An interesting article on how Irish schools came under control of religion

[skev]

This is an interesting article on how Irish schools came under control of religion

How religion made its way into primary school system - The Irish Times - Sat, Feb 13, 2010

[White Horse]

Yes. I read this article yesterday and it is a typically excellent piece of social history by Garrett.

[rant_and_rave]

This is an interesting article on how Irish schools came under control of religion

How religion made its way into primary school system - The Irish Times - Sat, Feb 13, 2010

I read the article and it is interesting but I fail to see the point. In practice non Catholics attending Catholic schools, primary and secondary, have always been exempt from RE classes and activities related to preparation for first communion and confirmation. That continued after 1972.

What does "permeate the whole curriculum" mean?

Drawing on this assertion, in 1971 the Department of Education, under Padraic Faulkner, issued new rules for primary education based, “on the following theses . . . that the separation of religious and secular instruction into differentiated subject compartments, [which had been a key element of the system since its inception] serves only to throw the whole educational function out of focus”.Thenceforth, religion was to permeate the whole curriculum.


I could understand if Garret was referring to 1872 and not 1972. I would suggest that the spirit of liberalism that engulfed the Catholic Church after Vatican 2 would have undermined the conservative moral values that Garret himself was trying to change and this would have been reflected in what was taught in the schools. Indeed my research indicates that little or no religion was taught in Irish secondary schools from the 1970s onwards. Would those of you who have been through the Irish secondary school system like to comment on this? How much time did the schools spend on RE compared to other subjects?

[factual]

This is an interesting article on how Irish schools came under control of religion

How religion made its way into primary school system - The Irish Times - Sat, Feb 13, 2010

It is well past time that we took religious control out of our schools.

[rant_and_rave]

Just asked an Irish friend about this. Their RE was one hour a week and consisted mainly of general discussions about ethics i.e. how to be a good person. And that was in a Jesuit school? I have a lots of time for Garret because he is one of the more honest politicians but where does he get his ideas from?

[SevenStars]

Just asked an Irish friend about this. Their RE was one hour a week and consisted mainly of general discussions about ethics i.e. how to be a good person. And that was in a Jesuit school? I have a lots of time for Garret because he is one of the more honest politicians but where does he get his ideas from?

Jesuits tend to be the worse type of liberal though.

Also you are forgetting that certain "ethoses" will always permeate a school.

Maybe better Religious ones than those of an utter utilitarian capitalism.

[SevenStars]

It is well past time that we took religious control out of our schools.

So much for your tolerance

[factual]

Jesuits tend to be the worse type of liberal though.

Also you are forgetting that certain "ethoses" will always permeate a school.

Maybe better Religious ones than those of an utter utilitarian capitalism.

I think moving forward it would be better to have schools that are inclusive for all or no religious people. We have a lot more immigration and we want to be inclusive of all regardless of religion.

[factual]

So much for your tolerance

Removing religious control would remove religious intolerance.

We need to move on.

[Catalpa]

I read the article and it is interesting but I fail to see the point. In practice non Catholics attending Catholic schools, primary and secondary, have always been exempt from RE classes and activities related to preparation for first communion and confirmation. That continued after 1972.

What does "permeate the whole curriculum" mean?

Drawing on this assertion, in 1971 the Department of Education, under Padraic Faulkner, issued new rules for primary education based, “on the following theses . . . that the separation of religious and secular instruction into differentiated subject compartments, [which had been a key element of the system since its inception] serves only to throw the whole educational function out of focus”.Thenceforth, religion was to permeate the whole curriculum.


I could understand if Garret was referring to 1872 and not 1972. I would suggest that the spirit of liberalism that engulfed the Catholic Church after Vatican 2 would have undermined the conservative moral values that Garret himself was trying to change and this would have been reflected in what was taught in the schools. Indeed my research indicates that little or no religion was taught in Irish secondary schools from the 1970s onwards. Would those of you who have been through the Irish secondary school system like to comment on this? How much time did the schools spend on RE compared to other subjects?

I went to a Catholic only school from 1960 to 1971 & while religous education was part and parcel of the deal it wasn't excessive

- indeed in our last two years it was pretty open about all the possibilities.