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Churches are half-empty. So why does the Catholic Church still control so many of our primary schools?

The Church’s influence on Irish life is waning, but the State has been incredibly slow to act effectively. There is a simple solution

The Catholic Church controls 88 per cent of primary schools in the State. About half of these are in areas where there is no alternative. Photograph: iStock
The Catholic Church controls 88 per cent of primary schools in the State. About half of these are in areas where there is no alternative. Photograph: iStock
Carl O'Brien's picture
Carl O'Brien
Sat Sept 14 2024 - 07:11

A few months ago the Archdiocese of Dublin sent Catholic primary schools in the greater Dublin area a reminder of the need to uphold their ethos. It told school boards to ensure there was a “crucifix in every classroom, an image of Our Lady or the patron saint, and a sacred space in each classroom”. It also reminded them of the importance that all teaching staff hold religious certificates – a requirement for teaching religion according to the tenets of the Catholic faith – and ensure any candidate for a job is made aware of the school’s “schedule”. This is a reference to the mission statement of the school, which typically outlines its roles in inculcating in children a very specific set of religious doctrines. The missive also notes the importance of teaching religious education each day in the classroom for the “required amount of time”, which is 2½ hours per week.

This, incidentally, is more than is given to PE. In fact, in the developed world, only Israel devotes more time to religion in primary school than Ireland does.

The content of the missive was not unusual, according to those familiar with how Catholic schools are run. It is the type of routine reminder issued at the start or end of the academic year.

For those on the outside, however, it is a jarring reminder that while members of religious congregations may no longer teach in the classroom, the Church has kept an iron grip on the vast bulk of the primary education system.

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At a time when Ireland is growing ever more diverse and churches are half-empty, the Catholic Church controls 88 per cent of primary schools. About half of these are in areas where there is no alternative. The lack of choice is especially galling for many parents who are still reeling from the findings of a Government-appointed inquiry into historical abuse at schools run by religious orders. Growing numbers say they do not want an institution with an abysmal record of child protection having anything to do with their children’s education.

[ How religious orders are sitting on assets worth hundreds of millions of euro ]

The timing, then, of a national poll on school choice being organised by the Department of Education seems apt. Parents will soon be asked to vote on the ethos of the type of school they want to send their children to attend locally. The results, we are told, will feed into a fresh attempt to divest schools away from religious patrons to help ensure our schools system better reflects the wider population.

The Church hierarchy knows it is in their best long-term interests to reduce the number of schools they run. When it comes to identifying which individual schools to divest at a local level, however, the process has too often been derailed by confusion, misinformation, distrust and division. Fear of the unknown has led to scare stories about secular schools having to cancel Christmas carols, Easter events or even St Patrick’s Day.

In many cases, Church representatives could have done far more to make the case for divestment or at least provide balanced information to parents. A bigger factor, though, is the relationship between schools and parents. Families with children attending their local school typically don’t want change. They worry about disruption to their children’s education, staff upheaval and uncertainty over what may lie ahead. Little wonder, then, that a paltry 15 Catholic schools have changed from a religious ethos to multi-denominational over recent years. To put that in context, there are more than 3,000 primary schools nationally, of which about 2,700 are Catholic. Here’s a sum for maths class: based on the current snail’s pace of progress, in what century will our primary school system finally reflect our society?

[ Paddy Monahan: Religion must move outside school hours as opt-out approach fails children badly ]

The reality is divestment hasn’t worked – and there’s nothing to suggest it will. It is the State, and not the Church, that has to take responsibility for this failure. For too long, governments have been happy to relinquish authority and control to others in education. But, as we’re finding out once again in the context of the school abuse inquiry, it still has responsibility for what goes on in publicly-funded schools.

The State funds the education system, it pays the teachers, it inspects the quality of education, it foots the bill for school upgrades and repairs. Why does its writ seem to end at the school gates?

There is a simple solution. Until recently, the education system in Quebec, Canada, was remarkably similar to ours: controlled by the main churches but financed by the State. After public debate, a general convention on education established in 1995 concluded that “there was no valid reason any more, other than a historical hang-up, to constrain a public education system on the basis of denominational privileges”. It led, in time, to the replacement of denominational religious education with a new “ethics and religious culture” subject. The Church later agreed to fulfil its responsibility for religious education outside the public school network.

Moving faith formation outside the regular school day should not be a revolutionary act. It would be simply be a return to the old national school system – before churches seized control of it – when religious instruction took place at the start or at the end of the school day. Control of what happens in primary schools should belong with us, the citizens. On this, the State has been an incredibly slow learner. With political will, however, there might still be time to pass the test.

Carl O’Brien is Education Editor of The Irish Times