Irish Catholic columnist David Quinn examines the odd case of
an atheist who objected when his son was taught to pray—at a Catholic
school.
The situation in Ireland is complicated by the fact that Catholic
schools receive government funding.
The Irish constitution, as Quinn
points out, requires the state to respect parents’ religious beliefs
(or, presumably, lack of belief), and to fund appropriate schools.
Thus
the state is apparently obligated to provide schooling for the family
involved in this case.
But must that schooling occur in a Catholic institution?
If Catholic
schools are required to accommodate families that object to religious
influence in order to receive government funding, then they cease to be
authentic Catholic schools.
The case, Quinn notes, forces Irish
Catholics to “wake up to the fact that their schools are under threat.”