Madam, - I was astonished by the hostility displayed by the delegates to the INTO Conference towards the teaching of Catholicism in schools (April 25th).
They talked of pluralism, multi-denominationalism, multi-racialism as a reason for supplanting Catholic instruction and offering a kind of hodge-podge, quasi-religious instruction in its place, although the vast majority of the children in the schools are Catholics.
At what stage does a school become multi-racial one might ask? When there is one foreign child there? Or five? Or ten? Are teachers, in order not to offend possible sensitivities, prepared to study Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and many minor religions as they attempt to alter the religious ethos of the schools?
This is the road which has been followed in Britain (where there is a large proportion of non-Christian children in schools) which has resulted in children leaving school with no religious beliefs whatsoever.
It is worrying that teachers are voicing such antagonism towards the teaching of religion (the Catholic religion, that is) - an attitude which may well affect the vulnerable children in their care. One would like to know:
1. How do INTO teachers feel about religious education for their own children?
2. In demanding that we eradicate the teaching of Catholicism in schools, in order to make provision for children of other (or no) faiths, are teachers prepared to be unfair to Catholic children? - Yours, etc.,
M.M. IRELAND,
Priory Avenue,
Blackrock,
Co Dublin.