Religious Reasons and Public Reason: Recalibrating Ireland’s Benevolent Secularism (original) (raw)
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The Republic of Ireland has an education system that is state aided and relies on patronage. The ownership of primary schools in Ireland is quite complex. Generally speaking, they are privately owned and the state contributes to the running costs. While the school ethos is decided by the owners, the operating rules are largely set by the State. Historical developments have led to a situation where in the primary sector the state directly and fully controls only a very small number of schools and 93% of schools are under the patronage of The Roman Catholic Church in Ireland. Ireland remains a country where the predominant faith is Roman Catholicism but there have been, especially in the second half of the twentieth century and the first decades of this century, very definite changes in society that have led, firstly, to the population being more multi-cultural and, secondly, to Ireland being more secular that it once was. It is generally accepted that we now live in a secular society with a free secular media. Firstly, how true is that in reality given that many elements of the Irish legislature and of its constitution remain imbued with Christian doctrine? Secondly, if, as is generally understood, we have developed into a more secular society, where did it begin and to what extent has the media been responsible? Thirdly, and what will be the main focus of this thesis, why does Ireland still not have a true state funded and managed educational system but instead continues to function with a system that is almost entirely under the patronage of the majority ethos? Finally, what is likely to be the result of current debates involving the state, the religious institutions and the media on patronage in primary education?
Religion and education in Ireland: growing diversity – or losing faith in the system?
This paper examines the evolution of the state-supported denominational education system in Ireland in the context of increasing social diversity, and considers the capacity for incremental change in a system of institutional pluralism hitherto dominated by a single religion. In particular, we examine challenges to the historical arrangements emerging in two recent contentious issues: cuts in special funding for Protestant secondary schools and proposed diversification of the patronage of primary schools, revealing pressures on the dominant role of the Catholic Church and on the privileged place of religion in education. We identify a shift towards a more varied pluralism, or greater 'diversity of schools', in which multi-or non-denominational schools now feature more prominently, rather than towards either a secular system or privileged recognition of religious schools. These developments entail a change in the historical balance of religious equality and freedoms: from leaning more towards collective religious freedom and equality among religions, to tilting more towards individual religious freedom and non-discrimination. Yet the limited possibilities of incremental change are suggested by delays in changes of patronage, and the emerging balance displays continuing tensions between individual and collective freedom, clustered around 'diversity in schools': the integration of religion in the curriculum, religious instruction in the school day, and the accommodation of children and teachers of other beliefs in religious schools.
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This article problematises the place of religion within publicly managed Education and Training Board (ETB) schools in the Republic of Ireland. The study draws on interview data from 43 school personnel across 18 ETB second‐level schools, as well as eight interviews with ETB Education/Chief Executive Officers. Having established the legal and historical contexts, the place of religion is explored from the perspective of school life and prescribed curriculum. Across the 18 schools, the prescribed curriculum for Religious Education did not take the form of ‘faith formation’. Rather, focus was placed on exploring all world religions. However, this compares with the role of religion within the life of the school; 14 of the 18 participating schools had religious dimensions as part of school life. Half of these schools (n = 7) were Designated Community Colleges, while the remainder were Non‐Designated (n = 7). The religious dimension was always Catholic in nature. Bar a few exceptions, th...
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In the article an attempt is made to deal with the so-called Bockenforde dilemma: “The liberal secular state lives from sources it cannot guarantee itself”. The dilemma behind this phrase consists of the following two alternatives: either the liberal state ignores religion and thus runs the danger of loosing its cohesive forces. Or it promotes religion with the risk of loosing its neutrality in religious affairs. First, three traditional models for describing the public role of religion in liberal democratic societies are critically discussed: the civil religion, the Western Occident and the discourse models. Second, the re-affirmation of a positive public role for religion in democratic societies in recent sociology and social philosophy is pointed out. Third, a case is made out for the recognition of a positive freedom, instead of only a negative freedom of religion. In conclusion a number of guidelines for a public theology that gives content to the positive freedom of religion i...
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Although secularisation theory offers grand analytical possibilities for monitoring changing religious tendencies on political, social, and cultural levels it is also greatly disadvantageous in accounting for particularities of small-scale variations in specific socio-geographic areas. Therefore, this paper argues that the neo-secularisation concept offers a greater sociological potential in this regard. Through the analysis of the macro, mezzo and micro levels of Irish social landscape, the paper provides an in-depth understanding of a changing religious field. The central arguments of the paper are tested against variety of data including quantitative and qualitative studies.
Religion as public good and private choice in Irish constitutional doctrine
Over the lifespan of the Irish Constitution, there has been relatively little detailed doctrinal development of principles of freedom of religion, Church-State relations, denominational autonomy and so forth. There is nothing akin to the voluminous and intricate case law around the "free exercise" and "non-establishment clauses" of the United States Constitution. On the other hand, certain decisive trends can be observed concerning the status, role and conception of religion itself within the Irish constitutional order. The judicial understanding of religion, and its public role, has been influenced by wider social patterns. In reality, the text of the Constitution is flexible and ambiguous enough to accommodate quite divergent theoretical understandings of religion, its status and importance, and its relation to the State. It can be read, on the one hand, as embracing religion -and perhaps a particular version of it -as an integral aspect of the common good, to be protected and promoted by the State as such. Alternatively, it can be understood, in a more liberal light, as placing religion in the "private" sphere, understood largely as a matter of individual choice rather than as an intrinsic part of the common good. I will argue that, despite some digressions, the Irish case law has evolved towards a more liberal understanding of religion and its relation to the State. This is particularly salient in the context of education, where State support for religious schools is now understood simply as facilitating and vindicating parental choice, rather than expressing any public status for religion as such. Taken in itself, this thesis may seem quite uncontroversial. However, I will also argue that a constitutional understanding of the State simply as a facilitator of religious "choice" -while remaining neutral towards religion itself -introduces some important contradictions. I will argue that since the exercise of religious "choice" in practice is dependent on various resource-based and demographic contingencies -and particularly the exercise of initiative by various voluntary groups -it is difficult to reconcile with the idea of religious "freedom" WORKING PAPER -eoin.daly@nuigalway.ie 2 conceived of as an individual right. It also seems inconsistent with the status and protection the Constitution offers to religion as such.