Multi-denominational - A different path

While religion appears to have deeply split parents in Dunboyne, not all schools which try to mix children of different religions (and none) have run into controversy.

While there has been the occasional squabble, the Educate Together schools, which operate a different policy to Dunboyne, appear to have managed the process well.

According to Paul Rowe, chairman of Educate Together, which now has a membership of more than 20 schools, a policy of having religious instruction outside school hours has served them well.

He says children are taught about religion in class, but it involves a broad look at all religions and beliefs, not just a focus on the doctrinal beliefs of one church.

The curriculum followed at Educate Together schools looks at all the major world religions and examines their history, development and beliefs. Children can learn about Jesus, but also about Mohammed.

The class is strictly a religion class, not a religious-instruction class, Rowe says. Instruction for individual faiths, such as Communion classes for Catholics, are taught outside school hours.

Mostly this is done on school premises, often by the local parish priest or a teacher. If there is a cost involved, the parents of the children normally pay the bill. The board of management have no real role, except making sure whoever is coming into the school is not a danger to the children.

Despite sending their children to a multi-denominational school, many parents in these schools still want their offspring involved in the Catholic rites of Communion and Confirmation and a significant portion of the class do stay behind after school to prepare for them.

Educate Together schools are multi-denominational, embracing all faiths and none. The situation in Dunboyne is slightly different because the school is inter- denominational, in the main trying to accommodate Catholic and Protestant children.