We need your help now
Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.
You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.
If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.
Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
By continuing, you are indicating that you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
As 96% of Irish primary schools are religious-run, enrolment policies are coming under more and more scrutiny each September. In this three-day special series, TheJournal.ie explores the role religion plays in our classrooms and what’s being done in the sector.
ONE OF THE key arguments for religious-run schools is that they are frequently among the best-performing in terms of the educational outcomes they produce.
In Ireland it is virtually impossible to comprehensively check that claim. That is because there is a massive disproportion of schools under religious control compared to secular ones.
So, while religious schools are always in the top 10 or 20 of those sending students to Trinity College or UCD, the variables are too wide to say that one is “better”.
Marie
“Is a religious education better for students? It’s not about that,” says Marie*.
She describes herself as a “modern Irish Catholic” – she goes to mass at Christmas and Easter, but still holds profoundly Catholic views, particularly around education.
She teaches fourth classes at a school in Meath.
The way I would see it is the Catholic ethos isn’t just about indoctrination, it’s about us recognising that we can teach children more than maths.
But shouldn’t the moral guidance come from home?
“It absolutely should. But we’re in contact with the kids all day. We see their social relationships and we can advise them using the Catholic moral structure.”
Discipline
Alex*, who teaches Senior Infants in a Catholic school in Kildare, says the Catholic ethos can be as much about discipline as guidance.
“Catholic schools are more strict, the academic side of things follows in that pattern then. But you can’t say one is better than the other – academically – because every child is different.
“The school routine, in my opinion, is better in a Catholic school.
But that’s my opinion only and I’m coming as a Catholic teacher in a Catholic school who is a Catholic.
Steven* who is an atheist teacher in a north Dublin school actually agrees with that.
“I have worked in a non-denominational school and a faith school and, if I was totally honest, the faith school is easier in a way.”
That is, he says, because children are given less latitude and freedom, which makes teachers’ jobs easier.
“That over-riding sense of discipline can work for a teacher.”
Sacraments
Alex says that the actual teaching of religion is still largely focused on the sacraments. To that end, teaching practice is catered around preparing teachers to front-load the work to first and fifth classes.
“The communion is their first introduction to religion as opposed to quiet time or personal time. In sixth class you open up to confirmation and the Gift of the Holy Spirit is taught. But they are the two exceptional years.
“It goes back to the basis of the teaching then [that] they got in Senior Infants and first class after their communion.
“From third to fifth class, they look at their relationships – friends and how to respect to other people in a deeper way.”
Home truths
Gillian Flanagan is a mother of three based in Stillorgan, Dublin. As a practising Catholic she is happy with the way religion is currently being taught in Irish primary schools.
She told TheJournal.ie, “We pray in our house, we go to mass, I’m happy my kids are in an environment that accepts that.”
“Christian moral values are the basis of most of our laws in this country – there shouldn’t be a conflict between good behaviour and an emphasis on good Christian values.”
Flanagan said the basis of her children’s faith “comes from me – not the school” but added that she is happy that the sacraments are prepared for during school time as she feels that after school activities are difficult for children at communion age as they are too tired to absorb what’s going on.
“My eldest is going in to do his Holy Communion next year … the fact that the communion preparation is done through school is something we are happy about.”
When asked about calls for religion to be taken out of schools, Flanagan said:
“If you look at census figures from 2011, 84% put down they are Catholic – so it’s not that unreasonable that the majority of Irish schools have a Catholic ethos, especially when religious orders are running those schools.
“The state needs to step up and build other schools and not necessarily take religion out of schools”
Daniel* disagrees. He has a child in a Catholic school, but doesn’t want them to be taught a Catholic moral code.
“He’s six and a Catholic school is the only one in the town, but why should he be taught something I don’t believe?
“It’s not that I don’t respect the ethos or what the Church is doing, it’s just…
“It’s something I’m not comfortable with, to be honest. I think the kids should learn about religions, but not just one.”
Flanagan, however, said that she is happy the ethos of her children’s school is one where Christian values are respected.
“I’m very happy that my kids are able to talk about going to mass and they don’t have 20 children laughing at them that they went to mass.”
*Names changed at request of interviewees.
By Cliodhna Russell, Sinead O’Carroll and Paul Hosford
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Use precise geolocation data. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Store and/or access information on a device. Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development.
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work.
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then these services may not function properly.
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not be able to monitor our performance.
Cookies, device or similar online identifiers (e.g. login-based identifiers, randomly assigned identifiers, network based identifiers) together with other information (e.g. browser type and information, language, screen size, supported technologies etc.) can be stored or read on your device to recognise it each time it connects to an app or to a website, for one or several of the purposes presented here.
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times an ad is presented to you).
Information about your activity on this service (such as forms you submit, content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (for example, information from your previous activity on this service and other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (that might include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present advertising that appears more relevant based on your possible interests by this and other entities.
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on your advertising profiles, which can reflect your activity on this service or other websites or apps (like the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects.
Information about your activity on this service (for instance, forms you submit, non-advertising content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (such as your previous activity on this service or other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (which might for example include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present content that appears more relevant based on your possible interests, such as by adapting the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find content that matches your interests.
Content presented to you on this service can be based on your content personalisation profiles, which can reflect your activity on this or other services (for instance, the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects. This can for example be used to adapt the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find (non-advertising) content that matches your interests.
Information regarding which advertising is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine how well an advert has worked for you or other users and whether the goals of the advertising were reached. For instance, whether you saw an ad, whether you clicked on it, whether it led you to buy a product or visit a website, etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of advertising campaigns.
Information regarding which content is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine whether the (non-advertising) content e.g. reached its intended audience and matched your interests. For instance, whether you read an article, watch a video, listen to a podcast or look at a product description, how long you spent on this service and the web pages you visit etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of (non-advertising) content that is shown to you.
Reports can be generated based on the combination of data sets (like user profiles, statistics, market research, analytics data) regarding your interactions and those of other users with advertising or (non-advertising) content to identify common characteristics (for instance, to determine which target audiences are more receptive to an ad campaign or to certain contents).
Information about your activity on this service, such as your interaction with ads or content, can be very helpful to improve products and services and to build new products and services based on user interactions, the type of audience, etc. This specific purpose does not include the development or improvement of user profiles and identifiers.
Content presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type, or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times a video or an article is presented to you).
With your acceptance, your precise location (within a radius of less than 500 metres) may be used in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
With your acceptance, certain characteristics specific to your device might be requested and used to distinguish it from other devices (such as the installed fonts or plugins, the resolution of your screen) in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Your data can be used to monitor for and prevent unusual and possibly fraudulent activity (for example, regarding advertising, ad clicks by bots), and ensure systems and processes work properly and securely. It can also be used to correct any problems you, the publisher or the advertiser may encounter in the delivery of content and ads and in your interaction with them.
Certain information (like an IP address or device capabilities) is used to ensure the technical compatibility of the content or advertising, and to facilitate the transmission of the content or ad to your device.
Information about your activity on this service may be matched and combined with other information relating to you and originating from various sources (for instance your activity on a separate online service, your use of a loyalty card in-store, or your answers to a survey), in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
In support of the purposes explained in this notice, your device might be considered as likely linked to other devices that belong to you or your household (for instance because you are logged in to the same service on both your phone and your computer, or because you may use the same Internet connection on both devices).
Your device might be distinguished from other devices based on information it automatically sends when accessing the Internet (for instance, the IP address of your Internet connection or the type of browser you are using) in support of the purposes exposed in this notice.
The choices you make regarding the purposes and entities listed in this notice are saved and made available to those entities in the form of digital signals (such as a string of characters). This is necessary in order to enable both this service and those entities to respect such choices.
have your say