Many believe it means teachers can face termination of employment – so they are not too keen to find out where the boundaries of permissible conduct lie. Children have a constitutional right not to attend religious instruction at school but this right is simply not upheld. It means sitting at the back of the church as the class attends Mass during school hours. The obvious solution is simply for sacramental preparation and faith formation to take place outside school hours on an opt-in basis. Segregating and othering children at school based on religion is deeply wrong – and teachers should be free to say so.

Source: The Irish Times March 28, 2026 00:00 UTC