The education system must work out a new approach to the teaching of religion in schools that recognises the increasing diversity in Irish society, INTO general secretary John Carr said yesterday.
The union favours a new system in which schools teach a broad programme of religious education (RE) alongside instruction in specific faiths, in response to parental wishes.
In practice, a broad RE programme could be taught on three to four days of the week but on other days, the different faiths could come into schools, he explained.
The issue of religion in schools has been brought into focus by developments in west Dublin, where some 15 per cent of primary school children are newcomers to the State. In a very significant move, the first State-run primary school will open at Diswellstown next year.
The school will be run on a "faith neutral" basis by the local Vocational Education Committee (VEC).
Currently, schools are built by the Department of Education and then handed over to the patron. More than 90 per cent of the 3,200 primary schools in the Republic are under the patronage of the Catholic Church.
In the coming months, the department will seek agreement on a new RE programme for Diswellstown in consultation with the churches and the various education partners. It is hoped that Diswellstown will provide a template for religious instruction in areas where there are a large number of faiths.
In his address to the annual conference, Mr Carr said: "We must face the reality that within the primary education system many of our schools give little or no formal knowledge or understanding of our relationships with some Christian and non-Christian religions.
"Children in many cases are not afforded the opportunity of exploring the beliefs and practices of other faiths and more."
It is INTO policy, he said, that every child should be afforded the opportunity to gain instruction in their own religious belief at some time during the school week. But this could be done in parallel with a broadly-based RE programme.
Even within Catholic and other denominational schools, different patterns of religious adherence are now emerging, he said.
Some parents want separate arrangements for their children. "A minority of parents tend to be at best indifferent or at worst, hostile. Very often in these circumstances teachers stand alone, isolated and frustrated.
"While preservation of ethos is enshrined in the Education Act, its implementation cannot depend on law alone. We have to find a new way of addressing the needs of all children within our education system."
