Religious schools
must be careful not to “indoctrinate” or “proselytise” the
Irish Human Rights Commission (IHRC) has said in a
new report.

Sumarising the report,
Prof William Binchy, a member of the
Commission, said that the State
needed to “take sufficient care” to ensure that there is “no indoctrination and
no proselytism in schools”.

School children, he
continued, must never “experience exclusion or segregation in the school, or in
any way be undermined in their own faith or other philosophical
convictions”.

He added
that faith schools which cater to pupils of other faiths or no faith should
“take steps to guard against any inadvertent indoctrination or proselytism of
those teachers”.

In its report on
Religion and Education, published yesterday, the
IHRC says that, if the State chose to
retain the current patronage model, “significant modifications will be required in order to meet human
rights standards”.

Among the report’s
recommendations is that the Section 37 of the Employment Equality Act be amended
“to ensure respect for the private life of teachers where their private life
does not improperly encroach on rights and freedom of
others”.

It also recommends
that the Government “ensure that that there is a diversity of provision of
school type within educatioal catchment areas throughout the State which
reflects the diversity of religious and non-religious convictions now
represented in the State”.

The report urges the
Government to clearly define terms such as “denominational”,
“multidenominational”, “interdenominational”, “nondenominational” in
legislation.

It also recommends
that the Government amend Section 15 of the Education Act “to ensure that the
rights of minority faith or non-faith are also
recognised”. 

The State, it says,
“must take sufficient care that information and knowledge included in the
curriculum is conveyed in an objective, critical and pluralistic”.

The recommendations
also argue that “exemption procedures” should be in place in order to ensure
that children who do not wish to participate in religion classes are catered
for.

Among the other
recommendations:

• Consideration to be
  given to moving of religion classes to the beginning or end of the school day in
  areas where diverse provision of schools is not provided to facilitate those of
  different faiths, or of no faith at all.
• The State “should
  seek to ensure that all patrons in schools funded by the State are sensitive to
  the impact that manifestations of religious beliefs in the school may have on
  children of other faith or non-faith backgrounds.
• The State should
  continue to seek to promote religious harmony and understanding between groups,
  including those of a secular viewpoint.
• The setting up of an
  Ombudsman body to consider complaints about alleged exposure to indoctrination
  or proselytism. It also recommends that School Inspectors should monitor the
  effectiveness of “exemption procedures” in place in
  schools.
• The taking into
  account of the views of “most second level students and arguably some older
  primary school students” in relation to exemption procedures, “or any perceived
  encroachment on their personal religious or philosophical convictions” in
  addition to the views of their parents.
• Teachers should not
  have to learn about “content that conflicts with the rights of such teachers” in
  the course of their training. “Any improper encroachment on the right to freedom
  of thought, conscience and religion of teachers should thus be
  avoided.”

The IHRC has passed
its report to the Minister for Education, who recently established a forum on
patronage and pluralism in schools.

In March, Mr Quinn
suggested that the teaching of religion should be taken out of the school day
altogether. He has also suggested that “at least half” of primary schools
currently under Catholic patronage should be transfered to alternative
patronage.

A spokesperson for Mr
Quinn said that the IHRC would be meeting with the forum to discuss the
report.

The report was compiled after the IHRC received 60 submissions from stakeholders, groups and the general public. The Iona Institute was one of the groups that made a submission to the IHRC.