Diversity in Irish education “is not about eliminating difference” Archbishop Diarmuid Martin (pictured) has said. 
Speaking on Wednesday at a Mass for the opening of the school year, Dr Martin said that religious education cannot “become simply a colourless presentation of the history or the sociology of religion”.
He was responding to suggestions made last year by Minister for Education Ruairi Quinn that religious education ought to be less about forming pupils in a particular religion and more about educating them about religion.
Dr Martin said: “In looking at the need for diversification in the educational system one sees also that there is a strong demand in Irish society, urban and rural, for religious education as a dimension of our public schools system.
“The changed cultural situation requires that all young people acquire knowledge of the variety of religious traditions which are present in today’s Ireland. This is important in order to foster mutual respect and religious tolerance and recognition of the richness which religious diversity brings.
“Religious diversity in society does not however mean the exclusion of denominational education in which young people are helped to grow and flourish within the religious tradition to which they belong.
“All the indications are that many parents wish to see high quality denominational education remain an essential pillar, alongside other models, of our national educational system.
“Denominational education must not become divisive or exclusivist, but neither can religious education become simply a colourless presentation of the history or the sociology of religion.”
He said that one couldn’t speak about the richness of religious diversity as a value “and then not foster denominational religious education which is authentic”.
He said: “Diversity is not about eliminating difference. Men and women who have a robust formation in their own faith and who feel fully secure in their own religious beliefs are indeed more likely to be able to live together in and contribute to a pluralist society.
“Those who are insecure in their own religious belief or whose level of religious education is low are those who are most prone to intolerance and fundamentalism.”
There was a need to to ensure that religious educators – parents, teachers and religious leaders – have access to adequate formation and training on a high professional level, Dr Martin added.
“The growing religious diversity in Ireland calls not for banishing religious education from the public square but would indicate that there is a genuine public interest – and thus a corresponding responsibility of government – in providing adequate high quality training for those who are called to teach religion in public schools,” he said.
