Where Does Funding Religion End, And Funding Political Campaigning Start?

Atheist Ireland ★ The laws around receiving political donations from abroad are skewed towards religious bodies.

22-September-2026

All a foreign third party needs to do is to donate to the religious organisation in Ireland on the grounds that it is donating for religious purposes. There is no limit to what they can donate.

By contrast, organisations such as Atheist Ireland are limited in the donations they can get from abroad. We are registered with the SIPO (Standards in Public Office) Commission as a third party. We campaign politically to change law and policy, especially in relation to the education system.

There are two issues here:

One is that the Catholic Church, a powerful global organisation that switches between calling itself a religion and a State, has a privileged position in Ireland with regard to the donations it accepts from within Ireland and abroad.
Two is that very conservative religious organisations, and people from other countries with similar motivations, have the same privilege when they want to influence law and policy in Ireland.

Campaigning on Political Grounds

Religious organisations, like all other organisations, are of course entitled to campaign politically within the public square, and to try to influence the outcome of referendums. However, it is only fair that there is a level playing field.

But the law benefits religious bodies more than ethical secular bodies. It does not require organisations to declare how they are funding all of their political activities, just what is being donated for political purposes and how that is spent.

If you donate to the Catholic Church, you are donating to promote their religious teachings within the public square. But that can include seeking to change law and policy. The question is: where does religion end and political campaigning start?

Religious organisations might argue that they use their own money to fund their political purposes, and use donations to fund their religious purposes. If so, the donations for religious purposes free up the other money to use for political purposes.

So this legislation, and its regulation, leaves all religious bodies with the ability to continue to influence political campaigns and policy, while it restricts the ability of ethical secular bodies from getting donations to do the same.

Conclusion

Quite clearly Atheist Ireland, the Catholic Church and many other religious bodies all campaign to change law and policy. The Catholic Church must make returns for the Lobbying Register because they campaign around:

The initiation, development or modification of any public policy or of any public programme
The preparation or amendment of any law

So why are they given a privileged position? Particularly when third parties from other countries, with similar motivations, are seeking to influence law and policy in Ireland.

A powerful religious organisation, that switches between calling itself a religion and a State, has a privileged position in Ireland with regard to the donations it accepts from within Ireland and abroad.

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