Why does the Catholic Church still gave control over some schools in Ireland? It's time this changed

Not paying a red cent to run them? The religious orders own the schools. The state is getting to use these schools for free. Cost a fortune for the state to dump the religious orders generous offer of using their property for free.

I was in secondary school in the Christian Brothers from 97 to 02. There was virtually no religious influence even then. A few statues of Mary in the school and one teacher said the Angela's before her class. That was about as religious as it got. The 3×40 min Religious class per week were nothing to do with learning about Catholicism. I dont see what the fuss is about.

Who gave the religious orders the money to build them?

Most of them have been updated,enlarged and modernised at taxpayers expense at this stage anyway.

But those votes were of parents with kids already enrolled in those schools. FUD won the day - fear, uncertainty, doubt - a church-led campaign to stir up fear of change.

Parents of future pupils e.g. preschoolers in the areas got no say at all. And these votes were only held at all in a few areas.

They're the legal owners of the land. Unless gotten through illegal gains how they became owners makes no difference to the fact it is their land.

Did you read the "Mary said yes" bit when a 12 year old was told she was to be impregnated? Creepy as anything.

As part of the Catholic religion course ‘Grow in Love’, six year old infants in Irish schools are being taught that ‘Mary says YES’! to God ‘working through her’ by making her pregnant, despite Mary being afraid, confused and not understanding what was going on.

Mary looks like a little girl in the picture that is to be displayed in all classrooms. When Mary says ‘YES’!, she is sitting on her bed looking startled, it is nighttime, and there is a little kitten with a heart on it beside her on the floor.

This is an extraordinary and dangerous message to give to young children. ‘SAY YES’!, even if you are afraid and confused. Just trust someone that comes to your bed in the night.

They teach this to six year olds.

The state doesn't get to use these schools for free. It pays the salaries, the running costs, extensions, renovations, etc. etc. same as any other kind of school.

Second paragraph - it's been a long time now since any more than a few kids have any interest in religion at secondary level. It's primary schools which are the subject of the thread and where catholic church control is 90%. At secondary it's thankfully far less and nearly all kids are immune to their nonsense by that stage anyway.

Wouldn't you have rather used that two hours a week to do something useful?

Do you think it's OK to segregate five year olds on the basis of religion?

Do you think it's OK to tell five year olds about hell?

As a supposedly benevolent organisation 😁 maybe I thought they built the schools on behalf of their congregation.

The state pays no rent to the religious orders for using their land. You understand that?

I live abroad and have a child. The potential necessity of placing him in a school where Catholic religion is taught (as fact) every week, Catholic songs and prayers are performed frequently, and First Communion and Confirmation make up a big part of two years of primary years education, is a genuine reservation I would have about returning home.

I attended Catholic schools for all my primary and secondary education, so I know it's not the end of the world. But I was part of the group joining in with all the ceremony and teaching then. I hate the idea of children from non-religious (or non-Catholic) families being excluded from what's going on with their friends, and so 'othered' in that way.

The Catholic Church had far more money than the newly independent Ireland when we needed schools built, they built them at a time that the government couldn't.

Myth. The state was funding primary education long before independence. Churches (RCC, CoI, Presbyterians up north) wanted control though and they got it.

That sound very familiar, yet funnily you've no problem with the new age variant of the church.

FFS. They're specifically exempt from equality legislation so they can discriminate on religious grounds all they like

If he'd admitted his non-belief he'd have been fired. If newly qualified teaching graduates were honest about their lack of belief they wouldn't be hired.

BTW you still haven't answered how their control of 90% of primary schools can be justified.

Will "Ireland is a catholic country" be next?

You don't have a leg to stand on and you know it.

If it was a free and liberal country we wouldn't still have overwhelming church control of taxpayer funded schools.

They teach this to six year olds.

Don’t provide a source for that crap anyway, it might reveal that you’re peddling bullshìt. Your source is Atheist Ireland, who claim to be promoting atheism, reason and an ethical secular state. Publishing crap like that they’re about as truthful and trustworthy as Gript. Utter garbage, and does nothing to promote atheism, reason and an ethical secular state. All they’re doing there is promoting fearmongering and prejudice.

https://www.teachdontpreach.ie/2015/10/mary-says-yes/

‘Teach don’t preach’ they say, while preaching lies, misinformation and misrepresentation.