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| 21-July-2026 |
The Supreme Court said that Community Schools were denominational schools, and that it was not an endowment of religion to assist parents in this manner.
But the Department of Education presents these schools as the alternative to denominational schools!
The Supreme Court also held that it was constitutionally impermissible for a Chaplain to instruct a child in a religion other than his own without the knowledge and consent of the parents. The contract of Chaplains obliges them to teach four hours per week.
Chaplains instruct children without the knowledge or consent of their parents, as schools claim that curriculum Religious Education is not religious instruction under Article 44.2.4 of the Constitution.
Also, the Department of Education claims that religious instruction under Article 44.2.4 just means instruction according to the rights of a particular religion. The Supreme Court has never said this and neither has the Oireachtas.
The Supreme Court has said that, whatever the position in other constitutional arrangements, the executive under the Irish Constitution is not generally empowered to directly affect the rights of citizens.
This interference by the Department of Education in our constitution rights has resulted in the undermining of parental rights, as children are just enrolled in curriculum religion classes without the consent of their parents.
The Department, Patron bodies, schools, the NCCA and teachers now decide for parents what is or is not suitable religious education for their children.
Curriculum religion is not an objective, critical and pluralistic and it is against our conscience, and Chaplains should not be instructing our children in this course.
The Supreme Court held that the inalienable right of parents in relation to the religious education of their children under Article 42.1 of the Constitution must be read in the context of Article 44.2.4 of the Constitution, the right to not attend religious instruction.
The Court also held that Article 42.1 means that the state cannot interfere in the rights of parents in relation to the education of their children.
The decision of the Department of Education to interfere directly with our rights as parents, in relation to the religious education of our children, undermines our constitutional rights. Atheist Ireland continues to campaign to protect these rights.
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