Sir, – It is truly remarkable that any local taxpayer-funded school should feel a need to make claims about its "hospitality" ("Catholic schools are marked by a spirit of hospitality to all", Education, January 28th). In a modern, pluralist republic, should this not go without saying? Schools must be equally respectful of all families in the local communities they serve, irrespective of their religious affiliation or lack thereof. This is not a high bar.
As Education Equality has heard first-hand from many parents, however, in reality it is a bar that many schools fail to reach. If they were truly marked by a spirit of hospitality and inclusiveness, would the Government recently have felt compelled to enact legislation prohibiting Catholic-run schools from discriminating against unbaptised children in their enrolment policies? The term “inclusivity”, in this context, often simply means treating all pupils as Catholic even if they are not. This is not inclusion. Inclusion is not bestowed – it’s about belonging, by right. Many parents speak of conforming to the school’s “ethos” through duress, rather than from religious faith, while children who opt out of religious indoctrination are made to feel different and will experience institutionalised exclusion during their crucial formative years.
The experience of one parent who spoke to us is instructive. When enquiring about enrolling her child in the local Catholic-run school, she asked what the school’s opt-out policy was. The response? “There’s a school down the road for families like yours.” Readers in any doubt might like to ask their local school for a copy of their inclusion policy, or try searching their website for an opt-out policy for non-Catholic children. They will be met by blank looks and empty search results – and if not, we would love to hear from them. In reality, children who exercise their constitutional right not to receive religious instruction are typically moved to the back of the classroom and given mindless busywork, while continuing to absorb the teacher’s lesson regardless.
Less than 4 per cent of marriages were celebrated in a civil ceremony in 1990, while over 93 per cent were Catholic. By 2018, the proportion of couples choosing a non-religious ceremony had climbed to 39 per cent, while only 48 per cent chose a Catholic ceremony. If long-term trends continue, non-religious marriage ceremonies will actually overtake Catholic ceremonies this year or next. The freedom of conscience that these couples enjoy when choosing how to marry will be lost once their children start school.
Education Equality advocates on behalf of the growing number of families affected by religion-based discrimination and segregation in the Irish education system. If “hospitality to all” were truly as common as this article suggests, it would be unremarkable. And voluntary, parent-led human rights groups such as ours would have no need to exist. – Yours, etc,
DAVID GRAHAM,
Communications Officer,
Education Equality,
Malahide,
Co Dublin.