Is denominational education suitable for 21st century Ireland?

John Murray says denominational schools can serve a pluralist society by respecting religious traditions and offering choice to parents.

THE PLACE of denominational schools in the Irish education system has come under attack recently. In the context of a shortage of school places at primary level in north County Dublin last September, it was said that denominational schools are socially exclusive, divisive and even a kind of education apartheid. And so, they are supposedly not suitable for an increasingly pluralistic Ireland of the 21st century. It seems to me, however, that denominational schools are suitable for a pluralistic society, as part of a pluralistic education system.

I am not arguing for an education system that is exclusively denominational. As I stated last Friday at a conference on the future of denominational education organised by the Iona Institute and The Word magazine, I am arguing instead for a system that is pluralistic, in other words a system that includes denominational schools that are supported by the State, and also other types of school. I am arguing against the position that our publicly funded education system should consist of only non-denominational schools and/or multi-denominational schools. I am also arguing against the idea that all new schools should not be denominational.

To fully address the value of denominational schools, one would have to include theological or religious reasons, but here I will present only philosophical ones. I want to show that people of no faith can reasonably support denominational schooling as part of a pluralistic system and that people of faith can support non-denominational and multi-denominational schooling, again as part of a pluralistic system.

Denominational schools have been a part of our Irish culture and history for a long time. Despite weaknesses and failures, they have served Ireland well. To remove denominational schooling completely from the publicly-funded system, or to exclude this type of school whenever new schools are built, would be a very big change.

To accuse denominational schools of being socially divisive is not a good reason for such a change. It is an unfair and even offensive accusation. Denominational schools are not inherently divisive. The problems with school places in Balbriggan, for example, were due to poor political planning and inadequate school supply, not denominational education itself. Denominational schools are committed to social equality, tolerance and peace. They often welcome pupils from outside their religious tradition. They teach all their pupils to be good citizens, to contribute positively to society as a whole, to love their neighbour as themselves.

And they do this from within a particular religious tradition, showing how religious faith and practice can support civic and social values. It is important for our increasingly multicultural society that society supports schooling that shows how specific religious world-views and commitments can be sources of peace and social progress.

In a healthy pluralistic society we should show respect for people's deeply held convictions and beliefs, and a pluralistic education system does this by allowing and supporting faith-based education as part of the system. It would not serve social cohesion or peace to say, explicitly or implicitly, to the many people of faith who reasonably desire to have such schools that their beliefs are not worthy of any societal support or respect, and must be restricted to the private sphere.

Society should support parental choice regarding their children's education. This principle is found in our Constitution, the Education Act, and in international codes of rights. The point is not just to support personal freedoms, but also to support parents in their specific and challenging responsibilities to bring up their children as well as they can. Teachers and schools help parents in this task. It is not just parents and their children who can benefit from education that promotes the development of the whole person, but also society in general. It is society that is supporting denominational schools as part of a pluralistic system, not the State orthu taxpayer as such.

We should also keep in mind the principle of religious freedom. As human persons, each of us is called to search for truth, including religious truth, and to live by it. Schools can be a great help in this search for meaning and value (to use a phrase from the new Leaving Certificate Religious Education syllabus). Denominational schools help their students not only to question and search, and to have knowledge about religions, but also to make a religious commitment and to live by the distinctive answers provided by their religious tradition (in worship, for example). It would be odd if society were to support students only in their religious questioning, but not in their attempts to live intelligently and reasonably by specific answers. There are limits to religious freedom, of course, which must be respected. Still, society has a responsibility to support the common good, and this includes the goods of both religious searching and commitment, within a context of freedom and reasonableness.

John Murray is a lecturer in Mater Dei Institute of Education
Your Vote
Should Queen Elizabeth visit Ireland?
Advertisement
Advertisement