Luke Lennon has been teaching in a multi-denominational school in Greystones, Co Wicklow, for ten years. He loves the job, but it is a long commute from his rural home where he lives with his wife, a nurse, and three children.

“With costs rising, I thought that we could save time and money if I could work in a more local school,” says Lennon, who teaches at Greystones Educate Together National School. “When a job came up in a Catholic school, I applied, but I was told that the religious cert was necessary. That was the moment when I realised that I could not apply for the majority of teaching jobs within a 30km radius of my house.”

With almost 90 per cent of schools under Catholic patronage, many teacher-training courses advise students that taking the certificate in religious studies – known as the CRS – is needed to boost their chances of getting a job.

The Catholic Education Partnership, an umbrella body for Catholic schools, confirms that the certificate is a necessary qualification to teach in a Catholic school due to the way religion is integrated into the curriculum.

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“A person does not need to be of the Catholic faith to gain the qualification and religious affiliation is not something asked of candidates in interviews,” says Alan Hynes, the partnership’s chief executive. “Candidates are asked to demonstrate a knowledge of the Catholic ethos.”

The content is described as offering knowledge and skills for “communicating the Catholic faith to children at primary school”, according to a document produced by Irish bishops

Many Church of Ireland schools also seek a Protestant version of the certificate. A separate certificate in “ethical and multi-denominational education” is available for teachers interested in teaching in multi-denominational schools such as Educate Together or Community National Schools managed by education and training boards.

Critics of the CRS requirement say would-be teachers who are not believing Christians, or who are unwilling to pretend they are, are effectively debarred from most schools at a time when the system is suffering from a shortage of qualified teachers.

Catholic groups, however, see the requirements of the religious certificate in a much different light. They say it also explores issues around inter-culturalism, religious diversity and the importance of promoting respect for all pupils.

They see the religious education programme as a subject that is taught in a manner that complements other curricular areas, such as history, geography, art and music.

So, how big an issue is the religious certificate in employment at primary level? And is it a barrier to recruitment at a time of teacher shortages?

Anecdotally, some teachers talk about pretending to be Catholic in order to secure a job. In a job interview situation, it’s hard to know how strictly a school will adhere to the requirement for a religious certificate.

A recent circular from the Department of Education, issued to school boards of management, forbids applicants from attaching their religious certificate to their application form, yet some applicants say they were excluded from interview by schools because they did not send the form.

The Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO) raised the issue; the upshot is the circular takes precedence. But, is it legitimate to exclude a teacher based on religion?

“It is legitimate, as the law says they can do it,” says John Boyle, INTO general secretary, who notes that the Constitution gives primacy to religious education. “The Constitution give primacy to religious education, so if a teacher doesn’t want to teach it, they can teach in a multi-denominational school.”

Garret Campbell, project lead with the Migrant Teacher Project, which supports teachers from other countries to enter the profession, says it is very difficult to gather data on this issue – although he has tried.

“It has emerged as an issue, especially with so many Ukrainian teachers in schools,” he says. “But we are hearing of more cases where the board of management chair, under instruction, is insisting on teachers having the cert.”

One former teacher, who asked not to be identified, says religion is a key reason why she left the profession. She completed her graduate diploma in primary teaching in 2011 and was struck by how many students felt obliged to undertake the optional certificate, whether they were believers or not.

“I ultimately decided not to become a teacher, and one of the major factors was that I felt I would be untrue to myself if I was teaching Catholic faith formation,” she says. “Over ten years on, I’m now a parent of two small children. It’s very disappointing to see how little has changed.”

Simon Lewis, principal, Carlow Educate Together National School, who is Jewish, says he had no choice but to work in an Educate Together school. He notes that section 37 of the Employment Equality Act allows primary schools to discriminate against teachers on religious grounds in recruitment.

“I once interviewed for a position in a Catholic school. I was asked about upholding the ethos and I thought I could be honest and say I am Jewish. The interview lasted no longer than five minutes. So many teachers lie. I don’t know how it serves Catholic children to lie.”

Asking a teacher to uphold the ethos of a school, he says, means being a missionary and promoting Catholicism throughout the school day, with a Christian-centric world view.

“My job prospects are so limited. In the context of teacher shortages, this cannot be helping, but it’s next to impossible to gather data on how many thought about becoming a teacher but decided against it due to these religious requirements,” he says.

In Lennon’s case, he studied for his teaching qualification in Edinburgh and didn’t complete a certificate in religious education.

“People ask me why I don’t just go along with it, as a lot of teachers do in order to get work. I hear anecdotally of some schools not checking, and I was even advised to go for a job and hope that I wasn’t asked about having the certificate,” he says.

“But I felt that I couldn’t take that risk: my wages are essential for my family. It’s also very expensive at €1,200 and with the cost of living so high, I didn’t feel I could justify training to teach something that would make me unhappy.”

He says Educate Together’s “learn together” curriculum teaches about all major religions, morals, ethics, beliefs and justice. Lennon says he has no problem teaching this.

“I was baptised a Catholic, but I am not practising. I studied ethics in college and try to stick to my morals as much as I can. I don’t want to be a hypocrite: what sort of example would that set to the children in my care?” he says. “I’m a fully qualified teacher with 14 years of experience. I should not have to lie to get a public sector job. My job prospects are severely curtailed unless I agree to be dishonest.”

Primary schools: in numbers

3,095 – number of mainstream primary schools

2,749 – number of Catholic primary schools

165 – number of multi-denominational schools

Source: Department of Education’s Indicators for Ireland report, February, 2023.