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| 25-November-2025 |
In Ireland the Catholic church uses the word ‘indoctrination’ to mean forcing children into Catholicism. The education system goes along with this definition. But that is not how the European Court defines the word.
The European Court uses the word ‘indoctrination’ in relation to Article 2 of Protocol 1 (the right to education) of the European Convention. It and the UK Supreme Court use it as a synonym for evangelism and proselytising, devoid of any negative connotations.
Supreme Court in the UK
The Supreme Court in the recent UK case said the following about the word ‘indoctrination’.
10. One of the issues on this appeal is whether teaching of religious education, which is not undertaken in an objective, critical, and pluralistic manner, amounts to pursuit of the aim of “indoctrination.”
It is important when addressing that issue to emphasise that Christians wish to encourage others to believe that “[t]here is but one living and true God” and to encourage others to practise the Christian faith as the only path to salvation: see the first Article of Religion in the Church of Ireland, see the first Article of the Church of Ireland 2009 Declaration on the 39 Articles of Religion, and see John 14:6, and Acts 4:12.
The word “indoctrination” ordinarily has negative connotations but in the context of the Christian faith it is a synonym for evangelism or proselytising. It means winning others over so that they believe in and practice the Christian faith. In that sense indoctrination is an entirely proper Christian missionary process which seeks to secure salvation for others.
The word “indoctrination” is used in this judgment as a synonym for evangelism and proselytising devoid of any negative connotations.
In essence, the Court found that if education and teaching is not objective, critical and pluralistic then the state is pursuing an aim of indoctrination by not respecting parents’ convictions.
Irish Schools
All Irish Schools indoctrinate children into either one religion or to a religious understanding of the world.
Schools do not respect all parents’ religious and philosophical convictions, by ensuring that any education and teaching is objective, critical and pluralistic. Specifically, they do not recognise the positive aspect of the right, of parents with philosophical beliefs, to respect for their convictions.
- All primary schools Patron bodies have their own Patron’s course, and every one of them claims that it is inclusive.
- At second level the State has a religious education course. The main aim of this course is to develop values to enable students to come to an understanding of religion and its relevance to life and relationships, that is indoctrination.
- In addition schools can deliver the curriculum according to their ethos. In Catholic schools at second level, the RE curriculum course is delivered through the Guidelines for the Faith formation and development of Catholic students. Parents are never informed that this is happening. Both the education and the teaching is indoctrination.
If all parents’ religious and philosophical convictions are not respected, then the state is pursuing an aim of indoctrination by not respecting them. There is both a positive and a negative aspect of the right to respect all parents’ convictions under the European Convention.
You can read our Article here on what the European Court has defined as ‘respect’ under the Convention.
No legal guidelines
The Department of Education has no statutory guidelines in place on respecting all parents’ religious and philosophical convictions in state aided schools.
The Catholic Church Guidelines on other faiths in Catholic school stated that:
The general programme of the school will be considered as a form of pre-evangelisation. This promotes a human development that focuses on the emotional and aesthetic, thus enabling the young person to experience God at a deep and spiritual level.
In the updated version of these Guidelines that sentence was removed. That does not mean that Catholic schools are not places of missionary activity. The updated version of these Guidelines makes clear that the education and teaching is not objective, critical and pluralistic.
The Supreme Court held in 1998 in the Campaign case that if parents choose to send their children to a school with a religious ethos, then they can expect them to be influenced by the ethos in the general atmosphere. of the school. Of course, the vast majority of parents have no choice but to send their children to their local publicly funded school.
Conclusion
The Irish state does not protect children from ‘indoctrination’ when they are accessing their right to education. Instead:
- The state ‘provides for’ the education of all children in either denominational, interdenominational or multi-denominational schools.
- It does not require schools to deliver any education and teaching in an objective, critical and pluralistic manner.
- No Patron body claims its ethos is objective, critical and pluralistic and in accordance with Article 2 of Protocol 1 of the European Convention .
- None of them recognise the positive obligation to respect atheist, humanist and families from secular backgrounds.
- There are no non-denominational schools in Ireland. Schools are registered as either, denominational, interdenominational or multi-denominational. Atheism, humanism and secularism are not denominations.
The Irish state has failed to recognise its positive obligation to respect all parents’ religious or philosophical convictions, and therefore is pursuing an aim of indoctrination.
Atheist Ireland continues to campaign for a secular education system based on human rights principles that respects everyone equally regardless of their religious or nonreligious beliefs.
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