group to the Forum, which consists of Chairperson Dr. John Coolahan, Professor Emeritus at NUI Maynooth; Dr. Caroline Hussey, former Registrar and Deputy President, UCD; Fionnuala Kilfeather, former Chief Executive of the National Primary Parents Council; and the Secretary to the Forum, Breda Naughton.

You can read more details about this session on our secular education campaign website Teach Don’t Preach.

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Teaching about Religions and Beliefs

By Grania | Published: June 22, 2011

by Jane Donnelly

 

The Mater Dei Institute is at it again.

Link to the pdf of their Submission to the Forum on Education

In their Submission to the Forum on Education they again recommend the Toledo Guiding Principles but state that this education cannot be adequately described by the use of the terms such as “objective”.

These people even quote from the Toledo Guiding Principles but conveniently leave out Page 68 – State neutrality and opt out rights.

“Under International Standards, states have considerable latitude with respect to providing religious education but may not seek to indoctrinate pupils in a particular worldview through the educational system against the wishes of the pupils’ parents. The European Court of human Rights has made clear that:-

The State, in fulfilling the functions assumed by it in regard to education and teaching, must take care that information or knowledge included in the curriculum is conveyed in an objective, critical and pluralistic manner. The state is forbidden to pursue an aim of indoctrination that might not be considered as not respecting parents’ religious and philosophical convictions. This is the limit that must not be exceeded.

The State may satisfy this duty of neutrality either by designing a curriculum that is itself sufficiently impartial and balanced or, in those instances in which the state provides instruction in a particular religion or belief, by granting rights to opt out on the ground of conscientious objection. This right must be realizable in practice, and not a mere theoretical possibility. Moreover, the requisite neutrality would be compromised if pupils were subjected to any disadvantage discrimination or stigma on account of the exercise of this right to be exempted from such classes, or elements of classes.”

What do they not understand about the words ‘objective’ and this is the limit that must not be exceeded. This is something that we must be very careful about as Atheist Ireland supports the Toledo Guiding Principles. We need to ensure that if the Toledo Guiding Principles are introduced it is not the Toledo Guiding Principles according to the Mater Dei Institute which is a foundation of the Archdiocese of Dublin.

Also posted in Politics | Tagged | 2 Comments

Transcripts of WAC talks from ILCAFT & AAU

By Grania | Published: June 9, 2011

Michael Mpagi Kirumira from AAU was unable to make it to the Conference at the last minute, but he sent us his speech which was read out to the audience by Stuart Bechman. We also have the script of Roger Lepeix of ILCAFT who addressed the Conference as well.

Hello Fellow Atheists,

Greetings from the Atheist Association of Uganda. It’s a pleasure to know that we, in Uganda can have a chance to write to this congregation of bright minds. It’s very hard to imagine how life is with other people who see life just as we see it. This was going to be my speech – had I made it to this event! A friend of mine, once told me that there’s only two curses, one is to be born in Africa and to be poor (I do not believe in strong holds and curses but to give you a greater understanding, I have used the words.) Since year 2000, I have received many invitations to speak in conferences, but all my visas are denied, simply because I am poorer – most EU states, Australia, USA and Canada, all think that I will remain in their country. Am not sure why they judge me like that.

Am writing from Uganda, a country whose president (President Museveni), his wife, and the first daughters, are pastors and run a church alongside the State issues. Their church is called The Covenant Nations Church. This church is under Museveni’s daughter Patience Rwaboogo Museveni who is a pastor and her church service airs on LTV here in Kampala. Museveni’s supporters have now created a cult that you may call “Musevenism”. Museveni himself is like a god. We have heard President Museveni himself telling Ugandans to trust and respect God by not challenging him on many issues failing our country. His wife Janet Museveni is the patron of all Pentecostal churches of Uganda and when she was running for Member of Parliament for Ruhama county, she told the masses that she is being sent by God to run for a political office and that she has God’s phone number. Despite of all those allegations, their regime is the most corrupt and oppressive Government. In simple terms, it’s a group of criminals running the Nation’s affairs and, worst of it all, they are supported by Ireland, USA, Australia, and many more. Since year 1994, President Museveni has donated public funds worthy millions of shillings to religious groups and is publically proud of it.

Read More »

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Parents talk about the obstacles in obtaining a secular education for their child in Ireland

By Grania | Published: May 9, 2011

Alex Meehan of the Sunday Business Post interviewed some parents recently who have persevered in trying to get a secular education for their children.  Although parents have the right to ask for their children to be exempted from religious classes at school in Ireland, those who opt for this meet with varying degrees of accommodation from schools and communities alike. Some are indifferent, others very accommodating, and a few even hostile.

One father, whose young child has been shunned by his local community, had this to say:

“People seem to think that I was motivated by wanting to cause trouble, but they have no idea of the lengths I went to to try to solve the problem before going public with it. They don’t know the full story, and they don’t seem to want to find out. It’s very strange that over a difference in opinion, a child gets punished. I’m very surprised by that. I thought we could all just agree to differ and move on, but apparently not.”

Read the whole article here.

Parents interested in finding out more about this issue and their rights can do so by emailing us here, joining our forums or finding us on Facebook.

Also posted in Politics, Secularism | 2 Comments

Atheist Ireland response to European Court ruling on crucifixes in classrooms

By Michael Nugent | Published: March 18, 2011

The European Court of Human Rights today ruled that Italian State schools may display crucifixes on classroom walls, overturning an earlier judgment to the contrary.

Today’s judgment lays down many important points of human rights law in favour of secularism, and it leaves open the possibility of further legal challenges about crucifixes in classrooms where the overall school environment is not secular.

The judgment highlights the obligation of States to convey school teaching in an objective, critical and pluralistic manner, enabling pupils to develop a critical mind particularly with regard to religion in a calm atmosphere free of any proselytism.

The Court found that it is up to each State to decide how to treat this issue, as long as they do not exceed the limit of pursuing an aim of indoctrination that might be considered as not respecting parents’ religious and philosophical convictions.

In this particular case, because the Italian education system is already secular, with an overall school environment that respects all religions, and because the crucifix is not associated with compulsory teaching of Christianity, it found that the display of a crucifix could be seen as a passive symbol.

But these circumstances are not the case in Ireland, where most primary schools are not religiously neutral, but have a religious ethos that permeates the entire school day, and where the Catholic Church itself accepts that the right to opt out of this religious ethos is not always possible in practice.

Just last week the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination “noted with concern that the education system (in Ireland) is still largely denominational and is mainly dominated by the Catholic Church.” This is the fourth time in recent years that UN bodies have raised the issue of freedom of conscience in Irish schools.

Also significantly, the Court today rejected the argument by Italy that the crucifix is not a religious symbol, but is a cultural and ethical one. This is an important victory for secularism, as it prevents religious symbols from being introduced by stealth into secular environments.

Also posted in Secularism | 2 Comments

Atheist Ireland welcomes new forum on Catholic patronage of Irish schools

By Michael Nugent | Published: March 11, 2011

Atheist Ireland welcomes the decision by Minister for Education Ruairi Quinn to establish a forum to identify how schools can be transferred out of Catholic patronage as a matter of immediate priority.

We hope to participate as fully as possible in this forum as an advocacy group for an ethical and secular society.

This has the potential to be the most significant step towards a secular education system ever taken by an Irish Education Minister. However, it is important that the forum vindicates the right of all children to a secular education, and does not leave behind children in geographical areas where there are small numbers of nonreligious people.

Atheist Ireland wants a secular education system based on international human rights law. Parents have a right to not have their children indoctrinated at school with religious beliefs contrary to those of their parents. In Ireland, in practical terms, most nonreligious parents are denied this right.

In fact, it is impossible for this right to be respected in Roman Catholic schools. The Irish Catholic Bishops say that “Catholic schools seek to reflect a distinctive vision of life and a corresponding philosophy of education, based on the Gospel of Jesus Christ.” This ethos permeates the entire curriculum.

The United Nations Human Rights Committee has already told Ireland to increase its efforts to ensure that nondenominational primary education is widely available in all parts of the State.

And the European Court of Human Rights has ruled that children should be taught about religious culture and ethics in an objective, critical and pluralist manner. It has also ruled that primary schools in Italy should not display religious symbols on school walls.

Atheist Ireland believes that State education should be secular. Children should be taught about the diversity of religious beliefs in an objective manner. Children should be educated in critical thinking and the distinction between faith and reason as a guide to knowledge. Faith formation should be a matter for parents and religions.

Atheist Ireland wants a secular state for a pluralist people. This nuance is important: a pluralist society, with freedom of conscience, religion and belief, is best protected by a secular government, with public policy formed by applying reason to evidence.

Also posted in Politics | 5 Comments

UN to monitor racial and religious discrimination in Irish schools

By Michael Nugent | Published: January 24, 2011

The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racism and Discrimination (CERD) will be monitoring Ireland’s record on this issue at meetings from 14 February to 11 March.

The CERD sees a link between racial and religious discrimination. In its last report on Ireland, in 2005, the CERD asked Ireland to establish more nonreligious schools and to ensure that pupils are not discriminated against because of their religion or lack of religion.

Atheist Ireland has sent a submission to the CERD in advance of the meetings at which the CERD will be examining Ireland’s record since then.

You can read the submission here on our Teach, Don’t Preach website.

Posted in Education | 3 Comments

Teach, Don’t Preach: New Website Launched

By Michael Nugent | Published: January 2, 2011

Atheist Ireland has launched a new website as part of our campaign for a secular Irish education system based on human rights law.

http://teachdontpreach.ie includes information, resources and a discussion forum about secular education, and sample letters to help you to opt your child out of religious education classes in your current school. We would welcome any feedback on how it could be improved.

http://teachdontpreach.ie also contains a draft document in which our Education Officer Jane Donnelly argues that secular education is a human right, and that the Irish Government denies that right to its citizens. It covers the following issues:

1. Secular Education is a Human Right
2. Structure and Patronage
3. Access to a School of One’s Choice
4. Information and Knowledge Conveyed
5. Second Level Schools
6. Teacher Training
7. New VEC Community Schools
8. Child Sexual Abuse
9. Conclusion
10. Appendices

We will be sending the final version of this document later this month to the Irish Human Rights Commission, which is preparing recommendations for the Irish Government on the place of religion in education from a human rights perspective. The Commission has asked for the opinions of citizens and groups before 31 January 2011.

This is a lengthy document, but it is very important part of our campaign for a secular education system based on human rights law. Please let us know how you think it could be improved, and please also send a separate submission yourself to the Irish Human Rights Commission.

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An appeal from Atheist Alliance International

By Grania | Published: December 6, 2010

Inoculate Ugandan Children From Magic and Superstition

Two years ago, the Kasese United Humanist Association (KUHA), inaugurated the courageous goal of raising a generation of children in Uganda grounded in freethought, reason, and science. They wanted to break the generational cycle of families passing on myths of magic and superstition and replace it with a solid foundation to allow Uganda to develop the knowledge and skills to raise its communities out of poverty and build a democratic and informed society.

KUHA established a primary school in the Kilembe Valley of southwest Uganda to do just that. This year, AAI joined their efforts by adopting the school as our first AAI Foundation volunteer project. In September of this year, AAI sent four volunteer teachers from North America and Hong Kong to the school to assist the KUHA staff in their goals.

Those combined efforts have brought great success and stature to the school. It is now serving over 250 primary school students. You can read all about their efforts and their successes on their school blog here. But with success comes challenges, and their current challenge is that they have outgrown their current school site and need to relocate to a new site before the start of the 2011 school season. We have a need to raise $4,000 to purchase and refurbish the new school site before class starts again in February 2011.

Our teaching volunteers have been regularly blogging on the difference their efforts are making as well as on what challenges the school faces to meet this demand for 2011. You can read their blog on the AAI website here.

We have only a few weeks to raise these funds for KUHA’s new school. With your contribution, KUHA and AAI can make a permanent difference in inoculating Uganda’s next generation with science and reason. Please visit our KUHA Primary School webpage to consider making a year-end contribution.

About the AAI Foundation

The AAI Foundation is a project of the Atheist Alliance International to foster cross-cultural understanding and promotion of reason, empiricism and science through the funding and support of good works in the world through service. Our inspiration is Tom Paine: “My church is my mind; my country is the world; and my religion is to do good.”

All donations made to the KUHA School project are through the Atheist Alliance International, a registered 501(c)(3) corporation in the United States, and are tax-deductible in the United States.

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