Most schools are not complying with legal requirements which require them to detail arrangements for students who do not wish to attend religious instruction, according to a new survey. Children have a constitutional right not to attend religious instruction and the Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018 obliges schools to detail how they will facilitate this in their admissions policies. A recent OECD report shows that Irish primary schools are second only to Israel in the amount of time spent on compulsory religious instruction. “This will be enforced by requiring it to be explicitly stated in the admissions policy of religious schools as to how they propose to honour that,” he said. Among State or Education and Training Board schools, the survey found most drew a distinction between “religious instruction” – which they said amounted to faith formation – and “religious education” which they said was education about religion and beliefs generally.

Source: The Irish Times November 16, 2020 00:00 UTC