Denominational education

Denominational education is a term used for religious education, or education in a school owned by a religious organisation, in the Republic of Ireland.

In the Republic of Ireland, the vast majority of the country's primary schools are owned or managed (or both) by religious organisations. In 2007, and of the national total of 3,279 schools, 3039 (92.7%) were controlled by the Catholic Church, 183 (5.6%) were controlled by the Church of Ireland, 0.7% were controlled by other religious organisations while 1% were controlled by organisations which were not affiliated with any particular religion. This system of religious control was instituted according to the Stanley Letter of 1831. Amongst the country's secondary schools, voluntary secondary schools, comprehensive schools and community schools, the majority are again generally controlled by religious organisations.

Fintan O'Toole has criticised this aspect of the educational system, as has Seán Flynn, education correspondent of The Irish Times. Former Taoiseach Garret FitzGerald has also criticised the denominational system. The Humanist Association of Ireland, Atheist Ireland and other groups have likewise objected to the denominational system, believing that it introduces artificial divisions within Irish society. The Irish Primary Principals Network conducted a survey that found that 72% of parents wanted primary schools to be managed by the state with all religions given equal opportunity.

In June 2009 and referring obliquely to the events of Diswellstown the previous year (in which the children of parents who were not catholic church-goers, mostly immigrants to the country, were refused entry to the local primary school, producing a group of largely non-white children who had no school to attend) the Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin, said that the current denominational system is "not tenable" and that "the current almost monopoly is a historical hangover that doesn't reflect the realities of the times" and has called for the Catholic Church to cede control of many schools. As of August 2010, the Catholic Church has yet to cede control of any schools. The Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference, however, supports denominational education, as does The Iona Institute, a small organisation based in Dublin which campaigns upon a range of issues of interest to conservative Catholics.

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