Give me a crash course in ... religion in schools

All I seem to hear about in education these days is something connected to religion. What's the big deal? About 96 per cent of the State's primary schools are under the control of religious denominations. This, for many people, is out of step with a pluralist society. However, there are deep divisions between religious and secular interests on how to tackle this. Policy-makers and politicians are exploring ways – though avenues such as patronage of schools, admissions policies and teaching time – to make the education system more reflective of an increasingly diverse school-going population.

Did I hear something this week about plans to reduce teaching time for religion in primary school? School children in Ireland spend up to two-and-a- half hours per week studying faith formation in primary school (though this varies widely). The State's advisory body on the school curriculum – the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment – is to publish advice and consult the wider public about time allocations for teaching a range of subjects during the primary school day. It is understood they will propose that time allocation will focus on the State curriculum – such as English, Irish and maths.

The State curriculum will also include a new subject called “religion, beliefs and ethics”. This subject, which will focus on learning about religions and other belief systems, will be separate to existing faith- based classes in denominational schools.

Er, that sounds to me like even more time spent on religion? Something will have to give. The new "religion, beliefs and ethics" will take up yet more time in classes where many teachers are complaining about "curriculum overload".That's why draft proposals are expected to set out how much time should be spent teaching the core curriculum. Beyond that, it is likely it will be up to schools to decide on how much time they wish to spend on faith formation. This could lead to a reduction in faith-based teaching during the regular school day.

What about the rights of a child from a religious family? Will they be forced to study faith formation after school or on weekends? Not necessarily. The 1998 Education Act protects the right of schools to set aside reasonable time in each school day for subjects relating to the school's ethos. This allows for some flexibility. It is likely, then, that faith formation will still figure strongly – especially in the run-up to events such as Communion or Confirmation. Many denominational schools may seek to merge part of their patron's programmes with the new State-backed religious subject.

What if I have a problem with faith- based teaching. Can I just opt my child out? Parents have the right to withdraw their children from religion classes if they they are "contrary to the conscience of the parent" under the Education Act. However, schools can be unwilling or unable to accommodate such requests. Often, many are left at the back of the classroom to do other work. Minister for Education Richard Bruton has plans to oblige schools to clarify these rules for parents.

With all this emphasis of religion, I'd expect Irish kids to be liturgical experts? The quality of religious education is highly variable, with many teachers and students regarding it as a "doss" subject, says a recent study by Prof Áine Hyland and Prof Brian Bocking of UCC. They found that while religious education is near-compulsory at primary level, just 3 per cent of senior cycle students take it as a Leaving Cert examination subject. "This number may rise in future years, but only if schools recruit sufficient teachers with relevant expertise in the study of religions, and in fact the proportion has not risen in recent years," they wrote.

Carl O’Brien, Education Editor