Uploaded September 2011 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
From The Late Late Show 2nd September 2011
The vast majority of schools in Ireland are State funded but Catholic run. This is nowhere more obvious than in the primary school sector. Parents who do not wish their children to receive religious instruction find it very difficult to locate a school where their children will not be subject to Catholic indoctrination.
If they are extremely lucky, they will find a multi-denominational school nearby. For most, however, the only schools within their area will be Catholic schools. As the experiences recounted here illustrate, even when an agreement is reached with a school to accommodate parents desire for a religiously neutral education for their children, in reality our national schools continue to indoctrinate Catholicism, with the assistance of State funds.
The question here is whether the State should continue to support a school system that is organised around one religious ethos, or to separate religious and academic education entirely. Religious indoctrination should be optional, not inevitable.
From The Late Late Show 2nd September 2011
The vast majority of schools in Ireland are State funded but Catholic run. This is nowhere more obvious than in the primary school sector. Parents who do not wish their children to receive religious instruction find it very difficult to locate a school where their children will not be subject to Catholic indoctrination.
If they are extremely lucky, they will find a multi-denominational school nearby. For most, however, the only schools within their area will be Catholic schools. As the experiences recounted here illustrate, even when an agreement is reached with a school to accommodate parents desire for a religiously neutral education for their children, in reality our national schools continue to indoctrinate Catholicism, with the assistance of State funds.
The question here is whether the State should continue to support a school system that is organised around one religious ethos, or to separate religious and academic education entirely. Religious indoctrination should be optional, not inevitable.
